Tag Archive for: rural rental housing

HAC Awards $2,250,000 for Affordable Rental Housing in Louisiana

Contact: James McGraw, james@ruralhome.org, 202-842-8600
Dan Stern, dan@ruralhome.org, 202-842-8600

Washington, DC, August 17, 2018 – The Housing Assistance Council (HAC), in conjunction with the Louisiana Housing Corporation, is partnering with Noah Arc Community Development Corporation, Inc. (NACD) to build 18 affordable rental homes in Minden, Webster Parish, Louisiana. HAC will finance this project using its Rural Housing Loan Fund.

NACD’s mission is to provide affordable housing for faith-based organizations. NACD has provided development consulting on approximately 10 affordable housing projects located throughout California, Louisiana, and Texas. The HAC Loan Funds will be used in the development of the Noah Arc Townhome Project. The first phase, Mindenville Homes , will consist of eighteen 3-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom townhome style affordable rental units contained within six buildings. All homes will feature energy efficient appliances and low flow bathroom fixtures. Construction will begin in Fall of 2018.

“HAC is pleased to team up with Noah Arc Community Development Corporation, Inc. and continue our commitment to working in the Delta,” says David Lipsetz, HAC’s CEO. “We are thrilled to bring NACD into our community of partner organizations working to develop affordable housing across the United States.”

HAC’s Loan Fund makes short-term loans at below market interest rates to local nonprofits, for-profits, and government entities developing affordable housing for low-income rural residents throughout the United States and territories. Loans from these funds are used for a wide variety of housing development purposes, for all types of affordable and mixed income housing projects, and for both rental and ownership units. For more information, contact James McGraw at 202- 842-8600 or visit www.ruralhome.org/lending.

About the Housing Assistance Council
The Housing Assistance Council helps build homes and communities across rural America. Founded in 1971 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., HAC is a national nonprofit and a certified community development financial institution dedicated to helping local rural organizations build affordable homes by providing below-market financing, technical assistance, training, research, and information services. To learn more, visit www.ruralhome.org.

HAC News: April 16, 2014

HAC News Formats. pdf

April 16, 2014
Vol. 43, No. 8

• House members question USDA officials about minimum rent proposal and support homeownership • April is National Financial Capability Month • USDA to hold phone or web meetings for Section 538 stakeholders • Rule proposed to implement oversight of appraisal management companies • Report makes case for homeless bills of rights • HUD releases interim report on Native American and Alaska Native housing • Entire nonmetro U.S. loses population for the first time, ERS says • State rental assistance programs study published • Health report for counties includes housing conditions for the first time • HAC reports on rural veterans’ housing • Recent blog posts cover decline of USDA housing, minimum rent proposal

April 16, 2014
Vol. 43, No. 8

HOUSE MEMBERS QUESTION USDA OFFICIALS ABOUT MINIMUM RENT PROPOSAL AND SUPPORT HOMEOWNERSHIP. At an Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on April 4, Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Robert Aderholt (R-AL), the subcommittee chair, asked about the Administration’s budget’s $50 minimum rent proposal (see HAC News, 3/5/14). Housing Administrator Tony Hernandez emphasized that the request included provisions for hardship exemptions. Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY), who is chair of the full committee, and several others criticized the budget’s low requests for Section 502 direct loans and the Section 523 self-help program. The archived webcast and written statements and testimony are available online.

APRIL IS NATIONAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITY MONTH. President Obama’s proclamation recommends consumers get free resources on managing money at www.MyMoney.gov and www.ConsumerFinance.govor call 1-888-MyMoney.

USDA TO HOLD PHONE OR WEB MEETINGS FOR SECTION 538 STAKEHOLDERS. Sessions are expected to be held in spring, July, and November. To receive notice of dates and times, register with Monica Cole, RD, 202-720-1251.

RULE PROPOSED TO IMPLEMENT OVERSIGHT OF APPRAISAL MANAGEMENT COMPANIES (AMCS). The federal agencies that oversee private lenders, along with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, request comments by June 9 on proposed regulationsfor AMCs. These are entities that serve as intermediaries for, and provide certain services to, appraisers and lenders. To be eligible to provide services for federally related transactions, AMCs and appraisers that are lender subsidiaries will have to meet federal and state standards and register in a national database. Contact Robert L. Parson, OCC, 202-649-6423.

