July 2015 - In This Issue:
Congrats to Our Mortgage-Free Monday Winners

 

 

TSAHC would like to congratulate the winners of our Mortgage-Free Monday raffle. In honor of National Homeownership Month in June, TSAHC paid one month's mortgage for these five lucky new homeowners. Thank you to everyone who chose to enter the raffle after using a TSAHC program to purchase a home earlier this year.    

 

Mortgage-Free Monday Winners

 

Michelle McDonald - Sanger, Texas

John Tate - Mesquite, Texas

Jared Haggard - Denison, Texas

Jesus and Dalia Cantu - San Antonio, Texas

Benjamin Andrade - Garland, Texas 

 
Greenville Veteran Receives Home

 


On Tuesday, June 30, 2015, former Marine Sgt. Dereck W. Evans, a disabled military veteran, received a mortgage-free home in Greenville, Texas. Mr. Evans is a highly decorated veteran of the U.S. Marines, where he served honorably from 2007 until 2011. This home will provide the opportunity for Mr. Evans to focus on his future which includes getting married, finishing college, and writing a novel about his experiences.  

 

Bank of America generously donated the home to Tarrant County Housing Partnership, in coordination with the National Community Stabilization Trust. TSAHC and Brooke Community Development partnered with Tarrant County Housing Partnership to ensure the necessary repairs on the home were done prior to transferring it to Mr. Evans.  

 

Know any veterans in need of affordable housing? 

 

Mr. Evans received his home through TSAHC's Affordable Communities of Texas-Veterans Housing Initiative (ACT-VET). TSAHC's ACT-VET program is part of a nationwide, multi-partner initiative whose purpose is to rehabilitate vacant homes to provide affordable homeownership opportunities to disabled veterans.  

 

TSAHC maintains a list of ACT-VET properties that are available at a discounted rate of 25% off the listing price to disabled and/or low-to-moderate income veterans. TSAHC encourages local veterans services providers, REALTORS®, and housing partners to advertise these properties to veterans who may qualify.   

 

Learn more about the ACT-VET program.

Attention Mortgage Lenders and REALTORS®:
Host an "Overcoming the Down Payment Hurdle" Class

 



Increase your business and make quality connections by hosting an "Overcoming the Down Payment Hurdle" class. TSAHC staff will come to the venue of your choice to teach a class that provides one free TREC-approved mandatory continuing education (MCE) credit to Texas REALTORS®.

  

Class covers:

  • TSAHC's affordable loans with competitive rates for first-time and repeat home buyers
  • Free down payment and closing cost assistance grants up to 5% of loan amount
  • Home buyer's ability to save up to $2,000 annually in federal tax liability with our MCC program
  • Serving new markets, including teachers, police officers, correctional officers, fire fighters, EMS personnel, and veterans
  • How to connect with TSAHC-approved lenders, Texas REALTORS® and our housing counseling network

Scheduling a Class:

Please follow our guidelines when requesting a class and remember to book early!

  • Make your request a minimum of a month in advance of the class date.
  • The one-hour class should be scheduled between the hours of 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
  • Please do not schedule a class the business day before or after a holiday.
  • We require a minimum of 20 RSVPs to hold a class.
  • We provide a personalized flyer to help you advertise the class to your contacts.

If you are interested in hosting a class, please contact Paige Omohundro with three preferred dates and times.  

  

Learn more about TSAHC's marketing resources and speaking engagement requests. 
2014 TSAHC Annual Report Now Available

      

 

Each year TSAHC issues a report detailing the activities and achievements across all its programs and initiatives. Click here to read our 2014 Annual Report and learn more about TSAHC's accomplishments in 2014.
TSAHC Has Office Space Available For Lease

      

 

TSAHC is in the process of renovating 1910 East MLK Jr. Blvd. in Austin. The newly renovated office space will be available on or around September 1, 2015. Our preference is to rent it to nonprofit organizations engaged in affordable housing or community development. The flexible floor plan will accommodate one to 12 individuals depending on your needs.  

 

Click here for details, and if you are interested, please contact Liz Bayless at LBayless@tsahc.org or 512-477-3564.
TSAHC Rebrands Direct Lending Program
New Draft Policy and Guidelines Open for Public Comment

       

TSAHC is proposing to update and rebrand our direct lending program loan products as the Texas Housing Impact Fund, which will better communicate the purpose and goals of our loan products both to developers and potential investors.

TSAHC's Board of Directors approved a draft policy and guidelines for the Texas Housing Impact Fund on July 9, 2015. TSAHC will be accepting public comment on the draft policy and guidelines until August 20, 2015, the date of our next board meeting. Please submit all public comment and questions to David Danenfelzer.

Learn more about TSAHC's Direct Lending Program here.
Bruce Fielder Appointed to TSAHC Advisory Council


On June  11, 2015, TSAHC's Board of Directors approved a resolution appointing Bruce Fielder as the West Texas Region Member of the TSAHC Advisory Council. In addition to assisting in fundraising efforts for TSAHC, the Advisory Council assists staff by reviewing the Texas Foundations Fund proposals and making recommendations to the full Board for awards under the Fund.

 

Mr. Fielder is the Mortgage Compliance Manager at City Bank Texas and has extensive experience in banking and the mortgage industry including expertise in lending compliance. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin Red McCombs School of Business and resides in Amarillo, Texas with his wife and two children. TSAHC is excited to welcome Mr. Fielder to the Advisory Council, and we thank him for his service.       

 

Learn more about TSAHC's Advisory Council. 



Below is an excerpt from On The House, a weekly blog TSAHC launched in 2014 on affordable housing topics. We invite you to drop by On The House each week as we share information on important housing issues, provide an inside look into our programs, and share other valuable resources. Click here to sign up to receive the blog each week.  

Rental Housing Prices Now Out of Reach
for Many American Families       
 
In May 2015 the National Low Income Housing Coalition released its annual Out of Reach report, which calculates the hourly wage a household needs to earn to afford a modest market rate apartment.

 

The 2015 report finds that the hourly wage needed to afford a two bedroom apartment is $19.35/hour, which is more than 2.5 times the current minimum wage.  

 

While housing prices in Texas fare slightly better than the national average, the report's findings for Texas are still concerning.  Working 40 hours a week, in Texas you still need to earn $16.62/hour to be able to afford a modest two bedroom apartment (which costs about $864/month).

 

In order to afford the rising cost of rent, Texas families earning less than $16.62/hour often have to do at least one of the following:

  1. Work more than 40 hours per week. The study finds that minimum wage workers in Texas need to work 73 hours/week to afford a one bedroom apartment and a whopping 92 hours/week to afford a two bedroom apartment.
  2. Spend more than they can reasonably afford on rent. This often means cutting back on other necessities such as food, transportation or medical care.

The report's findings clearly indicate the ongoing need for affordable housing both in Texas and throughout the United States. In the words of Oregon Governor Kate Brown, who wrote the Preface to the 2015 Out of Reach report, "There simply isn't enough reasonably priced, decently maintained housing to meet the demand."