Carol Soliz

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The Housing Assistance Council Remembers Carol J. Soliz

Carol Soliz was a dedicated and persistent housing advocate who worked to create safe and affordable housing for low-income families and farmworkers until her death on October 21, 2010. Born March 11, 1936, she was 74 years old. Director of Florida Non-Profit Housing from 1978 – 1998, Carol was instrumental in establishing the Farmworker Housing Trust Fund and the National Farmworker Project Directors Association. Also under her leadership, 3500 families obtained safe and affordable places to live.

Carol was a leader and friend to the rural housing community and the Housing Assistance Council (HAC). In 1993, she was the recipient of the National Farmworker Alliance Award at the Housing Assistance Council’s National Rural Housing Conference. The award recognized her persistent advocacy, and housing endeavors for farmworkers throughout the United States of America.

In 20 years, Carol did a lot of good for humanity on a local, state, and national level. Most of the things she helped put into place are still in existence. She touched the lives of many and shared her knowledge and wisdom with everyone she encountered. Carol, rural America will miss you.

The Housing Assistance Council sends its condolences to the Soliz family and her colleagues at Florida Non-Profit Housing.

For more information on Carol Soliz’s life and work, please contact Selvin McGahee, Executive Director, Florida Non-Profit Housing, Inc., (863) 385-2519.

_____________________________

Posted: October 26, 2010

FY 2010 HUD NOFAs

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As it did in 2009, HUD will not use a SuperNOFA for FY 2010 funding, but will publish separate NOFAs for individual programs. Notices published to date are summarized in the table below, and new notices will be added as they are issued.

HAC has received many inquiries about the NOFA for the Rural Innovation Fund (RIF) (the new replacement for the Rural Housing and Economic Development Program). As of September 20, 2010, the RIF NOFA has not yet been released.

HUD encourages applicants to sign up for the funding opportunity notification subscription service at https://www.grants.gov/applicants/email_subscription.jsp.

Updates are also posted on HUD’s website and at grants.gov.

Additional useful links:

Program, Link, and Release Date

Deadline

Eligible Applicants

Contact

General Section for most NOFAs

NA

Varies by program

HUD’s Office of Grants Management, 202-708-0667

Choice Neighborhoods Pre-Notice

NOFA (posted 8/26/10)

 10/26/10 Nonprofits, local gov’ts, public housing authorities, and for-profit entities that apply jointly with a public entity

Caroline Clayton, 202-402-5461

Community Challenge Planning Grants/DOT TIGER II Planning Grants (published 6/24/10)

 8/23/10

HUD’s Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities, sustainablecommunities @hud.gov or 202-402-5297; TIGERIIGrants@dot.gov or Robert Mariner, DOT, 202-366-8914

Community Devel. Block Grants for Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Villages (posted 8/24/10)

 10/27/10 Tribes and tribal organizations HUD Area ONAP or Roberta Youmans, 202-402-3316

Continuum of Care (posted 9/20/10)

 11/18/10 Continuums of Care HUD’s NOFA Information Center, 800-483-8929 or https://www.hudhre.info/helpdesk

HOPE VI (posted 8/25/10)

 11/22/10 Public housing authorities Ms. Leigh van Rij, 202-402-5788

Housing Counseling (posted 7/26/10)

 8/27/10

Local or multi-state hsg. counseling agencies, nat’l and reg’l intermediaries, state hsg. finance agencies

 HUD Homeownership Centers, listed in the NOFA

Lead Hazard Control Combo (posted 9/1/10)

 10/15/10

Tribes, states, cities, counties, or other local gov’t units; can partner with nonprofits

 Michelle Miller, 202-402-5769

Sec. 202 Demonstration Pre-Devel. Grant Program (posted 8/27/10)

 10/4/10

Nonprofit orgs. and nonprofit consumer coops that applied for FY2009 Sec. 202 funding

 Denise Taylor-Parker, 202-402-2892

Sustainable Communities Planning Grant Preliminary Information

NOFA (posted 6/24/10)

 8/23/10

Multijurisdictional and multisector consortia of gov’t entities and nonprofits

HUD’s Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities, sustainablecommunities @hud.gov, 202-402-5297

University and College Programs (posted 7/16/10)

 8/16/10 Varies by program; see individual NOFAs Varies by program; see HUD’s information page

If you have trouble accessing any information on HAC’s site only (not HUD’s or grants.gov), please contact Leslie Strauss, 202-842-8600.

