Sponsored By:
Windsor Consulting

Announcements

AAHSA Begins Section 202 Reform Efforts in New Congress

Like most affordable housing legislation in the 110th Congress, Section 202 reform did not make it out of the Senate. H.R. 2930, the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Act of 2007 passed the House unanimously but never got a hearing in the Senate Banking Committee, although Senators Kohl and Schumer introduced their version of the bill, S.2736. This means that the bill must be reintroduced in the 111th Congress. AAHSA, which drafted the original legislative proposal for the bill, has already begun working on getting the bill finished in the new Congress. In addition to working with the original sponsors of the legislation to get a comprehensive bill reintroduced, AAHSA is also meeting with House congressional staff about including Titles II and IV from S.2736 in the comprehensive preservation legislation that Chairman Barney Frank is planning to introduce at the start of the new Congress. AASHA is also pursuing a second strategy. A number of the provisions in the Section 202 reform bill involved actions that HUD currently has the discretion to act on but has not. The result has been devastating to preservation efforts. So in addition to future congressional action, AAHSA has compiled a list of the discretionary actions that the new Secretary or agency can take immediately to assist owners interested in refinancing, preserving their properties and increasing available services for elderly and disabled residents.

click for web site

Headlines

Association News

AAHSA Joins in Advocating Changes in Public Housing
HUD Releases Evaluation of the Section 202 Program
AAHSA Comments on HUD's Proposed Delegated Processing Notice

Industry News


"NMHC, NAA Ask Lawmakers to Exercise Caution in Implementing New Economic Stimulus Actions"
"LIHTC's Turbulent Ride Expected to Continue"
"Meeting the Workforce Challenge"
"Obama Team Is Warned That HUD Needs Work"
"Affordable Housing Deals Are Stalling"
"Financial Mess Hurting Effort to Raise Cash for Low-Income Housing"
"Slump Has Silver Lining for Affordable Housing"
"Calling on Fannie & Freddie"
"New York, HFA Facing an Uphill Climb for 17 Deals Worth $150 Million"
"Tax Credit Financial Crunch Hits Affordable Housing"
"HUD, PHA Agreement Settles Yearlong Feud"
"Tax Credits Expected to Aid in Rebuilding"
"Push Made to Extend Tax Credit Deadlines for La. Developers"
"Sublime Lending"
"GSE Regulator Affirms Affordable Housing Commitment"
"HUD Introduces New Financing Program To Expand Affordable Housing in Indian and Alaska Native Regions"


Association News

AAHSA Joins in Advocating Changes in Public Housing

In the summer and fall of 2008, AAHSA joined a broad coalition of public housing authorities, public housing resident leaders, affordable and fair housing advocates, legal services, think tanks, private sector partners, community partners, and affordable housing developers in considering the future of public housing and a blueprint for the way forward. As one of the nation’s largest sources of affordable housing, public housing is home to 2.6 million people, 50 percent of whom are seniors and persons with disabilities.
A new administration presents a unique opportunity to develop innovative policies to preserve this significant portion of the nation’s affordable rental housing stock. It also presents a unique opportunity to advance a new approach to providing service-enriched housing for the elderly.
Prepared for the transition team, the new policy framework focuses on significant capital reinvestment, new partnerships, and institutional reform. It recommends redeveloping or converting 100,000 public housing units into high-quality service enriched properties over a five year period in order to permit seniors to stay in their homes for as long as possible. It further recommends establishing new partnerships with organizations and entities, such as AAHSA and AAHSA members and other affordable housing industry partners, that share a common mission of seniors aging in place in service-enriched environments. click for web site | Return to Headlines

HUD Releases Evaluation of the Section 202 Program

In a study dated June 2008, HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research released its assessment of the effectiveness of the Section 202 program in meeting the needs of very low income elderly Americans. The program recommendations that PDR makes mirror many of the recommendations that AAHSA has made in its policy briefs and in its advocacy on Capitol Hill and point the way toward our advocacy in the future. The study was a thorough analysis of the Section 202 program, its history, its demographics, and key issues including processing delays, cost limits, and project size and allocations. Most importantly, the study finds that the Section 202 program is an important and cost effective alternative to premature placement in institutional settings, and necessary where states are engaged in transitioning seniors from costly nursing homes to the community. It estimates the potential cost savings for the first time as it acknowledges that seniors overwhelmingly prefer to remain in their own homes. Recommendations include the following: providing funding for service coordinators in all Section 202 properties, producing 10,000 units per year over the next 10 to 15 year period, and encouraging owners and managers of Section 202 properties to collaborate with nursing homes in their communities to provide necessary health related services. Further, if we can successfully couple tax credits with the Section 202 advances, we can have a real impact on the availability of senior housing. To read the complete study, Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly: Program Status and Performance Measurement, click on the link below.
click for web site | Return to Headlines

