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The Housing Development Loan Program provides financial
support for the development of housing for low- to moderate-income
Ohioans. The program receives its funding through unclaimed funds
from the Ohio Department of Commerce.
All funding requests are subject to approval by the
OHFA Board and OHFA's ability to reserve funds for the project.
Funds are reserved for projects based upon the availability of funds
through the Department of Commerce's unclaimed funds or other sources
available to the Agency.
Prospective borrowers can apply for this program by submitting an
Affordable Housing Funding Application (AHFA) to OHFA. The Housing
Development Loan Program guidelines and application can be downloaded
below. The AHFA is also available on disk for Excel upon request
by contacting the Office of Planning, Preservation and Development
at (614) 466-0400 or 1-800-848-1300, ext. 6-0400. The AHFA provides
a single point of entry for developers seeking various resources
for low- and moderate-income housing development from the Agency.
- Housing Development Loan Program Guidelines
- 2008 Affordable Housing Funding Application
(AHFA), Version 2
for Full Application
Applications must be received at least 30 days prior
to the month in which the applicant wishes to seek approval before
the OHFA Board. OHFA will make every effort to accommodate applicants
seeking approval within a particular time period. However, placement
of any project on the agenda for any particular month will not be
guaranteed.
The Housing Development Loan Program offers five types of loan financing
for the development of affordable housing for low- and moderate-income
individuals and families.
| LOAN TYPE |
DESCRIPTION |
| Seed Money |
Financing of eligible costs associated
with pre-development activities by nonprofit organizations. |
| Construction Deposit
|
Financing that "writes down"
the cost of construction loan interest. |
| Equity Bridge |
Interim financing for deferred equity
from the sale of housing credits. |
| Direct |
Flexible loan which may be used during
the construction and/or post-construction periods. |
| Loan Guarantee |
Guarantee repayment of a loan or part
of a loan in the event of default. The loan must be awarded
by an established FDIC-insured financial lending institution
which has a continued presence in the State of Ohio. Exceptions
will be given to large national banks offering federal/quasi-federal
insurance. |
- Projects receiving an annual reservation of $750,000
or more in housing credits will not be eligible for housing development
loans. The Agency reserves the right to combine the credit amounts
for projects located in close proximity to each other and sharing
similar attributes. Possible examples include similar project
type, construction style, or development team.
- Projects that include multifamily revenue bonds
will not be eligible for housing development loans.
The following are the general guidelines of the Housing Development
Loan Program.
- Purpose of the Project: The purpose of the
project must be the development of new or rehabilitated, low-
and/or moderate-income, homeownership or rental housing within
the State of Ohio.
- Loan Amount: The loan amount shall be limited
to an amount that is determined by OHFA to ensure sufficient funding
for the construction or rehabilitation of the proposed housing
development.
OHFA loans shall be made only upon the determination by the Agency
that financing is not otherwise available, wholly or in part, from
a private lender(s) upon reasonably equivalent terms and conditions.
The borrower must demonstrate that the project cannot proceed "but
for" the receipt of the OHFA loan. (Note: In this regard, the applicant
must demonstrate that alternative sources of funding have been considered
[i.e., Federal Home Loan Bank Community Investment Program, Fannie
Mae Housing Impact Fund, Ohio Community Development Finance Fund,
etc.] and inform OHFA if it was determined that such sources were
not available for the project.)
- Evidence of Other Financing Sources: The
applicant must demonstrate that it will be able to pay for development
costs not otherwise financed by the OHFA loan(s) being requested.
Therefore, the applicant must submit to OHFA acceptable financial
commitments from all other budgeted funding sources (to be verified
at time of application and at closing).
- Active OHFA Housing Development Loans: An
applicant/borrower can be awarded several OHFA housing development
loans, but there can be only one active loan on the OHFA accounts
receivable books at one time per project.
- Housing Credit/Bond Projects: For those
projects seeking housing development loans in conjunction with
a reservation/allocation of housing credits, the loan application
and/or commitment shall become void should the project return
credits to the Agency. For those projects seeking housing development
loans in conjunction with an allocation of volume cap, the loan
application and/or commitment shall become void should the project
return or lose the volume cap allocation.
