This is the first in a series of blog posts chronicling the Rural Rental Housing Preservation Academy. TSAHC, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Enterprise Community Partners, the Rural Rental Housing Association of Texas and Motivation, Education, & Training, Inc. partnered to present the academy which is a series of no-cost training and peer learning sessions designed to help rural housing providers and nonprofits acquire and/or preserve USDA housing in their respective communities. Special thanks to the Capital One Foundation for providing financial support for the academy.
Attendees participated in "Session 1: Overview and Introduction to USDA Rural Development" last week in San Antonio. This is a recap of that session provided by Julie Gunter, Director, Community Development at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
Overview of the 515 Program
Russell Kaney - Enterprise Community Partners (presentation)
Jonathan Bell - Texas USDA Rural Development (presentation)
Mr. Kaney and Mr. Bell (pictured right) gave an overview of the Section 515 Program, a rural rental housing mortgage loan program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The program has created 21,859 units at 678 multifamily properties in Texas.
Overview of the 514/516 Programs
Jeanne Shaw - Tierra del Sol (presentation)
Jonathan Bell - Texas USDA Rural Development (presentation)
Ms. Shaw and Mr. Bell discussed the Section 514 and Section 516 programs that are also administered by USDA and provide grants to buy, build, or repair housing for farm laborers.
USDA Rural Development TX Portfolio Data
Larry Anderson - Rural Housing Preservation Associates/Get RD Done Right! (presentation)
Emily Perlmeter - Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas (presentation)
Mr. Anderson provided an overview of the portfolio of Section 514, 515 and 516 properties in the state. Ms. Perlmeter (pictured right) presented an interactive map showing where properties are located, their size, ownership, and how vulnerable they are to exiting out of USDA's portfolio and losing their affordability provisions.
Overview of the Rental Assistance and Voucher Program
Larry Anderson - Rural Housing Preservation Associates/Get RD Done Right! (presentation)
Jonathan Bell - Texas USDA Rural Development (presentation)
In Texas, 13,868 of the units created by the Section 515 program have rental assistance to help low-income households. Rental assistance is a key component of keeping properties financially stable, but rental assistance may be cut or lost if a property leaves USDA's portfolio.
Overview of the Housing Preservation and Revitalization Demonstration Program and the Section 538 Guarantee Loan Program
Larry Anderson - Rural Housing Preservation Associates/Get RD Done Right! (presentation)
Jonathan Bell - Texas USDA Rural Development (presentation)
Mr. Anderson presented four ways to preserve rural housing properties, and Mr. Bell discussed the Section 538 program, another USDA product to finance new rural multifamily developments or refinance existing ones.
Overview of Major Stakeholders and Key Roles
Larry Anderson - Rural Housing Preservation Associates/Get RD Done Right! (presentation)
Jonathan Bell - Texas USDA Rural Development (presentation)
Mr. Anderson and Mr. Bell reviewed the stakeholders in the rural development process including USDA Rural Development (most important), developers and development professionals, lending institutions, credit enhancers, and other financial services and professional services providers.
Locating Properties for Acquisition
Larry Anderson - Rural Housing Preservation Associates/Get RD Done Right! (presentation)
Russell Kaney – Enterprise Community Partners (presentation)
Mr. Anderson (pictured right) presented a spreadsheet of every USDA-financed property in the state, and Mr. Kaney provided other resources to help participants locate properties for potential acquisition.
Technical Assistance Opportunities through the Rural Housing Preservation Academy
Susan Anderson – Enterprise Community Partners
Ms. Anderson reminded participants that technical assistance is available at no cost and encouraged interested parties to apply.
Session 2 of the Rural Rental Housing Preservation Academy will be held February 28 - March 1 in Temple, Texas. If you wish to attend that session or any other future session, please register here.
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