post-conference edition housing nvolume 19, number 4 ews

Self-EmploymentOffers UniqueEmployment

Opportunities forPersons with a

Disability5

Sadowski ActFunding:

Legislative Update7

Structuring YourPurchase

AssistanceProgram to Meet

Your Target Market9

Using SHIPReporting Data toExplore Program

Policies andOutcomes for

Owner-OccupiedRehabilitation

Programs11

16th AnnualStatewideAffordableHousing

ConferenceHighlites

13Rayos Del Sol-

A SpecialConference Treat

17NLIHC

Civic EngagementCampaign for Voter

Registration,Education

18 Thinking About

Housing19

SHIP Clips24

Coalition News 26

�Ten years ago, Palm BeachCounty saw its first efforts todevelop a Model Block get

started on Northwest 5th Avenue inDelray Beach. The Delray BeachCenter for Technology, Enterprise andDevelopment (The TED Center), had agroundbreaking for its first homes.Volunteers had spent countless hoursknocking on doors, connecting neigh-

bor to neighbor, trying to foster asense of community. It worked. Theprostitutes and drug dealers fled.Dilapidated houses were condemnedand demolished; neighbors paintedand planted; brave souls took thosescary, first steps towards homeowner-ship. Today homeowners live happilyon those two blocks where kids walkto nearby schools and parks.

HOUSING NEWSN E T W O R KThe Journal of the Florida Housing Coalition, Inc.

Volume 19, Number 4

FALL 2003

In This issue

By Annetta Jenkins

An Integrated Approach to UrbanInfill Development

An Integrated Approach to UrbanInfill Development

This Model Block Project in Palm Beach County has drawn national attention forits methodology, collaboration, and replicability. The LISC Center for HomeOwnership, based in Washington DC, has chosen it as a national Best Practice

Before and Afterpictures

“Miracle on 34th Street”

Post-Conference Edition

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Melvin Philpot - CHAIRPERSONProgress Energy FloridaLake MaryRobert Von - VICE CHAIR

Realvest Appraisal Services Inc., MaitlandJaimie Ross - PRESIDENT1000 Friends of Florida, TallahasseeGregg Schwartz - TREASURERTampa Bay Community Development Corp.,ClearwaterMary Sorge - SECRETARYBonita Springs Area Housing Development,Bonita SpringsMark Hendrickson - PAST CHAIR-PERSONThe Hendrickson Company, TallahasseeJeff BagwellKeystone Challenge Fund, Inc., LakelandAnnetta JenkinsLocal Initiatives Support Corp.,West Palm BeachKristen Packard Packard Consulting, Jacksonville

DIRECTORS

Bob AnsleyOrlando Neighborhood Improvement OrlandoEd Busansky First Housing Development Corp.,TampaGus Dominguez Greater Miami Neighborhoods, MiamiHolly Duquette Florida Power and Light, Juno BeachJim Dyal Courtelis Company, TampaDenise FreedmanBank of AmericaTampaCora Fulmore Mortgage & Credit Center, Winter GardenSchonna GreenM.I.S.S. Inc. of the Treasure Coast,Port St. LucieDan Horvath Community Enterprise Investments, Inc.,PensacolaJack HumburgBoley Center for Behavioral Health Care,Inc.St. PetersburgJeffrey KissKiss & Company, Inc., Winter ParkTony RiggioWachovia, JacksonvilleGladys Schneider Habitat for Humanity of Lee County,North Fort MyersTei Simmerman

Florida Solar Energy Center, CocoaSophia SorolisCity of St. Petersburg SHIP AdministratorSt. Petersburg

Shari WeitznerGrove House,Jacksonville

ADVISORY COUNCIL

Catherine BrozowskiWashington Mutual,PlantationHelen Hough FeinbergWilliam R. Hough & Co., St. Petersburg

STAFF

Michael DavisExecutive DirectorKenda Boles Administrative Executive AssistantMichael Chaney Technical AdvisorPam DavisAdministrative Assistant/Workshop CoordinatorStan Fitterman Senior Technical AdvisorTom FlaggFinance ManagerMelanie Greene Technical AdvisorWight Greger Senior Technical AdvisorDayatra OrduñaTechnical AdvisorMike Shafer Technical Advisor

BOARD OFdirectors

The Florida Housing Coalition is a nonprofit, statewide membership organization whose mission is to act as a catalyst to bring togetherhousing advocates and resources so that Floridians have a safe and affordable home and suitable living environment.

The Housing News Network is published by the Florida Housing Coalition as a service to its members and for housing professionals andothers interested in affordable housing issues. Address questions and comments to: Jaimie Ross, Editor, Florida Housing Coalition, Inc.,1367 E. Lafayette Street, Suite C, Tallahassee, FL 32301.

Phone: 850-878-4219, Fax: 850-942-6312, E-mail: [email protected], Web site: www.flhousing.org

The Florida Housing Coalition would like to recognizeWASHINGTON MUTUAL for its partnership leadership and sup-port as our PLATINUM SPONSOR. We are deeply appreciative.

The Florida Housing Coalition expresses its gratitude to ourGold Sponsor, WACHOVIA BANK for its ongoing sponsorshipof our Board conference calls — a substantial savings to ourstatewide nonprofit.

Flash forward almost ten years later. Community develop-ment corporations (CDCs), along with Local InitiativesSupport Corporation, (LISC), local lenders, Palm BeachCounty Housing and Community Development, and variousother local governments, have produced in excess of 2,300homes on infill lots, from Limestone Creek to the north, toDelray Beach to the south and west to the Glades. This wasall done one house at a time. Although very time and laborintensive, it was very difficult to achieve scale and impact.It was also very difficult to maintain momentum in revitaliz-ing the neighborhoods.

Several years ago, the LISC program adjusted its strategytoward our work in Palm Beach County. We moved to a morecomprehensive approach-we sought to achieve that scaleand impact in the neighborhoods by bringing together: 1. CDCs that have business plans that include

development.2. Intense technical assistance, including project develop-

ment consultation.3. Coordinated debt and equity pools of financing.4. Market feasibility and analysis.5. Homebuyer education and credit counseling.6. Development teams with frequent, scheduled project

meetings. 7. Neighborhood planning processes. 8. Good design and site plans. 9. Public/private partnerships. 10. Meaningful involvement by neighbors.

We call this concept our Signature Projects Portfolio, a com-prehensive approach to revitalizing neighborhoods bringingtogether mixed use, mixed income projects involving hous-ing, commercial/retail/office, educational, community andchild care facilities. The Model Block Program is part ofthis strategy.

In the Model Block Program, we try and mitigate for the lackof large parcels of land in neighborhoods by identifying aneighborhood with a high ratio of renters to homeowners,usually with an ageing infrastructure of roads; sidewalks, ifany; sparse greenscape; vacant lots. The CDC is simultane-ously doing a property/ownership survey and looking atassessed values, title status, code enforcement history, andcriminal activity. Once this research is done, a likely blockor two is identified to this comprehensive approach, with anend to purchase properties to rehabilitate or construct newhouses, improve the infrastructure, add attractive lightingand greenscape, organize the neighbors, encourage others todo façade and yard work and then make the properties avail-able for sale to new homeowners. We outline a profile belowof successful efforts in Palm beach County.

Profile - “The Miracleon 34th Street”

Northwood Business Development Corporation, (NBDC),under the leadership of Executive Director, Terri Murray,

brought together LISC, the City of West Palm Beach and devel-oper, Complete Property Management Inc., to collaborate onthe first comprehensive Model Block Project in Palm Beach.Investment in nine 9 homes coupled with façade improve-ments to 14 neighboring homes, along with street improve-ments, traffic calming, lush landscaping, and attractive light-ing, resulted in a project that has catalyzed surrounding areas.Other neighborhoods are now clamoring for their own modelblock. This Northwood neighborhood had strong assets -excellent location, close to downtown, near to a beautiful his-toric neighborhood, diverse neighbors, a nearby homeowners'association - as well as strong liabilities - absentee landlords,homes with deferred maintenance, lack of greenscape, per-ceived and real crime, and few nearby services.

A few examples of the improved neighborhood.

NBDC had recently expanded its mission and geographicbarriers beyond a commercial district to include distressedblocks bordering a healthy residential area and neighbor-hood business district, which is showing signs of comingback to life.

NBDC, LISC, the City of West Palm Beach and Harris TrustBank/Bank of Montreal invested a total of $1.6 million in theproject which involved the acquisition and rehabilitation ofnine, (9), investor-owned properties, which were later sold tolow- and moderate-income families, façade improvements tofourteen (14) additional homes, streetscape and lighting.LISC provided acquisition financing, the City of West PalmBeach provided rehabilitation dollars and façade grants, andHarris Trust provided permanent mortgages to the home-owners. Complete Property Management, Inc., Joe Crossen,President, completed the rehabilitation. NBDC providedproject management support and homebuyer marketing andcounseling. The project was completed in 2001.

