The Colorado Housing Finance Agency (CHFA) has released the first draft of the 2012 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) and a summary of proposed changes. Specific changes to the plan include:

  • CHFA has expanded the Criteria for Approval section to include more specific details of what the agency is looking for in terms of the overall viability of proposed projects. This includes a better explanation of what constitutes ideal market conditions within the market study (i.e. low capture rates, higher demand within the primary market area (PMA), low vacancy rates, fewer concessions or reduced rents, and in-migration consideration only when necessary).
  • The agency has implemented a “Quiet Period” for each competitive round which will begin at the time of the due date of the Letters of Intent and end upon the issuance of the tax credit reservations. During the Quiet Period, prospective applicants will not be able to meet with or contact CHFA employees to discuss proposed applications.
  • The preliminary application fee has increased from $2,500 to $3,000.
  • Set-aside requirements have been revised. Going forward, no more than two projects will be considered each year and proposed projects must be presented at a public hearing prior to approval. In addition, set-aside projects must establish the ability to generate significant external funding and demonstrate significant benefit to the surrounding community. Requests for set-asides must be submitted by August 1, 2012 to be considered for the following year’s QAP.
  • The market study guidelines have been expanded to provide more clarity for specific study requirements, major changes include:
    • The Market Conditions and Comparability Analysis section has been updated to provide clarity to what is expected for market rate and tax credit condition analyses.
    • The Demographic Data section has been expanded to include an explanation of what data is relevant and which data sources are reliable. This section should include population trends within the PMA and a breakdown of household type within the PMA, but should only include information that is relevant to the proposed project.
    • The Demand Analysis section was rewritten to provide more clarity as to what is required for demand calculations. For instance, Income Eligibility Calculations are now to be conducted for each group of households identified in the Demographic Data section. In addition, Demand and Capture Rate Calculation table has been revised.

Public hearings regarding the Colorado draft 2012 QAP have been scheduled for September 27, 2011 and October 5, 2011. To view information about those meetings, click here. Comments or questions about the proposed QAP should be sent to Tasha Weaver by email at tweaver@chfainfo.com or by fax at (303) 297-7429.

To read the full draft, click here. To read a summary of proposed changes, click here.