AAHSA Comments on HUD's Proposed Delegated Processing Notice

On October 30, 2008 AAHSA submitted comments on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) proposed Notice for delegated processing of the Section 202 PRAC awards to approved state agencies. This change was part of the GSE reform legislation, H.R. 3221, and will be in effect for the next Section 202 NOFA. Although HUD later removed the draft notice from their website, AAHSA still forwarded comments, which included the following points:
• HUD could take this opportunity to streamline documentation and the review process by creating a checklist of required actions by the DPA and certifications that the application complies with certain federal requirements including fair housing, 2530, anti lobbying, drug free workplace and the like, in addition to the eligible target population, incomes of residents, the type of units, etc., rather than requiring the a protracted and unnecessary formal underwriting process just like HUD’s. The DPA should be able to employ its underwriting criteria, and to assure that the project would be marketable in the locale. AAHSA recommends that HUD consider revising its own underwriting process just as they did on with the Section 232 program and “Lean” or simply permit the DPAs to use their own criteria.
• Increase flexibility in project design standards (i.e. unit square footage and number of bedrooms) and permit some costs that are necessary in specific geographic markets to be attributable to the Section 202 funding rather than from tax credit equity.
• Permit the DPA to use its standard closing documents and construction documents rather than force-fitting HUD’s documents into the state’s processes. This could include creating minimum standard language for partnership documents to be used by the sponsors to eliminate the time and expense involved in creating them new for each mixed finance project.
• Delegate the authority to the DPA to issue waivers, or HUD should issue blanket waivers or revise regulations to make commonly requested waivers unnecessary.
• Establish a time limit for the Department to respond to waiver requests. It’s appreciated that the clock stops running if there are waiver requests; however HUD should have a time limit in which to respond to waiver requests if they retain that authority or the purpose of delegating processing will be defeated.
• Establish a time limit for the Department to respond to appeals when either development costs or initial rents or PRAC amounts are rejected.
• Delegated processing will alleviate HUD’s workload considerably and result in cost savings. We recommend that the capital advance be increased by the amount of the processing fees paid to the DPAs.
• Develop time limits for the constructions loan administration process to ensure that the sponsor, DPA and the Department meet their obligations in a timely manner.
• Delegate the processing of the AFHMP and the environmental review, or establish time limits for execution by the Department.
• Review the draft agreement between the DPA and HUD as it is clear that it was adapted from the OMHAR PAE model and still includes references to PAE and OMHAR.
• Include a checklist of exhibits or documents that an agency would have to submit to become a risk sharing agency and DPA instead of referring the agencies to a regulation that hasn’t been updated for years.
click for web site | Return to Headlines

Industry News

"NMHC, NAA Ask Lawmakers to Exercise Caution in Implementing New Economic Stimulus Actions"
Multi-Housing News (11/08)

The National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) and National Apartment Association (NAA) Joint Legislative Program is warning lawmakers to act carefully regarding any new economic stimulus action. NMHC and NAA are opposed to a new $22,000 homebuyer tax credit, and to legislation overturning the ban on seller-financed downpayment programs that also calls for a federally financed interest rate buydown on mortgages. "We understand the desire of lawmakers to bolster the economy and stem the tide of foreclosures, but these actions will not stimulate the economy or stop house prices from falling further," NMHC and NAA say in a joint statement. "They are simply bailouts for the for-sale housing market, the very sector of our economy that helped trigger the global economic crisis. The only issue a homebuyer tax credit addresses is the oversupply of single-family houses, which is something best left to the marketplace - not taxpayers - to correct." The two groups argue that oversupply situations happen in every industry, and the housing industry will recover with or without Congressional action, just as it has in past oversupply situations. The two groups are also suggesting that the potential return of federally financed zero down mortgages would increase the number of owners who are underwater in their mortgages. "In the process, they lay the groundwork for another wave of mortgage defaults and foreclosures," concludes NMHC.
Return to Headlines

"LIHTC's Turbulent Ride Expected to Continue"
Affordable Housing Finance (11/08) Kimura, Donna

