Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: Low Income Housing Tax Credit

[mkiefer (mkiefer]

     I do not know of a successful use of the LIHTC for cohousing, although 
I have been involved in discussions about how to overcome the obstacles to 
this use.  These include: (1) how to reconcile affirmative marketing and 
tenant selection requirements with cohousing goals and membership structure; 
(2) how to compete for an allocation of the credits with other projects 
perceived (rightly or wrongly) to serve a needier population; and (3) how to 
reduce the transaction cost, which can diminish or even erase the financial 
advantage on small projects.  One way is to locate a small number of 
tax-motivated, cohousing-sympathetic investors to purchase the credits, to 
avoid a public offering and the related securities registration issues. 
 It's a complicated subject, but I'm happy to share what I know and would be 
interested in the learning of others.
                         --Matt Kiefer