Wednesday, March 17, 2010

SHIP LHAP Resources


The Florida Housing Coalition offers a new resource to assist SHIP staff. The Coalition’s website now contains a video summary of recent changes to the SHIP Program resulting from Senate Bill 360. Several changes have an impact on your Local Housing Assistance Plan (LHAP). This resource is especially timely considering that almost half of all SHIP jurisdictions are currently updating their LHAPs for a May 2nd, 2010 deadline. Ultimately, each jurisdiction must update its LHAP to some extent in response to these S.B. 360 topics.

There are four main topics to review. Each contains a video from the Coalition’s February 2010 workshop is accompanied by relevant handouts or powerpoint slides.
An Introductory Video about Senate Bill 360 and the new SHIP requirements is available here:
http://vimeo.com/10060536

See instructions below if you have difficulty viewing videos.


Green and Innovative Design
Your LHAP must now describe how one or more strategies address green building principles, innovative design, storm-resistant construction, or other elements that reduce long-term costs relating to maintenance, utilities, or insurance.

VIDEO: http://vimeo.com/10060850
POWER POINT
http://flhousing.org/sites/default/files/Green%20in%20LHAP.ppt
HANDOUT:
http://flhousing.org/sites/default/files/Green Aff Housing Example of FL Green Bldg CERT.pdf
This handout is an example of a home built with affordable housing subsidy that includes features that qualify it for a green housing certification from the Florida Green Building Coalition.
HANDOUT #2:
http://flhousing.org/sites/default/files/HUD%20Multi-Family%20WAP.pdf
This handout supplements the multifamily housing guidance provided in the video. It is a power power presentation about multifamily weatherization performed by Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) staff in other states.


Special Housing Needs
Your LHAP must also now describe how one or more strategies make affordable residential units available to eligible persons with special housing needs, like homeless people, the elderly, migrant farmworkers, and persons with disabilities.

VIDEO: http://vimeo.com/10086141
POWER POINT:
http://flhousing.org/sites/default/files/Special%20Needs%20in%20LHAP.ppt
HANDOUT: http://flhousing.org/sites/default/files/Youth%20Leaving%20Foster%20Care%20CONTACTS%20Dec09.doc
While it is not an absolute requirement, the Legislature specifically encourages each SHIP jurisdiction to offer housing assistance to one specific special needs population: young adults leaving the foster care system. Contacting your local community-based care agencies providing foster services is often the first step to arranging for housing services for this at-risk population. This handout is a list of contact agencies.


Manufactured Homes
The SHIP definition of “eligible housing” now includes “manufactured housing constructed after June 1994 … for home ownership or rental” although no more than 20 percent of a jurisdiction’s funds may be used for manufactured housing. Each jurisdiction should consider whether or not to provide rehabilitation or purchase assistance for manufactured homes. Any decision on this topic will require updates to your LHAP.

VIDEO: http://vimeo.com/10086781
HANDOUT: http://flhousing.org/sites/default/files/Manufactured%20H%20items%20Combined.pdf
This handout is a sample lien and form to be used when securing SHIP assistance to a manufactured home that is personal property. Background information and guidance is included.


Preservation and Additional Topics
The Legislature encourages each SHIP jurisdiction to develop an LHAP strategy for the preservation of assisted rental housing.

VIDEO: http://vimeo.com/10086550
POWER POINT:
http://flhousing.org/sites/default/files/Preservation%20in%20LHAP.ppt
HANDOUT
http://flhousing.org/sites/default/files/Rental%20Rehab%20strategy.pdf This is a sample strategy for acquisition and rehabilitation of rental housing. Workshop participants reviewed and discussed what they liked about it and what they would improve upon.


VIDEO TroubleshootingTo view these videos, your computer must have Adobe Flash Player, which is available for free at http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/. Even with this software, in order to initially view a video you may have to press the “full screen view” symbol, which is the symbol 4 outward pointing arrows located on the right side of the control box at the bottom of the video.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Rehab Resource Available


The Coalition’s November workshop “Issues and Challenges of Owner Occupied Rehabilitation” highlighted Dr. Tom Taylor as a guest instructor. He applied his expertise in urban planning and mediation, facilitation and other collaborative processes to the example of working with rehabilitation contractors. Dr. Taylor provided a tool that may support your jurisdiction’s rehabilitation program. It is a contract and set of guidelines to assist owners, contractors and SHIP staff in coordinating their efforts and agreeing to a set of goals. The document is available on the Coalition’s website at:
flhousing.org/sites/default/files/Rehab Project Partnership Agreement.pdf

FHOP TRACKING SPREADSHEET





The Florida Housing Coalition has updated its SHIP spreadsheet to assist you with tracking FHOP funds. TRAKFHOP is available on the Coalition’s website at this link:
www.flhousing.org/sites/default/files/TRAKFHOP May 2010.xls

TRAKFHOP closely resembles the SHIP tracking spreadsheet, with a summary page and Forms 1, 2 and 3. Throughout the spreadsheet, however, color coded cells indicate where FHOP-specific data is included:
• Most notably, the bottom half of the Summary Page now includes a blue box reporting the amount of FHOP expended funds per income category, including 121-140% AMI and ‘Above 140%’.
• Form 1 contains new columns to track FHOP buyers above the Moderate category and to track the date FHOP is repaid. It also includes a column for reporting the household’s income, as reported on the tax return.
• The “Date of Purchase” has been added alongside ‘Sales Price or Value’ on Form 3.
• Finally, the revenue section of the Summary page distinguishes between FHOP repayments and other types of Program Income.

TRAKFHOP has also been updated to reflect a SHIP change from Senate Bill 360 permitting a jurisdiction to adopt strategies that assist households between 121-140% of the area median income (AMI). The ability to separately track these households has been added for the first three strategies on TRAKFHOP. If a jurisdiction opts to assist households at 121-140% of AMI, these recipients will be considered part of the moderate income category. For this reason, the Summary Page counts the units and assistance expended on households at 121-140% AMI alongside all other Moderate data in columns M and N.

To avoid accidental deletion of formulas, TRAKFHOP is protected. The password to unprotect the spreadsheet remains the same: the word ship in lower case letters. If you have questions about the tracking sheet or have discovered an overlooked formula error, contact Michael Chaney at chaney@flhousing.org.