NBDC held a holiday block party in December 2000, thatwas attended by hundreds of neighbors and city officials;local design firms decorated and furnished each house forthe tour of homes; the local media featured the event, anddubbed the transformation, "The Miracle on 34th Street."This neighborhood went from a rental base to 90% home-ownership, the project eliminated slum and blight, neigh-bors accessed façade grants to install irrigation and sodding,landscape and trees, and exterior painting.

The City of West Palm Beach had initially encouraged raz-ing the neglected homes, NBDC insisted on preserving thearchitecturally interesting houses with the hidden character,maintaining the fabric of the neighborhood. The success ofModel Block I has led to Model Block II, which is nearbyand under development; the next block or MB III, as we callit, is in predevelopment.

It is truly a way to reach scale on a neighborhood level andhave an impact that will serve to synergize future revitalizationefforts in our neighborhoods.

For More Information:• LISC's website at www.liscnet.org• Terri Murray, Northwood Business Development

Corporation (WPB) 561.832.6776• Lynda Charles, Senior Program Officer, LISC,

[email protected]

About the Author:Annetta Jenkins is a Senior Program Director for Local Initiatives SupportCorporation. LISC is the nation's largest community development supportorganization, with more than $8 billion invested in urban and rural neigh-borhoods across the country. Annetta, a Florida Housing Coalition boardmember, has her office in West Palm Beach. She can be reached at [email protected].

We have learned that the Model Block Concept can bereplicated. The neighborhood must have strong assets,along with the liabilities. Essential elements are:

• Flexible sources of financing that can underwritethe cost of rehabilitation while keeping the homesaffordable to first time homebuyers.

• Positive public relations to draw attention to thesuccesses of the model block project and helpchange perceptions about the neighborhood.

• The commitment of the local government and anintermediary like LISC to provide financial assis-tance and make the improvements to the blockinfrastructure.

• A strong nonprofit with a dedicated board and staffthat has at least some background in housing devel-opment and rehabilitation.

• An active and energized neighborhood that is will-ing to help sell the positive changes taking place inthe neighborhood.

• A willingness among all partners to negotiate and awillingness of the CDC to be flexible and changeplans to accommodate funding partners.

• A comprehensive approach to meeting the needs ofthe residents and ensuring a quality project.

Patti Lind and Tamara BibbAllen addressing the 16th AnnualStatewide Conference workshop:Micro-Enterprise Loans for Peoplewith Disabilities to StartBusinesses.

�Entrepreneurship enables many people with disabili-ties to circumvent artificial barriers to careeradvancement in the workplace, and enables them

with a proven, effective route to social and economicempowerment. Patti Lind and Tamara Bibb Allen of TheAbilities Fund introduced Iowa's Entrepreneurs withDisabilities (EWD) technical assistance and loan pro-gram at The Florida Housing Coalition's Conference inSeptember.

Unemployment among people with disabilities hovers atan astonishing rate of about 70%. One out of three dis-abled adults earn less then $15,000 per year. Of thoseemployed, people with disabilities earn approximately72% of their non-disabled counterparts.

Often, the difficulties people with disabilities have inobtaining and sustaining employment is due to stereo-typical discrimination, and inflexibility in the work-place to adapt to peoples needs. One of the approachesbeing applied to increase opportunities to economicself-sufficiency is through self-employment. For many, self-employment offers unmatched flexibility to work aroundmedical routines, transportation, and other barriers that mayprevent traditional employment.

When given the opportunity and appropriate tools people withdisabilities are proving that they can be tremendously suc-

cessful in entrepreneurial business ventures. Iowa'sEntrepreneurs with Disabilities program combines skilldevelopment and equity grants to help disabled entrepreneursdevelop a sustainable business. Now in it's seventh year, theprogram boasts an 87% success rate. Of these successfulbusinesses, 30% now employ other people with disabilities.

Patti Lind who designed and led imple-mentation of Iowa's Entrepreneurs withDisabilities (EWD) Program, launchedthe Abilities Fund in an effort to trans-fer lessons learned from Iowa's EWDProgram to the rest of the Country.Community Enterprise Investments,Inc. (CEII), a Florida non-profit organi-zation that provides small and microbusiness development loans to low tomoderate income people, is workingwith The Abilities Fund to begin a sim-ilar program in Florida. The FloridaDevelopmental Disabilities Council

(FDDC) is also interested in the self determination potentialof self-employment. FDDC recently put out a request for pro-posals to provide funding for a micro-enterprise training andtechnical assistance project, in which individuals with devel-opmental disabilities would receive the training and techni-cal assistance necessary to set up very small businesses,known as micro-enterprises.

Self-Employment Offers Unique EmploymentOpportunities for Persons with a Disability

�

by Mike ShaferFlorida housing Coalition

Dan Horvath,President of CEII.

FFlloorriiddaaLLeeggaall

Florida Catholic Conference

Florida Association of Counties

SADOWSKI ACT COALITION

2004 Legislative Session

Dear Legislator:

In 1992, the Florida Legislature adopted landmark legislation for affordable housing knownas the William E. Sadowski Affordable Housing Act, providing funds for affordable housingto all 67 counties and an additional 48 cities. Since its inception, the Sadowski Act hasassisted more than 150,000 families with affordable home ownership or rental housingthrough programs such as the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program, theState Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL) program, and the Florida Affordable HousingGuarantee Fund. In addition, the Sadowski Act has enabled local governments and thestate to bring over $620 million in federal HOME monies to Florida by providinglocal match funds. Anticipating the exponential growth of Florida's population andhousing costs, the Sadowski Act uses a portion of the state real estate documentary transferfee to fund the state and local housing trust funds.

The Sadowski Act was, and continues to be, supported by a broad bipartisan coalition ofstatewide interests including the Florida Home Builders Association, the Florida Associationof Realtors, the Florida Bankers Association, the Florida League of Cities, the FloridaAssociation of Counties, Florida Legal Services, Inc., 1000 Friends of Florida, the FloridaHousing Coalition, Florida Catholic Conference, Florida Impact, and many others.

Sadowski Act funds enable local governments to implement local housing programs andhousing partnerships. Sadowski Act funds are highly leveraged: for every dollar ofSadowski funds, the public and private sector invests at least six dollars. To date, SadowskiAct funding has brought over an estimated $9 billion in other public and private sectorinvestments. Sadowski Act funding provides ongoing technical assistance to local govern-ments and nonprofit organizations and is used to respond to emergencies by providing reliefafter natural disasters. Sadowski Act funds have also created thousands of jobs in the con-struction industry.

Florida serves as the national model for effectively funding flexible and productive pro-grams for affordable housing. It is in this spirit of cooperation that the Sadowski Act Coalitionis pleased to maintain its role of oversight and support for the continuation of full funding forthe Sadowski Act; we pledge to assist the Legislature in meeting its goal of ensuring thatevery Floridian has safe, decent, and affordable housing.

For more information about the Sadowski Act, or how these funds specifically ben-efit your district, please contact the executive directors of either the FloridaHousing Coalition at (850) 878-4219 or the Florida Housing Finance Corporation at(850) 488-4197.

�The Sadowski Coalitionhad its first meeting forthe 2004 Legislative Session in September. The

Sadowski Coalition, which now formally includes theFlorida Bankers Association, is firmly committed to fullimplementation of the Sadowski Act; this means full fund-ing in accordance with the dedication of doc stamp revenuesto the state and local housing trust funds. The diversion ofSadowski Act funding made in 2003 cost the state over8,800 units of affordable housing, over 14,000 jobs, andover 1 billion dollars in lost economic activity. We cannotafford to have a similar loss in 2004. A copy of theSadowski Coalition's letter to the 2004 Legislature isreprinted on the opposite page.

The 16th Annual Statewide Conference focused on whathousing advocates did in the 2003 session and what needsto be done in the 2004 session to protect Sadowski Act fund-ing. About ten days prior to the conference, House SpeakerJohnnie Byrd announced the appointments to his SelectCommittee on Affordable Housing. See page 8 for a listingof the Representatives appointed to the Select Committee.

The House Select Committee on Affordable Housing had itsfirst meeting on October 1st in Tallahassee. House SpeakerByrd began the meeting with his charge to the Committee toconduct a comprehensive review of the state's affordablehousing goals, programs, strategies, and funding and to rec-ommend any changes warranted as a result of this review.

