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HFA News
RIHousing Opens Sign-Ups for RIers Interested in New Rental Assistance Program
RIHousing today announced the launch of a new webpage and sign up form for Rhode Island renters and landlords interested in the state’s new rental assistance program. RentReliefRI is the agency’s new rent relief program scheduled to be rolled out at the end of March. Interested applicants can sign up now to receive email notifications once a launch date has been announced. Funded via $200 million in rent relief funds from the federal Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Program, the new rental assistance program known as RentReliefRI will help eligible Rhode Island renters struggling to pay their rent or utilities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
CHFA Receives $3 Million Capital Magnet Fund Award to Finance Affordable Housing from the U.S. Treasury’s CDFI Fund
March 02, 2021, The United States Department of the Treasury’s Capital Magnet Fund has awarded $3 million to the CHFA. CHFA will use the award to prevent and end homelessness, particularly for those with disabilities, and finance affordable housing for target populations with extremely low– and very low- income. The Treasury Department awarded a total of $175.35 million dollars to 48 organizations nationwide for the preservation, rehabilitation, development or purchase of affordable housing for low-income communities, as well as related economic development and community service facilities such as day care centers, workforce development centers and health care clinics. CHFA is one of only five state Housing Finance Agencies in the country to receive an award.
PHFA Launches New, Forgivable Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance Loan
The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency today is launching a new home purchase assistance loan that is “Forgivable In Ten years,” hence its name K-FIT. The loan will be used to assist homebuyers with their down payment and closing costs. K-FIT is a forgivable second loan, with 10% forgiven each year over 10 years. As a result, no monthly payment is required. “Experience shows that down payment and closing costs are two of the biggest barriers to homeownership that buyers face,” said PHFA Executive Director and CEO Robin Wiessmann.
New Hampshire Housing Launches Community Heroes Homebuyer Initiative
In appreciation of the vital services that New Hampshire’s essential frontline workers have been providing during the COVID-19 pandemic, New Hampshire Housing has launched a special initiative to help them become homeowners. The new Community Heroes Initiative provides a $3,000 closing-cost credit to eligible first-time homebuyers who finance through one of New Hampshire Housing’s Plus mortgage programs. Eligible borrowers include healthcare, daycare and eldercare workers; law enforcement officers, firefighters and first responders; educators; and active members of the Armed Services.
MaineHousing Launches New Rent Relief Program
MaineHousing is pleased to announce the launch of the new Emergency Rental Assistance Program for Maine renters affected by COVID-19. The program officially begins accepting applications today Monday, March 1 at noon. MaineHousing will oversee the program, and has contracted with Maine’s Community Action Agencies to administer the program regionally in all 16 counties. “We are all living under the direction to stay ‘safe at home.’ We need to make sure that every Mainer has a stable home for themselves and their families,” said Daniel Brennan, director of MaineHousing.
Last Week to Apply for Alaska Housing Rent Relief
The deadline to apply for rent and utility relief through Alaska Housing Rent Relief is 11:59 p.m., Friday, March 5, 2021. Alaska renters who have been impacted by COVID-19 and now fall below 80% of Area Median Income or live in an overcrowded household or are at risk of violence may be eligible for the federally funded program that brought more than $200 million in emergency rent relief to Alaska. Payments will be directed to landlords, property managers and utility companies.
California Housing Finance Agency Executive Director Boatman Patterson tapped by Biden Administration
After spending nearly nine years in a leadership role with the Californian Housing Finance Agency, including six and a half years as its Executive Director, Tia Boatman Patterson is heading to Washington, D.C., to join President Joe Biden's Administration as Associate Director for Housing, Treasury and Commerce in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Executive Office of the President. Boatman Patterson spent two years on CalHFA's Board of Directors before then-Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. appointed her as Executive Director in 2014, just as the Agency was starting to recover from the Great Recession housing crisis.
Nonprofit Developer and RIHousing Recapitalize Two Senior Affordable Developments in Narragansett
Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH), a nonprofit affordable housing developer with 12 properties in Rhode Island, has closed on a second stage tax credit recapitalization for two senior communities in Narragansett with the support of tax-exempt bonds issued by RIHousing. The two senior housing communities - South Winds Apartments and Beachwood Apartments - are located a half mile apart, just blocks from the Narragansett sound. The properties comprise 104, one- and two-bedroom apartments that were originally preserved by POAH in 2004.
Congress Expands Access to Affordable Housing
The Congressional omnibus spending bill, passed at the end of December, had several key housing provisions, including emergency rental assistance and an extension of the period to use federal CARES Act funds. One key inclusion was a permanent minimum 4 percent rate for Housing Credit developments, which could offer nearly $7 million in additional funding for affordable housing projects in Vermont the next three years alone. “Our ability to build enough homes to shelter the homeless and provide safe housing for all Vermonters hinges on the supply of capital for affordable housing production.
CHFA Awarded $5.5 Million in Capital Magnet Funds to Support Affordable Housing
CHFA has been awarded a $5.5 million Capital Magnet Fund (CMF) grant to support the development and preservation of affordable rental housing across Colorado. CHFA was selected to receive an award among 48 total recipients nationwide. This is the fourth CMF award that CHFA has received, bringing the total award amount to more than $24.6 million, receiving $6 million in 2020, $6 million in 2019, and $7.1 million in 2018. “The Capital Magnet Fund is a vital resource to help address Colorado’s affordable housing shortage and CHFA is thankful to be awarded a grant for the fourth consecutive year,” said Cris White, executive director and CEO of CHFA.
