I haven’t discussed it much yet, but there’s a lot to be said about the new Low Income Housing Tax Credit Exchange Program (TCEP) recently authorized by the federal government. One of the things that needs to be said immediately is that as the state begins to structure how it is going to operate the [...]
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Tag Archives: Low Income Housing Tax Credits
It is not a proposal to build a toxic waste dump for Pete’s sake!
July 12, 2009
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I came across this sign today in Austin providing a “public notice” regarding an application to build housing for the elderly. The absurdity of the extent to which state law in Texas requires notification of the public regarding proposed housing developments utilizing low income housing tax credits struck me as absurd. I have pointed out [...]
Read moreArticle explores causes of American Housing Foundation collapse
July 5, 2009
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The Austin American-Statesman’s Eric Dexhiemer has a really good background story on the collapse of the American Housing Foundation in today’s paper. The story attributes the economic collapse to the thin margins that the corporation operated on and the fact that they lost their property tax exemption through a series of unfavorable court rulings. Dexhiemer [...]
Read moreTexas LIHTC corruption case should embarrass us into taking action
June 22, 2009
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I don’t know who, if anyone, is guilty in the Dallas Low Income Housing Tax Credit public corruption case that is set to get underway in federal court today. But I do believe that all of us who work in affordable housing in Texas are little guilty for not speaking up louder to demand a [...]
Read moreNorth Texas emerges as ground zero in newly energized fight against racial housing segregation
November 22, 2008
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North Texas is becoming ground zero in the fight against residential racial segregation. This thanks to the experienced and increasingly aggressive advocacy of civil rights attorney Michael Daniel and Inclusive Communities Project director Betsy Julian. Consider what these two, who share offices in downtown Dallas, have done in recent weeks: Filed a federal lawsuit against [...]
Read morePresident Bush considers pardoning former Texas housing agency board member
November 21, 2008
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ProPublica, an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest, is reporting that President Bush is considering a pardon for former Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) board member Florida Bell Griffin. Griffin was convicted and sent to federal prison in a bribery scandal surrounding the Texas Low Income Housing [...]
Read moreCould a federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac prove disasterous for low income rental housing?
September 7, 2008
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Who would have thought we would be looking at a federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? Because it was never anticipated that this would happen there are a number of potential consequences of the takeover that have not been thought out. Failure to do so may have disastrous consequences for low income rental [...]
Read moreState housing agency board acts fiscally responsibly on LIHTC awards
September 6, 2008
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My compliments to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) board of directors who rejected pleas from low income housing tax credit developers for an across the board increase the in amount of public funds the developers receive. The board acted in a fiscally responsible manner to ensure that the public funds were [...]
Read moreA critical moment in the housing tax credit program looms
August 15, 2008
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On August 14 the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) hosted a “work group” to gather input on the options for implementing the components of the new housing bill. The meeting focused on the changes in the law to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program and how to implement those changes [...]
Read moreSomething went terribly wrong at the Pleasant Village Apartments
August 5, 2008
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“This is a terrible place to live, and I just don’t know how to get out.” – a resident of the Pleasant Village Apartments in Dallas. Something awful happened at Dallas’ Pleasant Village Apartments last Wednesday. Here’s the chronology as reported in the Dallas Morning News. 10:30 p.m. Tuesday: A fight between girls at the [...]
Read moreTexas Housercast: Talking energy saving and green building in low income housing
August 2, 2008
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This week’s Texas housercast is an interview with Walter Moreau, executive director of Austin’s Foundation Communities the state’s largest nonprofit builder/operator of low income housing. Foundation Communities is a state leader in applying green building and energy savings design to multifamily affordable housing. In light of the requirements in the new housing bill mandating green [...]
Read moreNew housing bill presents TDHCA a test of its public purpose
July 31, 2008
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When President Bush signed the big housing bill Wednesday he ushered in a number of changes to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program. While most of the attention has been focused on the two year, temporary increase in tax credits there two other far more important changes buried in the bill. The first provision [...]
Read moreLow Income Housing Tax Credit program in Dallas frozen and challanged in lawsuit
July 22, 2008
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The Low Income Housing Tax Credit program in Dallas has been effectively shut down for several years and is now the subject of an important civil rights lawsuit. For those who have not followed the travails of the affordable housing program in Dallas let’s review where things stand today. Anyone who has read a newspaper [...]
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Bo McCarver’s housing news clips for May
- Mitt Romney at private fundraiser: I might eliminate HUD – The Washington Post
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Bo’s housing news clips: Study finds zoning segregates lower-income students in lower-scoring schools.
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Texas LIHTC housing program rocked by second earthquake in two months
- Low-Income Housing Program Compels Building in Poor Texas Areas – NYTimes.com
