HAC News Formats. pdf

November 3, 2016
Vol. 45, No. 21

• November is National Native American Heritage Month • November 12-20 will be Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week • USDA pilot hopes to increase nonprofit preservation of Section 515 housing • New platform for USDA multifamily data launched • Section 184 annual premium to increase • GAO again evaluates Section 502 guarantee program and FHA guarantees • Changes suggested for HUD enhanced vouchers • FHFA requests comments on diversity regulations • Some provisions in new HOTMA statute effective immediately • Deadline extended for small CDBG grantees to file Assessments of Fair Housing • HUD proposes altering floodplain requirements • Long-term subsidies yield best outcomes for homeless families • REGISTER BEFORE NOV. 18 FOR THE 2016 HAC RURAL HOUSING CONFERENCE! The national conference will be held November 30-December 2 in Washington, DC with pre-conference activities on November 29. Information about registration, scholarships, exhibiting, and more is online.

HAC News Formats. pdf

November 03, 2016
Vol. 45, No. 21

November is National Native American Heritage Month. Visit the federal government website about the observance.

November 12-20 will be Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. The annual event is sponsored by the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness.

USDA pilot hopes to increase nonprofit preservation of Section 515 housing. An Unnumbered Letter (September 16, 2016) will allow nonprofits to earn a return on investment and make other changes. It takes effect on March 1, 2017. USDA hopes its staff and interested nonprofits will use the intervening time to identify preservation deals. Nonprofits can reach out to USDA Rural Development state offices for additional information and assistance.

New platform for USDA multifamily data launched. USDA has posted data designed to help analyze timeframes in which USDA RD mortgages could be paid off and properties could leave the agency’s multifamily portfolio. Users can manipulate this information in ways not available through complementary data resources released earlier this year, including its rural housing investment data, program exit data, and mapped data with other indicators in PolicyMap.

Section 184 annual premium to increase. HUD is raising the annual premium for borrowers using the Section 184 Indian Housing Loan Guarantee program from 0.15% to 0.25% of the remaining loan balance. The new premium will apply to all new loan guarantees, including refinances, effective December 1. For more information contact Heidi J. Frechette, HUD, 202-401-7914.

GAO again evaluates Section 502 guarantee program and FHA guarantees. Home Mortgage Guarantees: Issues to Consider in Evaluating Opportunities to Consolidate Two Overlapping Single-Family Programs (GAO-16-801) expands on a 2012 GAO analysis. Researchers found that USDA-guaranteed mortgages were more affordable than FHA loans but also had higher delinquency and default rates. The report notes that at least 36% of RHS Section 502 guarantee borrowers in 2010-2014 could have met FHA’s criteria, including its downpayment requirement. GAO repeats a 2012 recommendation “that RHS and FHA should evaluate and report on opportunities to consolidate their similar housing programs.”

Changes suggested for HUD enhanced vouchers. HUD proposes to codify its existing policy concerning the eligibility criteria for enhanced vouchers, as well as provide rental payment standards and subsidy standards applicable to enhanced vouchers, the right of enhanced voucher holders to remain in their units, procedures for addressing over-housed families, and the calculation of the enhanced voucher housing assistance payment. Comments are due December 27. For more information contact Rebecca Primeaux, HUD, 202-708-0477.

FHFA requests comments on diversity regulations. The Federal Housing Finance Agency is proposing amendments to its regulations on minority and women inclusion by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks. The changes are intended to clarify the entities’ obligation to promote diversity in all business and activities, require them to develop strategies, and improve the usefulness of the information they report. Comments are due December 27. For more information contact Sharron P. A. Levine, FHFA, 202-649-3496.

Some provisions in new HOTMA statute effective immediately. A HUD notice lists provisions of the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 that are effective without further HUD action, and those that become effective after HUD issues rules or notices. It does not include the provisions impacting USDA’s Section 502 guaranteed loan program.

Deadline extended for small CDBG grantees to file Assessments of Fair Housing. Consolidated Plan program participants or HOME consortium members that received CDBG grants of $500,000 or less in FY15 or later will submit AFHs in the program year that begins on or after January 1, 2019 instead of 2018. For more information contact Adam Norlander, HUD, 202-402-3778.

HUD proposes altering floodplain requirements. Comments are due December 27 on a proposed rule that would apply to projects that are assisted, financed, or insured by HUD and involve new construction or substantial improvement, and to one-to-four unit buildings under HUD mortgage insurance and public housing programs. For more information contact Elizabeth Zepeda, HUD, 202-402-3988.

Long-term subsidies yield best outcomes for homeless families. HUD’s Family Options Study tracked more than 2,200 families in cities over three years. Rapid rehousing was the least costly of the four interventions studied, while the cost of longer-term subsidies such as Section 8 vouchers fell between rapid rehousing and “usual care” (emergency shelter plus services and non-priority eligibility for housing programs). The long-term subsidy recipients did not receive additional services but experienced significantly less homelessness and housing instability, as well as better non-housing outcomes including improved adult and child well-being, increased food security, and decreased economic stress.

REGISTER BEFORE NOV. 18 FOR THE 2016 HAC RURAL HOUSING CONFERENCE! The national conference will be held November 30-December 2 in Washington, DC with pre-conference activities on November 29. Information about registration, scholarships, exhibiting, and more is online.