In 2008, several large investors like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac scaled back their purchases of low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs), resulting in less capital on the market. This led to a decline in tax credit prices to developers and increases in yields for remaining investors. Developers now need to implement different approaches, such as dealing with banks directly to sell their tax credits. The recently passed Housing and Economic Recovery Act is anticipated to help the LIHTC industry by setting the credit rate at 9 percent. But prices in the LIHTC market "are at a point that it creates a capital gap in the developer's budget, and some housing that would get done in a different environment is not going to get done," asserts Patrick Nash, managing director of JPMorgan Capital Corp. LIHTC prices averaged roughly $0.94 or $0.95 per dollar of credit two years ago, but today's average is nearer $0.85. Meanwhile, investor yields have risen from 5 percent to more than 7 percent. Christopher Gabler, senior vice president of AEGON USA Realty Advisors, believes that the market is good for direct investors with ample money to invest, but not for developers that projects "with one or more compelling characteristics." The market for syndicators is defined by their investor base, he says.
Return to Headlines

"Meeting the Workforce Challenge"
Multi-Housing News (11/08) Foong, Keat

While economic slumps tend to make housing more affordable, the country will still see far too many American teachers, law enforcement officers, nurses, and emergency responders paying 50 percent or more of their income just to keep a roof over their heads. With most financial institutions pulling out as sources of equity financing for Low Income Housing Tax Credit projects and construction loans increasingly elusive, a major hurdle for workforce housing today is landing the money to develop new units. "There needs to be a resumption of the credit markets" in order for workforce housing development to proceed on the level that is needed, according to Bart Harvey, a board member of the ULI Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing. Another issue, adds National Housing Conference President and CEO Conrad Egan, is land availability and cost. Despite these challenges, experts say money can still be accessed through tax-exempt bond financing and through affordable housing programs at all levels of government. "I would encourage developers in these tighter times to look more carefully and actively at state and local sources of support," advises Egan. As for land costs, insiders offer a few strategies. For one, developers can lower land costs by teaming up with entities--such as state or local governments--that can donate the land for projects. Similarly, partnering with an employer to build worker housing on a site owned by the company or institutions is another avenue. Harvey also recommends that developers explore for land deals in formerly overheated residential areas, where land prices are dropping as more builders abandon projects and put sites back on the market. Additionally, he says developers should look to close-in markets, where local governments tend to back, and even reward, high-density smart growth.
Return to Headlines

"Obama Team Is Warned That HUD Needs Work"
Washington Post (11/20/08) P. A2; Leonnig, Carol D.

Prior to the recent election, President-elect Barack Obama wrote to HUD to insist that the agency needs to be "part of the solution" to the economic crisis, but observers say the Obama administration will inherit an agency that has failed to prevent widespread foreclosures and maintain its affordable housing mission. When Obama takes office, observers say his administration will face 1,900 housing authorities seeking more funds and a $20 billion backlog in public housing maintenance projects. Additionally, they point out that HUD's Hope for Homeowners Program will assist just 13,000 homeowners in sidestepping foreclosure by year's end, making it unlikely that it will help 400,000 families over three years as targeted by the Congressional Budget Office. "We're breaking records every month in this country for foreclosures," says National Community Reinvestment Coalition President John Taylor. "But this agency and its program isn't doing what we want to accomplish, which is to turn the corner on the demise of the housing industry." There also are concerns about the FHA, which likely will report substantial losses on mortgages it insures at a time when the government is calling on the agency to salvage the residential-finance market.
Return to Headlines

"Affordable Housing Deals Are Stalling"
New York Times (11/12/08) P. B7; Pristin, Terry

Affordable housing traditionally has fared better than other real estate sectors in down economic cycles because land and construction costs decline, government subsidies are available, and demand for such shelter increases. However, experts in mixed-income rental housing say many developers are finding it difficult or next to impossible to put deals together amid the ongoing credit crisis. Low-income housing tax credits--the primary engine of affordable housing development for the past two decades--usually account for 50 percent to 75 percent of the development capital in an affordable housing deal. Allocated to the states by the federal government, these credits that used to go for more than 90 cents on the dollar now fetch no more than 78 cents, resulting in projects receiving less money and developers having to secure other funds to make up the difference. Due to the fact that developers that are awarded credits have two years to try to make a project work, it is not possible at this time to know just how much the $8 billion tax credit industry business has contracted.
Return to Headlines

"Financial Mess Hurting Effort to Raise Cash for Low-Income Housing"
Columbus Business First (10/27/08) Burns, Adrian

