Articles Archives

Legal Developments: LIHTC and The Fair Housing Act

4 min read

There is no end to the complicated, arcane rules applicable to Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs) and the properties they help to build.

The Investment Landscape

8 min read

Dramatic changes in the investing landscape over the past year have pushed affordable housing investors to reevaluate funding strategies and keep a close eye on numerous upcoming changes.

New Developments: Delivering For Our Residents

4 min read

Mother Theresa once observed, “A life not lived for others is not a life.”

The Pandemic Marathon

9 min read

COVID-19 pushed affordable housing managers across the nation to expand resident services, change up service delivery methods and develop new partnerships – all changes that leaders in the space say are likely to stick around.

Tech Tools

7 min read

The human element is always going to be the most important factor in providing resident services, but technology is what helps a provider analyze and target services to achieve good metrics and even more importantly, useful results. National Church Residences has taken and run with this particular concept by designing its own in-house technology tool.

If You Print It, They Will Come

6 min read

The last few years, America has seen increased interest in prefabricated housing construction, with materials produced and assembled off-site. The most innovative style within this construction subgenre has been 3D printing. While somewhat new and untested, the model is proving to reduce construction time and costs, making it worthy of consideration for affordable home developers.

Housing USA: The Dilemma Facing LIHTC Siting

6 min read

There has been a recent debate, inside and out of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) community, about where affordable housing projects should be built. Following negative press from NPR and ProPublica showing how a majority of units were going into low-income areas, legislators have called for state qualified allocation plan (QAP) adjustments to award credits to developers who build in nicer areas. The thinking is that by placing LIHTC tenants in mid- or high-income areas, they will have better access to good schools, jobs and amenities.

New Developments: The Final Countdown

4 min read

September is always a busy month in DC, but this year is shaping up to be exceptionally so.

Housing USA: A Flood of Investment Lands in National Landing

6 min read

It’s rare that the financial forces of government and industry collide to an extreme degree in any one city neighborhood. As someone who’s traveled much of the U.S., I’ve seen plenty of divestment, even in places that are centrally-located. The area I’m profiling this month used to be somewhat like that, but has seen a flood of public, private and philanthropic capital that may cause it to eventually rival surrounding boomburbs in Northern Virginia.

The Struggle for Staffing

7 min read

From flexible work schedules to “stay-on” bonuses and social media blitzes, property management companies and human resources officials are embracing innovative strategies to retain and hire employees at residential properties in the quirky, tight, pandemic labor market of 2021.

NH&RA Summer Institute

6 min read

The United States, thanks to a combo of Coronavirus lockdowns, supply chain issues, tariffs and a rise in inflation, is seeing a spike in home material prices.

Eviction Moratoria and Rental Assistance

9 min read

Affordable housing owners and managers are working hard to help their tenants tap unused Federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) funds to stay current on rental payments, and many of them have been doing this since the program rolled out.

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