CHC Housing News

LIHTC Expansion & Job Creation Bill Introducted

nancym — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:52:56 -0700

Congresswoman Linda Sanchez Introduces Bill to Expand the
Low Income Housing Tax Credit Exchange Program!

Thanks to all those who completed the LIHTC survey circulated last month! Last week the survey was released of California LIHTC developers showing that with improvements to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program such as the ones advocated by a national coalition, as many as 155 LIHTC developments could move forward this year providing more than 16,000 jobs and nearly 13,000 affordable homes in our state alone. Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, representing California's 39th Congressional District, introduced H.R.4687, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Exchange Expansion and Job Creation Act of 2010. Now it is up to all of us who care about the production and preservation of homes affordable to low income households and the jobs that come with them to ask our Representatives to support this critical bill.

The following is a summary of the Bill, it's prospects and what you can do to ensure it becomes law this year.

Key Provisions of Bill

-Extends the 9% Tax Credit Exchange Program (TCEP) created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) but with three important improvements that make this bill superior to the proposed TCEP extension in the Tax Extenders Act already passed by the House (H.R. 4213):

Clarifies that states have the option to loan the TCEP funds, not just grant them, thus correcting misinterpretations of Congressional intent in passing TCEP by various federal agencies and the unintended tax problems and additional wage costs that arose from them.
-Makes any recapture of TCEP funds by the Internal Revenue Service proportional to the number of units and amount of time over which these units were not serving eligible LIHTC households, fixing the current interpretation in which the amount of Credits recaptured may have little relationship to the lost public benefit.
-Clarifies that Tax Credit Allocating Committees can charge additional fees toadminister TCEP so that they can hire additional capacity to process these awards while also running their traditional LIHTC programs

-Expands TCEP to Include the Exchange of Unusable 4% Credits and Allows the Return of Difficult/Expensive to Sell Tax-Exempt Bond Authority so that it can be Re-Allocated and Replaced by Taxable Financing. The Bill authorizes each state to allow LIHTC developers not only to exchange 4% Credits after demonstrating they have made a bona-fide effort to sell, but also to give back the allocation of private activity mortgage revenue bonds and to use taxable financing instead if they can demonstrate that the bonds can't be sold on reasonable terms or that replacing the bonds with taxable financing would likely lead to the creation of more affordable housing. The bond authority could then be re-allocated to other residential projects but would not be eligible to trigger a new allocation of Credits. To be eligible for the exchange of 4% Credits and/or return of the Tax Exempt Bond allocation in lieu of taxable financing, applicants must apply for and receive an allocation of Tax Exempt Bonds in 2010.

What You Can Do to Support This Bill

Call and email your Representative's Washington and District Offices urging him/her to co-sponsor this bill, click here for a sample email. Make sure to copy Speaker Pelosi and Senators Feinstein and Boxer who are critical to the outcome.

Thanks to the California Housing Partnership Corporation for their efforts on this project.

Affordable Housing Fund Launched In LA County

nancym — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 11:06:34 -0700

Public-Private Partnership Creates $60 Million Fund To Provide Acquisition and Predevelopment Financing

The County of Los Angeles has partnered with three nonprofit organizations and two financial institutions to deliver $60 million of low cost, flexible capital for affordable rental homes for low income families and individuals. The newly launched Los Angeles County Housing Innovation Fund (LACHIF) will provide loans to nonprofit and for-profit affordable and supportive housing developers to acquire land or existing properties.

Click here for more information

CHC Newsletter: February 2010

nancym — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:05:01 -0700

Inside this newsletter…

Permanent Source of Funding

CHC Member Profile: Mid-Pen Housing's Devries Place

CHC Events

LIHTC Survey Completed by Ernst & Young

nancym — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:42:56 -0600

Attached is the just released survey by Ernst & Young concerning Low Income Housing Tax Credit Investment. The survey was commissioned by Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. and Local Initiatives Support Corporation in order to better understand the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) investment market and to analyze investor responses to certain legislative proposals.

Specific information on jobs and amount of investment that would be generated at www.rentalhousingaction.org .

CHC Newsletter: October 2009

nancym — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:28:42 -0600

Inside this newsletter…

* Livable Communities Act of 2009

* CHC Member Profile: Self-Help Enterprises' Rancho Lindo

* October Housing Events

CHC Supports NHC's "10 Key Principles"

nancym — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:13:02 -0600

CHC Participated in the National Housing Conference Taskforce Outlining the “Ten Key Principles” for Repairing the U.S. Mortgage Market and Addressing Soaring Home Foreclosure Rates

Statement by Conrad Egan,President and CEO of the National Housing Conference (NHC)

“Bold, strong actions are needed to repair the present, broken-down U.S. mortgage market and the soaring rates of home foreclosures. NHC, the nation’s oldest affordable housing advocacy organization, has originated Ten Key Principles that require action by the Administration and Congress. The principles were commissioned by NHC with input from an industry-wide taskforce in order to assess the dire condition of housing finance as well as its potential.

These principles offer straight-forward, desperately needed recommendations focused on the regeneration of the country’s housing finance system. Only by putting these ideas into practice, through innovative yet consistent methods, will decent and affordable homes be ensured for all Americans. In short, they provide recommendations that will affect consumers, banks, and the secondary financing markets, and they address the neglected importance of affordable rental housing to tens of millions of families, including those who are losing their homes to foreclosure.

In particular, the Ten Key Principles urge the federal government to focus on the policies that will help to maintain its critical role in the housing finance system. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Banks and the Federal Housing Administration have historically played a central role in providing funding and liquidity for new mortgages. The federal government’s involvement in housing finance is more important than ever as private lenders and mortgage insurance companies continue to tighten their credit standards.

The federal government must also develop policies that protect consumers, require disclosure of lending practices, and offer effective homeownership counseling before and after a home is purchased. And, although homeownership is often called the ‘American dream,’ federal housing policy needs to begin to recognize that families across the nation call rental housing home. As a result, the Ten Key Principles outline the importance of a strong infrastructure in order to support rental housing overall, as well as rental housing for low- to moderate-income families specifically.”

Read the NHC “Ten Key Principles” Policy Statement.

CHC Newsletter: August 2009

nancym — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:10:49 -0600

Inside this newsletter...

Affordable Housing Takes a Hit With $2 Billion Taking By State

CHC Board Takes Policy Positions

CHC Member Profile: San Diego Interfaith Housing's 525 Orange Ave.

Budget Deficit in California Will Lead to Reduced Production of Affordable Housing

nancym — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:45:05 -0600

Please see the attached link for an article featuring CHC members Laura Archuleta of Jamboree Housing Corporation and Lydia Tan of BRIDGE Housing Corporation:

Budget Deficit in California Will Lead to Reduced Production of Affordable Housing

CHC Newsletter: July 2009

nancym — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:12:13 -0600

Inside this newsletter...

Implementation of SB 375

CHC Member Profile: BRIDGE Housing's 'Cottonwood Creek Apartments'

Upcoming Housing Events

CHC Newsletter: June 2009

nancym — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:18:58 -0600

Inside this newsletter…

CHC Annual Policy Forum and California Hall of Fame Awards

CHC Welcomes New Executive Director and Program Manager

CHC Member Profile: Wakeland Housing's 'Los Vecinos'

Upcoming Housing Events