The economic crisis may soon hurt the promotion of affordable housing in Ohio. Long supported by financial groups, the building of low-income housing will probably decline as lenders hold back so they can fix their struggling finances and acquire cash, according to experts. As such, there will likely be less affordable-housing alternatives to those impacted the hardest. "The most important thing to realize is that the need for low-income housing is increasing and at the same time it's getting more difficult to get these transactions completed," states J. David Heller, principal of Cleveland's NRP Group LLC, a builder of low-income housing that expects to create 10 percent less units in 2008 due to financing shortfalls. Although many of the country's affordable-housing projects are constructed utilizing government tax credits, the credits are not much use to firms that report limited or no profit. The result is that the primary investors in the credits--mostly banks--have reduced investing and may keep going in that direction as they try to sort out their financial problems, says Hal Keller, president of Columbus' Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing. While Ohio Capital was able to close out its fund for 2008, the intermediary will start generating its next fund in January. "We're working with cities around the state to help identify new companies," Keller states.
Return to Headlines

"Slump Has Silver Lining for Affordable Housing"
San Francisco Business Times (10/20/08) Torres, Blanca

Affordable housing developers stand to profit from the real estate market crisis by seizing entitled projects and completed buildings. At a time when market-rate developers are looking to shed assets, affordable developers are prospecting residential projects around the country. In Oakland, Calif., dozens of projects were entitled before the market downturn and are awaiting buyers. Right now Oakland's condo pipeline holds more than 8,000 units, and over 1,600 condos are on the market. Affordable developers are snapping up many of these because unlike commercial developers, which depend largely on credit to finance projects, they have access to state and federal grants, city redevelopment funds and other public funds to build projects. Purchasing distressed development is a good idea because it saves affordable developers the time and trouble of entitling a project, and recovers at least a portion of the cost of land or construction for the condo developer.
Return to Headlines

"Calling on Fannie & Freddie"
Bond Buyer (10/29/08) Vol. 365, No. 32996, P. 1; Funk, Lynne

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must resume their buying of tax-exempt housing bonds to ignite the struggling market so that state and area housing groups can use $11 billion of the surplus private-activity bond volume limit that Congress offered earlier in 2008, local government and housing organizations told federal regulators and legislators in a recent letter. "Today ... there is virtually no market for tax-exempt housing bonds because of the current economic crisis," the letter from the National Association of Counties, the National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies, the National Community Development Association, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors proclaimed. The letter was sent on Oct. 27 to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Federal Housing Finance Agency director James Lockhart, who manages Fannie and Freddie, and the chairmen of congressional committees with authority over housing. The organizations asked legislators and federal officials to instruct Lockhart to reinstate Fannie and Freddie as buyers of tax-exempt single-family and multifamily housing bonds. While they have not been active purchasers of these bonds since 2005, they comprised 25 percent of the market in 2004, the letter noted. "Without Fannie and Freddie buying these bonds, it will be very difficult to utilize these critical resources that Congress has provided," the letter said. Fannie's and Freddie's absence from the segment for low-income housing tax credits, which spur private investment in affordable rental housing, has resulted in the price of these credits to drop from a high of around $1 to under 70 cents, the letter stated. Developers usually sell these credits to raise equity in the development, which lessens the amount of bonds required and decreases debt service expenses and rents. The return of Fannie and Freddie to this sector "would create competition in the marketplace allowing more affordable housing units to be built as a result of a higher market price for tax credits," the letter said.
Return to Headlines

"New York, HFA Facing an Uphill Climb for 17 Deals Worth $150 Million"
Bond Buyer (10/16/08) Vol. 365, No. 32987, P. 22; Phillips, Ted

The credit crunch is complicating the New York State Housing Finance Agency's efforts to gather 17 deals worth $150 million to the market by the end of 2008. HFA President and CFO Priscilla Almodovar says the agency is "doing everything we can to save any of the deals that are in our pipeline and are in line to close by the end of the year." To preserve the deals, HFA plans to sell fixed-rate bonds to underwrite the projects. However, Almodovar says financing the deals is difficult to do because "we don't know what mortgage rate to ultimately use." So far HFA has approved $6.4 million of financing for a 62-unit senior apartment community in Wayne County, NY, and plans to sell $4.8 million of bonds as part of a pooled bond deal to underwrite the mortgage and supply a $1.62 million second mortgage using a portion of $54 million of funds approved by the state for affordable housing funds. The agency is working with the state Department of Housing and Community Renewal to obtain additional subsidies for other projects.
Return to Headlines