The Statement of CommitteeCharge is specifically to:

(1) Review the appropriateness, relevance, and clarity ofstate affordable housing goals and policies, andprogress in achieving these goals:

(2) Examine the cost effectiveness, efficiency, and account-ability of state affordable housing programs and associ-ated revenues;

(3) Explore ways to expand home ownership opportunitiesunder affordable housing programs;

(4) Examine existing standard and priorities for participa-tion in affordable housing programs;

(5) Examine regulatory impediments to the availability ofaffordable housing; and

(6) Explore opportunities for increasing the flow of privatecapital into affordable housing programs and creating astable long-term partnership with the private sector.

The Committee, Chaired by Representative Randy Johnson,heard from panels representing the public sector and theprivate sector, followed by another information gatheringmeeting in Tallahassee on October 20th. The Committeewas provided with considerable evidence about the housingneed in Florida and the excellent delivery system in placefor meeting that need through substantial private sectordevelopment highly leveraging government funds. TheCommittee also heard about housing need and demand andthe economic challenges in providing housing for familieswho earn less than $15,000 per year. The House SelectCommittee discussed the possibility of better collaboration

�

Sadowski Act Funding: Legislative Update

By Jaimie Ross

Pictured: At center, Mark Hedrickson,moderator, from left to right: presen-ters, Michael Davis, Edie Ousley,Jaimie Ross, and Senator Ken Pruitt,the “Stayin’ Alive” panel that spoke atthe plennary session on what it took tokeep Sadowski Act funding in the2003 Legislative Session and what itwill take in 2004.

between housing agencies and social service agencies tobetter serve the needs of the extremely low income.

The balance of the House Select Committee meetings willbe on the road, with a final meeting in Tallahassee inJanuary. The dates and places for the House SelectCommittee as it travels the state, along with recaps fromeach meeting can be found at www.flhousing.org.

If you plan to provide testimony at any of these public meet-ings around the state or to discuss your local housing programand use of SHIP funds with Select Committee Members, andwould like to include information on the impact of cuts to thehousing budget in your presentation (impact on units lost,jobs lost, and economic activity lost, both statewide and bycounty), you can go to www.flhousing.org and click on theHouse Representatives name to access the .pdf file which youcan then print. Please let us know if any questions arise towhich we may be able to help provide accurate responses. Itis critical to provide clear and accurate information to themembers of this Committee.

Jaimie Ross is the Affordable Housing Director at 1000 Friends ofFlorida, a statewide nonprofit growth management organization,and is the President of the Florida Housing Coalition. She canreached at [email protected]

1OPPAGA (Office of Program Policy Analysis and GovernmentAccountability) is a special staff unit of the Florida Legislature designedto examine agencies and programs to improve services and cut costs.

HOUSING NEWS NETWORK

Rep. Randy Johnson (R-Celebration) CHAIR

Rep. David Rivera (R-Miami), VICE-CHAIR

Rep. Frank Attkisson (R-Kissimmee) Rep. Holly Benson (R-Pensacola) Rep. Jennifer Carroll (R-Green Cove Springs) Rep. Larry Cretul (R-Ocala) Rep. Nancy Detert (R-Venice) Rep. Ron Greenstein (D-Coconut Creek) Rep. Ed Jennings (D-Gainesville) Rep. Arthenia Joyner (D-Tampa) Rep. Jim Kallinger (R-Winter Park) Rep. Bruce Kyle (R-Ft. Myers) Rep. Marcelo Llorente (R-Miami) Rep. Matt Meadows (D-Lauderhill) Rep. Dave Murzin (R-Pensacola) Rep. Marco Rubio (R-West Miami) Rep. Ray Sansom, (R-Destin) Rep. Ken Sorensen (R-Key Largo) Rep. Leslie Waters (R-Seminole)

(Lake, Orange, Osceola) (Broward, Collier, Miami-Dade) (Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Polk) (Escambia, Santa Rosa) (Clay, Duval) (Alachua, Levy, Marion) (Sarasota) (Broward) (Alachua, Marion) (Hillsborough) (Orange) (Lee) (Miami-Dade) (Broward) (Escambia) (Miami-Dade) (Okaloosa, Santa Rosa) (Miami-Dade, Monroe) (Pinellas)

During the 2003 Legislative Session, OPPAGA1 con-ducted an examination of Florida Housing Finance

Corporation programs. A few of OPPAGA's findingswere presented to the House Select Committee at itsinitial meeting. Some of the findings that may be ofparticular interest to housing advocates are that: � Although 65% of SHIP monies are statutorily

required to be spent on homeownership activi-ties, the percentage of SHIP monies actually spenton home ownership activities is more like 90%;and

� Although 85% of FHFC rental units were set-asidefor households earning 60% of area medianincome, the average FHFC unit is serving house-holds earning 46.8% of area median income.

In other words, most all the local SHIP money isgoing toward home ownership and most all theFHFC money is going toward a much lowerincome household than previously thought. Bothof these findings should be helpful to housingadvocates as we press for full funding ofSadowski Act programs.

House Select Committee on Affordable Housing

�

�The goal of many local housing programs is toincrease home ownership rates for very low,low and moderate income families. These

programs are designed to provide assistance to eli-gible applicants who earn too little to qualify for amortgage and/or whose income is too low to accu-mulate the savings needed for down payment andclosing costs. The amount of subsidy providedunder these programs varies greatly from commu-nity to community.

Most housing programs set a maximum income for programeligibility, and purchase assistance programs are no different.Local program designers sometimes fail to recognize, however,that they effectively set a minimum income requirement aswell when they determine the amount of subsidy available. Ifthe subsidy is too low, there may be a substantial gap betweenthe mortgage amount an applicant can qualify for and themortgage amount really needed to purchase housing in thatcommunity. This article will explore how subsidy amountdetermines minimum income requirements, and how localgovernment and nonprofit staff can evaluate whether their pro-grams are structured to meet their target market.

Local housing programs must evaluate the cost of housingstock and the availability and condition of units at variousprice levels. Data from the county's Property Appraiser can beused to obtain information on recent sales, by neighborhood.This information can be supplemented by reviewing entries inthe Multiple Listing Service. An analysis of this data will pro-vide the number of units sold or listed for sale at or below var-ious prices.

Once housing cost data has been collected, it ispossible to calculate the minimum householdincome needed to qualify for various mortgageamounts that are high enough to purchase homeswithin that community. The Florida HousingCoalition has developed a spreadsheet that calcu-lates maximum mortgage amount based on anapplicant's income and the mortgage terms. Thisspreadsheet is an easy way for local housing pro-grams to take into account the capacity of their tar-

get market. Capacity is one of three factors lenders use to eval-uate a potential borrower's ability to pay. These factors areoften referred to as the "three C's" -credit, collateral andcapacity.

Credit is an evaluation of a borrower's history of paying offprevious debts. Collateral is the value of the property beingpurchased. Loans usually cannot exceed a certain percentageof the sales price or appraisal of the property (this numberranges from 80 percent to 95 percent of the lesser of the salesprice or appraised value). Capacity is the borrower's ability torepay the mortgage. Lenders have determined the maximumpercentage of a family's monthly income that can be allocatedto housing cost (principal, interest, taxes, and insurance -PITI). This percentage usually ranges from 28-31 percent andis typically set by each individual lender. Lenders have alsodetermined the maximum percentage of a family's monthlyincome that can be spent on housing plus long term debt. Thispercentage ranges from 36-41 percent and is known as theback ratio. Again, this percentage can vary from lender tolender. The maximum mortgage amount a borrower can quali-fy for is the lesser of the front and back ratio.

Structuring Your PurchaseAssistance Program to Meet Your

Target MarketBy Stan Fitterman

Florida Housing Coalition


Table 1 shows an example of a family earning $26,000 per year.In this case, a subsidy of just over $20,000 is needed for this fam-ily to qualify for the $89,500 mortgage. If a community's housingmarket has units available for sale for less than $90,000, and theprogram's goal is to enable families earning $26,000 and above

to achieve home ownership, then the maximum subsidy amountneeds to be at least $20,000 in order to reach this goal. In thesame example, if the annual interest rate increases from 6 per-cent to 7 percent, the same family would need $26,871 in sub-sidy to qualify for the same $89,500 mortgage.

Total MonthlyPayment without

subsidy

$736.60

Sales Price

$90,000

DownPayment

$500

MortgageAmount

$89,500

AnnualInterest

6.00%

Term(Months)

360

MonthlyPayment

$536.60

T&I

$ 200.00

Table 1

Applicant Information:Annual Income $ 26,000 Monthly Debt $ 250 Monthly Income $ 2,166.67 Front Ratio 31% Total $ 250 Back Ratio 40%

Max Front Ratio $ 671.67 Max Mortgage amount $69,497.06Max Back Ratio $ 616.67 Deferred Loan Needed $20,002.94 Max Monthly PITI $ 616.67

Maximum purchase amounts cannot be set in a vacuum.Housing costs and available mortgage terms directlyaffect the income needed to qualify for a mortgage. Localgovernments, working with their partners, includinglenders, real estate agents and nonprofits, should deter-mine the minimum family income they wish to target for

their purchase assistance programs and set their subsidyamounts accordingly.