REPORT MAKES CASE FOR HOMELESS BILLS OF RIGHTS. On April 15 the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty released From Wrongs to Rights: The Case for Homeless Bills of Rights Legislation.It describes the need for homeless bills of rights legislation, examines models of laws enacted and proposed in some states, and offers guidance on how to enact them.

HUD RELEASES INTERIM REPORT ON NATIVE AMERICAN AND ALASKA NATIVE HOUSING. Continuity and Change: Demographic, Socioeconomic, and Housing Conditions of American Indians and Native Alaskans,which uses secondary data sources, is part of the National Assessment of Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian Housing Needs. The full report will include original research. The preliminary findings indicate that some socioeconomic differences between the American Indian and Alaska Native population and others have narrowed, but significant gaps persist in poverty, employment, and housing needs. Affordability is the most frequent housing problem for AIAN households, though crowding and physical inadequacy are common in some places. A separate report will cover Native Hawaiians.

ENTIRE NONMETRO U.S. LOSES POPULATION FOR THE FIRST TIME, ERS SAYS. USDA’s Economic Research Service reports that nonmetro areas in some parts of the country have experienced population loss for decades. However, 2010-13 marks the first period with an estimated population loss for nonmetro America as a whole, despite growth in some places. Some new regional patterns of growth and decline have emerged in recent years, such as growth in energy producing areas of the northern Great Plains. A Census Bureau analysisof population changes for the year ending July 1, 2013 notes this trend and others, including data for metropolitan and micropolitan places as well as nonmetro.

STATE RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS STUDY PUBLISHED. State Funded Housing Assistance Programs,released by the Technical Assistance Collaborative, catalogs existing programs and identifies their key characteristics.

HEALTH REPORT FOR COUNTIES INCLUDES HOUSING CONDITIONS FOR THE FIRST TIME. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has added housing problems (cost burden, crowding, lacking plumbing or lacking kitchen) as a factor in its county health rankings. Other factors include smoking, high school graduation rates, unemployment, and many more.

HAC REPORTS ON RURAL VETERANS’ HOUSING. From Service to Shelter: Housing Veterans in Rural America, funded by the Home Depot Foundation, covers the characteristics of rural veterans and their housing, as well as issues facing them, and summarizes available housing resources. Veteran homelessness has decreased and housing conditions have improved, but rural challenges remain, such as the distance to service providers. HAC and the Home Depot Foundation hosted a symposium on serving rural veterans on April 9; materials are posted online.

RECENT BLOG POSTS COVER DECLINE OF USDA HOUSING, MINIMUM RENT PROPOSAL. “Analysis: Rural Housing Programs in Decline,” written by HAC staff for the Daily Yonder, reviews funding trends and the FY15 Administration budget request. “Obama Plan to Raise Rents on Rural Poor is the Wrong Way to Save Money,” a post on the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities blog, addresses the budget’s request to impose minimum rents on USDA tenants.

HAC News: March 19, 2014

HAC News Formats. pdf

March 19, 2014
Vol. 43, No. 6

• Members of Congress question Vilsack about proposed cuts in Sections 502 and 523 • USDA publishes more details about budget requests, HAC responds to rental proposals • Senators propose housing finance reform deal • Deadlines coming up for Assets for Independence • USDA to hold conference calls on multifamily programs •Comments sought on Native Asset Building Initiative • USDA RD explains implementation of rural definition changes • New data on USDA tenants released • Report examines income inequality in states • HAC blogs on rural seniors

March 19, 2014
Vol. 43, No. 6

MEMBERS OF CONGRESS QUESTION VILSACK ABOUT PROPOSED CUTS IN SECTIONS 502 AND 523. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack was the only witness at a March 13 House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture hearing on the Administration’s FY15 budget request. House Appropriations Committee Chair Hal Rogers (R-KY) criticized the proposed cuts in Section 502 direct loans and Section 523 self-help grants, saying this approach “shows a disrespect for our rural communities.” Subcommittee Chair Robert Aderholt (R-AL) also asserted support for the rural housing programs. When Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) asked the Secretary why the reductions were proposed, Vilsack replied that “difficult choices” had to be made.

