Thomas Amdur • 3 min read
Operating an affordable housing company is an intricate endeavor. Project development and finance tends to get most of the attention, but operations and maintenance, human resources and asset management are equally important disciplines, particularly as companies mature. As a means of helping educate our members and help build capacity across our industry, NH&RA has been exploring a diverse array of approaches, models and best practices aimed at increasing portfolio value, reducing operating expenses and mitigating company risk. One result of this effort is the Preservation Through Energy Efficiency Road Show, which has visited six cities thus far and was featured prominently in a recent Tax Credit Advisor article. This month I’d like to share some additional ideas and initiatives we have learned about.
Joel Swerdlow • 6 min read
“New Markets Tax Credits are coming of age,” says one experienced dealmaker. “Or, maybe it’s more accurate to say people are growing more sophisticated in their use of NMTCs.”
Bendix Anderson • 6 min read
National Church Residences (NCR) is earning a half-million dollars a year in extra rental income, simply because the nonprofit changed the way it calculates the utility allowances at 25 affordable housing properties.
Joel Swerdlow • 4 min read
“I’ve been in the affordable housing business for more than 30 years and always thought this was a close-knit community, but what happened in less than 24 hours was amazing,” says David Cooper, of the WODA Group, a nationally recognized company that specializes in affordable housing and has offices in five states.
Cooper, a principal of the company who shares day-to-day operating responsibility with Jeffrey Woda, was wrong. It took only
a few hours.
Thom Amdur • 6 min read
Every building tells a story. Every brick laid and iron fixture cast tells a tale of prosperity and growth. Every crumbling wall and cracked window speaks of a shift that shaped us. These properties are living testaments to our successes and challenges as communities.
Decades ago, when many sought to destroy these buildings in a quest to build something new, Tim Anderson saw something more than dilapidation and decay. He saw a chance to preserve our history, and carry it with us into the future. He saw buildings that not only had the chance to be beautiful again, but could serve the new and evolving needs of our communities.
Mark Olshaker • 3 min read
Visionary filmmaker George Lucas has rocketed back from his self-created galaxy of long ago and far away to contribute to the dimension of affordable housing right here on earth: specifically, on his expansive property in Marin County, California, north of San Francisco.
Mark Olshaker • 15 min read
Just about any good novelist, playwright or screenwriter will tell you that the way character is revealed is by the choices that character makes. We may define character by action, but every action is preceded by an intent and decision to act, whether that decision takes place three years or a split second in advance. Thus, it is the initial decision that ultimately determines the success or failure of the action, and the higher the stakes of the action, the more interesting the decision becomes.
Douglas P. Koch • 8 min read
The Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) has traditionally been the driving force behind creating equity in the affordable housing industry. However, this industry is also developing new and innovative ways to finance affordable housing and community development including soft debt, philanthropic, non-bank debt and social impact financing.
A. J. Johnson • 10 min read
State Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs) are required to perform regular monitoring reviews of Low Income Housing Tax Credit-funded projects. A Regulation states that without a monitoring procedure, States are not authorized to allocate credits. The HFA or a private contractor may carry out the monitoring.
Darryl Hicks • 8 min read
If Michael Costa hadn’t become a successful real estate developer, he might have played Major League Baseball. Tax Credit Advisor sat down with Costa to discuss his current passions and priorities.
Joel Swerdlow • 5 min read
Hometown boys, vision, persistence, patience, creativity, and business acumen—and tax credits—are transforming the Pizitz, a department store built in 1923 and empty since 1988, into a new landmark for downtown Birmingham, Alabama’s rejuvenated Second Avenue North corridor.