1For a family earning $2,000 per month applying for a loan with a front ratio of 30 percent,the maximum amount available for PITI based on the front ratio alone is $600 ($2,000*.30).If this same mortgage has a 40 percent back ratio, the maximum available for housing plus longterm debt is $800. Given a $350 per month car payment, this family would have $450 per monthavailable for housing cost ($800-$350 = $450, which is the lesser of the front and back ratios).

Lawyers for AffordableHousing

Apartnership between the Florida Housing Coalition and the Real PropertyProbate & Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar makes available volunteer

lawyers to assist nonprofit affordable housing developers throughout Florida.

A variety of assistance is available, including review of title searches and mort-gage financing documents, environmental issues, help with real estate purchaseand sale agreements, zoning and land use issues, nonprofit corporate law issues,and pre-development due diligence. For a referral, contact Dayatra Orduña atthe Coalition 850-878-4219 or email [email protected] O’Malley, Chair — Real Property, Probate &

Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar, at the FloridaHousing Coalition’s 16th Annual Conference.

�

�

Using SHIP Reporting Data toExplore Program Policies andOutcomes for Owner-Occupied

Rehabilitation Programs

Over the last 12 months, Coalition staff hascollected and analyzed data reported inthe SHIP Annual Reports. Through this

analysis we have been able to explore the relation-ship between local policies and expected outcomesin locally designed owner-occupied rehabilitationstrategies. During fiscal year 2000-2001, 102SHIP jurisdictions reported spending a total of$31.5 million in SHIP funds alone to repair homes.This number represents approximately 21% of thetotal statewide SHIP expenditures for that year,falling into second place behind funds spent on purchase assis-tance strategies.

To get answers about how programs are designed, we first needto look at why rehabilitation programs exist. When both theSHIP and HOME programs came on line in the early 1990s,they offered communities funding to respond to communityneeds through their unprecedented and more flexible regulato-ry structure. Prior to the enactment of these two programs,communities had access primarily to the CommunityDevelopment Block Grant (CDBG) program for performingrepairs on dwelling units. The CDBG program, complete withvery specific rules and regulations on how to rehabilitate unitsfor low income persons, was familiar to community develop-ment and housing staff. So it is not surprising that, particular-ly in the early years of the SHIP program, rehabilitation ofowner-occupied units was a common strategy for jurisdictions.Consequently, many of the features of the CDBG-funded pro-gram were incorporated into SHIP-funded programs.

When a community designs and implements a rehabilitationprogram, it is necessary to decide early on what the expected

outcomes are. Elected officials, community devel-opment staff and community partners must takeinto consideration whether the goal is to clean upneighborhoods by eliminating slum and blight,help low income people eliminate substandard andunhealthy living conditions, or assist families toimprove the value of their primary asset to perhapsprovide security for their future. Often the vision isa blended one, and the specific policies adopted atthe local level, such as per unit maximum awardamounts, recapture provisions, and targeted funds

to specific demographic categories or neighborhoods, can havean impact on those outcomes.

One of the pivotal issues in locally designed rehabilitation pro-grams is the amount of SHIP funds a community decides to usewhen repairing a home. Our data analysis showed a wide rangeof per unit expenditures for rehabilitating owner-occupiedunits. Statewide, the average per unit award was higher inurban areas, for example, than in rural areas. So, how do SHIPjurisdictions decide how much per unit subsidy to provide?We used linear regression to test several hypotheses.1

Do SHIP communities receivinggreater SHIP funds expend more dol-

lars per unit?

In our first hypothesis, we posited that the larger jurisdictionswhich receive higher annual allocation amounts would havemore SHIP funds available for all strategies, including rehab,and would tend to set higher maximum awards as a result.The results of our analysis showed that for the year reviewedthis was not the case; the average award in jurisdictions

By Wight GregerFlorida Housing Coalition

receiving $350,000 or less averaged $17,651 per unit whilethose in the $351,000 to $999,999 category only averaged$15,368 per unit.

Do communities with older housingstock spend more SHIP funds for

repairs?

Florida is a relatively "young" state, and consequently thestatewide average age ofour housing stock is 25years. If we assume thatmost systems in a homelast from 20-30 yearsfrom the time the homewas originally built, wewould conclude that theolder homes would likelyrequire more repairs.Using the regressionanalysis, we tested to seeif communities witholder housing stock2

(65% of the housingstock older than 25years) spent more SHIPfunds to repair units thanthose communities withless stock older than 25 years. Our analysis showed that forthe year reviewed this was also not the case.

Do communities with lower medianincomes spend more per unit to

repair home than those with highermedian incomes?

In our third hypothesis, we wanted to see if there was a rela-tionship between per unit award amounts and median areaincome. Our hypothesis was that in communities where medi-an incomes were lower (where there were more households withless access to funds for repairs and improvements to theirhomes) that the local jurisdictions would attempt to addresstheir families' needs for repair funds by adopting and awardinghigher subsidies. Surprisingly, the regression analysis showedthat this was also not the case. Anecdotally, , one south Florida

community with a very high median area income of $60,000(family of four) provided $20,000 per unit in SHIP subsidy,while another north Florida community with a median areaincome of $33,600 ALSO provided $20,000 in SHIP subsidyfor home repairs.

If communities are not developingpolicies on how much per unit sub-

sidy to spend based on familyincome, age ofhousing stock,or availabilityof resources,how are thesedecisions being

made?

Through our on-site work inthe field and in our Catalystworkshops, Coalition staffare continuing to surfacethese questions with housingadministrators, communitydevelopment staff, electedofficials, and local partners.Many communities havedesigned their programssolely on the basis of per-

ceived political feasibility. However, this approach will notnecessarily result in the stated outcomes which are articulatedin the overall vision. There are some limited examples of max-imum per unit rehab amounts increasing when elected officialsare presented with data on the condition of housing and thecost of the repairs needed to make each unit standard. Ourexperience is that this data driven approach enables communi-ties to set goals for their owner-occupied rehab program anddevelop program parameters tailored to meeting these goals.

If you would like assistance in this area, or in any area relatedto developing policies which will enhance your community'svision, please call our toll-free number at (800) 677-4548 tospeak with a Technical Advisor.

1 The purpose of linear regression is to estimate the relationship between variables,or more specifically how a change in an independent variable (such as medianarea income) affects the value of the dependent variable (such as subsidy amount).2Housing supply characteristics were derived from the Affordable Housing NeedsAssessment, Florida Housing Data Clearinghouse,www.flhousingdata.shimberg.ufl.edu


September 20 - 22, 2004 - MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR NEXT YEAR

The Florida Housing Coalition's 17th Annual Statewide Affordable Housing Conference

Marriott Waterside Resort Tampa, FL

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

FLORIDA HOUSING COALITION'S 16TH ANNUAL STATEWIDEAFFORDABLE HOUSING CONFERENCE

“Stayin’ Alive” 2003“Stayin’ Alive” 2003

Our annual conference would not be possible without our Partners for Better Housingat all levels. We would especially like to recognize our Platinum Sponsor:

WASHINGTON MUTUAL, and our Gold Sponsors: AMSOUTH BANK, BANK OF AMERICA,SUNTRUST, AND WACHOVIA BANK.

LEGISLATIVE RECEPTION

At the Annual Legislative Awards Reception, Legislative Honorees, Representative Nancy Detert, Senator Ken Pruitt,Representative Bill Galvano, and Representative Ed Jennings receive their Florida Housing Coalition Legislative HousingChampion Awards from Board Member, Mark Hendrickson.

The 2003 Legislative Awards Reception was co-sponsored by by the Coalition of Affordable Housing Providers and Stearns,Weaver, Miller, Weissler, Alhadeff & Sitterson, P.A. And Sponsored by: The Carlisle Group, Cornerstone Group Development,Florida Association of Realtors, Florida Manufactured Homes Assoc,. The Gatehouse Group, The Hendrickson Company, LCADevelopment, Inc., Pinnacle Housing Group, Richman Group of Florida, Wendover Housing Partners.

The Legislative Reception was its usual bit hit, with a remarkable band, fabulous food, and a spectacular view. While some left after a couple of hours,others danced into the night.

Courtesy buses took conference participants from thehotel to the heart of East Little Havana on Tuesday

evening to join in a grand opening block party at RayosDel Sol, a Pinnacle Housing Group development.

