General News

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently announced that the winning bidders in a real estate owned (REO) pilot initiative, REO to Rental program, have been chosen and transactions are expected to close soon.

Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) recently introduced S. 3348 which would amend title 38 of the United States Code to improve the multifamily transitional housing loan program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Indiana Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman recently announced that Sherry Seiwert is departing the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA) to become President of Indianapolis Downtown, Inc.

Rutgers University in partnership with the Historic Tax Credit Coalition has released its third annual study on the economic impact realized by the federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit (HTC).

Maine State Senate President Kevin Raye (R-Perry) and Senator Doug Thomas (R-Ripley) recently succeeded in passing an amendment to the state’s FY 2013 budget which increases the individual tax credit cap for the state’s New Markets Capital Investment Program (NMCIP) program from $10 million to $40 million.

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) has posted the following documents related to the 2012 Competitive 9% Housing Tax Credit Program to the Department’s website.

The Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) has scheduled two public hearings to solicit comments on the Amended 2012 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC).

Extension to Spend Affordable Housing Money
The New Jersey Senate recently passed a bill (S. 2011) which extends the amount of time municipalities have to commit fees and payments-in-lieu of constructing affordable units from four to six years.

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) has released its draft 2013 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) for the distribution of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs).

California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law AB 1484, which is a trailer bill to the state’s budget and modifies certain provisions within AB 26x, which dissolved the activities of California’s redevelopment agencies (RDA) effective February 1, 2012. Specifically, AB 1481 modifies policies relating to the transfer of housing responsibilities associated with dissolved RDAs and redefines the term “housing asset”.

The Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC) has begun operating as the State of Louisiana’s new housing finance agency. The new agency consolidates previous activities from the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency and the Office of Community Development, Department of Health and Hospitals, and the Department of Children and Family Services and will be responsible for the administration of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program and other state and federal housing and community development programs.

The White House Council on Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) will hold a conference call on Thursday, July 12 to gather input on how the new SC2 National Resource Network program (SC2 Network) ““ a critical component of the SC2 initiative ““ can assist economically distressed communities. HUD plans to make approximately $5 million available for the SC2 Network to help strengthen local communities and spur economic growth.