Tax Credit Advisor Article Archives

Managing capital expenses in the tax credit-driven housing industry is a primary responsibility of asset managers. As this industry has matured, there has been a growing recognition of the need for a structured, thoughtful approach to maintaining the physical assets in order for properties to provide steadier, more long-term benefits.

If asset management is the core competency of durable developers and investors, then asset valuation is a core skill of durable asset managers, and one that’s often under-resourced.

When it comes to housing, the reports now emerging from Canada ought to sound familiar. Our northern neighbor has several cities that have jumped full throttle into the globalization race, growing and modernizing quickly.

Once a property is built or acquired, how do owners make sure it is performing properly, living up to their goals and expectations, meeting the needs of its residents and not falling into disrepair?

Our world is in the midst of disruption. Uber and Lyft have disrupted the transportation industry, Google has transformed search and advertising, and Amazon has reshaped how we shop.

“Construction costs are going up and the sources of funding going down,” declares Tim Leonhard, international director for JLL Capital Markets.

Larry Kraemer, executive vice president at Harkins Builders, can talk all day about budgets, preconstruction services and construction materials and labor – and why affordable housing is no longer affordable to build.

The Phoenix metro area may seem distant from Canada—both geographically and in other ways—but the two are interconnected. According to Glenn Williamson, CEO of the Canada Arizona Business Council, Canadians began moving en masse into the area in the 1960s, while seeking second homes for the winter.

Just as LIHTC allocating policies and priorities differ from state to state, so too does the qualified contract (QC) process. As more and more LIHTC properties reach Year 15, Novogradac & Company LLP and Tax Credit Advisor (TCA) teamed up to examine and understand national QC trends and implications.

Perhaps I’m biased, but my hometown of Charlottesville has to be one of America’s most beautiful areas. The 49,000-person city, which regularly makes lists of best places to live, is nice inside and out. Within the core are various World Heritage sites and quality public spaces that create a charming feel. This continues when driving out to the countryside, where lush farms and forests lead up into the Blue Ridge Mountains.

When the conversation turns to high cost, we wish it would go away. We are defensive, hesitant, technical and long-winded; modes of argument that make the industry look like complacent apologists for the status quo. Though our mode of argument hasn’t cost us yet, if we allow others to frame the debate, inevitably it will.

All developers have been through it – as new properties are designed and constructed, costs and budgets clash with project needs, wants and pie-in-the-sky wishes. As the design process progresses, a project takes shape that is closely trimmed by budget and time constraints.