After the dedication by Pinnacle Chairman, LouisWolfson III, pictured here with partners, Michael Wohl,Mitchell Friedman, and David Deutch and joined bylocal and state dignitaries, we enjoyed tours of thedevelopment. In addition to the amenities that havecome to typify all Florida Housing Finance Corporationtax credit and SAIL funded developments, such ascommunity rooms, fitness centers, a swimming pool,and computer labs, Rayos Del Sol, boasts somethingthat is “signature Pinnacle”-ART.

Rayos Del Sol stands out immediately for its designbeauty, topped off by vibrant colored metal butterfliesand a fiber optics lighting sculpture depicting the raysof the sun atop this 13 story Spanish- flavored building.Pinnacle commissioned two renowned local artists tocreate unique daytime and night time sculptures.

We learned that even this jewel in an otherwise declin-ing area had to overcome substantial NIMBY opposi-tion that caused significant construction delays. Andthat once built, Pinnacle received an astounding 6,000inquiries from families wanting to live in this 199 unitmultifamily development. The average rents at RayosDel Sol for these two and three bedroom apartments areone-third of market rate developments in the area.

The low wage-working families that now call Rayos DelSol home are enormously grateful.

Rayos Del Sol A Special Conference Treat

Campaign Goals

The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) has ini-tiated a campaign in Florida to encourage community-basedorganizations-such as tenant organizations, affordable housingproviders, and other entities that inter-act regularly with low-income people-tomake civic engagement through voterregistration, voter education, and votermobilization an integral part of theirprograms.

By November 2004, it is the hope ofNLIHC that our members and affili-ates in Florida will have registered75% of their clients/constituents/resi-dents/members to vote as a result ofthe campaign, and all of them will have attended events inorder to educate themselves and the candidates on the impor-tance federal policy has on their lives. While registering andeducating voters is essential, the most challenging of our goalsis that 60% of them show up at the polls on Election Day.

Why Civic Engagement is Important

Although elected officials are obligated to represent everyone intheir districts, the nature of politics is that they tend to listenmore closely to the people who put them in office. The 2000Census data listed above gives a clear picture of why manyelected officials do not listen to the needs of our poorest citizens.

The huge disparity between the percentage of voters from high-income households and low-income households is a major part

of why low-income citizens' needs aren't being met. Therefore,it is the obligation of non-profits dedicated to serving low-income Americans to ensure that everyone, regardless ofincome, is engaged in the political process.

Civic Engagement and 501 (c)3

Organizations

Federal law bars 501 (c)3 charitable organizations from endors-ing electoral candidates and participating in any partisan activi-ties. However, 501 (c)3 organizations may lawfully register, edu-cate, and mobilize voters. In fact, working to ensure that as manypeople as possible are part of the electoral process is generallycomplimentary to the mission of all 501 (c)3 organizations.When implemented in the right way, a civic engagement programis effective, doesn't drain resources, and benefits all involved.

For More Information or to Get InvolvedIf you are interested in hearing more about our campaign orwant to commit to participating Katie Fisher at [email protected] 202-662-1530, ext. 222.

Civic Engagement Campaign forVoter Registration, Education,

and Mobilization in Florida

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ANNUAL INCOME % REGISTERED VOTERS % REGISTERED VOTERS VOTING IN 2000Below $5,000 53.1% 34.2%$5,000-9,999 57.1% 40.6%$10,000-14,999 58.6% 44.3%$15,000-24,999 65.0% 51.3%$25,000-34,999 69.0% 57.3%$35,000-49,999 72.3% 61.9%$50,000-74,999 77.9% 68.7%$75,000 and over 82.1% 74.9%

Moreover, the participation rate of homeowners in 2000 was twice that of renters (84.7% vs. 43.8%).

At the 16th Annual Statewide Conference, Jaimie Ross moderated "NonprofitLobbying". The panel included John Little, senior attorney with Legal Services ofGreater Miami and head of the Community Development unit which provideslegal assistance to CDCs , and Isabel Cassio Cabayo, Legislative and PublicAffairs Coordinator for the South Florida Regional Planning Council, and veter-an of the political process. "Nonprofit Lobbying" addressed grassroots lobbyingand advocacy by 501(c)(3) organizations. The panel explained the parametersof lobbying for nonprofits and the do's and don'ts for successful advocacy.

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Florida finds itself in a similar position tomost states as it moves from a congregatecare residential system for people with dis-

abilities to one in which people with disabilitieschoose where they live and the necessary supportsfollow them. In the congregate system housingsubsidies were embedded in the fees paid toproviders. As support services and housing havebeen de-coupled, housing subsidies have evapo-rated as we have relied on Medicaid waiver pro-grams that have traditionally not provided forhousing subsidies. As new waivers are made available, thequestion that begs asking is "Where are we going to find safe,accessible and affordable housing for individuals whose mainincome is a social security check?"

Florida's Needs WellDocumented

The Housing Crisis for individuals with significant disabilitiesare well documented in the Florida's Housing Coalition/DDCouncil's previous reports. Individuals with significant dis-abilities are basically frozen out of the housing market and thegap between their ability to pay and the cost of housing iswidening rather than diminishing. Furthermore, even whenhousing subsidies are available, fully accessible rental prop-erties often are not.

Waiting For HUD To DoSomething

DD Council and Housing Coalition previousreports have served as a mechanism to educatethe DD community about existing federal lowincome housing programs and the important poli-tics of making our constituency's needs known toPublic Housing Authorities. In some parts of thestate inroads have been made and PHA's haveprovided increased housing options for individu-

als with disabilities. While there is some anecdotal evidenceto show that these educational efforts have yielded more indi-viduals with disabilities accessing low income housing, thereis nothing to show a systemic response that could serve as aparallel development for the creation of additional waiverslots. This should not be a surprising development given thatHUD's only new construction/ Supportive Housing Programfor people with disabilities (Section 811 Program) has not onlybeen drastically reduced in recent years, but also requires sig-nificant "up front" investment. Finally efforts to use the 811program to develop the low-density housing that provides truecommunity integration are particularly problematic.

Assuming that existing HUD programs represent, at best, apartial answer to the housing needs for individuals with signif-icant disabilities, what is the DD community in Florida pro-

Thinking About HousingExcerpts from

A Blueprint for Self Determination In Florida

Prepared for The Center for Self Determination

By Patrick Rafter

The Florida Housing Coalition brought in Pat Rafter, President of Creative Housing, Inc. in Columbus

Ohio, to make a presentation at the 16th Annual Statewide Conference in Miami. He shared with the

participants his recommendations for Florida, as outlined in a report prepared for The Center for Self

Determination called a Blueprint for Self Determination in Florida. The following are excerpts from

that report, reprinted with his permission.

posing as a supplemental program that meets the articulatedneeds of people with disabilities? If we do not develop a sup-plement to HUD programs, do we believe 10 years from nowwe will have moved much further down the road of solving ourhousing crisis? Will most individuals with significant disabil-ities continue to be relegated to congregate care facilities?

Promising Beginnings: Privateand Non Profit Sector

Florida has the groundwork in place in existing fundingstreams to develop a strong response to the neglected hous-ing needs of individuals with disabilities. Several regionalcenters have established rent subsidy programs for very lowincome individual with disabilities. With additional fundingand a statewide commitment, rent subsidies can enable verylow-income individuals to live in existing market rate rentalunits. This approach provides a wide array of housingoptions and by passes what is often a multiyear developmentprocess. The recommendation in other portions of this reportto develop a Medicaid Waiver that allows for funding of rentsubsidies has enormous potential as a needed rent subsidyfunding source.

Rent subsidies utilized in the private market will not be thesole solution to the housing shortage. The existing CASL pro-gram offers an example of a non-profit housing corporationoffering housing at below market rates with a special sensitiv-ity to the needs of people with disabilities. The CASLapproach with its separation of housing and support systemsparticularly empowers people with disabilities in the hiringand firing of support providers.

The SHIP program represents an excellent con-duit for funding existing non-profit housing cor-porations or developing new non-profit housinginfrastructures. Our national experience hasshown that the development of housing for indi-viduals with disabilities requires deep subsi-dies and the avoidance of debt service. SHIPfunds have potential as a funding source fornon-profit housing corporations that are focus-ing on serving very low-income individuals withdisabilities.

Recommendations

Our recommendations focus on two areas:

1. Expansions of rent subsidy programs to increase access tomarket rate rental properties and encourage landlord par-ticipation.

2. The need to develop a non-profit housing corporation infra-structure sensitive to the needs of individuals with signifi-cant disabilities.