"Tax Credit Financial Crunch Hits Affordable Housing"
Eugene Register-Guard (OR) (10/21/08) P. A1; Dietz, Diane

A federal initiative that provides investors with a tax shelter if they invest in low-income housing projects is being impacted by the U.S. housing crisis. Low-wage earners in Lane County, Ore., have greatly benefited from the "low-income housing tax credit" program during the last 20 years as area social-service agencies evolved into multifamily housing developers, constructing around 35 apartment projects that house almost 2,000 county families paying less-than-market-price rents. A couple of new projects are now in jeopardy--St. Vincent de Paul's recommended 35-unit Lamb Building and Sponsor Inc.'s scheduled 20-bed transitional housing for homeless ex-criminal visitors. The Oregon Housing and Community Services Agency is set to soon announce projects throughout Oregon, possibly including those two Lane County projects, that won a competition for tax credits. The victorious agencies, however, have to locate investors who will purchase tax credits connected with their real-estate projects, and investors are becoming less common. Those who are still willing to buy in are asking for and getting high yields, which means less funds for the agencies constructing the housing. The bad condition of the tax-credit market "does threaten our ability to do affordable housing," notes Oregon housing agency spokesman Floyd Smith. Syndicators are looking to companies outside the financial industry to begin purchasing tax credits.
Return to Headlines

"HUD, PHA Agreement Settles Yearlong Feud"
Philadelphia Inquirer (10/17/08) Lin, Jennifer

HUD will not alter its funding of the Philadelphia Housing Agency (PHA), allowing the agency to maintain its "Moving to Work" status and retain flexibility in the spending of $347 million in federal funding. The two agencies have been feuding for the past year, beginning with a ruling by HUD that PHA was not in compliance with a law mandating that accessible housing account for 5 percent or more of its stock. PHA director Carl Greene filed suit in December against then HUD secretary Alphonso Jackson alleging that he was retaliating against the agency for failing to accommodate a developer who was also a close friend of Jackson's. The deal between HUD and PHA will keep the Moving to Work status in place for another decade, giving the agency the flexibility to use Section 8 voucher funds for affordable housing development and other purposes.
Return to Headlines

"Tax Credits Expected to Aid in Rebuilding"
Cedar Rapids Gazette (Iowa) (11/16/08) Boshart, Rod

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver says changes to a federal low-income housing tax credit program should help create thousands of affordable rental units in Iowa and may mean up to $210 million over the next decade. The $8 per capita allocation of low-income housing tax credits to states with counties that have been declared presidential disaster areas is in addition to Iowa's annual allocation of about $6 million in the credits. "These tax credits will help not only create much needed affordable housing around Iowa, but it will play a vital role in our rebuilding efforts after this year's floods and severe storms," Culver says. Officials with the Iowa Finance Authority estimate that the state will receive about $21 million this year and in 2009 and 2010, and it could see as much as $210 million over the next 10 years. The credits are not cash awards, state officials say. Instead, tax credits provide a dollar-for-dollar reduction of an investor's tax liability on ordinary income. Developers of affordable housing sell the credits to investors as a way to finance the projects and keep rents low. In the program's 22-year history, the Iowa Finance Authority has allocated credits that have allowed the creation of nearly 20,000 affordable units.
Return to Headlines

"Push Made to Extend Tax Credit Deadlines for La. Developers"
New Orleans City Business (11/17/08) Cohen, Ariella

On Nov. 17, Louisiana Housing Finance Agency (LHFA) president Milton Bailey traveled to Washington, D.C., to ask legislators to think about delaying closing deadlines for federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits. The action would reduce the pressure on developers trying to get rid of the buyable credits in a disintegrating market. The LHFA recently reallocated over $18 million in tax credits from recommended housing projects that had not been able to close on loans or obtain the financing required to proceed. The $18 million recapture comprises 1,248 housing units that will not go forward until other funding sources are uncovered. Almost 800 of the tax-credit-financed units, or 64 percent, were to be built in the larger New Orleans city area, LHFA documents state. Government-allocated Low Income Housing Tax Credits have become the nation's most dependable source for affordable-housing development, often comprising between 50 percent and 75 percent of a particular project's development funding. The credits function by offering developers a revenue source in return for a guarantee that the project will comply with certain federal requirements for affordability. Bailey is asking congressional legislators to delay by two years a federal deadline that now mandates tax-credit-financed developers to have projects operational by 2010 or return their credits in order to give the developers time to deal with the present credit crisis.
Return to Headlines

