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 Santi: Hi, this is a special episode of Statecraft. I've got a wonderful guest host with me today. Kyla Scanlon: Hey, I'm Kyla Scanlon! I'm the author of a book called In This Economy and an economic commentator. Santi: Kyla has joined me today for a couple reasons. One, I'm a big fan of her newsletter: it's about economics, among many other things. She had a great piece recently on what we can learn from C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters, which is a favorite book of mine.Kyla's also on today because we're interviewing Wally Adeyemo, who was the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury in the Biden administration. We figured we each had questions we wanted answered.Kyla: Yeah, I've had the opportunity to interview Wally a couple times during the Biden administration, and I wanted to see where he thinks things are at now. He played a key role in implementing the Inflation Reduction Act, financial sanctions on Russia, and a whole bunch of other things.Santi: For my part, I'm stuck on Wally's role in setting up the IRS's Direct File program, where you can file your taxes for free directly through the IRS instead of paying TurboTax a hundred bucks to do it. “Good governance types” tend to love Direct File, but the current admin is thinking of killing it. I wanted to understand how the program got rolled out, how Wally would respond to criticisms of the program, and what he learned from building something in government, which now may disappear.Kyla, you've talked to Wally before. How did that conversation go? Kyla: I actually was able to go to his office in D.C., and I talked to a couple of key people in the Biden administration: Jared Bernstein, the former chair of the CEA, and Daniel Hornung, who was at the National Economic Council.We're talking to Wally on the day that the House passed the one big beautiful bill. There's also so much happening financially, like the bond market is totally rebelling against the US government right now. I'm really curious how he thinks things are, as a key player in the last administration.Santi: Wally, you've spent most of your career in Democratic Party institutions. You worked on the Kerry presidential campaign in 2004. You served in the Obama admin. You were the first chief of staff to the CFPB, the president of the Obama Foundation, and, most recently, Deputy Treasury Secretary in the Biden admin.30,000ft question: How do you see the Democratic Party today?My view is that we continue to be the party that cares deeply about working-class people, but we haven't done a good job of communicating that to people, especially when it comes to the things that matter most to them. From my standpoint, it's costs: things in America cost too much for a working-class family.I want to make sure I define working class: I think about people who make under $100,000 a year, many of whom don't own homes on the coast or don't own a significant amount of stocks (which means they haven't seen the asset appreciation that's led to a great deal of wealth creation over the last several decades). When you define it that way, 81% of Americans sit in that category of people. Despite the fact that they've seen their median incomes rise 5-10% over the last five years, they've seen the cost of the things they care about rise even faster.We haven't had a clear-cut agenda focused on the standard of living, which I think is the thing that matters most to Americans today.Santi: There are folks who would say the problem for Democrats wasn't that they couldn't communicate clearly, or that they didn't have a governing agenda, but that they couldn't execute their agenda the way they hoped to in the time available to them. Would you say there's truth to that claim?Most people talk about a communications issue, but I don't think it's a communications issue. There are two issues. One is an implementation issue, and the second is an issue of the actual substance and policy at the Treasury Department. I was the deputy secretary, but I was also the Chief Operating Officer, which meant that I was in charge of execution. The two most significant domestic things I had to execute were the American Rescue Plan, where $1.9 trillion flowed through the Treasury Department, and the Inflation Reduction Act. The challenge with execution in the government is that we don't spend a lot on our systems, on making execution as easy as possible.For example, the Advanced Child Tax Credit was intended to give people money to help with each of their children during the pandemic. What Congress called on us to do was to pay people on a monthly basis. In the IRS system, you pay your taxes mostly on an annual basis, which meant that most of our systems weren't set up to pay a monthly check to Americans. It took us a great deal of work to figure out a way to recreate a system just to do that.We've underinvested in the systems that the IRS works on. The last time we made a significant investment in the IRS's digital infrastructure was the 1960s; before we had an ATM machine, before we sent a man to the moon, before we had a personal computer. So that meant that everything was coded in a language called COBOL.So execution was quite hard in the American Rescue Plan. People were left out and felt that the government wasn't working for them. If you called the IRS, only 13% of your calls were being answered. We got that back up to 85% before we left. Ultimately, I think part of this is an execution challenge. In government we want to spend money coming up with new policies, but we don't want to pay for execution, which then means that when you get the policy passed, implementation isn't great.When Jen Pahlka was on your show, she talked about the need to focus on identifying the enablers to implementation. Direct File was one of the best examples of us taking implementation very seriously.But also, on some policy issues that mattered most to Americans, we weren't advancing the types of strategies that would've helped lower the cost of housing and lowering the cost of medicine. We did some things there, but there's clearly more that we could have done, and more we need to do going forward to demonstrate that we're fighting to bring down those costs. It's everything from permitting reform — not just at the federal level, but what can we do to incentivize it at the state and local level — to thinking about what we can do on drug costs. Why does it cost so much more to get a medicine in America than in Canada? That is something that we can solve. We've just chosen not to at the federal level.At the end of the year, we were going to take action to go after some of the middlemen in the pharmacy industry who were taking out rents and large amounts of money. It dropped out of the bill because of the negotiations between the Republican Congress and then President-elect Trump. But there are a lot of things that we can do both on implementation, which will mean that Americans feel the programs that we're passing in a more effective way, and policy solutions that we need to advance as a party that will help us as well.Kyla: Some people think Americans tend to vote against their own self-interest. How can your party message to people that these sorts of policies are really important for them?Ultimately, what I found is that most people just understand their self-interest differently, and for them, a big part of this was, “Who's fighting for me on the issues that I care most about?”From my standpoint, part of the problem we had with Direct File, which I think was an innovative solution, was that we got to implementing it so late in the administration that we didn't have the ability for it to show the impact. I'm hoping future administrations will think through how to start their implementation journey on things like Direct File sooner in the administration, when you have a great deal of political capital, so people can actually feel the impact over time.To your question, it's not just about the messaging, it's about the messenger. People tend to trust people who look like them, who come from the places they come from. When it came to the Child Tax Credit and also to Direct File, the biggest innovation wasn't the technology: the technology for Direct File has been used by the Australians, the British, and other countries for decades.The biggest innovation was us joining that technology with trusted people in communities who were going out to talk to people about those programs and building those relationships. That was something that the IRS hadn't done a great deal of. We invested a great deal in those community navigators who were helping us get people to trust the things the government was doing again, like the Child Tax Credit, like Direct File, so that they could use it.We often think that Washington is going to be able to give messages to the country that people are going to hear. But we're both in a more complicated media environment, where people are far more skeptical of things that come from people in Washington. So the best people to advocate for and celebrate the things that we're doing are people who are closer to the communities we're trying to reach. In product advertising today, more companies are looking to influencers to advertise things, rather than putting an ad on television, because people trust the people that they follow. The same is true for the things that we do in government.Santi: I've talked to colleagues of yours in the last administration who say things like, “In the White House, we did not have a good enough sense of the shot clock.” They point to various reasons, including COVID, as a reason the admin didn't do a good enough job of prioritization.Do you think that's true, that across the administration, there was a missing sense of the shot clock or a missing sense of prioritization? No, because I'm a Lakers fan. These are professionals. We're professionals. This is not our first rodeo. We know how much time is on the shot clock; we played this game. The challenge wasn't just COVID. For me at Treasury — and I think this is the coolest part of being Deputy Secretary of the Treasury — I had responsibilities domestic and international. As I'm trying to modernize the IRS, to invest all my time in making the system work better for customers and to collect more taxes from the people who owe money, Russia invades Ukraine. I had to turn a bunch of my attention to thinking about what we were going to do there. Then you have Hamas attacking Israel.There was more we should have done on the domestic end, but we have to remember that part of the presidency is: you get to do the things you want to do, but you also have to do the things you have to do. We had a lot of things we had to do that we weren't planning for which required all-of-the-administration responses.I think the most important lesson I've learned about that is that it comes down to both being focused on the things that matter, and being willing to communicate to the American people why your priorities have to change in light of things that happen in the world.But the people I'm sure you've talked to, most of them work on domestic policy alone, and they probably never have been in a National Security Council meeting, where you're thinking about the risks to the country. The president has to do both of those things. So I get how difficult it is to do that, just given where I sat at the Treasury Department.Santi: Looking back from an implementation perspective, are there things you would've done differently during your time at Treasury?The most important thing that I would've done differently was to immediately set up a permanent implementation and delivery unit in the Treasury Department. We always like to pretend like the Treasury Department is just a policy department where we make policy, we collect taxes. But in any crisis the country ever has, a great deal of responsibility — for execution or implementation of whatever the response is — falls to the Treasury Department. Think about the financial crisis, which is clearly something that's in the Treasury's domain. The vast majority of money for COVID flowed through the Treasury Department. You think about the IRA, a climate bill: the vast majority of that money flows through the Treasury Department.And Treasury doesn't have a dedicated staff that's just focused on implementation: How do we do this well? How do we make sure the right people are served? How do we make sure that we communicate this well? We did this to a degree by a team that was focused on the American Rescue Plan. But it was only focused on the American Rescue Plan. If I could start again, I would have said, “I want a permanent implementation structure within the Treasury Department of people who are cross-cutting, who only think about how we execute the policies that we pass through Congress and that we put together through an executive order. How do we do that extremely well?”Kyla: What you're talking about is very people-centric: How do we get an implementation team, and how do we make sure that the right people are doing the right jobs? Now we have DOGE, which is less people-centric. How do you reconcile what Doge is doing relative to what you would've done differently in this role that you had?As you would suspect, I wasn't excited about the fact we had lost the election, but initially I thought DOGE could be helpful with technology. I think marrying technology with people — that's the key to success for the government. We've never really been great at doing technology in the government.Part of the reason for that is a procurement process that is very slow because of how the federal acquisition rules work. What we are trying to do is prevent corruption and also waste, fraud, and abuse. But what that does is, it leads to slowness in our ability to get the technology on board that we need, and in getting the right people.I was hoping DOGE would bring in people who knew a great deal about technology and put us in a position where we could use that to build better products for the American people. I thought they would love Direct File, and that they would find ways to improve Direct File and expand it to more Americans.My view is that any American in the working class or middle class should not have to pay a company to file their taxes. We have the ability in this country, and I think Direct File was proving that. My goal, if we'd had more time, was to expand this to almost any American being able to use it. I thought they'd be able to accelerate that by bringing in the right people, but also the right technology. We were on that path before they took those two things apart.My sense is that you have to reform the way that we hire people because it's too hard to hire the right people. In some cases, you don't need some of the people you have today because technology is going to require different skills to do different things. It's easier to break something, I found, than it is to build something. I think that's what they're finding today as well.Santi: When I talk to left-of-center folks about the DOGE push, they tend to be skeptical about the idea that AI or modern technology can replace existing federal workers. I think some of that is a natural backlash to the extreme partisan coding of DOGE, and the fact that they're firing a lot of people very quickly. But what's your view? After DOGE, what kinds of roles would you like to see automated?Let me say: I disagree with the view that DOGE and technology can't replace some of the things that federal workers do today. My view is that “productivity enhancing” tech — it's not that it is going to make employees who are currently doing the job more productive. It is going to mean you need fewer employees. We have to be honest about that.Go to the IRS, for example. When I got there, we had a huge paper backlog at the IRS because, despite what most people think, millions of people still file their taxes by paper, and they send them to the IRS. And during the pandemic, the commissioner, who was then working for President Trump, decided to shut down the IRS for public health reasons — to make sure employees did not have to risk getting COVID.There were piles of paper backing up, so much so that they had filled cafeterias at the IRS facilities with huge piles of paper. The problem, of course, is that, unlike modern systems, you could not just machine-read those papers and put them into our systems. Much of that required humans to code those papers into the system by hand. There is no need in the 21st century for that to happen, so one of the things that we started to do was introduce this simple thing called scanning, where you would scan the papers — I know it sounds like a novel idea. That would help you get people's tax returns faster into the system, but also get checks out quickly, and allow us to see if people are underpaying their taxes, because we can use that data with a modern system. But over time, what would that mean? We'd need fewer people to enter the data from those forms.When we get money for the IRS from Congress, it is actually seen as revenue-raising because they expect it to bring down the debt and deficit, which is completely true. But the model Congress uses to do that is reliant on the number of full-time employees we hire. One challenge we have with the IRS — and in government systems in general — is that you don't get credit for technology investments that should improve your return on investment.So whenever we did the ROI calculations for the IRS, the Congressional Budget Office would calculate how much revenue we'd bring in, and it was always based on the number of people you had doing enforcement work that would lead to certain dollars coming in. So we got no credit for the technology investments. Which was absolutely the opposite of what we knew would be true: the more you invested in technology, the more likely you were to bring in more revenue, and you would be able to cut the cost of employees.Santi: If the CBO changed the way it scored technology improvements, would more Congresspeople be interested in funding technology?It is just a CBO issue. It's one we've tried to talk to them about over the last several years, but one where they've been unwilling to move. My view is that unlocking this will unlock greater investment in technology in a place like the IRS, because every dollar you invest in technology — I think — would earn back $10 in additional tax revenue we'd be able to collect from people who are skipping out on their taxes today. It's far more valuable to invest in that technology than to grow the number of employees working in enforcement at the IRS. You need both, but you can't say that a person is worth 5x their salary in revenue and that technology is worth 0. That makes no sense.Kyla: When we spoke about Direct File many months ago, people in my comment section were super excited and saying things like, “I just want the government to tell me how much money I owe.” When you think about the implementation of Direct File, what went right, and how do you think it has evolved?The thing that went right was that we proved that we could build something quite easily, and we built it ourselves, unlike many technology projects in government. We didn't go out and hire a bunch of consultants and contractors to do it. We did it with people at the IRS, but also with people from 18F and from GSA who worked in the government. We did it in partnership with a number of stakeholders outside the government who gave us advice, but the build was done by us.The reason that was important — and the reason it's important to build more things internally rather than hiring consulting firms or other people to build it — is that you then have the intellectual capital from building that, and that can be used to build other things. This was one product, but my view is that I want the IRS home page to one day look a lot more like the screen on your iPhone, so that you can click on the app on the IRS homepage that can help you, depending on what you need — if it's a Direct File, or if it's a tax transcript.By building Direct File internally, we were getting closer to that, and the user scores on the effectiveness of the tool and the ability to use it were through the roof. Even for a private sector company, it would've been seen as a great success. In the first year, we launched late in the filing season, mostly just to test the product, but also to build stakeholder support for it. In the limited release, 140,000 people used it. The average user said that before Direct File, it took them about 13 hours to file their taxes, and with Direct File, it took them just over an hour to file their taxes.But you also have to think about how much money the average American spends filing their taxes: about $200. That's $200 that a family making under $100,000 could invest in their kids, in paying some bills, rather than in filing their taxes.Even this year, with no advertising by the Trump administration of Direct File, we had more than 300,000 people use it. The user scores for the product were above 85%. The challenge, of course, is that instead of DOGE investing in improving the product — which was a place where you could have seen real intellectual capital go to work and make something that works for all Americans — they've decided to discontinue Direct File. [NB: There has been widespread reporting that the administration plans to discontinue Direct File. The GOP tax bill passed by the House would end Direct File if it becomes law. At the time of publication, the Direct File has not been discontinued.]The sad part is that when you think about where we are as a country, this is a tool that could both save people money, save people time, improve our ability to collect taxes, and is something that exists in almost every other developed economy. It makes no sense to me why you would end something like this rather than continue to develop it.Santi: People remember the failure of healthcare.gov, which crashed when it was rolled out all at once to everyone in the country. It was an embarrassing episode for the Obama administration, and political actors in that administration learned they had to pilot things and roll them out in phases.Is there a tension between that instinct — to test things slowly, to roll them out to a select group of users, and then to add users in following cycles — Is there a tension between that and trying to implement quickly, so that people see the benefit of the work you're doing?One of my bosses in the Obama