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Program For Owners
The Housing Authority of the County of Cook encourages the movement of families who have Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV) into a broader range of communities. It proposes to achieve this objective by developing and supporting programs that increase affordable housing opportunities. The HACC is especially interested in providing opportunities for families who have vouchers to obtain rental housing in opportunity areas. These areas are located outside of areas of poverty and/or minority concentration. The HACC offers 2 programs, as an incentive to recruit owners in opportunity areas where HCV tenants will have greater access to job opportunities, higher performing schools, recreational programs, child care providers and living environments were the poverty rate is low. These programs are:
PROJECT OPPORTUNITY (PO): This program is an initiative of Turnstone Development Corporation The purpose of this program is to expand affordable housing opportunities for families who participate in the Housing Choice Voucher Program. The PO program seeks to secure long-term affordable housing options in low poverty communities where minority households are not concentrated. The goal is to deconcentrate voucher households by providing affordable alternatives in communities and areas that are economically and racially diverse. The Program achieves this objective by providing favorable financing to investor/owners who purchase properties in designated opportunity areas. The investor/owners must agree to rent to tenants who have Housing Choice Vouchers and to maintain the properties they acquire under the program as affordable rentals for 15 years. The HACC Mobility Counselor works with the investor to find qualified voucher holders.
PO Partners: The HACC works in consortium with Turnstone Development Corporation, who administers the overall effort. Other partners in this program include the HACC Mobility Contractor, the Metropolitan Planning Council, the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), the County of Cook Department of Planning and Development, the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) who provides a grant, a local private lender, area property owners and area tenants who have Housing Choice Vouchers. The Project Manager for this program is the Lighten-Gale Group. The Lighten-Gale Group has a contract with Turnstone Development Corporation to manage the PO Program.
The Roles of PO Partners: The Lighten-Gale Group is responsible for securing acquisition and development financing at a below-market-rate-of-interest. It also markets the program, qualifies investors, ensures investors have management capacity and coordinates the activities of the various partners. The HACC provides voucher tenants, monthly rental subsidies, expedited processing and Housing Opportunity Tax Reductions to units in qualified areas (see explanation below). The HACC Mobility Contractor informs housing choice voucher families about the full range of communities and areas where they may lease units, and explains the advantages of moving to low poverty communities where minority households voucher holders and minority households are not concentrated. The HACC Mobility Contractor also assists property owners by reviewing proposed property acquisition areas to prevent the concentration of voucher households and to identify potential conflicts with regional housing goals. The mobility contractor also pre-screens tenants and provides tenants with housing search assistance. The Metropolitan Planning Council reviews each proposed acquisition to ensure the acquisition is consistent with regional housing plans. The participating lenders qualify investors for loans and provide favorable financing rates. The FHLB provides a $6,000 grant to each approved unit. The Grant can be used for closing and other costs including bank fee, construction contingency, and the Turnstone administration fee. Area investors/property owners identify and purchase eligible properties and agree to rent to voucher holders. Tenants who have HCVs agree to rent from approved PO owners.
PO Financing and Application Process: Investors may use the financing for acquisition, minimal construction, construction contingency, soft costs (such as bank fees), IHDA required reserves, Turnstone administration fee and closing costs. There have been 3 phases of the program. A typical acquisition is a 3 or 4-bedroom, single-family unit with an average acquisition price of $160,000. Phase IV consists of 20 affordable rental units in opportunity areas.
Project Opportunity provides a unique investment opportunity that blend low down payment requirements with below-market-interest rate financing. If you are interested in making application, you may only participate in this program during the application cycle. Applications are received while funds are available and funding is provided on a first-come-first-serve basis. Investor/owners may only purchase properties when low cost financing is available. If you are interested in more information contact Nicolette Vander Meer, Lighten-Gale Group, (312) 920-1500 ext. 106, nvandermeer@housingdeveloper.com.
HOUSING OPPORTUNITY TAX REDUCTION (HOTR): The program is not for all owners who rent units to HCV holders. This initiative from the Illinois General Assembly, targets property owners in low poverty areas of economic growth and provides an incentive to these owners to rent to families who have Housing Choice Vouchers. The program rewards participating eligible property owners with reduced property taxes. In order to qualify for the tax reductions the owner is required to own rental property in an eligible township, in an eligible census tract and to rent to a tenant who has a Housing Choice Voucher. The unit must be rented to the voucher tenant on January 1 of the tax year in which the tax savings is provided. In addition, the unit must pass its most recent HQS inspection and be in compliance with the local code.
HOTR Townships, Census Tracts and Qualified Units: State Law requires that in order to receive a tax reduction, the unit must be located in an eligible township. In Cook County, outside of the City of Chicago, 17 of the 30 townships are eligible for the tax reduction. The townships are Barrington, Elk Grove, Evanston, Lemont, Leyden, Lyons, Maine, New Trier, Niles, Northfield, Norwood Park, Orland, Palatine, River Forest, Riverside, Schaumburg, and Wheeling. NO OTHER TOWNSHIP IS ELIGIBLE FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE COOK COUNTY PROGRAM IN 2008. However, township eligibility is subject to change for the tax year 2009. The Authority will publish a new listing when eligibility for 2009 is determined. An eligible unit must be located in an eligible census tract in one of the 17 eligible townships. An eligible census tract is a census tract where the poverty rate is less than 10%. An eligible unit for 2008 tax savings is a unit that was occupied by a person who has a Housing Choice Voucher on January 1st of 2008. For 2009 eligibility, a voucher holder must occupy the unit on January 1, 2009. The unit must have passed the most recent HQS inspection and be in compliance with the local code for the community in which the unit is located.
HOTR Tax Savings: The maximum tax savings is a 19% reduction in the assessed valuation. No more than the greater of 2 units, or 20% of the units in the property, is eligible for the savings. The savings is not automatically applied. You must make application to the HACC who will process your request and send it to the County Clerk’s Office. You cannot apply directly to the County Clerk yourself. If your unit is located in the City of Chicago, you can visit www.chacinc.com for more information about your eligibility.
For more information on this program, see the FAQ, the Housing Choice Voucher Tax Savings Program Brochure and the Program Overview that is located in the Information and Assistance Tab.
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