A. J. Johnson • 6 min read
Responding to a request from Senator Charles Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has performed a review of the oversight and administration of the Low- Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Program. The results of the study were sent to Senator Grassley on July 15, 2015.
Thomas Amdur • 3 min read
Do my eyes and ears deceive me? Has affordable housing really been edging its way into popular culture and the mainstream media?
Marty Bell • 6 min read
In prominent historian Joseph J. Ellis’s latest work, The Quartet, he chronicles how George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay persuaded—and with great difficulty—states in fear of another King George III that wanted to remain independent, instead, be united. What that Colonial Quartet feared was 13 different opinions on vital issues (at that point, primarily war with a foreign nation).
A. J. Johnson • 4 min read
On June 22, 2015, HUD issued Notice H-2015-04, Methodology for Completing a Multifamily Housing Utility Analysis. The Notice provides instructions to owners and management agents for completing the utility allowance required at the time of the annual or special adjustment of contract rents and when a utility rate change results in a cumulative increase of 10 percent or more from the most recently approved utility allowance.
Darryl Hicks • 9 min read
After almost two decades at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, most recently managing tax credit equity investments, David Leopold maintained a passion for multifamily affordable housing but was looking for something new. This past spring he was offered an irresistible opportunity: He joined Freddie Mac, as Vice President of Affordable Housing Production, where he manages all lender relationships, transactions, and deal negotiations for the multifamily affordable housing business.
Joel Swerdlow • 5 min read
”It would be paradoxical to construe the FHA [Fair Housing Act] to impose onerous costs on actors who encourage revitalizing dilapidated housing in the Nation’s cities merely because some other priority might seem preferable.”
Mark Olshaker • 11 min read
Contrary to the messages of the latest spate of dystopian science fiction novels and futuristic prognosticators, the brave new world of high technology and computer control has not eliminated the role of human beings or made them obsolete. At least, not in the area of energy efficiency.
A. J. Johnson • 5 min read
On June 26, 2015, HUD published a Notice in the Federal Register revising some of the rules of the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Program. The RAD program provides the authority to convert various housing programs to long-term project-based Section 8 rental assistance. The revised Notice PIH-2012-32, REV-2 summarizes key changes made to the program. Most elements of the revised Notice are effective June 26, 2015.
David A. Smith • 4 min read
RAD’s birth a little over three years ago could scarcely have been less heralded: tucked obscurely into an appropriations extender, it offered no new money (not a bug, a feature; if RAD had had scoring cost, it could never have emerged from the sausage factory); outside the public housing realm it was greeted with indifference; and within public housing circles it was generally treated with at best hostile vigilance1. How then could this unassuming program blow through its original optimistic cap, tripling in size to over 180,000 apartments (nearly 15% of the entire public housing inventory) with no signs of slowing down?
Mark Olshaker • 4 min read
“We’re seeing tons of technology but you still need someone to watch it,” asserts Brian Klansky, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Bright Power, Inc., an 11-year-old energy management company in New York City. “Often you’ll see a project whose energy saving systems doesn’t work over time because no one’s monitoring it. By Year-Three or Four, you’re almost back to ground zero.”
Bendix Anderson • 6 min read
The crumbling Worcester Vocational High School loomed over Worcester, Mass. The 117,000-square-foot complex was one of the most prominent abandoned buildings this state’s housing officials had ever seen. Broken, partly boarded-up windows stared out at local landmarks, like the Worcester Art Museum and Worcester Memorial Auditorium, along with several major streets and an elevated highway.
Joel Swerdlow • 4 min read
The budget battle between Congress and the White House is heating up, and among possible casualties are two housing programs that seem to enjoy strong bipartisan support.