administration was Jeff Zients, the person who was brought in to fix healthcare.gov. He relentlessly focused on execution. He always made the point that it's easy to come up with a strategy to some degree: you can figure out what the policy solution is. But the difference between good and great is how you execute against it. I think there is some tension there, but not as much as you would think.Once we were able to show that the pilot was a success, I got invited to states all over the country, like Maryland, to announce that they were joining Direct File the next year. These members of Congress wanted to do Direct File events telling people in their state, “This product that's worked so well elsewhere is coming to us next.” It gave us the ability to celebrate the success.I learned the lesson not just from Zients, but also from then-professor Elizabeth Warren, whom I worked for as chief of staff at the CFPB. One challenge we had at the CFPB was to build a complaint hotline, at that point mostly phone-operated, for people who were suffering. They said it would take us at least a year to build out all the product functions we need. We decided to take a modular approach and say, “How long would it take for us to build the system for one product? Let's try that and see how that works. We'll do a test.”It was successful, and we were able to use that to tell the story about the CFPB and what it would do, not just for mortgages, but for all these other products. We built user interest in the complaint hotline, in a way that we couldn't have if we'd waited to build the whole thing at once. While I think you're right that there is some tension between getting everyone to feel it right away and piloting; if the pilot is successful, it also gives you the opportunity to go out and sell this thing to people and say, “Here's what people who did the pilot are saying about this product.”I remember someone in Texas who was willing to do a direct-to-camera and talk about the ways that Direct File was so easy for them to use. It gets back to my point on message and messenger. Deputy Secretary Adeyemo telling you about this great thing the government did is one thing. But an American who looks like you, who's a nurse, who's a mom of two kids, telling you that this product actually worked for her: That's something that more people identify with.Healthcare.gov taught us the lesson of piloting and doing things in a modular way. This is what companies have been doing for decades. If it's worked for them, I think it can work for the government too.Santi: I'm a fan of Direct File, personally. I don't want this administration to kill it. But I was looking through some of the criticism that Direct File got: for instance, there's criticism about it rivaling the IRS Free File program, which is another IRS program that partners with nonprofits to help some folks file their taxes for free.Then there's this broader philosophical criticism: “I don't want the feds telling me how much I owe them.” The idea is that the government is incentivized to squeeze every last dollar out of you.I'm curious what you make of that, in part because I spoke recently to an American who worked on building e-government systems for Estonia. One of the things that has allowed Estonia to build cutting-edge digital systems in the government is that Estonia is a small and very high-trust society. Everybody's one degree of separation from everybody else.We're a much bigger and more diverse country. How do you think that affects the federal government's ability to build tools like Direct File?I think it affects it a lot, and it gets back to my point: not just the message but the messenger. I saw this not just with Direct File, but with the Advanced Child Tax Credit, which was intended to help kids who were living in poverty, but also families overall. What we found initially in the data was that, among families that didn't have to file taxes because they made too little, many of them were unwilling to take advantage of Direct File and the Advanced Child Tax Credit because they couldn't believe the government was doing something to just help them. I spent a lot of time with priests, pastors, and other community leaders in many of the communities where people were under-filing to try and get them to talk about this program and why it was something that they should apply for.One of the challenges we suffer from right now in America, overall, is a lack of trust in institutions. You have to really go local and try to rebuild that trust.That also speaks to taking a pilot approach that goes slower in some cases. Some of the criticism we got was, “Why don't you just fill out this form for us and then just send it to us, so that Direct File is just me pressing a button so I can pay my taxes?”Part of the challenge for us in doing that is a technology challenge: we are not there technologically. But the other problem is a trust problem. If I were to just fill out your taxes for you and send them to you, I think people, at this stage, would distrust the government and distrust the technology.Direct File had to be on a journey with people, showing people, “If I put in this information, it accurately sends me back my check.” As people develop more trust, we can also add more features to it that I think people will trust. But the key has to be: how do you earn that trust over time?We can't expect that if we put out a product that looks like something the Estonian government or Australia would put out, that people would trust it at this point. We have to realize that we are on a journey to regain the trust of the American people.The government can and will work for them, and Direct File was a part of that. We started to demonstrate that with that product because the people who used it in these communities became the spokespeople for it in a better way than I ever could be, than the Secretary or the President could be.Everyone knows that they need to pay their taxes because it's part of their responsibility living in this country. The things that make people the most upset is the fact that there are people who don't pay their taxes. We committed that we were going to go after them.The second frustration was: “Why do you make it so hard for me to pay my taxes? Why can't I get through to you on the phone line? Why do I have to pay somebody else to do my taxes?” Our goal was to solve those two problems by investing money and going after the people who just decided they weren't going to pay, but also by making it as easy as possible for you to pay your taxes and for most people, to get that tax refund as quickly as possible.But doing that was about going on a journey with people, about regaining their trust in an institution that mattered to them a great deal because 90 something-percent of the money that funds our government comes in through the IRS.Kyla: You have a piece out in Foreign Affairs called “Make Moscow Pay,” and what I found most interesting about that essay is that you said Europe needs to step it up because the United States won't. Talk through the role of Treasury in financial sanctions, and your reasons for writing this piece.People often think about the Treasury Department as doing a few things. One is working with Wall Street; another one is collecting your taxes. Most people don't think about the fact that the Treasury Department is a major part of the National Security Committee, because we have these tools called financial sections.They use the power of the dollar to try and change the behavior of foreign actors who are taking steps that aren't consistent with our national security interests. A great example of this is what we did with regard to Russia — saying that we're going to cut off Russian banks from the US financial system, which means that you can't transact in US dollars.The problem for any bank that can transact in dollars is that the backbone of most of the financial world is built on the US dollar. It increases their cost, it makes it more difficult for them to transact, and makes it harder for them to be part of the global economy, nearly impossible.And that's what we've done in lots of cases when it comes to Russia. We have financial sanction programs that touch all over the world, from Venezuela to Afghanistan. The US government, since 9/11, has used sanctions as one of its primary tools of impacting foreign policy. Some of them have gone well, some of them I think haven't gone as well, and there's a need for us to think through how we use those policies.Santi: What makes sanctions an effective tool? Positions on sanctions don't line up neatly on partisan lines. Sanctions have a mixed track record, and you'll have Republicans who say sanctions have failed, and you'll have Democrats say sanctions have been an effective tool, and vice versa.The way I think about sanctions is that they are intended to bring change, and the only way that they work is that they're part of an overarching foreign policy strategy. That type of behavior change was what we saw when Iran came to the table and wanted to negotiate a way to reduce sanctions in exchange for limits on their nuclear program. That's the type of behavior change we're trying to accomplish with sanctions, but you can't do it with sanctions alone. You need a foreign policy strategy. We didn't do it by the United States confronting Iran; we got our allies and partners to work together with us. When I came into office in 2021, Secretary Yellen asked me to do a review of our sanctions policies — what's worked, what hasn't — because it had been 20 years since the 9/11 attacks.And the most important lesson I learned was that the sanctions programs that were the most effective were the ones we did on a multilateral basis — so we did it with our friends and allies. Part of the reason for this is that while the dollar is the most dominant currency around the world, oftentimes if you can't do something in dollars, you do it in a euro, or you do it in a Japanese yen, or pound sterling.The benefit of having allies all over the world is that the dominant, convertible currencies in the world are controlled by allies and partners. When we acted together with them, we were more effective in curtailing the economic activity of our adversary, and our pressure is more likely to lead to them changing their behavior.We had to be very cautious about collateral damage. You might be targeting an individual, but by targeting that individual, you might make it harder for a company they're affiliated with to continue doing business, or for a country that they're in to get access to banking services. Let's say that you're a huge bank in America, and you're worried about sanctions risk in a small country where you do little business. Why not pull out, rather than having to put in place a huge compliance program? One of the challenges that we have is that the people who make the decisions about whether to extend sanctions don't necessarily spend a lot of time thinking about some of these economic consequences of the sanctions approach.Whenever I was around the table and we were making a decision about using weapons, there was a process that was very elaborate that ended up with something going to the president. You'd often think about kinetic force very seriously, because you were going to have to get the president to make a decision. We didn't always take that kind of rigor when it came to thinking about using our sanctions policy, but the impact on the lives of people in these countries was just as significant for their access to not only money, but to food and to the resources they needed to live.Santi: What do you make of the effectiveness of the initial sanctions on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine? I've heard mixed reviews from folks inside and outside the Biden administration.Sanctions, again, to my point, are only a tool. They've had to be part of a larger strategy, and I think those sanctions were quite effective. I think the saving grace for the Russians has been the fact that China has largely been able and willing to give them access to the things they need to continue to perpetuate.There was a choice for Ukraine, but when you think about Russia's economy today vs. Russia's economy before the sanctions were put in place, it's vastly different. Inflation in Russia still runs far higher than inflation anywhere else in the world. If you were a Russian citizen, you would feel the impacts of sanctions.The challenge, of course, is that it hasn't changed Vladimir Putin's behavior or the behavior of the Kremlin, largely because they've had access to the goods and supplies they need from China, Iran, and North Korea. But over time, it means Russia's economy is becoming less competitive. They have less access to resources; they're going to struggle.I think everyone hoped that sanctions would immediately change the calculus of the Kremlin, but we've never seen that to be the case. When sanctions are effective, they take time, because the economic consequences continue to compound over time, and they have to be part of a larger strategy for the behavior of the individual. That's why I wrote the article, because while the Kremlin and Russia are under pressure, their view is that ultimately the West is going to get tired of supporting Ukraine, financially and politically, because the economic consequences for us — while not as significant as for Moscow or for Kiev — have been quite significant, when you think about the cost of living issues in Europe.I think it's important to write this now, when it appears that Russia is stalling on negotiations, because ultimately, US financial support is waning. We just know that the Trump administration is not willing to put more money into Ukraine, so Europe is going to have to do more, at a time when their economic situation is quite complicated as well.They've got a lot to do to build up their economy and their military-industrial base. Asking them to also increase their support for Ukraine at the same time is going to be quite difficult. So using this money that Russia owes to Ukraine — because they owe them compensation at this moment — can be quite influential in helping support the Ukrainians, but also changing Russia's calculus with regard to the ability of Ukraine to sustain itself.Kyla: On CNBC about a month ago, you said if we ever have a recession over the next couple of months or so, it would be a self-inflicted one. Do you still resonate with that idea? To build on the point I was making, the economy has done quite well over the course of the first few months of the year, largely because of the strength of the consumer, where our balance sheets are still quite strong. Companies in America have done well. The biggest headwind the US economy faces has been self-inflicted by the tariffs the president has put on. Part of what I still do is talk to CEOs of companies, big and small. Small businesses feel the impact of this even more than the big businesses. What they tell me is that it's not just the tariffs and the fact that they are making it more expensive for them to get the goods that they need, but it's the uncertainty created by the off-again, on-again, nature of those tariffs that makes it impossible for them to plan for what supplies they're going to get the next quarter. How are they going to fulfill their orders? What employees are they going to need? It's having a real impact on the performance of these companies, but also their ability to hire people and plan for the future.If you go to the grocery store, you're going to start seeing — and you're starting to see already — price increases. The thing that Americans care most about is, the cost of living is just too high. You're at the grocery store, as you're shopping for your kids for the summer, you're going to see costs go up because of a self-imposed tax we've put in place. So I still do think that if we do find ourselves in a recession, it's going to be because of the tariffs we've put in place.Even if we don't enter a technical recession, what we're seeing now is that those tariffs are going to raise the cost for people when they go out to buy things. It's going to raise the cost of building homes, which is going to make it harder for people to get houses, which is ultimately going to have an impact on the economy that isn't what I think the president or anyone wants at this point.Kyla: Is there anything else we haven't asked about? I think the place where we continue, as a country, to struggle is that, given the federal system we have, many of these problems aren't just in Washington — they're in state and local governments as well. When you think about the challenges to building more housing in this country, you can't just solve it by doing things at the federal level. You have to get state and local governments unified in taking a proactive approach. Part of this has to be not just financial or regulatory from the federal government, but we have to do more things that force state and local governments to get out of the way of people being able to build more housing. I think that the conversations that you've had on your show, and the conversations we're having in government, need to move past our regular policy conversations of: “Should we do more on LIHTC? Should we try to fix NEPA?” Those, to me, are table stakes, and we're in the middle of what I'd say is a generational crisis when it comes to housing. We have to be willing to treat it like a crisis, rather than what I think we've done so far, which is take incremental steps at different levels to try and solve this. That's one thing that I wanted to make sure that I said, because I think it's the most important thing that we can do at the moment.Kyla: Absolutely. During your time there, the Treasury was doing so much with zoning reform, with financial incentives. What I really liked about our last conversation was how much you talked about how important it is that workers can live close to work. Are you optimistic that we will be able to address the problem, or do you think we are sinking into quicksand?I'd say a little bit of both, and the thing that I'm doing now is getting hyperlocal. One of the projects I'm working on in my post-administration life is I'm working with 15 churches in D.C., where they have vacant land and want to use it to build affordable housing as quickly as possible.I'm learning that even when you have the land donated for free and you're willing to work as quickly as possible, it's still quite hard because you have regulations and financial issues that often get in the way of building things. Part of what we have to do now is just launch as many natural experiments as possible to see what works.What I've learned already from this lived experience is that even cities that are trying to get out of the way and make it easier to build housing struggle because of what you all know to be true, which is that the local politics of this is quite complicated. Oftentimes, the way that you get them over the line is by creating incentives or disincentives.In the past, I talked a lot about incentives in terms of “giving people money to do things.” I'm now in favor of “not giving money to people who don't do things” — if you don't take steps to fix your zoning, some of the federal money that you regularly get is not coming to your jurisdiction. I'm going to reallocate that money to places that are doing this activity. I think we have to take those types of radical steps.It's similar to what we did with the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, where if you didn't spend your money, we could take your money back and reallocate it to people who were giving away emergency rental assistance money.That motivates people a lot — when they feel like something's going to be taken away from them. I'm of the view that we have to find more radical things that we can do to get housing built. If we don't, costs will continue to rise faster than people's incomes.Santi: Wally, I have to ask after that point you just made: did you read the paper by my colleague Chris Elmendorf on using LIHTC funds? The idea is to re-allocate those federal funds away from big, expensive cities and into other places in a state, if the cities don't commit to basic zoning reforms.I completely agree with him, and I think I would go even further than just LIHTC money. I would reallocate non-housing money as well, because from my standpoint, if you think about the most important issue for a family, it's being able to find housing that is affordable near their place of work and where their kids go to school. I said that on purpose. I didn't say “affordable housing.” I said “housing that is affordable,” because affordable housing is, in lots of ways, targeted towards a population of people who need it the most. But for even people who are middle income in this country, it crowds out their ability to pay for other things when housing costs continue to creep higher.The only way we solve that problem is if you get rid of restrictive zoning covenants and fix permitting. The natural thing that every city and state is thinking about right now is throwing more money at the problem. There's going to need to be money here, just in light of some of the headwinds, but it's going to be more costly and less effective if we don't fix the underlying issues that are making it hard to build housing where we want it.Right now in California, we're having a huge debate over what we do with infill housing in urban areas. A simple solution — you don't have to do another environmental review if one was already done in this area— is taking months to work through the California legislature, which demonstrates that we're going too slow. California's seeing an exodus of people. I just talked to a CEO who said, “I'm moving my business because the people who work for me can't afford to live in California anymore.” This is the kind of problem that you can solve. State legislatures, Congress, and executives have to get together and take some radical steps to make it easier to build housing.I appreciate what you said about what we were doing at Treasury, but from my standpoint, I wish we had done more earlier to focus on this issue. We had a lot going on, but fundamentally, the most important thing on housing is taking a step to try and build housing today, which is going to have an impact on the economy 10, 20, 30 years from now. We just have to start doing that as soon as possible.Thanks to Emma Hilbert for her transcript and audio edits. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.statecraft.pub