Rent Subsidy Expansion

BREAKING INTO SECTION 8 (SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS)Across the country most communities have lengthy Section 8rent subsidy waiting lists or are not even accepting new appli-cations because the waiting lists are so extensive. For manyindividuals with significant disabilities the application processitself represents a significant barrier. After the Public HousingAuthority's (PHA) public notification that it is opening theapplication process, candidates must get to the Section 8office, complete an application and have ancillary documenta-tion such as bank statements, pay stubs, and social securitycards. Even if the agencies supporting the individual with dis-abilities are aware of a sign up period, the necessary docu-ments may not be readily available and application windowsare missed.

In Columbus Ohio, Creative Housing Inc., a non-profit hous-ing corporation worked with the local PHA to point out that,while not intended, the result of the Section 8 sign up process


discriminated against individuals with significant disabilitiessince they were not accessing Section 8 vouchers. The localPHA designated Creative Housing as a "partner" and has ini-tially assigned 180 project based housing choice vouchers toCreative Housing for use for individuals with significant dis-abilities.

Creative Housing was able to assist the tenants in the applica-tion process and coordinate the collection of required docu-mentation. These vouchers enabled Creative Housing to attacha subsidy stream to 180 property units. In the project-basedprogram after the tenants live in the property for a year, theirvoucher becomes portable and they can move and rent fromany landlord willing to accept their voucher. In addition, if thetenants choose to leave, the Section 8 subsidy to the propertyis maintained. Creative Housing pro-vides apartment finding assistance tothose individuals who prefer to use theirvouchers to find housing elsewhere. Theprogram enables a non-profit housingcorporation to maintain a subsidy tounits that have a waiting list of appli-cants while at the same time giving exist-ing tenants the freedom to move on andrent from other land lords.

Local chapters of Arcs in Anne ArundelCounty, Maryland and Hennepin CountyMinnesota aided by a grant from theJoseph P. Kennedy Foundation haveestablished partnerships with their localPHA with a focus on pairing up Section 8 rent subsidies withindividuals receiving HCBS Waivers.

BENEFITS FOR THE PHAGetting a PHA to focus on providing housing for individualswith significant disabilities is not readily accomplished andoften requires a lengthy local political and educationalprocess. Once a PHA is focused, "partnering" with a disabili-ty service group offers an approach to efficiently concentrateproviding housing services. The Columbus Ohio PHA notes inits publications that partnering allows the PHA to:• Target housing to the "neediest of the needy"• Decrease the number of no-shows for applications and re-cer-

tifications• Reduce the number of terminations for program violations• Reduce landlord and neighbor complaints

In short, the partnership provides a mechanism for the PHAto target particularly needy individuals and also reduce

their administration expenses. For disability organizationsthe Section 8 revenues represent a solid funding stream tosupport individuals who wish to reside in private marketapartments. Section 8 can be an important funding streamfor non-profit organizations that are developing housing,which requires deep subsidies for individuals with signifi-cant disabilities.

Creating a Subsidy Program: Some regions in Florida havetaken the initiative to develop their own rent subsidy programs.The strategy proposed elsewhere in this report regarding theuse of waiver funds to subsidize housing offers the possibility ofexpanding existing rent subsidy programs as well as initiatingsubsidies in those regions where they are non-existent.

However as these subsidy programsare implemented we would recommendbuilding in flexibility to allow for thefollowing:

BRIDGE SUBSIDIES WITH SECTION 8:Even if you are more successful inaccessing Section 8 rent subsidies, itwill be a rare occurrence when waiversupports and Section 8 fundingbecomes simultaneously available toan individual. It is important that sup-ported housing and support servicesconverge simultaneously. Subsidyfunds can be used on short-term basiswith the understanding that the indi-

vidual will apply for Section 8 subsidies and when those fundsare received the rent subsidy dollars will be used to supportanother individual.

DEPOSIT ASSISTANCE: Many of the low income individuals thatyou will be serving will not have enough money to pay theexpected security deposits after other move in expenses areincurred. We would recommend that you allow yourself theflexibility to pay security deposits when necessary.

EXTRAORDINARY DAMAGES: There will be occasions when indi-viduals in your subsidy program damage a property beyondtheir limited ability to compensate a landlord. Many apart-ments are under the umbrella of large property managementcompanies, which have hundreds of units. Your ability to "stepup to the plate" and compensate a landlord for extraordinarydamages will go a long way to establishing successful partner-ships with property management companies.

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RENT PAYMENT GAP FUNDING: Inevitably some individuals areeither going to choose not to pay their rent or run into financialdifficulties that prevents them from doing so. While some land-lords may exhibit patience in this situation, others will movequickly to eviction proceedings. Allowing you the flexibility tostep into some situations and pay a tenants portion of the rentcan avoid an unwanted eviction.

It is important to remembered that once an individual has aneviction on their record they will be screened out of decentapartment communities and often relegated to substandardand unsafe housing.

Growing a Non-Profit HousingInfrastructure

In Priced Out in 2000: The Crisis Continues the most compre-hensive report of the housing crisis facing people with disabil-ities the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD)Housing Task Force recommended that efforts be made tostrengthen the role and housing capacity of non-profit disabil-ity organizations. CCD is a Washington based coalition ofapproximately 100 consumer, advocacy groups, providers andprofessional organizations who advocate with and on behalfpeople with disabilities and their families. Working in partner-ship with the Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) CCDhas created the "Opening Doors" web site, which provides auseful and ongoing analysis of federal housing programs fordisability organizations. Used in tandem with previously pub-lished Housing Coalition/DD Council reports, TAC/CCDreports present a comprehensive overview of relevant housingprograms that is extremely useful and does not need to berepeated here.

What does need to be stressed here is that accessing these fed-eral housing programs in a manner that is sensitive to theneeds of the disability community requires expertise and upfront funding. In short accessing these federal programs isbeyond the capabilities of disability organizations that dabblewith housing on the side.

It is important to realize that in the words of TAC/CCD con-gressional testimony, "most Public Housing Authorities do notsee people with disabilities as an important constituency". Asit currently stands the ingredients of disability groups inexpe-rienced in the creation of housing and inattentive PHA's is arecipe for, at best, maintaining the status quo that is the cur-rent housing crisis for people with disabilities.

NON-PROFIT HOUSING CORPORATIONS: A Catalyst for Change:Non-Profit Housing Corporations are playing a central rolewhere disability organizations have moved from a role of pas-sive bystander to the housing crisis to an active participant increating housing for people with disabilities. The corporationsserve as an important resource in assisting supportive livingcoaches in putting together a package for private market hous-ing. The housing corporations also take the lead in imple-menting a housing development plan to serve those not readi-ly served by the private market. They become the center ofconcentrated housing expertise for serving people with dis-abilities. Successful non-profit housing corporations have sev-eral common characteristics:

1. START UP GRANTS: Whether the corporation is foundedfrom scratch or an existing low-income housing provider ispersuaded to develop a disability sensitive focus, start upfunds will be needed. Staff salaries for the non-profit hous-ing corporation are primarily supported by managementfees from rental properties. Initial start grants serve to sup-port the non-profit during an "incubation period" until theorganization achieves a critical mass that allows manage-ment fees to support needed in house expertise.

2. MULTI-DISABILITY FOCUS: Housing corporations that haveconfined themselves to serving a restricted niche (i.e.Housing for individuals with Down's Syndrome) limit theirgrowth potential and have minimal system wide impact.Organizations that we have served a broad cross section ofdisabilities and have also included individuals withMental Health issues and the elderly.

3. WORK IN TANDEM WITH SUPPORT SYSTEM: It is importantthat Florida hold to its policy of separating housing andsupports. This approach truly empowers people with dis-abilities in the process of selecting and maintaining serv-ice providers. However, a successful housing program forpeople with significant disabilities can only work if thenecessary services are in place to support the tenants.

Housing development should function as a subset of an over-all system plan, which is driven by stated customer preference.Development of specific numbers of single-family homes,duplexes or apartments buildings should occur as a result of anassessed need. It is our customers who should be telling uswhether if we should emphasize developing single-familyhomes for shared living or apartments for those who want tolive alone.

Most importantly, guarantees of tenant selected support servic-es must be in place before any development proceeds.


4. ACCESSIBILITY EXPERTISE: Apartments developed thatmeet basic ADA requirements still may not allow an indi-vidual in a motorized wheelchair to enter a bath room andtransfer to a shower chair. The successful housing corpo-ration needs to develop in-house expertise to meetextraordinary accessibility needs. These can run thegamut from bathroom lift systems to smoke detectors forthe hearing impaired. The development of this housingreduces the cost of support care as well as provides anopportunity for individuals with disabilities to move out ofcongregate a setting. Often these individuals are left incongregate settings for no other reason than lack of acces-sible housing.

