National Housing Trust Fund

Purpose

Provide a housing production program that will complement existing federal, state, and local efforts to increase and preserve the supply of decent, safe, and sanitary affordable housing for households whose incomes do not exceed the greater of 30% Area Median Income (AMI) or the federal poverty line (collectively defined as Extremely Low Income or "ELI" households). One hundred percent of rental units funded by NHTF will be occupied by ELI households.

Eligible Borrowers

Eligible recipients include nonprofit entities, for-profit entities, public housing agencies, and tribally designated housing entities.

Eligible Projects

Eligible costs are the following: development hard costs, refinancing costs, acquisition costs, related soft costs and relocation costs in relation to the production, preservation, and rehabilitation of affordable permanent rental housing units for ELI households. Funds may be available for operating cost assistance and operating cost assistance reserves. Given the high need for rental housing among ELI households, MFA will not fund any homebuyer activities.

Loan Terms & Conditions

Loans will be secured by mortgages and/or other appropriate liens. The affordability period will be 30 years of the status of the loan or change in ownership, unless equal or more restrictive restrictions are in place from other funding sources or are imposed through permanent affordability mechanisms such as deed restrictions or land trusts.

NHTF financing that will be used as a financing resource in a property also allocating Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) will be in the form of non-interest bearing cash flow (applicants seeking credits will need to ensure that the proposed loan meets IRS requirements to be included in eligible basis). NHTF financing that will be used as a financing resource in a property that will not use LIHTC will be in the form of a non-interest bearing "compliance loan." If all of the regulatory and contractual requirements are complete, the loan will be forgiven at the end of the NHTF Period of Affordability, and MFA's secured interest released. MFA would have the right to foreclose on the security deed in the event of a determination of nonperformance or substantial noncompliance with the NHTF program requirements. Awards of NHTF funds are contingent on sufficient appropriations and authorization being made by HUD and the state of New Mexico and are further subject to applicable law. If these are not available, any loan or other agreement between MFA and any successful, eligible applicant shall terminate upon written notice being given by MFA to the applicant. MFA's decision as to whether sufficient appropriations are available or whether NHTF assistance may be awarded subject to applicable law shall be accepted by any applicant and shall be final.

Awards of NHTF funds to projects that receive 9% low-income housing tax credits are limited to $400,000 per project. Awards of NHTF funds to all other projects are limited only by the maximum per-unit subsidy limits in the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) and by MFA's underwriting guidelines.

Application Rounds

Applications must be received no later than 60 days prior to a regularly scheduled meeting of the MFA Board of Directors in order to be considered at that meeting. Meetings of the MFA Board of Directors are generally held every third Wednesday of the month. All applications submitted by the deadline for a particular MFA Board of Directors meeting will be treated as one funding round and evaluated concurrently.