The House of Representatives last week passed budget reconciliation legislation that includes significant tax incentive provisions. In this week's Tax Credit Tuesday podcast, Michael Novogradac, CPA, and Peter Lawrence, Novogradac's chief public policy officer, discuss the bill, including what provisions were included, which were left out (but could be added as the Senate considers the legislation) and the timeline for the landmark bill going forward. They take a deeper dive into provisions concerning opportunity zones (OZ) and the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) that were part of the House bill, along with a significant rollback of clean energy incentives. They also discuss the possibility of provisions relating to the new markets tax credit (NMTC) and historic tax credit (HTC) being added to the bill in the Senate.

Navigating Multifamily CRE in a Volatile Environment Insights from Paul Fiorilla, Director of U.S. Research at Yardi Matrix   Paul Fiorilla offers a data-driven view of today's commercial real estate (CRE) landscape using the vast resources he has at his disposal at Yardi.   While market sentiment may be growing more optimistic, Fiorilla acknowledges investors should separate short-term mood from long-term fundamentals. His perspective, rooted in close analysis of multifamily data and macro conditions, is both pragmatic and cautionary: yes, there's capital on the sidelines and deals are getting done but many investors may be misreading the durability of recent tailwinds and underestimating latent risks.   Short-Term Confidence, Long-Term Industry   Real estate is an inherently long-term, illiquid asset class yet, much of the current market behavior appears to be anchored in short-term confidence (and short term memories). That dissonance should give investors pause. While macroeconomic shocks like tariffs, interest rate hikes, and political uncertainty do not immediately register in quarterly CRE data, their effects compound over time.   Investor sentiment, meanwhile, remains buoyant. Debt markets have resumed activity, stock indices are back near prior highs, and many assume the worst is behind us. But the lagging nature of real estate data means we're still months away from fully seeing the impacts of recent fiscal and geopolitical developments.   Multifamily Fundamentals: A Shifting Landscape   Fiorilla addresses the fundamentals of the multifamily sector, noting that demand has remained strong in recent years, but the distribution of that demand is shifting. Rent growth is no longer universal. Over the past 15 months, metros in the Midwest and Northeast, markets like Chicago and New York, have consistently posted moderate, steady rent growth. In contrast, high-growth Sunbelt cities such as Austin, Atlanta, Nashville, and Salt Lake City are experiencing flat to negative rent trends.   What's driving this bifurcation is primarily supply. In oversupplied markets, absorption hasn't kept pace with new deliveries. Despite a sharp national decline in starts, down approximately 40% year-over-year, the existing pipeline remains heavy. Nationally, over 1.2 million units are either in lease-up or under construction. In high-growth markets, deliveries will continue at elevated levels for the next several years. Some cities may see 12–15% added to their multifamily inventory by 2027.   Fiorilla underscores that while national numbers suggest a tapering of supply, the local realities are more complex. Markets that arguably need more housing, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago for example, are seeing similar slowdowns in new development as oversaturated markets. The result is a continued misalignment between where capital is building and where it's most needed.   The Waning Tailwinds of Demand   Fiorilla also points to softening demand drivers that may soon undermine current assumptions. Over the past several years, demand has been supported by several powerful tailwinds: robust job growth, high immigration, and pandemic-era trends such as household formation and suburban relocation. But these are now tapering.   Net immigration, while still meaningful, is slowing. Job growth has begun to decelerate. Moreover, federal employment cuts and delays in private-sector hiring – driven by political and fiscal uncertainty – are contributing to a weakening outlook for household formation. These are not necessarily signs of imminent distress, but they do suggest that the extraordinary absorption rates of 2021–2022 will be difficult to sustain.   As Fiorilla puts it, “the risks are to the downside.” He's not forecasting a collapse but cautions against overreliance on recent performance when underwriting future deals, particularly in light of ongoing supply pressure.   Policy Risk and the Fragility of Subsidized Housing   Among the more underappreciated risks in the market, Fiorilla emphasizes policy risk, especially in affordable and subsidized housing. He notes that while programs like LIHTC and Opportunity Zones appear safe, others such as Section 8 are under pressure.   Of particular concern are proposals to convert these programs into state-administered block grants. While this may seem like a technocratic shift, it would represent a material change for property owners. Federal guarantees would be replaced by varying state-level funding regimes, increasing payment risk and reducing the predictability that underpins underwriting in the subsidized housing sector. For owners reliant on these programs, even modest payment disruptions could be “catastrophic,” he notes.   Interest Rate Volatility: The Real Pain Point   Turning to capital markets, Fiorilla distinguishes between the level of interest rates and the pace at which they change. Today's rates, he argues, are not historically high. Pre-GFC, rates were often at similar levels. What's destabilizing is the speed of change. A sharp increase from near-zero to 4–5% within a single year has impaired refinancing feasibility and upended underwriting assumptions.   This volatility, not the rates themselves, has created most of the current distress. Borrowers facing refinancing at double or triple the prior coupon are under strain. And yet, transaction activity persists, with many deals still pricing at thin or even negative leverage. Why? Because the #1 driver of compressed cap rates is investor confidence in future cash flows. The belief that rents will continue to rise justifies aggressive pricing – until it doesn't.   This mindset echoes pre-GFC sentiment, where rent growth was taken as a given. Fiorilla is quick to clarify that today's market is not nearly as reckless. Still, elevated pricing in an environment of cooling fundamentals could leave investors dangerously exposed to even mild shocks.   Quiet Distress and the Maturity Wall   Another issue masked by short-term optimism is the growing volume of loan maturities. These include both regularly scheduled maturities and loans previously extended during 2021–2023 that are now reaching their end.   Fiorilla notes that many of these are being addressed quietly. Lenders, reluctant to force asset sales, are working with borrowers on a case-by-case basis. The result: distress is real, but it's largely invisible. There's little evidence of forced portfolio liquidations or widespread delinquencies – yet.   The availability of capital, particularly for multifamily, is helping to buffer these pressures. There's no shortage of dry powder. But absent a sharp rate reversal or improved clarity from policymakers, the sector could see a slow bleed of marginal deals rather than a systemic reset.   Underappreciated Geopolitical Risk   One of the most thought-provoking parts of the conversation concerns CRE's growing sensitivity to global and political dynamics. This is a structural change. The U.S. has long benefited from its role as a stable, rule-of-law jurisdiction. But shifts in foreign policy, trade restrictions, and political dysfunction are beginning to weigh on foreign investment.   Declining Canadian cross-border investment and tighter restrictions on visa travel are, in part, evidence of this shift. These aren't headline stories but they are meaningful. If the U.S. loses its perception as a reliable haven for capital, CRE pricing could face downward pressure from shrinking foreign demand. This is a long-term trend worth monitoring closely, not a transitory blip.   What He's Watching   When asked what indicators he watches most closely, Fiorilla points to three primary metrics: Occupancy Rates – Particularly in high-supply markets. Stabilized occupancy below 94% would be an early warning sign. Absorption Trends – A sustained drop in household formation or leasing activity could signal weakening demand. Employment Data – Job losses, especially if broad-based, would ripple into rent growth and occupancy. He also monitors transaction volume as a proxy for investor confidence. If deal flow freezes again, that would signal a recalibration of forward expectations.   Final Reflection   While Fiorilla resists giving investment advice, his closing thoughts reflect a conservative posture. He's not sitting on the sidelines entirely but he's not rushing in either. Caution, portfolio balance, and realistic expectations are the guiding principles.   For CRE professionals, this conversation is a reminder to look past sentiment and dig into the data and the fundamentals: local supply pipelines, policy shifts, interest rate trends, and the fragility of assumptions underpinning future rent growth. The macro backdrop is far from stable and the margin for error, even in multifamily, may be thinner than it appears.   *** In this series, I cut through the noise to examine how shifting macroeconomic forces and rising geopolitical risk are reshaping real estate investing.   With insights from economists, academics, and seasoned professionals, this show helps investors respond to market uncertainty with clarity, discipline, and a focus on downside protection.    Subscribe to my free newsletter for timely updates, insights, and tools to help you navigate today's volatile real estate landscape. You'll get: Straight talk on what happens when confidence meets correction - no hype, no spin, no fluff. Real implications of macro trends for investors and sponsors with actionable guidance. Insights from real estate professionals who've been through it all before. Visit GowerCrowd.com/subscribe Email: adam@gowercrowd.com Call: 213-761-1000

