Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) Has Been Approved

The Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) announced the 2012 Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) has been approved and is effective as of January 3, 2012.  The application process is now open and submissions for the 2012 LIHTC application cycle will be accepted until 3:00 p.m. on April 13, 2012 at 18 The Green, Dover, DE 19901.  All QAP documents can be found at the link below:

http://www.destatehousing.com/Developers/dv_lihtc.php

Later this month, a separate notice will be sent on the LIHTC Web-based application availability.

 

Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011

The President signed into law the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011, on December 23rd.  This is a bill which included a two-month extension of the payroll tax holiday and unemployment insurance benefits, as well as other provisions. The $30 billion year-end tax extenders bill will be paid for through increased rates on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guarantee fees and Federal Housing Administration insurance premiums. Even though this extension will expire on February 29, Congressional leadership has appointed members to a conference committee that will begin work on a full-year extension bill once the House and Senate convene again in mid-January.

RENTAL POLICY WORKING GROUP RELEASES REPORT

On December 31st, The Rental Policy Working Group (RPWG) released its administrative proposals for the alignment of federal affordable rental housing programs. The report, called “Federal Rental Alignment Administrative Proposals” proposes ways to reduce the cost and burden of various affordable housing programs operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of the Treasury and others.

There are many suggestions, including aligning physical inspections, income reporting, financial reporting, energy efficiency requirements, appraisals, market study standards, subsidy layering, capital needs assessments, data sharing on owner defaults and fair housing compliance enforcement.

Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) Final 2011 Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Rankings

The Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) released its final 2011 Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) rankings from the 2011 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP).  You can see them here: 2011 LIHTC Rankings Dec 2011.  With one project returning its Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), the Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) funded additional projects for a total of six (6) affordable housing projects funded this year.

Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) 2012 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) Presented to the Public

This past Monday, the Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) presented its draft 2012 Qualified Allocation Plan for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) application to the public and received comments.  Overall, the meeting went very well and the tenor of the meetings and comments were extremely positive and constructive.  You can find the draft 2012 Qualified Allocation Plan here. 

Some highlights include the following:

• A new proposed contractor bidding protocol that allows for negotiated bidding at a reduced profit and overhead and reduced general requirements.
• The removal of the Community Notice requirement as a threshold requirement.
• Increased Developer’s Fee percentage allowed (essentially increasing the Developer’s Fee on smaller affordable housing projects) but the maximum Developer’s Fee is still $1 million.
• A new category for Promoting Balanced Housing Opportunties – a refreshed attempt to address the concept raised last year of concentrated affordable housing areas.
• A new category for Access to Transit – to include public transportation planning and the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) in the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) application process.
• A first time move to allow part of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) application to be filed electronically through a web based application site being developed.
• In an effort to avoid continually forward committing Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC’s), the Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) through the Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) will no longer permit an applicant to request more tax credits than provided in the specific set aside.  In practice, this will allow the Delaware State Housing Authority to fund more smaller affordable housing projects, but larger projects will be difficult to finance in the manner they have been financed in the past.  Those projects will need to use other financing tools.

New Castle County Department of Community Services Annual Public Meeting

Yesterday I attended the New Castle County annual public meeting held by the Department of Community Services, Community Development and Housing Division.  The meeting started off with an overview of its consolidated Plan 2010-2011 Annual Performance Report and a summary of the Impediments to Fair Housing Study. See slides from meeting.

Information was provided regarding the application process for housing and community development funds for FY2013:

• Applications must be received by the Department of Community Services, Community Development and Housing Division by December 20, 2011 at 4:30 p.m. (** time has been changed from 4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

• Funding is provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and includes the following funds:

–Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG);

–Home Investment Partnership Act (HOME); and

–Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).

See the following handouts for more information:

Handout on funding application

Community Development Needs Table

Low to Moderate Income Census Block Groups

New Castle County Community Services Income Guidelines

Updates to the HOME Program application, section 13 (which include: (1) additional bonus points for those projects that are in “impacted” census tracts; (2) for new construction of rental housing, applicants must comply with new Site and Neighborhood Standards; and (3) new worksheets included in application).

Key Dates

November Delaware State Council on Housing (COH) Public Session

The monthly Delaware State Council on Housing (COH) meeting was held at the Buena Vista Conference Center in New Castle, Delaware.  Please see the agenda, funding requests and resolutions , October, 12, 2011 meeting minutes and 2012 proposed meeting schedule.

The Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) report was provided by Ms. Eliason: the annual Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) developer’s forum held on October 11, 2011, was successful with 20 attendees from the development community.  The forum generated much discussion on changes for the 2012 Qualified Action Plan (QAP), including changes to the general contractor bidding requirements; increasing points associated with compliance period for a Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) project; and addressing a project’s transit access.

The Loan Review Committee recommended the following Housing Development Fund (HDF) requests, which were approved by the Delaware State Council on Housing (COH):

First State Resource Conservation and Development Council (RC&D) requested a one-year grant of $375,000 for its Emergency Home Repair Program.

• The Emergency Home Repair Program provides low income households with emergency home repairs, with a maximum limit set to $7,500 per household.  The program is anticipated to provide 285 home repairs.

• The motion carried with Mr. Huxtable abstaining.

Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County (HHNCC) requested a two-year grant of $139,500 for its Prices Run Rehabilitation Project.

• The Prices Run Rehabilitation Project provides rehabilitation to seven row homes located in Wilmington, Delaware.  To be eligible: homebuyers must complete financial counseling and construction training; the first adult residing in the home must contribute 225 hours of sweat equity and each additional adult must contribute 150 hours of sweat equity; and a homebuyer’s income must be within 30%- 60% Area Median Income (AMI).  Four of the seven homebuyers have already been selected.

• The motion carried unanimously.

Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County (HHNCC) also requested a two-year grant of $222,750 for the Mill Stone Phase III development.

• The Mill Stone Phase III development consists of nine units of new construction homeownership property located on Vandever Avenue.  To be eligible for these units: homebuyers must complete financial counseling and construction training; the first adult residing in the home must contribute 225 hours of sweat equity and each additional adult must contribute 150 hours of sweat equity; and a homebuyer’s income must be within 30%- 60% Area Median Income (AMI).

• The motion carried unanimously.

Central Delaware Habitat for Humanity (CDHFH) requested a one-year grant of $83,500 for the Frederica Neighborhood Revitalization project.

• The Central Delaware Habitat for Humanity (CDHFH) is revitalizing the Frederica neighborhood by purchasing five lots for the purpose of building five Habitat Homes.  To be eligible for these units: homebuyers must complete NCALL’s housing and counseling seminar as well as the 5 week Growing Your Money program; each adult residing in the home must contribute 250 hours to Central Delaware Habitat for Humanity (CDHFH) with a minimum of 100 hours towards construction of a Habitat Home; and a homebuyer’s income must be within 30%- 60% Area Median Income (AMI).

• The motion carried unanimously.

In addition, the Loan Review Committee recommended the following funding requests for Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) projects, which were approved by the Delaware State Council on Housing (COH):

GSH Properties, LLC (GSH) requested the following funds for the acquisition and substantial rehabilitation of Heron Run Apartments: (1) Construction loans include FY11 Affordable Rental Housing Program (ARHP) Special Funds loan for $2,775,000; FY11 HDF ARHP Bond Funds loan for $950,000; and FY10 HDF Preservation loan for $350,000; (2) Permanent financing includes FY11 ARHP Special Funds as a second mortgage, not to exceed $1,612,726.

• Heron Run Apartments is a 40-unit development comprised of one- and two-bedroom apartments located in Smyrna, Delaware.  The project has been allocated 2011 Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) in the amount of $540,738 annually.

• The motion carried unanimously.

Better Homes of Laurel, Inc. and Delaware Valley Development Company requested the following funds for the leasehold acquisition and substantial rehabilitation of Carvel Gardens: Construction loans include FY10 HDF Preservation loan for $1,550,000; HOME loan for $1,200,000; and FY11 Affordable Rental Housing Program (ARHP) Special Funds for $992,006; (2) Permanent financing includes FY10 HDF Preservation as a deferred second mortgage in an amount not to exceed $1,550,000; and HOME deferred third mortgage for $1,200,000.

• Carvel Gardens is a 100-unit development comprised of one to four-bedroom apartments located in Laurel, Delaware. The project has been allocated 2011 Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) in the amount of $953,270 annually.

• The motion carried unanimously.

Ms. Sokolowski talked about the Housing Policy meeting where they reviewed the Housing Development Fund (HDF) competitive funding process.

Mr. Peters talked about the Communications Committee which put together testimony for the Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) FY13 Budget Hearing taking place on November 10,2011, at 10:00 a.m. at Senate Chambers, Legislative Hall, Dover, Delaware.

The next monthly meeting will be held at Wild Quail Country Club in Camden Wyoming, Delaware on December 14, 2011 at 11:00 a.m.

