Tax Credit Advisor Article Archives

Tax Credit Advisor, July 2009: Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH), a Boston, MA-based affordable housing developer and owner, used energy audits performed by Bright Power, Inc. to obtain funds for energy improvements to three of its existing developments in the Boston area.

Tax Credit Advisor, July 2009: State allocating agencies, faced with a hefty pipeline of stalled low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) projects, are moving toward accepting applications and awarding financial assistance to these deals to move them forward under the new “TCAP” and “credit exchange” programs. Some agencies have begun accepting applications and at least one has made a few awards, according to responses to a survey by the Tax Credit Advisor.

Tax Credit Advisor, June 2009: State agencies could make the first awards of stimulus act funds to stalled low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) projects as soon as this month, according to sources.

Tax Credit Advisor, May 2009: An IRS private letter ruling (200910024) clarifies the types of income a nonprofit health care provider can count toward qualifying the patients it serves as a low-income “targeted population” under the federal new markets tax credit (NMTC) program.

Tax Credit Advisor, May 2009: Like the gardener sowing a plot to yield future bounty, the federal new markets tax credit is seeding low-income communities by helping to fund educational facilities – including charter schools and public schools that prepare low-income neighborhood youths for a more promising future.

Tax Credit Advisor, May 2009: Several states are considering bills that would establish, cut back, or expand tax credits for the rehabilitation of historic buildings.

Tax Credit Advisor, May 2009: WinnDevelopment, a Boston-based developer, owner, and manager of affordable and market-rate apartments, is making a big push into use of renewable solar energy as part of a broader strategy to cut energy and water costs at its properties.

Tax Credit Advisor, May 2009: Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. recently announced the closing of its first “green” low-income housing tax credit equity fund. Investors in the fund are U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation, Wells Fargo & Company, Merrill Lynch Community Development Corporation, and MetLife Inc.

Tax Credit Advisor, May 2009: In tough economic times, there’s the temptation to cut back on compliance in low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) properties. Doing so is a mistake that will lead to financial losses in the long term. Additionally, corner-cutting in compliance can result in potentially catastrophic economic penalties for owners of LIHTC properties.

Tax Credit Advisor, May 2009: More and more these days, lawyers are trying to help developer/owner clients save financially troubled apartment projects with multifamily loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The process often includes seeking approval from the U.S. Department of Housing of Urban Development (HUD) for a “partial payment of claim” (PPC), or a friendly note sale.

Tax Credit Advisor, May 2009: Metropolitan Minneapolis-St. Paul is a tale of two cities. The Twin Cities boast demographics historically favorable to apartment development, including low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) projects. But the worsening economy is putting a crimp in the region.

Tax Credit Advisor, May 2009: Annapolis, MD developer Nancy Rase reached back and dusted off an old funding tool to get a new Baltimore housing project to pencil out. The Community Investment Program (CIP) is a debt resource offered by the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks) that can be used to finance development of affordable rental housing. Under CIP, financial institutions that belong to the Federal Home Loan Bank System can borrow money on favorable terms from a FHLBank and re-lend it to a developer for a rental project.