Kim Lisa Taylor and Krisha Young of Syndication Attorneys PLLC welcome Homero Cabello Jr., the Deputy Executive Director at the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Homero shares insights from his decades of experience managing affordable housing programs and tax credit compliance that can be applied to projects nationwide. We'll discuss what it takes to qualify for Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), what entity structures their deals need to qualify, and how LIHTC programs benefit syndicators, investors and low income tenants. This knowledge is perfect for sponsors looking to enter or scale in affordable housing, or looking to maximize cash flow and tax benefits for their existing and future deals.  ChaptersIntroduction to LIHTC Programs and Types (00:04:40)Omero Cabello Jr. explained the two types of LIHTC programs: 9% program funding 70% of development costs, and 4% program with tax-exempt bonds funding about 80% of total development costs. He emphasized that each state must follow a qualified allocation plan dictating requirements and rules.Property Qualification and Requirements (00:07:28)Omero detailed that properties must maintain affordability for a minimum 30-year period. The program funds new construction, acquisition rehab, senior housing, and supportive housing for special needs populations. He emphasized their preference for mixed-income developments.Application Process and Common Challenges (00:08:18)Omero outlined that applications can be denied due to failure to meet threshold requirements, incomplete financial projections, and lack of local support. He emphasized the importance of securing resolutions from local government entities and state representatives.Sponsor Requirements and Team Composition (00:11:07)Omero detailed that sponsors must demonstrate experience, financial stability, and knowledge of compliance requirements. He highlighted the value of partnering with nonprofits or historically underutilized businesses.Compliance and Property Management (00:16:19)Omero stressed the importance of partnering with experienced property management companies that understand LIHTC programs and tenant qualification requirements. He mentioned Texas's robust compliance monitoring team overseeing 350,000 doors across 3,000 properties.