"Sublime Lending"
WORLD Magazine (11/01/08) Bergin, Mark

Responding to a credit implosion that has forced countless homeowners into foreclosure, stripped others of their equity, and cost taxpayers a bundle, Christian nonprofits are stepping in to meet the demands of low-income home buyers with products that do not carry the risk of subprime financing. While traditional lenders recklessly wrote loans to borrowers without regard for their ability to repay, Christian organizations--including Habitat for Humanity--operate under the principles of charity and compassion in their efforts to provide affordable housing to those who need it. For example, explains Bob Lupton of Atlanta-based FCS Urban Ministries, ongoing interaction between ministry workers and borrowers allows for a more accurate determination of loan eligibility. "Home ownership is not for everybody," he says. "For some, renting is optimal." Nonprofits like FCS and Chicago-based Bethel New Life and Lawndale Christian Development Corp. prepare their clients for homeownership through financial education and credit-building programs. Additional outreach comes in the form of Christian credit unions scattered across the nation, which primarily service ministries and churches and consider it an obligation to the gospel to do everything possible to avoid mortgage defaults. Similarly, the country's community development corporations also provide an alternative to subprime lending for low-income borrowers. With many subscribing to Christian principles, they strive to create and maintain long-term stability in communities by helping individuals dodge the financial troubles that can end in foreclosure.
Return to Headlines

"GSE Regulator Affirms Affordable Housing Commitment"
Affordable Housing Finance (11/08) Jacobs, Barry G.

The government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has generated concerns about the government-sponsored enterprises' (GSE) ongoing support for affordable housing, and the new GSE regulator has attempted to allay those worries by affirming their dedication to their basic goal. Soon after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were put into conservatorship in September, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) presented a statement confirming the importance of the GSEs' multifamily endeavors, including their low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) investments, to affordable housing: "As conservator, FHFA expects each enterprise to continue underwriting and financing sound multifamily business. We also do not expect either company to liquidate its portfolio of LIHTC or mortgage revenue bonds." FHFA Director James Lockhart III also informed the Senate Banking Committee that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac "are important to the secondary market for multifamily loans, and multifamily lending is critical to the affordable housing mission of the enterprises," and that he was "determined to ensure that, in conservatorship, both enterprises remain dedicated to, and actively involved in, multifamily lending." The GSE reform measures of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 established a nationwide affordable-housing trust fund to be partly backed by contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The GSEs' economic woes could bring that support into question as the bill mandates the FHFA director to halt their contributions if he discovers that they would contribute to economic instability or hurt their capital position. Any stoppage of contributions would not impact the trust fund until 2010 because the law sets aside all of the money to be contributed by the GSEs in 2009 for support of the new Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Hope for Homeowners refinancing plan for struggling homeowners.
Return to Headlines

"HUD Introduces New Financing Program To Expand Affordable Housing in Indian and Alaska Native Regions"
States News Service (10/09/08)

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has unveiled a new program that will allow Indian tribes and Alaska Native Regional Corporations to issue bonds and secure loans to finance affordable housing opportunities for Native Americans. This new financing program encourages critical private investment necessary to expand affordable housing projects in Indian Country and Alaska. "Today, we're launching an exciting new financing program that will stimulate more affordable housing in Indian country and Alaska," said Rodger Boyd, Deputy Assistant Secretary for HUD's Office of Native American Program. "This new financing program will give these communities the financial boost they need to meet their housing development needs." The Indian Housing Block Grant Leveraging Finance Program (LFP) allows Federally recognized Indian tribes, Alaska Native Regional Corporations, or their tribally designated housing entities (TDHE) to obtain financing for affordable housing projects by pledging a portion of their Indian Housing Block Grants (IHBG), which is annual funding HUD provides these entities to provide a range of affordable housing activities in Indian Country and Alaska. Specifically, the entity can pledge up to one third of its future IHBG funding to repay the debt on either a bond or a loan transaction. The financing obtained under this new program may be used for any allowable affordable housing activity as defined by Native American Housing and Self Determination Act (NAHASDA), which includes developing or supporting affordable housing for rental or homeownership and providing housing services. This new program is similar to the Capital Fund Financing Program that's administered by HUD's Office of Public and Indian Housing, which allows non-tribal public housing agencies (PHA) to raise necessary capital in this way. Since 2000, HUD has approved 116 financing proposals submitted by PHAs totaling approximately $3.6 billion.
Return to Headlines


Abstract News © Copyright 2008 INFORMATION, INC.
Powered by Information, Inc.



subscribe :: unsubscribe
December 2008