Last updated: Sept. 20, 2010

Comments Requested on the Next Farm Bill

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Comments Requested on the Next Farm Bill

The House Agriculture Committee is accepting comments regarding the next Farm Bill through June 14. The 2008 Farm Bill does not expire until 2012, but House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) has already held a series of hearings in Washington, D.C. and across the country over the past two months.

The Farm Bill is a massive piece of legislation that authorizes a broad range of programs critical to rural areas. These programs include housing, rural water/wastewater infrastructure, community facilities, broadband expansion, renewable energy, support for new farmers, and business development initiatives. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack testified at the first Farm Bill hearing and expressed the Administration’s commitment to focus on funding regional rural development initiatives in the next Farm Bill. Since then, the field hearings have been almost entirely focused on agriculture issues.

Written comments will be an official part of the Committee’s Farm Bill field hearing record and should be submitted using the House Agriculture Committee’s online feedback form at https://agriculture.house.gov/inside/feedbackform.html. Comments are due by June 14, 2010.

Posted: June 09, 2010

FY 2010 Spending, Section 502 Direct Homeownership Loans

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nrhc

National Rural Housing Coalition Budget Bulletin,
Volume 13, Number 44
October 1, 2010

reprinted by permission

Attached is a table on USDA Section 502 direct loan obligations for Fiscal Year 2010. Through the Recovery Act as well as FY 10 appropriations, the Rural Housing Service had a total of $2.423 billion available, the most since the early 1980’s.

USDA obligated $2.144 billion or 85% of the total available. Of that, $755 million went to very low-income borrowers. This was 36% of the total. While this amount was less than the 40% setaside for very low-income, it is still the most that USDA has ever spent in a single year in the category. In terms of loans, USDA made 17,640 loans. Almost 40% of those went to very low-income borrowers. Self-help obligations totaled $167 million for 1,243 loans. The Home Ownership Partnership totaled $20.7 million and 271 loans.

In FY 2009, USDA obligated a total of $1.39 billion in Recovery Act and FY 09 appropriated funds. So, in FY 10, the Agency obligated about 55%, or $750 million more.

In September, USDA issued a change in procedure that allowed loan obligations without an appraisal. This change resulted in a spike in obligations and allowed the Department to get as close as it did to obligating the entire amount available. A question remains as to how many of those loans made in the last month will close, once appraisals are completed.

It is very likely that Section 502 direct returns to earth in FY 11. The budget request for FY 11 is about half of that available in FY 10. Discretionary resources are on the downswing and a program level of $1.12 billion (the level for the regular FY 10 appropriation) is likely.

Posted: October 1, 2010

FY 2010 RD NOFAs

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USDA Rural Development funding notices published to date are summarized in the table below, and new notices will be added as they are issued.

A notice published in the Federal Register on March 4, 2010 stated that RD will not publish its combined NOFA for single-family and multi-family housing programs (commonly known as the 1940-L notice).

Links to funding notices for business and utilities programs are available on USDA RD’s website, here.

Program, Link, and Publication Date

Deadline

Eligible Applicants

Contact

Sec. 502 single-fam. direct

Low- and very low-income homebuyers

Sec. 502 single-fam. guaranteed

Low- and very low-income homebuyers

Sec. 504 repair loans

Very low-income homeowners

Sec. 504 repair grants

Very low-income homeowners age 62 or older

Sec. 515 new constr. (publ. 4/14/10)

June 14

Nonprofits, for-profits, indivs., prtnrshps., pub. agencies, etc.

RD state offices, listed in the NOFA or online here, or Melinda Price,
614-255-2403

Multifamily revitaliz. demo (MPR)

Owners or purchasers of Sec. 515 or Sec. 514/516 (off-farm) rental property

Preserv. Revolving Loan Fund

Nonprofits, nonprofits’ loan funds, state or local hsg. finance agencies

Sec. 514 farm labor loans (off-farm) (NOFA publ. 5/10/10, correction publ. 6/17/10)

July 9

Nonprofits, pub. agencies, tribes, prtnrshps w/ nonprofit GP

Henry Searcy, 202-720-1753, or RD state offices, listed in the NOFA or online here

Sec. 516 farm labor grants (off-farm) (NOFA publ. 5/10/10, correction publ. 6/17/10)

July 9

Nonprofits, pub. agencies, frmwrkr ass’ns, tribes

Henry Searcy, 202-720-1753, or RD state offices, listed in the NOFA or online here

Sec. 523 self-help tech. assistance

Nonprofits, public agencies with existing Sec. 523 TA contracts (no new applications accepted in FY 2008)

