2017 Affordable Housing Application Questions and Answers

Transcription

1 2017 Affordable Housing Application Questions and Answers Questions submitted by 1. Our project will involve acquisition/rehab for existing affordable housing we are under contract to purchase. I noticed that on the first page of the common application, under the General Instructions, Item 3 under the Application Components list on page 1, it notes: a. Market Study: If the project involves new construction or conversion of market rate housing over five units. This led me to think that a market study wouldn t be required in our case as it is not new construction or conversion of market rate housing. However, later in the application on Page 10, under the Market Study section, it states Required for acquisition / new construction projects over five units Which then made me question whether our project WOULD be one where this is required as an acquisition property where we will be doing rehab work though no brand new construction of new buildings, additions, etc. on the property. Could you please confirm? A. No market study is required for preservation of existing occupied affordable rental housing projects. 2. As an additional few questions to the below, as I m getting things organized here, I noticed that while there is a list of common attachments under the General Instructions (pg 1) of the Common Application, there is no indication there nor at the end of each section of the application, as to which attachments/exhibits belong under which tab. (To be clear, I m referring to attachments such as zoning letters, Phase I reports, PSAs, Appraisal, etc.) If you have a list of which attachments/exhibits you expect to find under each section that would be very helpful to make sure we don t miss anything. A. We will make that adjustment in future applications. For this application you can put all exhibits into one section and call it exhibits to the application. 3. Also, on page two of the General Instructions section of the application, under Application Assembly, the 4 th bullet refers to required attachments as instructed by the public funder addenda. I m not sure I understand what the public funder addenda is for this application. I don t see a section in the NOFA that refers to a public funder addenda, nor in the application. Does this perhaps refer to the Part 4 Addenda Section above this paragraph including the items of Board Resolution, Signed Acknowledgement of Required Assurance and E Verify Certification, Pre Award Risk Assessment Worksheet and Completed CHDO application? 1

2 A. Yes. Please organize the application as follows. 1. Copy of Board resolution authorizing submittal; 2. Signed Acknowledgement of Required Assurance (Attachment A); 3. Common Application as assembled (Attachment B); 4. Exhibits as addressed in question #2; 5. Pre award Risk Assessment Worksheet (Attachment C); and 6. CHDO application if applicable. 4. I am inquiring about the NOFA that was recently released from Pierce County. I have some questions that I hope you can answer. Beacon Communities, Inc. is planning an affordable senior housing community at the corner of 15 th and Tacoma to compliment the operations of its Harborview Manor on Fawcett Street. 1. We have applied to the City of Tacoma for HOME funds. We are scheduled to present to their board on Thursday morning for our Harbor View Terrace project. Are the city s HOME funds and the county s SHB 2060 Affordable Housing Program (Capital) mutually exclusive? Can we apply for both? 2. Do you have a favored population that you are targeting? How do you feel about affordable (30% to 50% AMI) senior housing? 3. To be competitive, what do you see as the right amount of ask per project? A. Question #1 Both Tacoma HOME and County 2060 funds can be invested in the same project. Yes you can apply for both. Question #2 See priorities in the NOFA page 4. Projects serving the lowest income populations are scored highest. Question #3 The County cannot provide guidance on how much to ask for in the application other than the request cannot exceed the amount of funding available. 5. Could you advise on whether we need a 3 rd Party Estimate for construction costs or the parameters around that requirement, if it is one? A. A third party construction estimate is required. A third party estimate can come from a contractor, architect, appraiser, CNA consultant or other third parties that can provide an estimate of construction costs. 2