What is quantitative modeling and what does it have to do with real estate investing? More than most people realize. In this episode, Jeannette Friedrich is joined by finance professor and former Federal Reserve fellow David Leather to break down the world of quantitative modeling - what it is, how it evolved, and why real estate investors should be paying closer attention to it in 2025 and beyond. From office-to-residential conversions to interest rate predictions, this conversation offers a smarter way to think about risk, returns, and real estate strategy. Guest: David Leather, Assistant Professor of Finance & Real Estate, Chapman University Key Takeaways: What quant modeling really means Learn how quantitative finance evolved and how it applies to modeling asset prices, portfolios, and even real estate cap rates in a changing economy. How real estate is catching up Why improved data availability is making it possible (and necessary) to apply quant techniques in real estate decision-making. The future of office buildings What signals could indicate a return-to-office trend, and the economic and architectural hurdles behind converting office assets to multifamily housing. Affordable housing strategies How spatially targeted LIHTC policy could be optimized—and why more conversions aren't happening without government support. Refinancing in a tough lending environment Practical advice for investors with development loans maturing in the next few years—and the risks of waiting too long to refinance. Reading the Fed and the rates What investors should track to anticipate shifts in interest rate policy and private debt market conditions. A practical alternative to homeownership Why REITs may be a smarter investment than owning a home in high-cost markets like Southern California. This episode is for any investor who wants to think more rigorously—and more strategically—about what drives real estate performance today. Timestamps 00:00 Introduction to Quant Modeling 00:18 Meet David Leather: Finance and Real Estate Expert 01:29 Understanding Quantitative Modeling in Real Estate 05:18 The Office Sector and Real Estate Conversions 09:03 Affordable Housing and Policy Recommendations 19:15 Lightning Round and Final Thoughts Are you REady2Scale Your Multifamily Investments? Learn more about growing your wealth, strengthening your portfolio, and scaling to the next level at www.bluelake-capital.com. Credits Producer: Blue Lake Capital Strategist: Syed Mahmood Editor: Emma Walker Opening music: Pomplamoose *

Jackson Lucas and the Beyond the Resume podcast celebrate Affordable Housing Month! This May, we're bringing you some of our favorite interviews of affordable housing leaders shaping the real estate world. In this episode we revisit our conversation with RJ Pasquesi, President of KCG Companies, a national real estate development firm focused on affordable and workforce housing. Based in Indianapolis, RJ shares his unique journey from investment banking to launching a mission-driven development company that now operates in markets across the country.RJ discusses how KCG navigates the complex world of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), why certain states are more developer-friendly, and how his team is balancing impact with scalability. He also opens up about the entrepreneurial mindset it took to leave a stable job and build a company from scratch—while delivering thousands of affordable homes to underserved communities.Whether you're a seasoned developer, aspiring entrepreneur, or someone curious about how real estate can drive social impact, this episode is packed with valuable insights on building housing that matters.LinksYouTube: https://youtu.be/zb2NYnCmq_gSpotify: https://spoti.fi/35ZJGLTApple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3I3nkG9Web: https://www.jacksonlucas.com/podcast/ahm-pasquesiChapters(00:00) – Meet RJ Pasquesi: President of KCG Companies(03:30) – Why Indianapolis is attracting coastal real estate capital(04:30) – KCG's focus on affordable and active senior housing(06:00) – The business case for 55+ communities in affordable housing(07:00) – Where KCG is building: from Texas to New York(09:50) – How RJ chooses states based on LIHTC and agency reliability(11:50) – From investment banking to affordable housing developer(17:30) – Why RJ started KCG: control, values, and execution(21:00) – Scaling to 36 employees and building a deal pipeline(29:45) – KCG's 5-year plan: 6,000–8,000 units and market expansion#AffordableHousing #LIHTC #RealEstateDevelopment #MultifamilyHousing #WorkforceHousing #ImpactInvesting #TBGPodcast #RJPasquesi #KCGCompanies #RealEstateEntrepreneurship

The opportunity zones (OZ) incentive remains a versatile tool in the workshop of community development, housing production and renewable energy generation. In this week's episode of the Tax Credit Tuesday podcast, host Michael Novogradac, CPA, and guest Brent Parker, CPA, discuss the intersection of the OZ incentive with other tax incentives, including renewable energy tax credits (RETCs) such as the investment tax credit (ITC) and production tax credit (PTC), low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs), new markets tax credits (NMTCs) and historic tax credits (HTCs). Parker and Novogradac discuss some of the benefits and challenges of combining OZs with these other financial tools, including discussing various types of transaction structures. The two talk about the possibilities for the incentive before the Dec. 31, 2026, expiration to realize capital gains, which may see an extension after its inclusion in the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee's reconciliation budget proposal this week.

Jay Biggins is a seasoned entrepreneur with over 23 years of experience revitalizing multifamily assets and creating thriving, affordable communities. As the founder of Multihousing.com, he has completed more than 150 successful transactions, specializing in repositioning USDA RD housing, condo conversions, historical properties, and LIHTC multifamily assets. Known for his strategic focus on curb appeal, amenity enhancements, and community uplift, Jay consistently delivers strong returns while fostering long-term relationships with both sellers and buyers.   Here's some of the topics we covered:   How Jay Landed His Very First Multifamily Properties What You Must Know Before Buying Your Next Property The Multifamily Buy-and-Sell Strategy That Builds Real Wealth The Best Time to Buy Multifamily And Why Most People Miss It Can You Really Balance Family, Life, and Multifamily Investing? Inside the Multifamily Shark Tank Deals, Drama, and Lessons Creative Capital Raising Hacks Most Investors Don't Know About   To find out more about partnering or investing in a multifamily deal: Text Partner to 72345 or email Partner@RodKhleif.com    For more about Rod and his real estate investing journey go to www.rodkhleif.com   Please Review and Subscribe  

Michael Novogradac, CPA, and Novogradac partner Lance Smith, CPA, discuss the opportunities, risks, and challenges faced by for-profit housing developers when partnering with not-for-profit affordable housing developers. Learn about the benefits, such as improved chances of being awarded low-income housing tax credits, lower property taxes and access to soft financing. They also discuss the risks including tax-exempt use property and the material participation standard. Dive deep into the intricacies of joint ventures and gain insights from the recently released Novogradac Nonprofit Housing Developers Handbook.'

On this episode of Next Level CRE, Matt Faircloth interviews Lon Welsh, founder of Ironton Capital and seasoned real estate investor managing over $80 million in other people's money. Lon shares how his journey began with house hacking and fix-and-flips before scaling into brokerage, syndication, and ultimately launching multiple real estate funds. They dive deep into market segmentation, the risk-reward spectrum of different neighborhoods, and why investor matchmaking is key. Lon also unpacks the future of office space, opportunities in low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) conversions, and the rising potential of extended stay hospitality and new multifamily construction. Lon Welsh Founder Based in: Denver, Colorado Say hi to them at irontoncapital.com/ www.facebook.com/irontoncapital www.linkedin.com/company/ironton-capital/ vikingcapllc.com Join the Best Ever Community  The Best Ever Community is live and growing - and we want serious commercial real estate investors like you inside. It's free to join, but you must apply and meet the criteria.  Connect with top operators, LPs, GPs, and more, get real insights, and be part of a curated network built to help you grow. Apply now at www.bestevercommunity.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released the annual rent and income limits April 1 for property managers to apply when renting properties financed by low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) equity as well as HUD programs such as Section 8, Section 202 and Section 811. In this week's episode of the Tax Credit Tuesday podcast, host Michael Novogradac, CPA, and guest Thomas Stagg, CPA, one of Novogradac and the nation's leading experts in rent and income limits, discuss three key takeaways from this year's release. First, Stagg and Novogradac discuss income limits being higher than anticipated. The second key takeaway is why the rent and income limits were higher'a change in HUD's methodology for calculating inflation factor in rent and income limits. Finally, they discuss a number of metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) that were reorganized or changed in the 2025 limits release, including why a disproportionate number of the changes are in Connecticut.

In this episode, co-host Greta Dare sits down with Alex Wallace, Development Manager at College Housing Northwest (CHNW), to explore how the nonprofit has been delivering affordable housing to Portland-area students since 1969. They discuss CHNW's origins, current initiatives, and how the organization is partnering with schools and government programs to address rising student housing insecurity and homelessness. With innovative redevelopment strategies and a mission-driven approach, CHNW presents a compelling model for expanding access to affordable student housing across the U.S.

SummaryIn this conversation, Evan shares his journey into affordable housing development, detailing how he transitioned from a pre-med student to a successful developer. He discusses the founding of Holiday Ventures, the challenges and strategies involved in navigating the LIHTC process, and the importance of partnerships with nonprofits. Evan emphasizes the need for creative deal structures and the significance of community impact in his projects. He also highlights his collaboration with Amazon and offers insights into funding and site selection for affordable housing projects.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Affordable Housing Development04:32 Evan's Journey into Real Estate09:31 Building the First Affordable Housing Project14:27 Navigating the LIHTC Process19:24 Master Planning and Community Development21:32 Mission-Driven Development: Balancing Profit and Purpose22:33 Funding Pre-Development: Strategies and Risks26:19 Navigating the LIHTC Application Process28:16 Learning from Experience: The Importance of Mentorship30:00 Securing Tax Credits: The Role of Grants and Partnerships33:27 Understanding Cash Flow in Affordable Housing34:15 Long-Term Affordability: Strategies Beyond 15 Years36:00 Future Expansion: Exploring New Markets36:47 Partnering with Amazon: A Unique Collaboration43:16 Small Scale Affordable Housing: Lessons and Recommendations

Compliance requirements come in a variety of shapes and sizes for affordable rental housing property managers using incentives such as the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC), HOME Investment Partnerships Program, tax-exempt bonds, project-based rental assistance (PBRA) programs, public housing and property tax exemptions. In this week's episode of the Tax Credit Tuesday podcast, host Michael Novogradac, CPA, and guest Stephanie Naquin discuss the three key steps when qualifying tenants to live in affordable housing properties: Screen, verify and certify. Later, Naquin and Novogradac discuss the emerging issues around property tax exemption compliance.

