General News

HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau recently released the results of the 2013 American Housing Survey (AHS), marking the 40th year the survey has taken a detailed look at the U.S. housing stock including detailed information on housing costs and quality.

HUD has released an initial progress report on the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD). This report examines how RAD has transformed the public housing landscape and the new opportunities RAD has created for PHAs to improve the physical and financial condition of public housing as well as how RAD has helped PHAs preserve units over the long term and the program’s impact on residents.

Providing housing and its resultant community benefits not just as an occupation, but as the means to sustaining the American dream, was the theme that ran throughout the emotional October 6th ceremony in Boston honoring Andrea Daskalakis and David Abromowitz as winners of National Housing & Rehabilitation Association’s 2014 Affordable Housing Vision Awards for Career Achievement.

Among the 28 project, program, and service 2014 MFE Projects of the Year award winners includes four NH&RA member firms.

Compilation of State Housing Finance Agency from across the nation for the week of October 20.

HUD recently published the 2015 Operating Cost Adjustment Factors (OCAF) for project based assistance contracts for eligible multifamily housing projects having an anniversary date on or after February 11, 2015.

HUD recently released a memo outlining specific steps for Owners/Agents who choose to implement a smoke-free policy within their portfolio as well as a Smoke Free Action Guide created by the Office of Healthy Homes.

The District of Columbia’s fiscal year (FY) 2015 Budget Support Emergency Act, which became effective on October 1, 2014, implements a low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) for the District of Columbia.

A distressed YWCA in Cambridge, Massachusetts rehabilitated to 103 SRO units for formerly homeless and disabled women; a former Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil factory converted into 174 luxury apartments on Richmond, Virginia’s Canal District; and the adaptive reuse of the historic Schmidt Brewery into artist lofts in St. Paul, Minnesota are among the nine winning projects for the 10th Annual J. Timothy Anderson Awards for Excellence in Historic Rehabilitation (Timmy Awards).

The 2014 Fall Forum, the 21st event held each autumn in Boston, bristled with energetic discussion of the methods to help your investor out of an LIHTC deal after 15 years, the confusing interplay between federal and state tax credits in light of the lack of consistency among the state programs, and the 25-year successful struggle to recapitalize Massachusetts SHARP Program debt following the 1990 market crash that stagnated rents and negated projections.

Providing housing and its resultant community benefits not just as an occupation, but as the means to sustaining the American dream, was the theme that ran throughout the emotional ceremony honoring Andrea Daskalakis and David Abromowitz as winners of NH&RA’s 2014 Affordable Housing Vision Awards for Career Achievement.

HUD recently published a draft rule in the Federal Register proposing to implement certain reforms to HUD’s Section 202 and Section 811 programs.