October 2014

AHFA Accepting Comments on 2015 HOME/HC Allocation Plans

AHFA will accept, through November 7, public comments concerning the proposed 2015 HOME Action Plan and the Housing Credit Qualified Allocation Plan (Plans) for the distribution of HOME funds and Housing Credits in exchange for the new construction and substantial rehabilitation of low-income projects and for the monitoring of HOME funds and Housing Credits for all projects.

A public hearing was held on October 8 in Montgomery to accept oral comments on the plans. All written comments must be submitted using the AHFA-required 2015 Plan Comment form and must be received by AHFA no later than November 7, 2014.

The proposed Plans are available for download.

Hardest Hit Alabama Extends Assistance to Underemployed

Beginning in October, Hardest Hit Alabama is providing mortgage payment assistance to homeowners who have experienced a substantial reduction in household income as well as those receiving state unemployment compensation benefits.

To qualify as an eligible underemployed homeowner, within the most recent 24 months, a homeowner must demonstrate a financial hardship resulting in a 25 percent or greater reduction in income and a total housing ratio, including all subordinate liens, exceeding 31 percent of total income.

Hardest Hit Alabama, a foreclosure prevention program, is available for homeowners struggling to pay their mortgage payments.

The Mortgage Payment Assistance program is available to eligible homeowners who have experienced an involuntary job loss and are receiving unemployment compensation benefits or have experienced a substantial reduction in household income.

HHA will provide monthly mortgage payments including principal, interest and escrow expenses.

To help delinquent borrowers, HHA will pay the mortgage servicer to bring the mortgage current, not to exceed $12,500.

The maximum assistance per household is $25,000.

For more information or to apply for assistance, visit HardestHitAlabama.com.

Alabama residents paying less than national average for mortgages

Residents of Alabama are paying substantially less for mortgages compared to the national average.

In a recent report from Business Insider, Alabama's average amount owed on a mortgage is listed at $114,119. Compare that to the U.S. average of $157,154 and it is clear that Alabama ranks in the lower end of what Business Insider called "good debt."

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Final risk retention rule contains exemptions for state HFA program loans

In October, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) approved a final rule requiring asset-backed security issuers to retain part of the risk in any asset they securitize.

The final rule explicitly exempts all loans originated through state HFA programs--like AHFA--from the risk retention requirements. In short, this means that banks and others who sell securities comprised of HFA loans will not be required to maintain any portion of the risk on those loans.

The final rule is the result of three-year, multiagency rulemaking process to implement the risk retention requirements of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Bill.

Under Dodd-Frank, banks and other security issuers are required to retain at least 5 percent of the risk for mortgages and other loans they bundle into securities.

The purpose of this requirement is to provide banks an incentive to ensure that the loans they bundle are of good quality by mandating that they maintain some of the risk.

ADECA holds public forum to discuss impediments to fair housing choice

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) Community and Economic Development Unit invites the general public to attend a public forum scheduled to be conducted on Thursday, November 13, 2014, at 10:30 a.m. at the Perdido Beach Resort Hotel located at 27200 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, Alabama 36561.

The forum will be conducted by ADECA and Mr. Robert Gaudin of Western Economic Services, LLC in Portland, Oregon. A similar forum will also be conducted at 4:00 p.m. on the same day and at the same location in conjunction with the Community Development Block Grant Compliance Workshop.

ADECA is a recipient of federal grant funds from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, and is required to periodically conduct an "Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice" as a means of affirmatively furthering fair housing within Alabama in efforts to eliminate direct and/or indirect discrimination in housing and related services based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, familial status, or disability. ADECA is seeking the public's input by hosting these forums, which will assist ADECA in complying with the federal civil rights program-related laws and requirements. These forums will allow citizens opportunities to discuss Alabama's "Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice."

For more information, please contact Mr. Shabbir Olia and/or Dr. Kathleen Rasmussen at:

Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs

Community and Economic Development Division

401 Adams Avenue, Room 500; P.O. Box 5690

Montgomery, Alabama 36103-5690

Mr. Olia can also be contacted at 334-242-5468 and Shabbir.olia@adeca.alabama.gov; and
Dr. Rasmussen can be contacted at 334-353-0323 and Kathleen.rasmussen@adeca.alabama.gov.

Written comments may also be submitted to ADECA at the above mailing address and email addresses following the conclusion of the public forums.

The Perdido Beach Resort Hotel's facilities wherein the forums will be conducted are handicap accessible, and the forums will be accessible to all persons regardless of disability. If you have a disability that might require special services, materials, or assistance, then please notify Teresa Nobles or Denise Molina in ADECA's Community and Economic Development Unit at 334-242-0492 to arrange for those services.

Annually, AHFA works with ADECA to prepare the State of Alabama Consolidated Plan, which outlines Alabama's affordable housing and community development needs and strategies to meet them. ADECA's public forum is part of this process.

November Holidays

The AHFA offices will be closed on Tuesday, November 11 in observance of the Veteran's Day holiday and Thursday, November 27 and Friday, November 28 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Please make a note of these dates.