Twinning or sidecar financing that pairs the federal historic rehabilitation tax credit (HTC) with other tax incentives can be a crucial strategy to finance the renovation and redevelopment of some the nation's historic buildings. In the latest episode of the Tax Credit Tuesday podcast, host Michael Novogradac, CPA, and guest Michael Kressig, CPA, discuss some of the benefits and hurdles that come with blending federal HTCs with other tax incentives such as the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC), new markets tax credit (NMTC), opportunity zone (OZ) incentive, renewable energy tax credits (RETC) and state HTCs. Novogradac and Kressig discuss how often each of the various incentives is used in combination with the federal HTC as well as how often Kressig sees transactions with three or more of the subsidies.

Localities'whether cities, townships or counties'are crucial "partners" in low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) transactions. While not an actual member of the partnership, localities play a major role in the ability to fund affordable housing properties. In this week's episode of Tax Credit Tuesday, Michael Novogradac, CPA, and Mark Shelburne, a housing policy consultant at Novogradac, discuss the roles localities play in LIHTC-financed housing, both for them and for the developers who work with them. They begin by discussing the various ways localities are involved in those transactions, then discuss how they play a role in funding the property, including what to avoid. After that, Novogradac and Shelburne examine nonfinancial ways that localities can help and the role of localities in helping properties meet timelines and deadlines.

Two important financing options when building affordable housing are 4% and 9% low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs). In the latest episode of the Tax Credit Tuesday podcast, host Michael Novogradac, CPA, and guest Charlie Rhuda, CPA, discuss developers that chose to combine the incentives in a single development, sometimes called "sidecar financing" due to the nature of the financing structure. They provide an overview of the difference between the financing tools and discuss why affordable housing professionals would combine them. Later, Rhuda identifies four types of challenges that can arise for those using the sidecar financing model to develop affordable housing.

Jean Dahlquist joins us for a powerhouse conversation about networking, career pivots, and finding your place in affordable housing. From securing pigs at the Wisconsin State Fair to law enforcement in the Coast Guard to managing LIHTC deals across the West Coast—Jean's journey proves that curiosity, confidence, and connections can open unexpected doors.  Hear how she turned informational interviews into a career breakthrough, why she still uses a Rolodex (yes, really!), and her best networking hacks for anyone looking to grow in this industry.

Ryan Watts shares his journey in co-founding Red River Development, a firm specializing in build-to-rent projects. From oil and gas to affordable housing and capital markets, Ryan dives into recent wins, including LIHTC deals and exciting developments in Ohio, Texas, and Kansas City. Tune in to hear about Red River's growth and Ryan's insights into partnerships, family business dynamics, and the RaiseMasters community. Resources mentioned in the episode: Ryan Watts Red River Development Interested in learning how to take your capital raising game to the next level? Meet us at Capital Raiser's Edge. Learn more here: https://raisingcapital.com/cre

Rental income and operating expenses both set records and increased at rates higher than the consumer price index for housing in 2023, according to data in the 2024 Novogradac Operating Income and Expenses Report. In this week's podcast, Michael Novogradac and report author Kelly Gorman, a partner in Novogradac's Clark, New Jersey, office, discuss the findings of the report and what affordable housing operators should learn from them. They look at the overall increases, then drill down on specifics about property insurance, repairs and maintenance and utility expenses, including what caused increases and whether trends were likely to continue in 2024 and 2025. They also look at the effect of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rent and income limits and discuss expense categories that vary depending on geography.

Hassan Dixon, Co-Founder @ The Shiane C. Dixon Foundation & Director at Berkadia I CRE Capital Markets Hassan Dixon is a Director for Berkadia's Washington, D.C. Mortgage Banking platform. In this role, he is responsible for providing financing solutions to commercial real estate developers and owners throughout the United States. Hassan Dixon joined Berkadia in 2015. Since then, Mr. Dixon has managed over 350 HUD loans totaling well over $500MM and been part of originating over $450MM in HUD, Fannie, Freddie, and Bank financing transactions. He has formed creative financing solutions for projects from California to NYC. Mr. Dixon is a prominent member of Berkadia's multifamily and affordable housing team and has worked on numerous LIHTC and other affordable transactions across the U.S. As a firm believer in attractive affordable housing, Mr. Dixon has made it his duty to bring more projects of that caliber into fruition across the United States and U.S. Territories of America. Mr. Dixon has worked with numerous developers and housing authorities over the years including the Montgomery County HOC, The Peebles Corporation, and many others. Mr. Dixon received his Masters in Real Estate Finance from Georgetown University The Shiane C. Dixon Foundation is a 501 c3 focused on providing children with the tools to become the greatest versions of themselves. Created in 2022, the Foundation is set in remembrance of the late Shiane Dixon. Growing up in an environment of tremendous opportunity, Shiane used every tool she was blessed with to become the greatest version of herself. The Shiane C. Dixon Foundation is set out to provide children with those same tools Shiane had access to. Connect with Jon Dwoskin: Twitter: @jdwoskin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.dwoskin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejondwoskinexperience/ Website: https://jondwoskin.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jondwoskin/ Email: jon@jondwoskin.com Get Jon's Book: The Think Big Movement: Grow your business big. Very Big!   Connect with Hassan Dixon: Website: https://www.shianecdixonfoundation.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shianecdixonfoundation/?hl=en Berkadia: Website: https://berkadia.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/berkadia/ X: https://twitter.com/berkadia Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/berkadia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/berkadia/ *E – explicit language may be used in this podcast.

As 2024 nears its conclusion, Michael Novogradac, CPA, interviews Christina Apostolidis, CPA, to discuss year-end financial reassessments for affordable housing professionals. The episode of Novogradac's Tax Credit Tuesday podcast focuses on comparing actual performance to projected tax credit delivery. Novogradac and Apostolidis highlight three key areas to revisit: placed-in-service dates, lease-up status and updating expected eligible basis, all crucial for maximizing tax credits. Apostolidis, who will chair the Novogradac 2025 Affordable Housing Developers Conference in Florida next month, offers insights on managing these components effectively as the year ends. The episode is part of the "So You Want to Be a LIHTC Developer" series aimed at educating those in affordable rental housing finance.

On this special episode of BuzzHouse, Don Bernards sits down with David Gasson, executive director of the Housing Advisory Group, a national advocacy organization that works on behalf of the LIHTC, as well as broader housing issues. David provides insight on the implications of the 2024 election on the world of affordable housing – including leadership in housing policy-related Congressional committees, predictions on changes to the corporate tax rate, GSE reform, the status of CRA and much more. Press play and discover this informative and enlightening episode!Follow UsTwitter @BakerTillyUSFacebook @BakerTillyUSInstagram @bakertillyusPresented by Baker Tillywww.bakertilly.com

In this episode, host Slocomb Reed interviews Mikhail Kaufman, COO of Kraft Capital Investments, who specializes in LIHTC (Low Income Housing Tax Credit) multifamily properties in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Kaufman shares his expertise in managing these specialized properties, explaining how LIHTC deals require unique operational knowledge due to income restrictions and compliance requirements, but can offer better returns due to less competition from buyers. He details how his team creates value through operational efficiency, leveraging housing subsidies, and potentially repositioning properties once tax credit restrictions expire. Kaufman emphasizes that staffing remains his biggest challenge, particularly finding and retaining qualified maintenance personnel, and stresses the importance of hands-on management and building strong relationships with employees. Mikhail Kaufman | Real Estate Background Chief Operating Officer - Craft Capital Consulting Based in: McKinney, Texas Sponsors: Altra Running Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An apparent sweep by Republicans of the White House and both chambers of Congress in the Nov. 5 election has major implications for community development tax incentives such as the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC), new markets tax credit (NMTC), historic tax credit (HTC), renewable energy tax credits (RETCs) and the opportunity zones (OZ) incentive. In this week's Tax Credit Tuesday podcast, Michael Novogradac, CPA, and Peter Lawrence, Novogradac's director of public policy and government relations, discuss the election's outcome and preview what to expect in coming months. They begin by looking at the chances for community development tax incentives to be included in year-end legislation, then examine who will lead tax-writing committees in the next Congress before moving on to the reasons and chances for the "Super Bowl of taxes." After that, they examine the outlook for various tax incentives in tax legislation. Novogradac and Lawrence will co-host a special webinar on the election results Nov. 19.

Financial forecasts are essential for every affordable housing developer to anticipate expenses, cash flow and access to capital to build or redevelop properties, including developments built using low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) equity. In the latest installment of the Novogradac Tax Credit Tuesday podcast's recurring "So You Want to Be a LIHTC Developer" series, Michael Novogradac, CPA, and Miao Xue, CPA, delve into six ways that developers can enhance the benefits of financial forecasts. Novogradac and Xue introduce credit adjusters and twinning LIHTCs with renewable energy investment tax credits (ITCs) as well as digging deeper into four areas'development budget and eligible basis schedule, sources and uses and 15-year cash flow waterfall, the taxable income and loss schedule, and income and loss allocations and the Section 704(b) capital schedule'covered in a previous financial forecast-focused installment of "So You Want to Be a LIHTC Developer."

Michael Novogradac, CPA, and Novogradac director of multifamily property compliance Stephanie Naquin discuss pressing issues in low-income housing tax credit property (LIHTC) compliance. The discussion covers four key topics: the average income set-aside test (AIT) and its implementation challenges and solutions; the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA) and its compliance implications; handling casualty losses at housing credit properties, with a focus on presidentially declared disaster areas; and a comprehensive end-of-year compliance checklist for property owners to avoid non-compliance.

