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LHIFT - Specialized Lending Products
The Local Housing Investment Fund & Trust of South Central PA (LHIFT) is a revolving loan fund for
flexible, low interest loans which support the creation, rehabilitation and preservation of affordable
housing and mixed-use projects within the south central Pennsylvania counties of Lancaster, York,
Adams, Franklin, Cumberland, Perry, Dauphin and Lebanon. Eligible activities for loans include:
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Construction of new or rehabilitation of existing structures into affordable multi-family
housing, including mixed-use projects.
Pre-development costs, bridge or gap closing to developers seeking low income housing tax
credits or other state/federal subsidies for the construction of affordable multi-family housing.
Acquisition and rehabilitation of homes and/or other properties for resale as affordable home
ownership opportunities.
Preservation of affordable housing through the improvement of safety and living conditions in
affordable housing and mixed-use buildings in downtowns of cities, boroughs, and villages.
Set aside of affordable units within market rate multi-family housing.
Access to flexible, low cost capital is necessary to support and stimulate the creation, rehabilitation
and preservation of affordable housing and mixed-use opportunities. It is often difficult for
developers of affordable housing, non-profit and private for-profit alike, to gain access to such capital
in the traditional lending market. In addition, such organizations often require specialized technical
assistance for capacity building and project review of affordable housing and neighborhood
revitalization activities. A CDFI, dedicated to such activities in our region can have a tremendous
impact, turning what some believe as risky lending, into drivers of economic development and
stability for families, neighborhoods and communities.
LHIFT – Regional Socially Responsible / Double-Bottom Line Investing
Funds for LHIFT are raised in a combination of ways:
 Contributions - As a federally-approved 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, LHOP accepts
investments into the fund through donations that are federally tax deductible to the donor,
and for banks CRA credit eligible.
 Loans – Debt in the form of promissory notes or equity equivalents investments will be
placed into LHIFT. A bank, individual, company or foundation can loan funds to LHOP and
those funds will be lent for specific affordable housing projects in for the activities outlined
above. Loans by banks are CRA credit eligible. Interest rates paid on such loans will be
below typical market instruments in order to keep the cost of funds low.
 CDFI Funds - As a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) by the U.S.
Department of the Treasury, funds raised will enhance LHOP’s ability to leverage
contributions and investments to attract U.S. Treasury funds available for CDFIs for such
lending activities, thus, furthering the return on investments made by the community.
Investing in a revolving loan fund dedicated to affordable housing continuously provides benefits to
families and communities. Investors in LHIFT have the satisfaction of knowing they have created a
better future and enhanced economy in their community that would otherwise be limited or nonexistent in some neighborhoods. This is known as “double bottom line” investing.
Please call Ray D’Agostino at (717) 291-9945 ext 4 or Fern Dannis at ext 1 to discuss “boosting” our
community by making an investment into LHIFT or to discuss loan possibilities.
A program of