Community Affairs:
Article Archive > Georgia

Georgia Banks Investing in Affordable Housing
The Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program (LIHTC), created in 1986 and made permanent in 1993, is an indirect federal subsidy used to finance the new construction or rehabilitation of affordable rental housing under section 42 of the IRS code. In 2001, the Georgia House of Representatives and Senate unanimously approved a state LIHTC program administered through the Department of Community Affairs. The credits provided by the program offer a dollar-for-dollar reduction in state income taxes and can satisfy bank CRA requirements in many instances. Stateside Capital, LLC, headquartered in Atlanta is a for-profit organization formed to consolidate credits from various sources and offer them as investment opportunities to banks, corporations, and individuals. Minimum investments range from $100,000 in commingled funds to substantially higher amounts in private partnerships. The credits flow over a 10-12 year period and rates of return will vary with market conditions. The funds are comprised of properties throughout the state of Georgia that meet required tenant income guidelines. Because the state program mirrors its federal counterpart, the state investor receives the benefit of the due diligence performed by the large federal tax credit investors as well as the federal tax credit syndicators.

For information or to contact Stateside about investment opportunities, e-mail rbeacham@statesidecapital.com, or call (404) 250-4190 or go to www.statesidecapital.com.
[Published in News from the Districts, Community Developments, Summer 2005]

Loan Consortium Provides Mortgages for Affordable Housing
Georgia Affordable Housing Corporation (GAHC), a nonprofit organization, was formed in 1998 and is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). GAHC is a lending source and a technical incubator for financing and promoting development of affordable housing units for low- and moderate-income households in Georgia. GAHC mainly concentrates its efforts on small- to medium-sized communities. GAHC has organized a loan consortium made up of financial institutions to provide permanent mortgages for new construction and to rehabilitate multifamily affordable housing units. Loan-to-value ratios associated with GAHC loans are generally lower because of the increased equity investment that results from the use of low-income housing tax credits, HOME funds, or other related affordable housing subsidies.

Contact David Young at (404) 888-8237; www.georgiaaffordablehousing.org.
[Published in News from the Districts, Community Developments, Fall 2004]

Banks Investing in Atlanta's Future
Investing in the Community Redevelopment Loan and Investment Fund, Inc. (CRLIF), a CDFI fund has proven to make a difference to metro Atlanta's most distressed neighborhoods. An affiliate of the Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership, Inc. (ANDP), CRLIF became a certified CDFI in 1999. Throughout its 13-year history, ANDP has been engaged in developing housing for people of moderate to low incomes. Their dedication to creating mixed-income neighborhoods has resulted in helping to build or renovate more than 7,800 housing units in the Atlanta metropolitan region. CRLIF assists ANDP with creating affordable housing by providing low interest loans to community development corporations and other nonprofit housing developers. Financial institutions and foundations can donate or invest from $250,000 to $5 million. One of the ways ANDP is able to rejuvenate distressed communities is through CRLIF, because it is able to underwrite risks that typically do not meet traditional lending criteria. CRLIF's CDFI fund totals $12 million and also allows area banks to qualify for the Treasury Department's Bank Enterprise Award (BEA).

For further information, please contact, CRLIF Director K.C. George, (404) 522-2637, or visit their website at www.andpi.org/housingfindept.
[Published in News from the Districts, Community Developments, Summer 2004]

Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta Creates New Markets Fund
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (FHLBA) has established a New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) matching fund, the "New Markets Fund," through which it will provide recoverable grants of up to $100,000 in matching funds to members that invest in qualifying NMTC funds.

For more information, visit www.fhlbatl.com/newmarkets.
[Published in News from the Districts, Community Developments, Fall 2002]

return to top >