This is Derek Miller, Speaking on Business. Fidelity National Title National Commercial Services is the largest title insurance company in America and has expanded into the Salt Lake City market. Senior Vice President of Commercial Sales Ronda Landa joins us to share more about what this means for Utah's real estate industry. Ronda Landa: At Fidelity National Title, we provide comprehensive title insurance services for commercial real estate transactions in Utah and nationwide. Our local team of experts works across all sectors – whether it's power and energy projects, office buildings, industrial parks, multifamily housing, LIHTC or retail properties, we've got it covered. Our services include title searches, escrow, underwriting, and closing coordination, all handled with meticulous care to ensure seamless, complex transactions. We're proud to be more than just a service provider — we're active participants in the growth of Salt Lake City. Beyond delivering high-quality services, we are committed to the development of our local community. From supporting local events and charities to partnering with businesses, our commitment extends to fostering a thriving economic environment and to strengthening the community. We're excited to build strong relationships and provide peace of mind to our clients. Together, we'll achieve great things. Derek Miller: Fidelity National Title National Commercial Services is dedicated to delivering high-quality services and fostering strong partnerships in Utah. Visit their website to learn more about how they can support your commercial real estate transactions. I'm Derek Miller with the Salt Lake Chamber, Speaking on Business. Originally aired: 10/22/24

Two of the three major factors that determine fiscal year (FY) 2025 rent and income limits for low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC)-financed properties were recently released, giving a preview of what to expect when those limits are announced next April by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In this week's Tax Credit Tuesday podcast, Michael Novogradac, CPA, and Novogradac partner Thomas Stagg, CPA, discuss those income limits, including what factors are involved in the calculation, what we know so far, how having a good estimate can assist developers and property managers and how HUD's projections for 2023 national median household income lined up with the data from 2023. They also discuss what's new with fair market rents, California's recently passed rent control legislation and which dates to remember between now and the release of FY 2025 income limits.

In this latest WAHNcast episode, technical experts Christina Reick Loukas and Quin Seiler, shareholders at Winthrop & Weinstine, take a deep dive into the complexities of Year 15 issues in affordable housing. With decades of combined experience in construction and real estate litigation, Christina and Quin break down key red flags, legal strategies, and practical advice to help developers and partners navigate the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program.   What to Expect: - Spotting potential Year 15 disputes before they arise   - Drafting partnership agreements to avoid conflicts   - Managing investor exits and understanding purchase options   - Preparing early for smooth LIHTC compliance transitions     If you're a developer in affordable housing or real estate, this episode is packed with actionable insights to help you plan strategically and mitigate risks. 

Join us for a special episode of Cinnaire's Advancing Communities Podcast, featuring the asset management series AM With A&M. Hosted by asset management experts April Priebe and Miranda Bialk, this series dives into strategies, insights, and resources for professionals working in the field of asset management. In this episode, April and Miranda welcome Peter Giles, Senior Vice President of Public Funding, and Max Novak, NMTC Program Manager, both from Cinnaire. With a combined 20 years of experience, Peter and Max break down the intricacies of New Market Tax Credits (NMTC) and their role in driving impactful community development projects. Tune in to learn: The key differences between NMTC and LIHTC investments The guidelines and qualifications for NMTC eligibility The benefits and challenges of managing an NMTC portfolio How developers and investors can tap into the NMTC program to support community-focused projects Don't miss this insightful discussion about leveraging NMTCs to build stronger, more equitable communities. About Our Hosts: April Priebe manages special assets for Cinnaire, and Miranda Bialk oversees construction and lease-up projects. Together, they bring over 22 years of experience in affordable housing and asset management. To listen to Advancing Communities Podcast, click below for: Google Podcasts Apple Podcasts

A lot of people consider real estate investing to be an alternative form of investment. To traditional stock/bond/mutual fund investors, real estate can seem quite risky and exotic. But once you enter that space and learn to mitigate those risks and find the profit potential, a whole new world of alternative investments will present themselves. I'm talking about alternative investments such as notes, ATM funds, mobile home parks, life insurance policies, tech start-ups, industrial properties, short-term rentals, and LIHTC affordable housing communities. Denis Shapiro is the author of “The Alternative Investment Almanac – Expert Insights on Building Personal Wealth in Non-Traditional Ways”, and he's here today to share his insights from some of the most successful alternative asset investors in the business today. Find out more: https://sihcapitalgroup.com Today's episode is brought to you by Green Property Management, managing everything from single family homes to apartment complexes in the West Michigan area. https://www.livegreenlocal.com And RCB & Associates, helping Michigan-based real estate investors and small business owners navigate the complex world of health insurance and Medicare benefits. https://www.rcbassociatesllc.com  Attention real estate investors! Save the date for the Midwest Real Estate Investor Conference, happening April 24-25, 2025, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This event is the perfect place to connect with fellow investors, gain valuable insights, and elevate your real estate game. With a lineup of expert speakers and numerous networking opportunities, you won't want to miss it. https://www.midwestreiconference.com

In this episode of BuzzHouse, hosts Don Bernards and Garrick Gibson dive into the complexities of the LIHTC market, welcoming Lindsay Soyka and Jason Gershwin from R4 Capital. The group discusses the current state of LIHTC deals in a post-COVID-19 world, such as rising construction and insurance costs, creative financing solutions to help developers navigate the turbulent market and the current level of investor demand for affordable housing projects. Press play and discover this informative and enlightening conversation!Follow UsTwitter @BakerTillyUSFacebook @BakerTillyUSInstagram @bakertillyusPresented by Baker Tillywww.bakertilly.com

Welcome to the Legacy Podcast! Today I'm sitting down with Tim Vitale, who is a rockstar multifamily investor. Over the course of the past three years, he's acquired over 2000 apartments, specifically in the  Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) space. So we're going to be sitting down with Tim, hearing about how he's been able to scale so quickly, why he likes the LIHTC space, what his goals are, and where he is seeing opportunities over the next couple of years. //CONNECT WITH TIM VITALE Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timmyvitale Instagram: @timvitaleofficial Coaching: https://mmimf.com Upside Capital: https://www.upsidecapitalgroup.com Makin' Moves In Multifamily: https://www.facebook.com/groups/makinmovesrealestatecommunity/ //CONNECT WITH TIM BRATZ linktree.com/timbratz //ABOUT ME Tim Bratz is the Founder & CEO of Legacy Wealth Holdings, a leading real estate investment company. He focuses on vision-casting, marketing, & supporting his team of “A” players. He has built his company on integrity (doing what he said he was going to do), fairness (doing the right thing), & transparency (honesty is always the best policy). Tim has dedicated his professional life to studying wealth-building & personal finance. Working in real estate, Tim has learned how to create a passive income that allows him to live the lifestyle of his choice. His goal is to educate & empower others to become financially free through entrepreneurship & real estate investments. https://legacywealthholdings.com SUBSCRIBE NOW so you don't miss a single video! https://www.youtube.com/legacywealth

Denis Shapiro began investing in real estate in 2012 when the market was just beginning to recover from the GFC (Global Financial Crisis).  He built a cash-flowing portfolio including many alternative assets, such as Note and ATM funds, mobile home parks, life insurance policies, tech start-ups, Industrial property, short-term rentals, affordable housing communities, and more.  He co-founded an investment club for accredited investors in 2019. Following the success of his investor club he launched SIH Capital Group.  Denis also wrote The Alternative Investment Almanac: Expert Insights on Building Personal Wealth in Non-Traditional Ways in 2021. His book is based on his own experience becoming a successful alternative asset investor and interviews with some of the best alternative asset investors in business today.   In this episode, we talked to Denis about building a portfolio and the lessons he learned from it, operators and what they have in common, affordable housing and LIHTC, and much more.   Announcement: Learn about our Apartment Investing Mastermind here.   Investment Opportunities;   02:23 Denis' background; 11:20 Lessons learned from building a portfolio; 16:51 The one thing all great operators have in common; 28:05 An insight into affordable housing; 32:47 Round of Insights;     Announcement: Download our Sample Deal package here.   Round of Insights   Apparent Failure: A Ponzi scheme he invested in. Digital Resource: Asana. Most Recommended Book: The Alternative Investment Almanac. Daily Habit: Working out and doing crossfit. #1 Insight for vetting investment opportunities: Having a good relationship with operators. Best place to grab a bite in New Jersey: Marina Grille.   Contact Denis; Website: https://sihcapitalgroup.com/    Thank you for joining us for another great episode! If you're enjoying the show, please LEAVE A RATING OR REVIEW,  and be sure to hit that subscribe button so you do not miss an episode.

The tax credit equity markets for the federal historic tax credit (HTC), new markets tax credit (NMTC), low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) and clean energy tax credits account for billions of dollars each year in investment in community development around the nation. In this week's Tax Credit Tuesday podcast'the first of a two-podcast series'Michael Novogradac, CPA, discusses the markets and their intersections with three Novogradac partners: Brad Elphick, CPA; Tony Grappone, CPA; and Dirk Wallace CPA. They examine pricing trends for HTCs, NMTCs, LIHTCs and clean energy tax credits, as well as what factors are playing a role in those trends and how each market affects the others. They then look at how the transferability and refundability provisions for clean energy tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 have affected all the markets. They wrap up with a preview of Part 2 of the series, which will deal with factors that will affect future pricing of tax credit equity.

The Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC) administers state and federal housing programs in Kansas, including the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is a federal program meant to encourage the development of rental housing for low-income individuals. The federal government requires KHRC to monitor housing developments that have been awarded LIHTC to ensure they comply with applicable rules. KHRC has a detailed compliance monitoring process to ensure that development owners comply with federal and state rules and meet all of the requirements they agreed to when they received LIHTC. Although KHRC's compliance monitoring process is extensive, most of the process is required by federal rules or is otherwise necessary for them to appropriately oversee the program. However, we did find two minor areas where KHRC's requirements are not necessary to meet a state or federal rules, a best practice, or an internal control. Additionally, developers who responded to our survey generally reported that KHRC's compliance monitoring process was easy to complete. Last, we found that KHRC's reserve amounts and land use restrictive covenant terms were applied consistently across the 16 projects we reviewed.

