Industry Veteran Joins IHDA as Executive Director

S ession Topics Available for the 2016 Illinois Governor's Conference on Affordable Housing

Illinois Receives $118 Million in Hardest hit Fund Dollars to Fight Foreclosures and Blight

IHDA Awards $10.5 Million to Help 15 Communities Demolish Abandoned Homes

IHDA Launches New and Improved Asset Management Compliance Process for 2016

Explore the Perspectives and Pressures that Shape the Great QAP Debate

Developers... We Want to Hear From You

Loan Officer of the Month

Upcoming Dates

IHDA in the News

IHDA's Homeownership Department is pleased to name Anabel Rodriguez, Residential Lender at First Midwest Bank in Waukegan as Loan Officer of the Month." Anabel has been in the mortgage industry for over four years and is committed to finding her clients the home of their dreams while making the process as simple as possible. With the help of the @HomeIllinois
and 1stHomeIllinois mortgages, she was IHDA's top performing lender at First Midwest in 2015, closing nearly $2 million in first-mortgages and down payment assistance for her buyers. Thanks, Anabel!

Round II 2016 PPA Deadline

March 14, 2016

Illinois Governor's Conference on Affordable Housing

March 29-30, 2016

Hyatt Regency Chicago

151 E. Upper Wacker Dr.

Chicago, IL 60611

Round I 2016 LIHTC Approvals to IHDA Board

April 15, 2016

For more immediate updates, please join us on IHDA's Facebook page and follow us on Twitter:

Industry Veteran Joins IHDA as Executive Director

We are excited to announce that the IHDA Board of Directors confirmed Audra Hamernik as the Authority's Executive Director on February 19.

Before joining IHDA, Audra was the principal of a Downers Grove consulting firm that advised local governments on affordable housing issues. She was also the Executive Director of Bluestem Housing Partners, a not-for-profit agency that develops affordable apartments for low- and moderate-income households with an emphasis on serving those with special needs. No stranger to the public sector, she also served as Assistant Community Development Director for the Village of Villa Park and as Senior Planner for DuPage County.

Originally from Goreville, a town in Johnson County in far southern Illinois, Audra earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Please join us in welcoming Audra to her new role!

Session Topics Available for the 2016 Illinois Governor's Conference on Affordable Housing

Join IHDA and the Illinois Housing Council for the 2016 Illinois Governor's Conference on Affordable Housing on March 29 and 30 in Chicago. Network with industry peers and choose from three tracks of sessions and workshops that will help you shape the future of affordable housing.

You won't want to miss the opening plenary session where industry experts will explore the discourse that surrounds affordable housing, our ever popular Shark Tank session that pits two projects against each other as they compete for equity, or We Built It - Now What? where we'll discuss innovative solutions to common management problems.

The conference will also feature keynotes from Peter Sagal, host of NPR's award-winning "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!", and Reverend Jeffrey Brown, a powerful speaker and nationally recognized leader in urban violence reduction.

Register to reserve your spot today, and remember to book your hotel room by March 11 to receive a discounted price of $149 a night!

Illinois Receives $118 Million in Hardest Hit Fund Dollars to Fight Foreclosures and Blight

The U.S. Treasury announced Illinois' Hardest Hit Fund program will receive an additional $118 million in federal funding on February 19, enabling IHDA to continue assisting homeowners and neighborhoods still struggling from the effects of the 2008 financial crisis.

The new round of funding adds to the $446 million in HHF resources awarded to Illinois in 2010. IHDA used the majority of those funds to provide mortgage assistance for unemployed or substantially underemployed homeowners who were in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure. HHF funds were also used to help homeowners modify underwater mortgages, assist local governments as they demolish vacant and blighted properties, and help first-time homebuyers purchase homes in targeted counties throughout the state. To date, over 14,000 homeowners and 1,200 homebuyers have received assistance through Illinois' HHF programs.

See the Treasury's press release for more details.

IHDA Awards $10.5 Million to Help 15 Communities Demolish Abandoned Homes

Fifteen local governments were awarded $10.5 million under the second round of IHDA's Blight Reduction Program to demolish blighted properties and stabilize hard-hit neighborhoods in 11 counties across the state.

Under the program, municipalities partner with not-for-profit organizations to identify vacant residential properties that are causing blight or hazards for the neighborhood. Once a property has been identified, the program will provide reimbursement of up to $35,000 for acquisition, demolition, greening, and other improvements. The funding will allow local governments to demolish over 300 properties, repurposing the land to benefit the surrounding community, reduce preventable foreclosures and raise neighborhood property values. IHDA previously awarded $5.4 million through the program to acquire and demolish 150 abandoned properties in 13 cities and two Chicago communities.

Visit the IHDA news room for more details and a complete list of funded communities.

IHDA Launches New and Improved Asset Management Compliance Process for 2016

We are excited to announce that IHDA's Asset Management team has streamlined the compliance process for 2016, providing more support and a simpler process for our onsite property management partners.

Improvements include providing property managers with a customized checklist that details every compliance requirement for a property. These changes will clarify requirements, reduce administrative burdens and improve the performance of affordable rental developments throughout the state.

This is the first of several changes that will be implemented by IHDA's Asset Management team to improve oversight and efficiency. IHDA is committed to improving our processes wherever possible, and our goal is always to help you maintain the health and financial stability of your properties.

If you have any questions about the new process, please contact asset@ihda.org.

Explore the Perspectives and Pressures that Shape the Great QAP Debate

The QAP process has become a balancing act as states stretch the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit to meet their most pressing housing needs. HFAs and developers each face pressures while stakeholders on both sides push for their priorities, and it can be difficult to reach a consensus on the rules that guide the program each year.

To shed light on these pressures and open up a constructive conversation, Affordable Housing Finance will provide the space and opportunity to present the challenges surrounding the Great QAP Debate. The forum gives each side the opportunity to discuss the pressures, concerns and obstacles they see, culminating in a panel session at the Housing Developers Forum at AHF Live in May.

Read the series introduction at AHF, and stay tuned as developers and HFAs talk QAP challenges and opportunities to find common ground.

Developers... We Want to Hear From You

Please remember to reach out to IHDA when planning your next groundbreaking or grand opening. Contact Max Mueller in IHDA's Marketing & Communications Department to help identify the best dates, times, speakers and media opportunities that make these events a success.