In addition to functioning as the DD community workhorse topush system change the non-profits are best positioned to workwithin the complex governmental funding and regulatory envi-ronment and produce the low rents needed to provide housingto individuals living primarily on social security. Moreover,non-profits are not going to convert properties to market rentsonce use restrictions have expired. The conversions currentlybeing exercised by for profit developers are one of the maincauses of the current reduction in affordable housing stock.

Listed below are some non-profit housing corporations worthcontacting. All are from Ohio where the state has made capi-tal funding available to non-profits for supported housingacquisitions:Preferred Properties (Toledo) www.preferred-properties.orgThis organization has been extremely successful in developingHUD Section 811 projects. Preferred Properties has two proj-ects operational with three more in development. Current newdevelopments have involved the use of low income tax creditsmade available through the Ohio Housing Finance Agency,

Northcoast Community Homes (Cleveland) www.ncch.orgProvides housing to over 800 individuals in over 200 locationsin a four county area. The housing serves individuals withdevelopmental disabilities as well as mental health issues.The organization has a strong fund raising arm. Northcoast iscompleting a textbook to assist families in developing proper-ties for a son/daughter with disabilities with or without theassistance of a non-profit housing corporation.

Creative Housing Inc. (Columbus) www.creativehousing.orgProvides housing to over 900 individuals in over 450 locationsincluding over 300 Creative Housing owned properties.Creative Housing also has an extensive renovation for accessi-bility program renovating homes for people with disabilitiesand the elderly in a seven county area in Central Ohio. Thisorganization has grown its renovation expertise into a "for prof-it" income stream, which helps to subsidize renovations forlow-income individuals.

About the Author:Patrick Rafter is the founding President/CEO of Creative Housing Inc.; a nationallyrecognized non-profit corporation that has involved people with disabilities and theirfamilies in the development of over 37 million dollars in neighborhood based housingoptions. In addition to housing programs Mr. Rafter has developed programs to mod-ify privately owned family homes and the homes owned by the elderly for accessibil-ity in order to avoid or delay placements into the long-term care system.

Mr. Rafter also consults with community agencies as well as state and local govern-ments in housing development in a number of states. He currently serves on theHuntington National Bank Community Development Advisory Council.. Mr. Rafterholds Bachelor and Masters degrees from the University of Notre Dame as well as aMasters degree from the University of Toledo. He has also studied at the KennedySchool of Government at Harvard University

Patrick RafterPresident/CEO

[email protected]

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Pat Braaf of Washington Mutual presents a checkat the Florida Housing Coalition’s 16th AnnualStatewide Conference for $2,500 to the winner ofthe WAMU Raffle to Build Nonprofit Capacity.This year the winner was Greater MiamiNeighborhoods, who, in keeping with the spirit ofthe raffle, has donated the money to the DoreenFlummer Scholarship Fund for future housing

Annual WAMU Raffle toBuild Nonprofit Capacity

One of my rehabilitationapplicants owns a secondhome that she rents out. I

know that this second home is consid-ered an asset and that the rent she col-lects is the actual income derived fromthis asset. Should I deduct any expensesfrom the rent that she receives and onlycount the net income after expenses?

Yes. HUD has recently pro-vided clarification on how totreat income from rental prop-

erty. Appendix 15 of the newly revisedHUD Handbook 4350.3 addresses thisissue. It notes that you can use theIRS's Schedule E of the 1040 form as aguide for subtracting expenses fromgross rent. Schedule E outlines a vari-ety of expenses that can be deductedfrom gross rent payments, includingmortgage interest paid to banks, taxes,insurance, cleaning and maintenance,repairs, advertising, utilities and depre-ciation. These are, therefore, theexpenses that can be deducted fromgross rent payments to be received inthe 12 months.

Refer to section 15-C (M) of theHandbook appendix for a list of accept-able documents to collect to verify thisasset income. These materials will doc-ument the applicant's recent rentalexpenses and help estimate expensesfor the next 12 months. It is likely thatthe largest expense will be mortgageinterest that is paid to banks. Look atthe bank amortization schedules pro-vided by your applicant to calculate theexact amount of interest that will be

paid in the next 12 months. Rely onreasonable estimates to calculate thedeductions for taxes, insurance, repairsand other expenses.

The income from rental propertiesshould be handled in a different man-ner if the applicant receives a majorityof her income from rental property man-agement. Exhibit 5-2 in Chapter 5 ofthe HUD Handbook addresses this sce-nario, "NOTE: If the person's mainbusiness is real estate, then count anyincome as business income under para-graph 5-6 G of the chapter. Do notcount it both as an asset and businessincome." (HUD Handbook 4350.3, Ch.5, Exhibit 5-2 (A)(3)).

Remember, once you have calculatedthe actual income from the rental prop-erty asset, you will have to compare thisto the "imputed income" if the totalvalue of the applicant's assets exceed$5,000. The cash value of a rentalproperty asset is its market value minusreasonable costs that would be incurredin selling or converting the asset tocash. You must also subtract theremaining mortgage on the rental prop-erty to derive the cash value.

Several of my applicants aresupposed to receive child sup-port, but do not actually

receive any funds. Many have initiatedfiles with the Office of Child SupportEnforcement, which provides a letterindicating that no child support is beingreceived. Once I receive this letter, I donot count child support in my calcula-

tion of household income in the next 12months. In one case, however, the ChildSupport Office has provided a print outof the "partial payments" that one appli-cant has received in the past threemonths. There is a different amount ofpayment each month. How should Icount this child support income for theupcoming 12 months?

It is good that you are follow-ing the right process for veri-fying and estimating child

support. You must count the fullamount of the child support that is out-lined in an applicant's court order thatrequires payment of support unless theapplicant is actively working to get thissupport through the legal means avail-able. In Florida, an applicant can workto get child support by initiating a filewith the Office of Child SupportEnforcement or filing for a contempt ofcourt hearing. In the particular caseyou mention, the applicant is doing allthat he or she can to receive the sup-port-a file has been initiated with theChild Support Office. Once you con-firm that an applicant has taken thelegal steps to get the child support thatis owed to him or her, you can count anyamount of support actually received.You can handle this as you would anyperiodic payment to the household.Take an average of the amount of moneyreceived in the last three months anduse this to calculate the estimatedamount of support to be received in thenext 12 months.

SHIPCLIPS

Frequently asked SHIP questions

Q:

A:

By Michael Chaney

A:

Q:

We have a nonprofit sponsorthat administers the city's pur-chase assistance strategy. The

City SHIP program pays this nonprofitgroup an annual service fee to performapplicant intakes and work with theapplicant all the way through to thepurchase of a home. The nonprofit isnow saying that the service fee itreceives does not cover its costs, so itwould like to charge each homebuyeran application fee. Does the SHIP pro-gram permit this?

No. In October,1994, thelegal counsel at the FloridaHousing Finance Corporation

issued a legal opinion that addressesthis matter. It states, "Nowhere in theSHIP Legislation is there authoriza-tion to charge any fee to applicants.Local governments are permitted touse up to ten percent of their distribu-tions for program administrationaccording to Section 420.9075 (6) ofthe Florida Statutes."

It is good and necessary that the non-profit wants to charge enough for itsservices to cover all of its costs. Stafffrom the City's SHIP program shouldnegotiate a suitable fee with nonprofitstaff. In this way, you will be support-ing a local partner and helping ensurethe nonprofit's long-term viability. Todetermine the exact amount of this fee,review the nonprofit's costs of deliver-ing assistance and help identify anycosts or unessential activities that canbe eliminated.

Once an appropriate service fee hasbeen established, there are severalmethods you can use to pay the fee.Some SHIP offices provide their non-profit sponsors with an upfront budgetat the beginning of the year. Manyother SHIP administrators have theirsponsors invoice them right before eachbuyer's closing date. This process willallow you to review an applicant's file,confirm that the household is eligiblefor assistance, examine the details ofthe first mortgage and the home beingpurchased, and ask for any needed cor-rections before you pay the fee.

A nonprofit sponsor imple-ments my purchase assistanceprogram. I pay them a fee for

every application that results in aclosed loan. How do I account for thisfee?

This fee can be paid witheither program or administra-tive dollars. If program dol-

lars are used, it must be deductedfrom the maximum per unit amountavailable to an applicant. In manycommunities the nonprofit's fee is notincluded on the lien that is placed onthe applicant's unit. Some adminis-trators argue that it is not fair for theservice fee to be passed on to theapplicant. Furthermore, increasingthe amount of a SHIP loan by includ-ing the service fee may negativelyaffect the combined loan to valueratios established by a lender oranother source of funding provided tothe applicant. As a solution, yourcommunity may consider a policy that

states that all such fees will be pro-vided as grants. In this way, theamount of the fee will not be consid-ered part of the loan secured by arecapture agreement.

