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  • Comment Detail

  • Date: 08/15/22
    First Name: Sosseh
    Last Name: Prom
    Email: sosseh@africans.us
    Organization Type: other
    Organization: African Communities Together

  • Comment

    Good afternoon,

    My name is Sosseh Prom, and I am the State Policy Manager at African Communities Together (ACT). ACT is a national nonprofit dedicated towards improving the lives of African immigrants in the United States, and empowers African immigrants to integrate socially, advance economically and engage civically. Through this comment, ACT requests that the FHFA reform the lending practices of government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) so that predatory developers are not funded to displace vulnerable communities.

    In August 2020, the CIM Group (CIM) – a Los Angeles-based private real estate company – announced its acquisition of Southern Towers, a 2,346-unit apartment complex in Alexandria, Virginia. CIM’s purchase of Southern Towers was subsidized and financed by a variety of public entities, including Freddie Mac, who provided an “incredibly favorable” $346 million low-interest loan to CIM. CIM markets itself as a socially responsible investment firm, claiming that it is committed to diversity and “community-focused” investments. But CIM’s actions tell a different story. Since assuming ownership of Southern Towers in August 2020, CIM has aggressively sought to evict residents, largely putting Black and immigrant families at risk of displacement. In the first comprehensive analysis of eviction filings in the City of Alexandria, it was shown that CIM had filed 541 eviction proceedings against residents of Southern Towers since it acquired the building; more than any other apartment building in Alexandria. Although the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) moratorium on evictions prevented CIM from physically evicting families in 2020 and 2021, the aggressive eviction filings have inspired widespread fear among residents, including immigrants who have fled repressive governments or struggle with English as a second language. In addition to these eviction filings, residents also find themselves subject to rent increases they cannot afford and living in uninhabitable conditions (ex: mold, pest infestations, leaks, etc).

    By investing in CIM, Freddie Mac has allowed for the company to engage in practices that are almost certain to lead to the displacement of vulnerable families.

    For more information about CIM and its eviction practices, please see the attached report entitled, Investing In Evictions. Thank you for considering this comment, and we hope to continue this dialogue with the FHFA to protect those most in need.