On March 23, the President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (H.R. 1625), a $1.3 trillion dollar spending bill that funds the federal government through September 30, 2018. In addition to preventing a government shutdown, this omnibus spending bill incorporated the following key provisions that help to strengthen and expand the Low Income Housing Tax… Continue Reading
The Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition (MAHC) held its annual Housing Day in Annapolis today. The event brings together over 200 affordable rental housing advocates to inform legislators of the value of affordable housing and funding needs to continue to develop and rehabilitate affordable housing in Maryland. Housing Day also provides the opportunity to hear from State… Continue Reading
On October 22, 2014, the federal regulatory agencies responsible for implementing regulations under Dodd-Frank finalized the risk retention rule for asset-backed securities (the “Risk Retention Rule”). For the securitization of multifamily loans, compliance with this rule is required beginning December 24, 2016. Securitizations for multifamily loans created before December 24, 2016 do not need to… Continue Reading
Housing Plus bloggers Michael Skojec and Amy Glassman will be featured speakers on Novogradac’s webinar: “Consequences of Disparate Impact for Multifamily Housing” on July 22. The webinar will discuss the implications of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. case and explore how… Continue Reading
Last week, HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing Programs announced Thomas R. Davis as the new Director of the Office of Recapitalization. Mr. Davis will oversee the Office’s efforts to further financial stability and viability for the preservation and recapitalization of affordable housing. The Office’s key programs include Mark-to-Market (M2M), Section 236 Preservation, Senior Preservation Rental… Continue Reading
As a follow up to our January 12, 2015 post, HUD published a proposed rule that seeks to alleviate administrative burdens and streamline requirements across the public housing, Section 8, and multifamily housing rental assistance programs. Many of HUD’s proposals stem from innovations implemented by Moving to Work (MTW) participants. The proposed rule makes these… Continue Reading
In the last few years, we have seen an increase in the number of multifamily housing projects being sold at the completion of the 15-year low-income housing tax credit compliance period. Strong rental demand in many areas of the country and low financing rates have created a favorable market for selling these types of projects.… Continue Reading
Several exciting developments have recently brought changes to the affordable housing industry and we are inviting you to explore them with us at our fifth annual Western Housing Conference. Ballard Spahr and CSG Advisors are pleased to announce this year’s Best of the West in Affordable Housing Development and Financing conference on March 13, in… Continue Reading
Earlier this year, President Obama included within his Administration’s budget to Congress certain tax proposals. Among those was a proposal to allow states to convert up to 8 percent of their private activity bond (PAB) volume cap into Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) allocations. For every $1,000 of PAB volume cap converted, a state would… Continue Reading
For many years multifamily housing apartment projects could be financed with tax-exempt drawn-down bonds and loans with all of the bonds issued pursuant to a draw-down loan being treated as part of a single issue. The date of issuance for the bonds would be the first date on which the aggregate draws exceeded the lesser… Continue Reading
If you have ever issued (or borrowed the proceeds of) bonds then you should know about the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Compliance Initiative (the “Initiative”) and take the appropriate steps to determine your compliance with Rule 15c2-12 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Rule”). The Rule generally prohibits underwriters from purchasing or selling municipal… Continue Reading
With Independence Day right around the corner and with several bond financings benefitting homeless veterans recently in the news (see Proposition 41 Bond Measure and Apartments for Homeless Veterans), it seemed fitting to highlight certain types of bonds which can be used to assist veterans. The first of these are qualified veterans’ mortgage bonds which are private activity bonds that… Continue Reading
Did you know that an estimated 20 million people in the United States live in mobile home or manufactured home communities? These communities make up a significant component of the nation’s affordable housing stock. Manufactured homes can be an intermediate step for some individuals and families between apartments and owner occupied housing such as condominiums… Continue Reading
According to a report released in December, 2013 by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, an extreme shortgage of affordable housing is available within the United States for low-income renters. To illustrate the problem, the Harvard report indicates that in 2011, “11.8 million renters with extremely low incomes (less than 30 percent of area… Continue Reading
One session at the recent Ballard Spahr and CSG Advisors Western Housing Conference included an interesting discussion about the effects of Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) investment on affordable housing in the nation. Panel members shared some insight into how banks fulfill some of their CRA requirements by investing in affordable housing for low or moderate… Continue Reading