- Experience of Development Team: The applicant
must provide information regarding the identity and housing experience
of officers, general and/or limited partners and other principal
personnel of the development team for the proposed project. The
development team (general partners, limited partner, developer,
general contractor, and management company) must have satisfactory
experience in successful housing management and development. If
any member of this development team is involved as a general partner
of another project currently not in good standing with OHFA programs,
the application will be rejected. After all issues have been resolved
to OHFA's satisfaction, any application must be resubmitted for
the project to be reconsidered for a housing development loan.
OHFA reserves the right to assess the capacity of every member
of the development team at any time.
- Conformity to Program Guidelines: The applicant
must demonstrate to OHFA that the housing development will be
decent, safe and sanitary and that the occupants of the housing
development will benefit from the savings resulting from the housing
development loan financing. The developer must include in the
Affordable Housing Funding Application a statement as to the public
purpose of the project. The proposed project must conform to all
of the Housing Development Loan Program guidelines, requirements
and criteria resulting in a determination by OHFA staff that it
meets, or exceeds, the requirements of Ohio Revised Code Section
175.09(B), and that the project is in the best interest of the
people of the State of Ohio. The OHFA Board and staff reserve
the right to impose additional requirements on an applicant at
any time prior to approval or closing of a project.
- Narratives: A narrative must be submitted
with all applications for housing development loans. See the Housing
Credit Qualified Allocation Plan for guidance on this matter.
- Tax Information Authorization Disclosure:
Each owner/general partner and, if applicable, the controlling
entity of the general partner must complete Attachment 4—Tax
Information Disclosure Authorization (two pages) of the Affordable
Housing Funding Application. OHFA must be able to verify that
no delinquent taxes are owed to the State of Ohio.
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clearance:
OHFA must be able to determine that no monies are owed to the
state or a state agency for the administration or enforcement
of the environmental laws of the state. This is an internal process;
however, projects will not be permitted to close on any housing
development loan until such clearance has been obtained from the
EPA.
- Civil Rights Compliance: It is the responsibility
of the owner/developer/borrower and any of its employees, agents
or subcontractors in doing business with OHFA to adhere to and
comply with all federal civil rights legislation inclusive of
the Fair Housing Laws, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as any state
and local civil rights legislation along with any required related
codes and laws. Should OHFA not specify any requirements, such
as design, it is nonetheless the owner's responsibility to be
aware of and comply with all nondiscrimination provisions relating
to race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, sexual
orientation and national origin. This includes design requirements
for construction or rehabilitation, equal opportunity in regard
to marketing and tenant selection, and reasonable accommodation
and modification for those tenants covered under the laws. OHFA
has provided a brief guide to federal accessibility requirements
in Appendix G of the Housing
Development Loan Program guidelines.
The OHFA staff underwrites new loans and processes requested modifications
to existing loan commitments. Loan underwriting and processing is
accomplished prior to a formal review process for OHFA management
and the OHFA Board. It is therefore important to understand the processing
cycle which precedes each transaction placed on the agenda for review
and approval consideration.
| First Week of Month—
|
Internal Loan Review Meeting |
| Second Wednesday of
Month— |
Multifamily Committee
Meeting |
| Third Wednesday of
Month— |
OHFA Board Meeting |
Any requests for changes to originally approved loan
commitments or loan applications must be provided to the OHFA staff
30 days prior to the OHFA Internal Loan Review Meeting. Requests
that are not received at least 30 days prior to the initial OHFA
Internal Loan Review Meeting may be placed on the following month's
OHFA Board agenda.
This
summary is an excerpt from the Housing Development Loan Program
guidelines. The complete guidelines and application are available
for downloading. If you need further information, contact the Office
of Planning, Preservation and Development at (614) 466-0400.
The
Housing Development Loan Program guidelines may be subject to change
in the future pending developments in state legislative requirements
and/or Agency policy. OHFA reserves the right to make changes or
amendments to these guidelines at any time and to limit loan funding
based on funding availability.
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