After ten years of serving as the Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) in Georgia, Mike Beatty is moving on to become the President and CEO of Georgia’s Great Promise Partnership, Inc., a nonprofit offering a unique workforce development opportunity for Georgia. Beatty was appointed to serve as Commissioner of DCA in June 2003 by Governor Sonny Perdue and was reappointed by Governor Nathan Deal in January 2011.
Senators Tim Johnson (D-SD), Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, and Mike Crapo (R-ID), the Committee’s Ranking Member, released a discussion draft of the Federal Housing Administration Solvency Act of 2013, which would implement several reforms designed to improve the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and to ensure the solvency of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund.
A recent letter from Shelley R. Poticha, Senior Advisor and Director of the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), indicated that her last day at HUD was July 12 and will soon begin work at the Natural Resources Defense Council on August 5.
Governor Steve Beshear (Democrat) recently approved of the 2014 Kentucky Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP). There were a few minor revisions from the QAP drafts and Guidelines that are highlighted in yellow on the final version, including certain appraiser standards if Housing Credit exeeds $250,000. The total amount of Housing Credit expected to be available to Kentucky for 2014 is estimated to be approximately $9,500,000.
HUD recently released Notice 2013-17 to update and consolidate previous guidance on the prepayment of Section 202 Direct Loan projects. The Notice touches on guidance for HUD approval and processing of the prepayment of old (1959-1974) and new (1974-1990) Section 202 projects and supersedes guidance from previous Notices 2002-16, 2004-21, 2010-14, 2012-08.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Notice 2013-40 and 2013-39 to suspend certain low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) and tax exempt facility bond rules in order to allow owners of low-income housing to provide temporary shelter to non-low-income victims of the May 2013 Oklahoma tornadoes.
HUD recently published a proposed rule in the Federal Register which would amend current regulations covering the contract rights and obligations of mortgagees participating in Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) multifamily mortgage insurance programs, to address reimbursement to FHA of excess claim proceeds.
The 2014 proposed Iowa Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) has been posted on the Iowa Finance Authority website and is open for public comments until August 27, 2013 at 4:30PM CST
The Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) announced the authorization of the Neighborhood Assistance Act (NAA) FY 2014. The NAA Program encourages businesses and individuals who pay Delaware state income taxes to invest in programs serving impoverished neighborhoods or serving low- and moderate-income families. In exchange for a qualified contribution, the NAA provides state tax credits equal to 50% of the investment. There is a maximum of $500,000 in tax credits available and DSHA will resume accepting NAA applications on a first-come, first-served basis.
Due to higher demand for long term bonds in Oregon, the Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) has undertaken an analysis of current charges for bonds and 4% transactions. On June 7, 2013 the State Housing Council moved to approve the change of the 4% LIHTC reservation charge from 6.5% to 12% on all existing applications and future applications using OHCS Bonds. The 4% LIHTC transaction which use private activity bonds that have a PAB committee date set as of July 11, 2013 will not be affected at this time by the changes, though the Oregon State Housing Council will vote on expanding the reservation charge to include 4% LIHTC transactions at the August 2, 2013 meeting.
The Michigan State Housing Department Authority (MSHDA) has posted an updated version of the Scoring Criteria for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program to its website. MSHDA made this necessary update to modify the Cost Containment criteria to reflect new data that is now available following the completion of awards of 9% LIHTC from the 2013 allocation year. MSHDA also announced that the first competitive funding round for 2014 Low Income Housing Tax Credit will have an application submission deadline on August 15, 2013 at 5:00 P.M. EST.
The Arizona Department of Housing (ADOH) is requesting input for its 2014 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP).