CDBG-DR Guidelines and Application Materials Posted

OHFA’s Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) guidelines were finalized at the March 15^th Board meeting and have been officially published on our Housing Development Assistance Program (HDAP) Web site. In accordance with the Ohio Department of Development’s HUD-Approved CDBG-DR Action Plan, OHFA will implement CDBG-DR as soft gap financing paired with 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs) to fund the development of affordable housing in Montgomery County with a specific focus on ZIP Code 45426. A compressed folder of all necessary application materials and forms is also provided. The application materials folder includes files such as a specialized AHFA and Exception Request form specific to this round. Prospective applicants must use the forms and guidelines included in the application materials folder. Interested applicants must submit a Proposal Application via the Agency’s File Transfer Site no later than 5:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday, April 20, 2023. If Programmatic Exception Requests are needed, Exception Request forms found in the application materials folder must be submitted to exceptionsPPD@ohiohome.org no later than 5:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday, March 30, 2023. Design and Underwriting Exception Requests are due with the Proposal Application. For questions regarding the application process, please reach out to Taylor Koch, 4% Housing Tax Credit Section Chief at tkoch@ohiohome.org.

AUDIT CONFIRMATIONS

The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) has created an email box through which owners may submit requests to confirm loan balances (Audit Confirmations) as required by third-party auditors. This will expedite OHFA's review and response to such requests as this mailbox will be managed by the Finance Office. Please submit such requests to: AuditConfirmations@ohiohome.org

The Office of Multifamily Housing is seeking input on the 2024-2025 Qualified Allocation Plan. Interested parties may fill out a 3 minute survey HERE. Pre-draft comment letters may be sent to QAP@ohiohome.org. The 2023 Qualified Allocation Plan is located on OHFA's website.

Pre-draft comment letters will be accepted until March 31st at 5pm.

The 2024-2025 Qualified Allocation Plan Pre-Draft Survey will be open until March 31st at 5pm.

Any questions regarding the Qualified Allocation Plan can be sent to Samantha Makoski.

ICYMI: Office of Multifamily Housing Reorganization!

Effective February 22, 2023, OHFA’s Development office underwent a shift in the organizational design. Samantha Makoski previously served as the Policy and Planning Manager, a position that was tasked with crafting policies such as the Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP), Multifamily Underwriting Guidelines, Design and Architectural Standards (DAS), 4% Bond Gap Financing (BGF), and Housing Development Gap Financing (HDGF) Guidelines, among others. Taylor Koch previously served as the Housing Tax Credit Section Chief, a role that managed the underwriting of 9%, 4%, 4% BGF, and HDGF affordable housing proposals from application to financial closing. Given the consistent increase in application volume, Samantha’s role has transitioned to the 9% Housing Tax Credit Section Chief and Taylor’s role has transitioned to the 4% Housing Tax Credit Section Chief. In these new roles, each Section Chief will be responsible for the crafting and implementation of policy respective to each program. Samantha will continue to oversee development of the QAP and will also manage the 9% LIHTC competitive review and underwriting process. She and her team will also govern the development and implementation of OHFA’s small, non-LIHTC Housing Development Gap Financing (HDGF) program. Taylor and his team will now craft guidelines for and administer OHFA’s 4% LIHTC program, including the open 4% LIHTC Only round and the competitive 4% BGF program.

Going forward, contact Samantha Makoski at smakoski@ohiohome.org for issues related to the 9% or HDGF guidelines and applications (including the QAP), and Taylor Koch at tkoch@ohiohome.org with questions related to 4% LIHTC guidelines and applications.

ICYMY: 2023 DRAFT Housing Development Gap Financing Program Guidelines Posted for Comment

The Draft 2023 Housing Development Gap Financing program guidelines have been posted to the HDAP webpage. 

The HDGF program is geared toward developers seeking to construct or rehabilitate small, multifamily housing developments (including fewer than 25 units) and not seeking Housing Tax Credits. 

Comments on the draft guidelines can be sent to QAP@ohiohome.org and will be accepted through March 22, 2023. The final 2020 HDGF Guidelines will be released no later than April 19, 2023.

The Ohio Housing Finance Agency is committed to providing access and inclusion and reasonable accommodation in its services, activities, programs and employment opportunities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other applicable laws. To request a reasonable accommodation due to a disability please contact Gina Scheiderer, ADA Coordinator, gscheiderer@ohiohome.org as soon as possible.