icon Blueprint for June

Emerging After a Long Hibernation

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3 min read

This issue of Tax Credit Advisor focuses on asset management. We have several engaging articles on how to determine when to sell or hold properties, the relative success of using private placement and a look at how property managers and owners are preparing to restart inspections this month after being on hold for more than a year during the pandemic.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced it would restart its Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) inspections on June 1. TCA reporter Nushin Huq talked to industry leaders about how they are getting ready and what they are expecting to find, and you can read her report in this issue.

It’s hard to imagine what potential repairs might lay hidden for inspectors as they enter housing units for the first time in 14 or 15 months. Was there a water leak left unreported? Could there be a problem not obvious to a resident that would alarm an inspector and require immediate repair?

This has me thinking about something readers in parts of the mid-Atlantic, Indiana and Ohio are experiencing as I write this. The soil has warmed to 64 degrees and billions of Brood X cicadas are emerging from 17 years of dormancy, shedding their exoskeletons, and buzzing around the trees to live their best lives before the next generation digs back into the ground.

This spring also is seeing the reemergence of humans, not just for HUD inspections but to dine out, go to baseball games and maybe even travel a little. The pandemic forced its own sort of hibernation on humanity as we stayed home to stop the spread, working remotely and masking up when he had to mix with others.

Fortunately, our emergence, hopefully, will last much longer than the few weeks the cicadas will be swarming. Getting back to business with something as simple as HUD inspections is an important first step toward some semblance of normalcy in the world – or at least in our privileged, vaccinated corner of it. Many of you reading this have returned to your office, likely without masks.

As we take steps toward getting back to pre-pandemic life, it’s a good time to recall that being a part of a community and helping make it better for everyone is an important part of our lives. While the term asset management can sound technical and dry, it is a critical piece of how affordable housing works, and affordable housing is a key component of making our communities a better place to live. To me, and I know to many members of NH&RA, financing, building, maintaining and managing affordable housing is all about making a difference in people’s lives and in our community. Our industry doesn’t just build better homes, it builds better communities. We’ve learned some important lessons about the greater good during the pandemic, and I hope we’ll apply those lessons as we begin to come together in person and face-to-face once again.

Paul Connolly
Executive Editor

Tax Credit Advisor welcomes reader comments. Contact the executive editor at pconnolly@dworbell.com.