January 2015





AHFA is Proud to Announce the Release of its 2014 Annual Report

We are affordable housing.

Thank you to each of our stakeholders who help make our success possible each year. 

We look forward to what the future holds.

Download your copy today.

Multifamily Department Ready to Kick Off 2015 HOME/Housing Credit Application Cycle


Register for the 2015 HOME/Housing Credit Workshop

AHFA's annual application training is scheduled for Tuesday, February 17 in Montgomery. This year's event will be held in conjunction with the Alabama's Better Living Expo hosted by the Homebuilders Association of Alabama. 

Anyone interested in applying for 2015 Housing Credits or Housing Credits combined with HOME funds should make plans to attend. AHFA will accept registrations for the free workshop through February 11. 



Multifamily Funding Applications to be Accepted in March

Applications for 2015 HOME funds and Housing Credits will be accepted by AHFA beginning at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, March 17 and ending at 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 19.

Please note that ALL applicants must submit initial application items to AHFA no later than 5 p.m. on Tuesday, February 17.

The approved allocation plans were made available at AHFA.com on December 18, 2014. Watch for news and updates relating to the 2015 application cycle at AHFA.com.

 

Pinecrest Rehabilitation is First of 13 Properties


 On January 13, AHFA, along with developer ARD, Inc., celebrated the opening of the first of 13 aged properties financed, in part, with $13.8 million in multifamily private-activity, tax-exempt bonds issued by AHFA. 

 

The properties, consisting of 398 apartment units serving low-income households in 10 counties across the state, also received financing through the USDA Rural Development Section 515 program and are owned and operated by ARD, Inc. The Section 515 program is a direct loan program designed to provide subsidized loans to developers of affordable housing in rural markets. 


The financing structure helped to restore and preserve affordable housing units for elderly tenants at Pinecrest Apartments in Tuskegee.

Pinecrest is a 36-unit development that was first financed in 1993.
HUD Releases Report on Housing Credit Tenant Data

HUD recently published a report describing Housing Credit tenant data submitted by Housing Credit allocating agencies. 

 

The report, titled Understanding Whom the LIHTC Program Serves: Tenants in LIHTC Units as of December 31, 2012, is the first public release of information HUD is collecting annually on the characteristics of Housing Credit property residents. The report includes data on household demographics, such as race, ethnicity, disability status, and age; household income; and monthly rent burden. Congress mandated the collection and publication of this data when it passed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) of 2008. 

 

According to the report, the median annual household income for tenants in Housing Credit units is $17,066. Approximately a quarter of reported households earned less than $10,000 per year. 

 

Due to data collection constraints, household annual income as a percentage of area median gross income (AMGI) was available only for 28 states. In those states, over 45 percent of households had incomes of 30 percent of AMGI or less. Approximately 60 percent of reported households paid 30 percent or less of their income for rent, while only 10 percent paid more than 50 percent of their income for rent. 

 

HUD expects to provide summary 2013 data for states to review in May or June of 2015, and anticipates publishing the 2013 report in the fall of 2015. 

 

{more}

AHFA's Mike King Speaks at Habitat for Humanity Awards Banquet about Partnership with Habitat and New Program

 

The Alabama Association of Habitat Affiliates (AAHA) recently hosted its annual awards banquet to recognize leaders in the organization's mission to build or rehabilitate decent, affordable housing in partnership with families. 

 

AHFA Single-Family Administrator Mike King served as the keynote speaker for the event, and provided an overview of how AHFA works in partnership with AAHA and its affiliates to build more housing for low-income families. King also shared an overview of AHFA's other programs and economic impact in Alabama.

 

The awards banquet concluded a one-day training for AAHA affiliates, which included hearing about a brand new AHFA program exclusively for affiliates--the Blight Elimination Program. The new program will provide funding to affiliates to ensure blighted properties located in healthy neighborhoods are removed and the sites greened. It is expected these efforts will reduce foreclosures, promote neighborhood stabilization, and maintain property values through the removal of unsafe condemned single family structures and subsequent greening in areas across the state. 


 AHFA will work with affiliates to identify meaningful indicators that will enable them to track and quantify the program's impact in the designated communities.

 

 

FHA Lowers Mortgage Insurance Premium Rate


The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced on January 8 that it would lower the costs of government mortgages by reducing the annual premiums new borrowers will pay by half of a percent (50 basis points) beginning January 26. FHA projects the action will save more than two million FHA homeowners an average of $900 annually and spur 250,000 new homebuyers to purchase their first home over the next three years.

 

According to experts, the recent move to lower the MIP comes after several rounds of increases made to cover losses to FHA loans following the housing bust. However, the new, lower MIP rate is still well above levels prior to October 2010.

 

For more information, see the FHA's press release announcing the decrease and an article detailing the likely effect on first-time homebuyers. 

 
February Holiday

The AHFA offices will be closed on Monday, February 16 in observance of the President's Day holiday. Please make a note of this date.