Sec. 523/524 site loans

Nonprofits, public agencies, tribes

Sec. 525/509 packaging

States, state agencies, local gov’t, nonprofits

Sec. 533 Hsg. Preserv. Grants (NOFA publ. 4/27/10, correction publ. 5/21/10)

June 28

Nonprofits, state or local gov’t agencies, tribes

RD state offices – listed in the NOFA or online here

Sec. 538 guar. rental (publ. 2/26/10)

Dec. 31

Approved lenders

RD state offices – listed in the NOFA or online here

Sec. 538 guar. demo (NOFA publ. 5/10/10, correction publ. 6/14/10)

rolling until funds are exhausted

Approved lenders with obligations issued between 10/1/07 and 12/17/10

Tammy Daniels

Sec. 542 vouchers (NOFA publ. 4/14/10, correction publ. 8/25/10)

Rolling

Tenants in Sec. 515 properties w/ mortgages prepaid or foreclosed after 9/30/05

RD offices or Stephanie B.M. White, 202-720-1615

Rural Community Devel. Init. (RCDI)

Nonprofit and public intermediaries, tribes

Household Water Well Systems Grants to lend to homeowners(publ. 3/26/10)

May 31

Nonprofits

Lorrie Davis, 202-720-9631
Household Water Well Systems Grants to lend to community systems (publ. 3/26/10)

May 25

Nonprofits

Joyce Taylor, 202-720-0499

Posted: May 10, 2010

Last Updated: September 20, 2010

Donations Needed for Tornado Recovery

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Donations Needed for Tornado Recovery

The Esther Stewart Buford Foundation, a long-time HAC partner, is seeking donations to recover from the devastation of the Yazoo City tornado on April 24. All of the homeowners are fine, but the Foundation lost eight self-help homes in the tornado. The ESB Foundation hopes to start re-building this week or next and is seeking donations and resources which include:

2 – Extension Ladders,
1 – Little Giant Ladder,
2 – Nail Guns,
2 – Compressors,
3 – 150′ Heavy Duty Extension Cords,
1 – Generator, and
2 to 4 – Temporary Workers, who are needed for a few weeks

They also lost hammers, crow bars, large fabric paint drop cloths and screw drivers. The ESB Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charity, is committed to re-building these homes and helping their homeowners. Donations may be made to:

The Esther Stewart Buford Foundation
656 Center Park Lane
Yazoo City, MS 39194

___________________________

Posted: April 28, 2010

If you have problems accessing any of the material on this page, contact Janice Clark at HAC, janice@ruralhome.org, 202-842-8600.

House Committee to Mark Up Sec. 502 Guarantee Bill and Others

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On Thursday, April 22, 2010 the House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee will consider several housing-related bills, including H.R. 5017, a bill introduced on April 14 that would make additional funding available for the Section 502 guaranteed mortgage loan program in Fiscal Year 2010. The mark-up will be broadcast live online via the Committee’s website beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern time.

H.R. 5017, named The Rural Housing Preservation and Stabilization Act of 2010, would authorize up to $30 billion for the Section 502 guarantee program this year. (It has no provisions on rental housing preservation and is not related to H.R. 2876, The Rural Housing Preservation Act of 2009, which has been subsumed into H.R. 4868.) The program is expected to use the $12 billion previously authorized for this year by the end of April. The bill would raise the additional funds through lender fees when the guarantee is issued and then annually throughout the loan term.

The Committee’s mark-up includes a total of six bills, and will be continued on April 27:

  • H.R. 2336, Green Resources for Energy Efficient Neighborhoods Act of 2009 or the GREEN Act of 2009;
  • H.R. 5017, Rural Housing Preservation and Stabilization Act of 2010;
  • H.R. 2555, Homeowners’ Defense Act of 2009;
  • H.R. ____, FHA Reform Act of 2010;
  • H.R. 1264, Multiple Peril Insurance Act of 2009; and
  • H.R. ____, Flood Insurance Reform Priorities Act of 2010.

_______________________

Posted: April 20, 2010

If you have problems accessing any of the material on this page, contact Leslie Strauss at HAC, leslie@ruralhome.org, 202-842-8600.

artcollings2

Art Collings Passed Away March 23, 2010

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Arthur M. (Art) Collings, Jr. died on March 23, 2010.

