Thom Amdur Author Archives

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing and lending is one of the hottest and most cutting-edge topics in the world of affordable housing finance.

Over the past five decades, the affordable housing delivery system has evolved to meet the changing needs of low-income Americans, the waxing and waning of political will and ideologies and constantly evolving financial and housing market conditions.

Navigating rising construction costs is currently a primary concern of all NH&RA members—and fittingly the focus of this issue.

I am the father of three young children, so birthdays still play an outsized role in our household. In the under ten set, all the action is around what kind of party you are having and between our household and the kids’ friends, we have been to just about every kind of birthday party venue you can imagine, including climbing, gymnastic and trampoline gyms, dinosaur digs, Medieval Times, state parks, country clubs, bowling alleys, laser tag courses, rope courses, petting zoos and on and on.

As I write this column in mid-December, full of holiday spirit and optimism, I remain hopeful that Build Back Better (BBB) will at some point be enacted into law and we will be the beneficiaries of the broadest expansion of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit since the program’s enactment, despite the recent pronouncements of one senator.

For years, backers of mass transit, roads, bridges, housing, utility grids and dozens of other interests have advocated for generational investments in our nation’s infrastructure.

While it is still a little too soon to say with certainty that the combined infrastructure and budget reconciliation package will be enacted, or for that matter what precisely will be in it, it is the quintessential pastime of policy watchers in Washington like me to speculate.

Mother Theresa once observed, “A life not lived for others is not a life.”

It will shock nobody when I assert that the affordable housing finance system is deeply entwined and enmeshed with the actions and activities of federal government activities.

For more than 35 years, the success of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) has hinged on the effectiveness of its public-private partnership (P3).

In 2012, NH&RA began work on one of the most fulfilling projects of my professional career – the Preservation Through Energy Efficiency (PTEE) Initiative. When we first got the initiative rolling, oil prices had inched back up to near all-time highs, in excess of $120 per barrel and rising utility costs threatened the performance of many multifamily investments.

It has been a momentous few months for the affordable housing community. After a bumpy presidential transition, there has been a flurry of positive activity from the Biden administration and 117th Congress. The enactment of American Rescue Plan of 2021 provides much-needed financial support for affordable housing renters at a critical moment. Our champions in Congress have reintroduced the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act and Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act with expanded scopes that would dramatically enhance and expand the Low Income Housing Tax Credit and the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit if enacted.