In this Tax Credit Tuesday episode, Michael Novogradac, CPA, and Novogradac partner Charlie Rhuda, CPA, dive into the intricacies of accessing 4% low-income housing tax credits and tax-exempt bonds in a competitive market. As part of their 'So You Want to Be a LIHTC Developer' series, they discuss the basics, provide historical context, and offer practical strategies to enhance the economic benefits of such financing. The episode also covers challenges developers face in obtaining bond financing and essential tips for competing effectively in this space. Featuring real-world examples and expert insights, this episode is packed with valuable information for both new and seasoned LIHTC developers.

Send us a Text Message.In this episode, Leslie chats with a multifamily leader known for her expertise and success in the multifamily industry. Her passion for people is evident as she discusses her hands-on approach to understanding on-site challenges and maintaining strong connections. This episode highlights her company's approach to staying curious, seeking solutions, and never settling for the status quo. Learn about her commitment to servant leadership, her football fandom, and her hobbies that help her unwind. This episode is packed with valuable insights and personal stories you won't want to miss! Amanda has over 24 years of experience in the multi-family housing industry. That experience ranges from LIHTC, Senior Living, Student, Lease-up, New Construction, Class A+, Dispositions / Acquisitions and Renovations. From 2019-2023 Amanda oversaw over 4,000 units of A+ new lease ups in the Southeast Market. Amanda serves as a prior Board of Director, with the Greater Charlotte Apartment Association and was the President in 2017. Amanda participated in the Government Affairs committee with the GCAA, she was the 2013 recipient of the Citizen of the Year award and the 2013 Reach Award. Amanda was awarded Regional Property Manager of the year for 2014 and was also selected as Volunteer of the Year for the GCAA in 2014. Amanda was selected as Corporate Professional of the Year in 2019. Amanda was recognized by Women We Admire as the Top 50 Women Leaders of North Carolina for 2023 and 2024. Amanda currently holds her NC Real Estate license, the Certified Apartment Property Supervisor designation with NAA. Amanda is currently a Certified Property Manager with the Institute of Real Estate Management.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-kitts-caps-cpm-%C2%AE%EF%B8%8F-26526817 Instagram: @amandaintheqcWebsite: http://www.rpmliving.comHear more from Amanda about: How she keeps up and doesn't lose sight of her operational toolbox.Why the experience matters - not just for our residents, but for our employees too.The importance of being a servant leader.The most wonderful time of the year - football season!How she "escapes" and finds a break from life.Her retirement plans and where you'll find her.The one tool she can't live without.Connect with us!LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesliemathisStreamline Website: https://www.streamlinemultifamily.comEmpowHER Website: https://empowhermultifamily.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/empowhermultifamily https://www.instagram.com/streamlinemultifamilySubscribe and leave a review for the Multifamily Streamlined Podcast here.Streamline Multifamily Group is your specialized consulting partner for multifamily operations, training, and more! We offer consultative support in project management, construction, development, renovations, auditing, and also organize industry events. Remember, no matter how well your property is doing, it could be doing better. Contact Leslie at LMathis@StreamlineMultifamily.com for more information. 

In this episode of the Tax Credit Tuesday "So You Want to be a LIHTC Developer" series, Michael Novogradac, CPA, and guests Novogradac partner Susan Wilson, CPA, and Novogradac principal Robert Bennett, CPA, delve into the critical benefits of low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) audits. This episode focuses on six ways audits provide value to LIHTC owners and developers, including eligible basis calculation, tenant compliance, first-year credit optimization, cash waterfall distributions and analytical review procedures. Learn how specialized expertise can enhance decision-making, sustain property feasibility and save time and money for developers and stakeholders in the affordable housing sector.

Year 15 marks the conclusion of the initial compliance period for a low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) property, a milestone that brings tax complexities for the investor and the developer. In the latest installment of Novogradac's Tax Credit Tuesday podcast series, "So You Want to Be a LIHTC Developer," Michael Novogradac, CPA, and Kevin Wilson, CPA, discuss accounting issues around Year 15. First, they discuss the ways investors and developers report LIHTC transactions on their generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) statements, discussing the differences between approaches such as the equity method, proportional amortization and consolidations. They also discuss issues facing investors and developers such as impairment, exit taxes and resyndications.

Year 15 is a crucial period in the life cycle of a property financed by low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) equity, one filled with significant decisions by the property owner and their investor partner. In this week's episode of Tax Credit Tuesday, Michael Novogradac, CPA, and Novogradac partner Nicolo Pinoli, CPA, discuss some crucial issues, including the right of first refusal (and related tax issues), the qualified contract process and resyndication. In the discussion, they examine some of the assertions and some potential challenges to different approaches, including what could motivate developers to pursue different outcomes.

Developing affordable rental housing with low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) is a process that can take multiple years, from conception to placing in service, beginning operation and beyond. In this week's episode of Tax Credit Tuesday, guest host Dirk Wallace, CPA, and Karie McMillen, CPA, provide an overview of the stages of the development process, from forming a partnership to annual compliance and many other stops along the way. First, they discuss the most common financing structure for a LIHTC development. With that scope established, McMillen details 11 key moments during the development process, discussing several in greater detail. Finally, the two share insights for developers who are just getting started in the development process.

Daniel discuss the basics of LIHTC and affordable housing development. Daniel advises market rate developers to find a partner with experience in LIHTC projects. He explains that LIHTC projects are different from market rate developments in terms of economics and incentives. Daniel also discusses the sources of financing for light tech projects, including low income housing tax credits, tax-exempt debt, and subordinate debt. He highlights the importance of finding a partner familiar with the jurisdiction's rules and regulations. Daniel also explores other creative structures for affordable housing, such as tax abatements and energy-efficient retrofits. In this conversation, Daniel Warwick discusses the concept of structured funds and their role in affordable housing. He explains how structured funds can replace high-return equity with lower-cost capital, reducing the cost of housing and allowing for the preservation of existing affordable units. Warwick also highlights the importance of public funding in these funds and the challenges of navigating community engagement and local politics. He explores the future of affordable housing, including the potential of middle housing, ADUs, and increasing land availability.

Our lovely hosts, Rue Fox and Janel Ganim, are sipping on a Red Carpet Cocktail -- LIVE! from ResMania 2024!Affordable Housing Compliance can be a dry topic, but this session promises to be ANYTHING but dry! Yes, we'll cover current trends and legislative or regulatory issues that impact operations on HUD, LIHTC, and Rural Housing properties – but in an interactive way.The session will feature Affordable Housing experts, Jennifer Wood, VP of The John Stewart Company and Cecilia Cossio, President of Marquis Asset Management. These guests have seen it all from the management and technology sides. But while they may be the ones on stage, this is definitely a session where the audience also participates.About Jennifer: Jennifer Wood serves as Vice President of JSCo's San Francisco Bay Area Region and oversees a portfolio of approximately 12,000 units.  She has more than thirty years of progressive experience in affordable housing and multifamily property management.  She has extensive experience with all types of local, state and federal programs including LIHTC, Project-Based Section 8, Public Housing, HOME, Tax-exempt bond financing, HOPE VI, RAD, tenant-based subsidy programs and more. Jennifer currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA) and previously served on the Board of Directors of the Affordable Housing Management Association for Northern California and Hawaii (AHMA NCH) as Director of National Legislative Affairs.About Cecilia: Cecilia has more than 25 years of proven property management experience including an extensive background in property operations, leadership, client relations, and implementation of efficient systems and effective procedures to improve organizational performance. At Marquis, Cecilia is responsible for the operations and oversight of the organization. Cecilia will focus on ensuring team member support while meeting the goals of the owners and investors. You can connect with Cecilia on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceciliacastillocossio/ About ResMan: ResMan delivers the property management industry's most innovative technology platform, making property investments and operations more profitable and easier to manage. ResMan's platform unlocks a new path to growth for property management companies that deliver consistent NOI improvement and brilliant resident experiences easier than ever before. To learn more about our platform, visit http://myresman.com/

Property compliance is multilayered for owners and managers of low-income housing credit (LIHTC) properties, with complexity increasing for mixed-income properties, which are properties whose renters make up to varying levels of the area median income, often including market-rate apartments. In this episode of Tax Credit Tuesday, Michael Novogradac, CPA , and Stephanie Naquin, HCCP, COS , delve into compliance for mixed-income properties that use the LIHTC. They discuss the definitions of 100% affordable housing and mixed-income housing, recertifications, the next-available-unit rule and more.

Eligible basis is a foundational factor to determine the maximum amount of low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) generated by an affordable housing property. In this week's podcast, Michael Novogradac, CPA, and Mark Shelburne, a Novogradac housing policy consultant, discuss the fundamentals of eligible basis and the implications for properties ahead of a special six-part online course offered by Novogradac. They examine the purpose of that course series, then look at the role eligible basis plays in determining the tax credit allocation amount. After that, they look at the challenges in determining what parts of an affordable housing development are depreciable and what constitutes eligible basis, including examples of challenges faced. They wrap up by talking about opportunities to learn more about the nuances of eligible basis.

Many developers are familiar with the challenges when using historic tax credits (HTCs) to preserve America's history, including issues such as climbing interest rates, rising insurance rates and increasing costs of construction and labor. In this week's episode of the Novogradac Tax Credit Tuesday podcast, Michael Novogradac, CPA , and John DeJovine, CPA , discuss gap financing solutions for developers involved in historic preservation. First, the conversation covers the use of bridge loans, tax increment financing (TIF), payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT), property assessed clean energy (PACE) funds and other state, local and municipal sources of financing. Later, Novogradac and DeJovine discuss how the HTC pairs with other affordable rental housing and financing community development using such incentives as the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC), new markets tax credit (NMTC), opportunity zones (OZ) equity, and renewable energy incentives such as the production tax credit (PTC) and investment tax credit (ITC).

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released 2024 rent and income limits earlier this month'limits that determine renter eligibility for HUD-assisted programs and for properties financed by low-income housing tax credit (LIHTCs). The limits also determine the maximum rents that owners of LIHTC properties can charge tenants. In this week's podcast, Michael Novogradac, CPA, and Novogradac partner Thomas Stagg, CPA, discuss the rent and income limits. They look at key takeaways, how the new 10% ceiling affected limits, what geographic areas saw income limit growth that was below the national average of 6% or decreased and how the income limits affect (or don't affect) HERA special properties. They also look to what to expect in 2025 and key dates for data release that will affect those 2025 limits.