Update March 29, 2010 – HAC has received a number of inquiries about Art’s family’s wishes for memorial contributions. The Collings family has not yet made a suggestion; HAC will post here when they do. Others have suggested that Art be remembered at HAC’s National Rural Housing Conference in December 2010. HAC is planning to do so, and will provide more information when it is available.

artcollings2

Art began working in rural housing in 1955. He started in New Jersey as an assistant county supervisor at the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA), quickly moving up to county supervisor and then to a variety of other positions in New Jersey and Washington, D.C. Beginning in 1972, the year in which the newly created Housing Assistance Council began hiring staff, Art’s jobs at FmHA alternated with periods at HAC. He served as special assistant to FmHA Administrator Gordon Cavanaugh from 1977 to 1980. From 1986 until his reluctant retirement at the end of 2004, Art served as HAC’s senior housing specialist.

Gordon Cavanaugh, HAC’s first executive director, once explained that he hired Art because he was told Art was the most liberal staffer at FmHA. “He taught the rest of us everything we knew,” said Cavanaugh. “Arthur was just extraordinarily dedicated, well informed, and a good-humored gentleman.”

Art wrote dozens of publications about USDA’s rural housing programs, from manuals on how to use them to analyses of how they could be improved. He authored a number of amendments to these programs, advised people all over the country on their use, and conducted countless training sessions.

Art’s dedication to improving housing conditions for low-income rural Americans was unmatched. His feistiness and humor, added to his extensive knowledge of USDA’s rural housing programs, made him unique, sometimes frustrating to work with, and well-loved around the country.

Art is survived by his wife of 52 years, Jean Collings and his sons Arthur M. Collings, III of Red Hook, NY and David H. (Dawn) Collings of Mercursburg, PA. He is also survived by four grandchildren: Sean, Samuel, Margaret and Allison and a brother, Lawrence Collings of Lady Lake, FL.

HAC has created a blog at https://artcollingsmemorial.blogspot.com/where stories and comments about Art can be shared.

___________________________

Posted: March 24, 2010
Updated: March 29, 2010

If you have problems accessing any of the material on this page, contact Leslie Strauss at HAC, leslie@ruralhome.org, 202-842-8600.

Funds Running out for FY2010 Sec. 502 Guaranteed Funding

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On March 9, 2010, USDA housing programs administrator Tammye Trevino sent notices to USDA Rural Development field offices and lenders explaining that the agency expects all FY2010 funds for Section 502 guaranteed loans to be used by the end of April.

On March 15 Reps. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Dennis Moore (D-Kansas), Rubén Hinojosa (D-Texas), and Joe Baca (D-California) wrote to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Rosa DeLauro urging the agency not to shift funds away from other programs to Section 502 guarantees.

_______________________

Posted: March 18, 2010

If you have problems accessing any of the material on this page, contact Leslie Strauss at HAC, leslie@ruralhome.org, 202-842-8600.

USDA Forums

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USDA RD Announces Self-Help Housing Forums

Update, April 19, 2010 – The date of the Washington, DC forum has been changed. That session will now be held on June 30. Visit USDA’s site for time and location details. Also, July 15 is established as the deadline date for written comments, and the USDA contact information has been changed.

Update, March 11, 2010 – The date of the Mississippi forum has been changed. That session will now be held on March 29. Visit USDA’s site for time and location details.

The following announcement has been posted on USDA Rural Housing programs’ website at https://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rhs/Admin/2010SelfHelpForums.htm and in the Federal Register on February 2, 2010. HAC will post additional details about the forums as they become available.

Responding to President Obama’s initiative for an open, transparent government, the Rural Housing Service intends to hold public forums to solicit feedback from the public on whether the current method of delivering the self-help program is the most efficient and cost effective in terms of cost and program delivery.

Transparency encourages accountability by delivering information to the public about what the Government is doing. Participation provides the public with opportunities to contribute ideas and expertise to the Government which will enable them to make sound policy decisions that represent a wider group of diverse individuals throughout society. Collaboration improves effectiveness of the Government by encouraging partnerships and cooperation within the Federal Government, across levels of government, and between the Government and private institutions.

Forum schedule is:

Date

State

February 18, 2010

Arkansas

March 5, 2010

Puerto Rico

March 12, 2010

North Carolina

March 29, 2010

Mississippi

April 9, 2010

Arizona

April 23, 2010

Ohio

May 14, 2010

Washington

June 4, 2010

Vermont

June 11, 2010

Iowa

June 18, 2010

Washington, D.C.

____________________________

Posted: February 2, 2010

Updated: July 1, 2010

If you have problems accessing any of the material on this page, contact Leslie Strauss at HAC, leslie@ruralhome.org, 202-842-8600.

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