USDA PUBLISHES MORE DETAILS ABOUT BUDGET REQUESTS, HAC RESPONDS TO RENTAL PROPOSALS. In its Congressional Justification explaining the FY15 budget, USDA tells how it calculates the amount it would expect to collect if a $50 monthly minimum rent were imposed, and how it might use the discretion it wants with respect to renewals of Section 521 Rental Assistance contracts. HAC board and staff critique the ideas in posts on the Rooflines blog: “No, Minimum Rents Do Not ‘Encourage Financial Responsibility” and “Rural Rental Assistance Needs USDA’s Support to Survive.”

SENATORS PROPOSE HOUSING FINANCE REFORM DEAL. Senators Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Mike Crapo (R-ID), the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, have released a discussion draft of a bipartisan housing finance reform bill based on S. 1217, the Corker-Warner bill introduced in June 2013. Like the earlier bill, it would create a new Federal Mortgage Insurance Corporation to replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and would eliminate affordable housing goals. It does include other mechanisms to encourage affordable housing development.

DEADLINES COMING UP FOR ASSETS FOR INDEPENDENCE. The next deadlines are May 7 and July 14, and applica-tions are accepted on a rolling basis. This program makes grants to nonprofits and government agencies that establish individual development accounts for low-income participants. Contact the AFI Resource Center, 1-866-778-6037.

USDA TO HOLD CONFERENCE CALLS ON MULTIFAMILY PROGRAMS. Calls with stakeholders will be scheduled at least quarterly during 2014. To register, contact Timothy James, RD, 919-873-2056. Those who have previously registered do not need to register again.

COMMENTS SOUGHT ON NATIVE ASSET BUILDING INITIATIVE. The Administration for Children and Families at the Department of Health and Human Services proposes policy changes to be used in the FY14 NOFA for NABI, which funds Individual Development Accounts and related services. Comments are due April 7. Contact Carmelia Strickland, HHS, 877-922-9262.

USDA RD EXPLAINS IMPLEMENTATION OF RURAL DEFINITION CHANGES. Administrative Notice 4748 explains that the grandfathering provisions adopted in the Farm Bill and the FY14 appropriations act will be implemented in two stages. The February 5, 2014 HAC News stated erroneously that the new 35,000 population limit for growing areas would not take effect until October 1; instead, RD expects to implement it around May 6. No currently eligible places will become ineligible until October 1, when currently eligible places will become ineligible if their populations exceed 35,000 or they are no longer rural in character.

NEW DATA ON USDA TENANTS RELEASED. The annual occupancy report shows that the total number of properties in USDA’s rental portfolio fell by 2.48% from April 2012 to September 2013, a decrease of 346 Section 515 properties and 34 Section 514 properties, representing about 5,092 apartments (1.14% of total units). This report is the first to include demographic data on Section 521 Rental Assistance households, and they appear generally similar to tenants in Section 515 properties. The average annual income of Section 515 residents has increased slightly to $11,747. For 515 tenants with RA, average income is $9,828.

REPORT EXAMINES INCOME INEQUALITY IN STATES. The Economic Analysis and Research Network calculated changes in income from 1917 to 2011 and found that in every state the incomes of the top 1% have grown faster than those of the other 99%, although the extent of the gap differs among states. The Increasingly Unequal States of America, published by the Economic Policy Institute, is accompanied by an interactive feature that provides figures and graphics for each state.

HAC BLOGS ON RURAL SENIORS.Keeping Rural Seniors in Their Homes” describes home and community based care as a way to allow rural seniors to age in place.

Rental Housing in Rural America Research Brief

Rental Housing in Rural America

In this Rural Research Note, HAC gives an overview of rental housing and renters in rural America. There are more than 17 million people living in approximately 7.1 million renter-occupied homes in rural communities. Nearly 43 percent of rural renters occupy single-family homes – twice the rate of urban renters. Slightly fewer rural renters (41 percent) live in structures of two or more apartments. Housing affordability problems are especially problematic for rural renters. A full 47 percent of rural renters are cost burdened, and nearly half of them are paying more than 50 percent of their monthly incomes for housing. With demographic transformations, the need for adequate and affordable rental housing looms large for many rural communities. Affordable rental options are vitally necessary, yet in short supply in rural America.

Rural Research Note: Rental Housing in Rural America