3 Questions from the Affordable Housing NOFA Workshop On November 16, 2016: Q: Are the CHDO Funds included in the NOFA? A: Yes, the CHDO Funds are included in the HOME dollars. Q: Does the request for copies also include the attachments? A: Yes, please submit 1 original and 3 copies of the application and all attachments. Q: How long after the oral presentations are done, are the decisions for funding made? A: The decisions are made at the CDC Board and/or 2060 Steering Committee meetings. Applicants will be notified shortly thereafter (targeted for early March). Q: What is a CHDO? A: A CHDO is a Community Housing Development Organization. This is a special designation of a non profit under the HOME program. The County is required to spend 15% of its HOME allocation on projects owned, sponsored and/or developed by CHDO s. Thus CHDO will receive priority for HOME funding. Q: How do you qualify as a CHDO? A: See page 29 of the NOFA for the specific qualifications including organizational structure, legal status and etc. that need to be met to qualify as a CHDO. Q: Project question from applicant There are 3 homes on the site where the applicant wants to build and the property was purchased with 2060 funds, the applicant will be applying as a CHDO for HOME; is it possible to do 2 homes at the Very Low Income Limit (50% AMI) and 1 home at the Low Income Limit (80% AMI)? A: In theory yes. However, the original award will need to be revised as well as modifying the original 2060 Loan Agreement and Loan Documents to reduce the number of units to two. Future meeting to be scheduled for further discussion on modifying the existing 2060 award. Q: Project question from applicant Applicant owns 3/4 acre (includes water and sewer), adjacent to a 20 unit senior housing project and would like to put 4/5, 1 bedroom units on it now, with the possibility of later applying for additional funds to add another 4 units. The preliminary site design is done. Is this an eligible project? 3

4 A: Provided the project meet the requirements of the NOFA it is eligible. Future meeting to be scheduled for further discussion on other resources for development. Q: Project question from applicant Applicant purchased the property with 2060 funds for 3 homes. They will be applying as a CHDO and will be requesting funds for the cost of septic installation, driveways and a turn around (required by the Fire Department) on the site. Is this an allowable item? A: Yes, on site infrastructure on the property is eligible expense. Q: Project question from applicant Applicant owns a home used as a rental for low income persons with a disability. The property is large and has an out building with water and lights but has been utilized as a shop. Can the applicant convert the shop to a 1 bedroom low income housing unit under the 'conversion' category? A: Yes, a conversion of use to affordable housing is eligible. However, we recommend due diligence with respect to city/county requirements when converting a garage to a livable unit, since it may be difficult when considering how the garage was built. Q: Can the funds be used to provide rental housing to low income persons coming out of Western State Hospital? A: Yes, however keep in mind that it must be a permanent rental situation and the tenants are required to have leases with the landlord. Q: Going forward, will future applications remain the same and be due about the same time every year? A: In an effort to align funding to coincide with the State Housing Trust Fund and the 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credit Applications the County will likely move up the application dates next year. The release date is likely in June or July The Tacoma Pierce County Affordable Housing Consortium is a good source to find updated information. Q: Does the available funding amount stay about the same from year to year? A: The 2060 funds are based on the recording fee collections. Thus the amount of 2060 funding varies. On average the amount available annually is $800,000 to $1,000,000. The HOME Funds are a federal allocation of dollars from Congress and is a formula grant that the county receives. The amount can potentially increase as additional funds are received in the form of loan repayments. 4

5 Q: Considering these loan repayments, does that mean the CDC has more flexibility of additional HOME funds this round or future rounds. A: The County will evaluate how much HOME funds the County needs to commit by next year. It is possible additional HOME funds may be available. Q: Can the applicants specifically request 2060 or HOME funds? A: No. the applications will be reviewed and the source of funds will be determined and awarded accordingly. Note that project inside the City of Tacoma, Lakewood, Bonney Lake, Pacific, Auburn and Enumclaw and within Pierce County would only be eligible for 2060 funding. Q: Did the sale price limits go down this year? A: No, they went up see page 5 of the NOFA for homeownership sales price limits. The limits only apply to homeownership projects. They do not apply to rental projects. Q: Clarification if the cost of project and the rehab required exceed the subsidy limit, there are no additional funds available from the HOME grant to use? A: Yes, that is correct. We can only subsidize up to the maximum per unit allowed by the HOME program. The applicant would need to find other funding sources for any additional work needed. There was a mistake in the NOFA on page 28. Below are the corrected current limits. The maximum per unit subsidy for the HOME program is the table below: 0 Bedroom 1 Bedroom 2 Bedroom 3 Bedroom 4 Bedroom $140,107 per $160,615 per $195,304 per $252,662 per $277,344 per Q: Are the HOME funds only available to individuals purchasing a home? A: No, HOME funds can be used to fund homeownership or for development of affordable rental housing. Q: Can development and engineering cost be included the requested amount? A: Yes, reasonable and necessary project related soft costs can be included (eligible uses of Capital Funds are listed on page 4 of the NOFA). Q: Are related soft costs plus construction costs be submitted in the application? A: Yes, the development budget is for the entirety of the project including all soft costs. 5