Why So Many Black Property Owners in Central Brooklyn Are Losing Their Homes, Explained

Black homeowners in Central Brooklyn are losing their homes at an alarming rate, and the main culprits are deed theft and the city’s controversial Third Party Transfer Program.

As of March 2019, there were at least 6,000 foreclosures pending in Kings County with more are on the way, according to Catherine Isobe, senior staff attorney at Brooklyn Legal Services. Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights and East New York have some of the highest rates of real estate fraud, along with Canarsie and Flatlands, according to legal advocates.

Residents may feel like the two offenders are one in the same. But while both result in similar outcomes, Third Party Transfer and deed theft are two separate concerns.

State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, whose “Deed Theft Bill” aims to grant greater protections to home-owners either in default or foreclosure. Montgomery’s bill currently is pending Gov, Cuomo’s signature.

To read the full story, visit https://www.bkreader.com/2019/08/16/why-so-many-black-property-owners-in-central-brooklyn-are-losing-their-homes-explained/