Tax Credit Advisor Article Archives

When the term “historic Texas building” is mentioned, almost everyone conjures up the same image: the Alamo Mission in San Antonio, with its heroic evocations of Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie and Colonel William Travis. But Texas’ rich history has generated many lesser-known structures well worth preserving. And in 2013, the state legislature went a long way toward promoting their creative and functional re-use, through the passage of House Bill 500: the Texas Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit.

An estimated 70 percent of multi-family, affordable housing (MFAH) in western Pennsylvania is more than 30 years old—and most of these units are wasting as much as half the energy they use.

On any given morning, the manager of any rental apartment or housing complex can expect to be barraged with a diverse array of questions, comments and complaints from tenants. They may range from no heat or cooling or hot water, to dripping faucets, noise, cooking odors or smoke from next-door, burned-out light bulbs in the hallway, lost keys, balky appliances, perceived rudeness from a staff member or someone else’s car in an assigned parking space. Each manager has his or her own roster of recurring “favorites”.

Young singles have plenty of personal, economic, and social mobility; they have minimal cash assets (and possibly maximal student-loan liabilities); they want to live somewhere close to work and pay as little cash for it as they can. Their needs beautifully complement what the elderly homeowners have, and what they have is what the elderly need.

This December, work finished on a renovation that’s likely to cut the total energy used at a home for very low-income seniors by more than a third.

A young mother working full-time takes classes leading to a degree in emergency response management. With this degree will come a new career and improved life for her family. Before leaving the building, she buys fresh produce and groceries, and at the bus stop on the public plaza near the main entrance, chats with neighbors.

The housing industry is well acquainted with the impact of the Baby Boomer generation reaching the age of retirement, the impending need for affordable housing to support this population, and eligibility for Medicaid and Medicare. However, the marriage of assisted living with Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) senior properties is relatively new and is a significant opportunity for those who can reconcile the two programs.

The National Council on Aging reports that 10,000 people will enroll in Medicare EVERY day over the next ten years. America is aging – and I’m guessing this is not a surprise to our readers – everyone in the affordable housing business has probably seen dozens of articles and presentations about the current and future housing, healthcare and personal finance needs of the baby boomers.

As the Greatest Generation moves through their 80s and 90s, and as millions of Baby Boomers turn 65 each year, suitable, affordable housing options for older Americans become more pressing. But as a recent Joint Center for Housing Studies report demonstrates in statistical depth, those options are far from existing in sufficient numbers and variations.

Culturally, Mexico begins just south of Tucson, where the Interstate signs are in Spanish and the distances are in kilometers.

December is typically a hectic time for our members as they race to meet year-end deadlines and finalize budgeting and plans for 2015.

Given the increased difficulty of obtaining all the dollars needed to develop real estate projects generally, and affordable rental housing in particular, developers are looking for alternative funding sources to bridge the gap between the available financing and total project development costs.