OHFA 2021 Fourth Quarter Agency at a Glance

OHFA UPDATE - PAGE 4 - 2021 FOURTH QUARTER OFFICE OF MULTIFAMILY HOUSING 2022 9% COMPETITIVE HOUSING TAX CREDIT INFORMATION The application deadline for the 2022 round of 9% tax credit awards is just around the corner—February 10th! OHFA’s Office of Multifamily Housing’s Development Division has been hard at work preparing for the 2022 round. The 2022-2023 QAP was published, and its companion 2022 Underwriting Guidelines and 2022 Design & Architectural Guidelines were published earlier this month as well. Questions can be sent to QAP@ohiohome.org . ADDITIONAL CREDITS POLICY Supply chain issues resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and other market disruptions have led to material and labor shortages and spikes in hard construction and labor costs. The average percentage increase in the hard construction budget line item for housing projects has been anywhere from 25 to 35%, which is a devastating figure for developments already inherently on the margins because of being affordable and federally subsidized. These challenges led to unanticipated funding gaps in projects that were awarded funding in 2019, 2020. As a result of the aforementioned challenges, OHFA put forward an additional credits policy that was approved by OHFA’s Multifamily Committee and Board in mid-calendar year 2021. The objective of the policy that was created as an addendum to the Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) was to provide sufficient support and resources to competitive Housing Tax Credit (HTC) projects which received binding reservation agreements in 2019 or 2020, but were no longer financially feasible due escalating costs. OHFA set aside Housing Development Loan (HDL) funding and up to $4 million of 9% LIHTCs for 2019 and 2020 Competitive Awards. The additional funding was made available on a first come, first serve basis and owners could request up to $100,000 in additional LIHTCs and up to $1 million in additional HDL funding. While OHFA recognizes that the increased construction costs are outside of our owner and development partners’ control, the agency reviewed each request and limited the number and amount of each request to what was truly necessary. Unfortunately, cost escalation has not subsided as quickly as many hoped for, so 2021 HTC projects are also facing similar budgetary shortfalls. OHFA intends to revisit this policy for 2021 HTC projects after the current policy expires at the end of December. Expect additional guidance on this matter in early calendar year 2022. HOME-ARP AND CDBG-DR In January, OHFA plans to release draft guidelines for comment regarding two new sources of funds: CDBG-DR and HOME-ARP. Once the guidelines have been through the comment period, the final guidelines will be presented to OHFA’s multifamily committee and board in February. For both sources of funds, there will be a final application deadline in April that coincides with the quarterly 4% HTC application window. CDBG-DR funds will carry a location restriction to address damage from the devastating tornadoes in the Dayton area in 2019. The HOME-ARP funds will have programmatic restrictions that will encourage supportive housing development for vulnerable populations. STAFFING UPDATE Karen Banyai has officially transitioned into leading the Asset Management Division full time as the Asset Management Manager. Karen’s extensive experience and indispensable knowledge of OHFA- financed projects will be incredibly valuable as the Asset Management Division continues to grow, develop policies and procedures, and respond to an ever-growing portfolio. In October, David Foust was promoted to Director of Multifamily Housing from his role as Multifamily Lending Manager. While he has fully transitioned into his new role, he will continue to be the primary contact for the Multifamily Lending Program. Finally, OHFA will soon post two Housing Grant Analyst 2 positions to join our tax credit underwriting team. DEVELOPMENT DIVISION UPDATE DAVID FOUST