Proposed Regulatory Improvements to the HOME Investment Partnerships Program

The U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is proposing new regulatory requirements for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program to boost the program’s performance and accountability.

The HOME Investment Partnerships Program provides approximately $2 billion to states and localities to develop affordable housing for low- and very low-income households.  A couple months ago, I posted an investigation conducted by the Washington Post alleging that many HOME Investment Partnerships Program projects were stalled or abandoned with no oversight from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

According to the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) press release, the proposed requirements would:

• Require state and local governments to adopt policies and procedures to improve their oversight of projects, develop a system for assessing the relative risk of projects, and more closely monitor their HOME-funded sub-recipients;

• Require state and local governments to assess a developer’s capacity and the long-term viability of the project, before they commit HOME funds to a project;

• Require more frequent reporting by state and local ‘participating jurisdictions’ to enable HUD to more closely track projects once they’re under way; and

• Set a higher ‘performance bar’ by establishing specific timeframes for taking appropriate corrective actions against participating jurisdictions who fail to complete what they started.

The U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will also be improving the Integrated Disbursement and Information System (IDIS), which is the data collection and reporting mechanism for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program.

Appropriations Minibus Bill Passed in Senate

By a vote of 69 to 30, the United States Senate passed the appropriations minibus bill, H.R. 2112, which contains the FY2012 spending bills for Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS), and Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD).  The bill includes significant cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs compared to the FY2011 enacted levels.

The following chart taken from National Housing & Rehabilitation Association, summarizes funding to date for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs:

Program	FY-2011 Enacted	WH FY-2012 Budget	House Approved	Senate Approved
CDBG	$3,336,000,000	$3,691,368,000	$3,465,974,000	$2,851,027,000
HOME	$1,606,780,000	$1,650,000,000	$1,200,000,000	$1,000,000,000
PJ-Based Section 8	$9,257,448,000	$9,428,672,000	$9,028,672,000	$9,418,672,000
Housing Choice Vouchers*	$18,370,872,624	$19,222,569,082	$18,467,883,000	$18,872,357,000
Public Housing Operating Funds	$4,616,748,000	$3,961,850,000	$3,861,850,000	$3,961,850,000
Public Housing Capital Funds	$2,040,111,600	$2,405,345,000	$1,532,117,000	$1,875,000,000
Homeless Assistance Grants	$1,901,190,000	$2,372,000,000	$1,901,190,000	$1,901,190,000
Section 202	$399,200,000	$757,000,000	$600,000,000	$369,627,000
Section 811	$149,700,000	$196,000,000	$196,000,000	$150,000,000
VASH	$49,900,000	$75,000,000	$75,000,000	$75,000,000
HOPWA	$334,330,000	$335,000,000	$334,330,000	$330,000,000
HOPE VI/CNI	$165,000,000	$250,000,000	0	$120,000,000
Rental Assistance Demonstration**	0	$200,000,000	0	0
Sustainable Communities	$99,800,000	$150,000,000	0	$90,000,000
RD Section 515 Direct Loans (obligation)	$69,372,976	$95,236,000	$58,148,064	$64,478,000
RD Section 538  Loan Guarantees (obligation)	$30,898,080	0	0	$130,000,000
DOE WAP	$174,300,000	$320,000,000	$33,000,000	$174,300,000

To avoid a government shutdown , Congress must pass all of its FY2012 appropriations or pass another continuing resolution (CR) before November 18, 2011, when the current continuing resolution (CR) funding the government expires.

For additional information, see the following:

H.R.2112

List of H.R.2112 amendments considered by Senate

List of Senate roll call votes for H.R. 2112

Senate Appropriations Committee press release

New Castle County Annual Public Meeting- November 14, 2011

New Castle County’s Department of Community Services, Community Development and Housing Division, is holding its Annual Public Meeting on Monday, November 14, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. in the Gilliam Multi-Purpose Room, James H. Gilliam Building, 77 Reads Way, New Castle, Delaware 19720.

The meeting will include discussions regarding the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Program and Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) Program Awards for Fiscal Year 2013.  Attendees will be able to discuss their funding needs and potential impact of pending federal budget reductions on their agencies.  Funding applications for July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2013 will be made available at the meeting (application deadline is December 20, 2011 at 4:00 p.m.).

To attend, please RSVP to Sharonda Spencer, Program Assistant for Program Development, at (302) 395-5649 or by email at sspencer@nccde.org