The county wants to use SHIPfunds to pay for the develop-ment of a housing needs study.

Do I have to create a new LHAP housingstrategy for this purpose?

SHIP direct assistance dol-lars cannot be used for thispurpose, since the develop-

ment of a housing needs study is notlisted among the eligible uses offunds in Section 67-37.007 of theSHIP Rule, which outlines the "Usesof and Restrictions Upon SHIP LocalHousing Distribution Funds for LocalHousing Assistance Plans".However, item 4 (c) of this sectionindicates that SHIP administrativedollars can pay for "studies conduct-ed by the county or eligible munici-pality or by consultants selected bythe county or eligible municipality toprovide data on affordable housingneed and demand in the area".When spending administrativefunds, you do not need to create anew LHAP housing strategy for thispurpose. As an alternative, somecommunities have used general rev-enue to develop needs studies. Youmay be able to reduce the cost of ahousing study by relying on annualhousing need data generated by theShimberg Center.

Q:

A:

Have you got a question about the SHIP program? Free telephonetechnical assistance is available to help you successfully implement

your SHIP funded work. Call the Florida Housing Coalition'sSHIP telephone line at 1 (800) 677-4548.

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Michael Chaney

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COALITION NEWS

JACK HUMBURG is theDirector of HousingDevelopment and Americanswith Disabilities Act Serviceswith Boley Centers forBehavioral Health Care, Inc.Boley Centers now owns andoperates over 350 units ofaffordable housing, managesanother 70 units, and admin-isters 250 Section 8 vouchersfor individuals with disabili-ties in the Tampa Bay area.

In addition to his housingresponsibilities, Mr. Humburgserves as the State NetworkAdministrator for the FloridaAmericans with DisabilitiesAct (ADA) LeadershipNetwork. This network is thestate affiliate of the SoutheastDisability and BusinessTechnical Assistance Center,a program of the NationalInstitute on Disability andRehabilitation Researchunder the U. S. Department ofEducation.

Mr. Humburg holds a Masterof Arts degree from Ball StateUniversity.

DENISE FREEDMANis Senior Vice President andCommunity DevelopmentMarket Manager for Bank ofAmerica. Denise focuses onincreasing access to credit andfinancial services and the avail-ability of affordable housing forindividuals and families of mod-est means. Bank of AmericaCommunity DevelopmentBanking provides financing tonon-profit and for-profit multi-family affordable housing devel-opers, participates in low-income housing and historic taxcredit investments, and devel-ops affordable housing.

Denise's career with Bank ofAmerica spans 16 year.

She has a sociology degreefrom the University of Illinois,with advanced training in orga-nizational development.Denise has been the instructorin Residential Lending forFlorida Banker's AssociationFlorida Banking School atUniversity of Florida for thepast 7 years. Denise also cur-rently serves on the local advi-sory committee for the newlyformed Tampa Bay LocalInitiatives SupportCorporation, (LISC).

ROBERT ANSLEY is presi-dent of ONIC, (OrlandoNeighborhood ImprovementCorporation) a nonprofitdevelopment company thatoperates in Central Florida.ONIC has developed 11communities since 1989 andhas four underway. The pro-grams ONIC has usedinclude LIHTC, bonds,HOME, SHIP, CDBG, RTC,TIF and AHP.

In the 1980's, Mr. Ansleywas chief of housing for theCity of Orlando and manag-er of downtown planning.

Mr. Ansley is a certifiedplanner by the AmericanInstitute of CertifiedPlanners. He is a member ofthe American PlanningAssociation and the UrbanLand Institute. Mr. Ansleyhas a bachelor's degree ineconomics from DukeUniversity; a master'sdegree from the Universityof North CarolinaDepartment of City andRegional Planning, and in2001 completed the programfor Senior Executives inState and Local Governmentat the JFK School ofGovernment at Harvard

SOPHIA SOROLIS is theSHIP Administrator/HousingCoordinator for the City of St.Petersburg. She has 20 yearsexperience in the publicsector with city government,educational institutions, andthe creation of public-privatepartnerships. Her career trackincludes small business con-sulting with the SmallBusiness Development Center,and economic developmentand housing developmentexperience with the City of St.Petersburg.

During her tenure at the city,she obtained Enterprise Zonedesignation for the city;secured over $13 million indonations for 24 city and non-profit community developmentprojects under the CommunityContribution Tax IncentiveProgram (CCTIP), includingthe Allstate Police TrainingCenter; and 9.7 acre housingsubdivision site, which waslater developed by the city asaffordable housing.

Sophia has a Master ofInternational Business Studies(MIBS), from University ofSouth Carolina, and a B.A. inMarketing, University of SouthFlorida.

The Coalition Welcomes New Board Members

PARTNERS FOR BETTER HOUSING MEMBERSHIPPartners for Better Housing Membership is for those who wish to support the work of the Florida Housing Coalition by mak-ing a tax deductible donation of $500 or more. Partners for Better Housing members receive subscriptions to Housing NewsNetwork, free job vacancy posting service on the Coalition’s web page and unlimited membership rates for registration at theconference. Partners at the Patron Level or higher receive one or more complimentary conference registrations (comp, indi-cated below). Partners also receive recognition at the conference, in all conference-related publications, the Coalition’sWebpage and in each quarterly issue of Housing News Network.

q $20,000 Platinum Sponsor (20 comps) q $2,500 Co-Sponsor (3 comps)

q $10,000 Gold Sponsor (10 comps) q $1,000 Patron (1 comps)

q $5,000 Sponsor (6 comps) q $500 Contributor

BASIC MEMBERSHIPBasic membership is for those who wish to subscribe to Housing News Network, post job vacancy announcements free ofcharge on the Coalition’s web page and receive membership rate registrations at the annual conference. An individual mem-ber receives one subscription and one member rate registration. Organizational members receive up to five subscriptionsand five member rate registrations. All memberships are on a unified membership cycle and are due on August 1st, andexpire on July 31st of each year. (Please indicate additional names, addresses and phone numbers on an attached sheet.)Each membership is entitled to be represented by one voting member at the annual meeting as designated below.

Student q $25

Individual q $75 (payment by personal check only)

Nonprofit Organizations q $150

Government Agencies q $200

Private Organizations q $250

Authorized Representative (please print or type):_____________________________________________________________________________Title: ____________________________________Signature: ____________________________Organization___________________________________________________________________Mailing Address: _______________________________________________________________City: _____________________State:________Zip: _____________County:_________________Phone: (___)_______________Fax: (___)_______________Email:________________________

Make check payable to:

Florida Housing Coalition 1367 E. Lafayette St., Suite C, Tallahassee, FL 32301 - Phone: (850) 878-4219 Fax: (850) 942-6312The Florida Housing Coalition, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization. One hundred percent of your tax deductible contribution goes to theFlorida Housing Coalition, Inc. No portion is retained by a solicitor. Registration number SC09899 Federal ID#59-2235835

MEMBERSHIP application

FIRST CLASSU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDTALLAHASSEE, FLPERMIT NO. 502

The Florida Housing Coalition thanks the following organizations and individuals fortheir commitment to improving housing conditions in the state of Florida.

PLATINUM SPONSORGOLD SPONSOR

SPONSOR

PARTNERS FOR BETTER HOUSING

Florida Housing Coalition1367 East Lafayette Street, Suite CTallahassee, FL 32301

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

PATRON

CONTRIBUTOR

CO-SPONSOR

AmeriNational Community Services Capital City Bank The Carlisle Group

Comerica Community Enterprise Investments

The Cornerstone Group Florida Association of Realtors Florida Community Loan Fund

Florida Manufactured Homes Association Jaimie Ross Key Bank

Keystone Challenge Fund, Inc. LCA Development, Inc.

Neighborhood Lending Partners Raymond James & Associates

Realvest Appraisal Services, Inc.

Regency Development Related Capital Company, Inc

Republic Bank The Richman Group of Florida, Inc.

U.S. Trust Company of Florida Wendover Housing Partners, Inc.

Broad and Cassel Davis Heritage

First National Bank & Trust of the Treasure Coast

Homes in Partnership Housing Trust Group

Jenny and Denis NashKiss & Company, Inc.

Packard ConsultingSeltzer Management Group, Inc.

Vestcor Development Corp.The Wilson Company

AIG SunAmericaAlliant Capital LLC

Deutsche Bank Florida, N.A. First National Bank of Florida

Fleet Bank

The Gatehouse Group, Inc.Greater Miami Neighborhoods

The Hendrickson Company MMA Financial

Pinnacle Housing Group

Reznick Fedder & Silverman SouthTrust Bank

Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff &Sitterson, P.A.

William R. Hough Companies

post-conference edition housing nvolume 19, number 4 ews

Documents