COMING EVENTS

Five New Sessions Slated for AHF Live

By Dana Enfinger

AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE • JULY 2007

Affordable housing developers and government agency housing staff will come together for AHF Live: The 2007 Tax Credit Developers’ Summit from Oct. 24 to 26 in Chicago. In its fourth year, AHF Live is the leading event for developers and owners of affordable housing. With a shift in power in Congress and a presidential election on the horizon, it is more important than ever to prepare your business for the changes ahead.

Bipartisan discussion

The opening plenary session will shed light on emerging trends in housing policy and include a discussion of how AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE readers can help push affordable housing near the top of the country’s political agenda. The bipartisan discussion will be led by Nancy Johnson, former Republican Congresswoman from Connecticut, and former Democratic Senator Paul Sarbanes from Maryland. Johnson, a former senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, served 24 years in Congress. She worked closely with Congressman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) on low-income housing funding. Sarbanes served 30 years as a senator and was the ranking member of the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. In 2002, Sarbanes sponsored the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which changed federal securities laws in the wake of a series of high-profile corporate scandals. This session will include various points of view and time for audience participation.

This year, AHF Live features five new sessions. Find out why and how state allocators are awarding more credits to projects serving specialneeds populations in the new session, “Serving Special- Needs Populations and Underwriting Tenant Services.” The panel will include a how-to on underwriting and delivering services efficiently. Andre Shashaty, editor-in-chief of AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE, will moderate the discussion.

Learn how to get on the “green” wagon in the new session, “Green Building Made Easier.” Green building components increasingly are favored by state allocators. Find out how to control operating costs so that you aren’t parting with a lot of green to go green.

In another new session, “Strategies for Winning HOME and AHP Funding,” attendees will learn how to obtain soft loans with ease by knowing how to complete winning applications for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOME program and the Federal Home Loan Bank’s Affordable Housing Program.

Learn how to preserve the affordability of tax credit projects that have completed their tax credit period in the all-new session, “Preservation of Older LIHTC Deals.” You’ll examine case studies of completed restructurings and find out the intricacies of acquiring or selling a general partnership interest.

Project sponsors will explain how they got their award-winning deals done in the all-new session, “Secrets of the Winners: Case Study Workshop.” Donna Kimura, AHF deputy editor, will lead the discussion with some of the winners of AHF’s Readers’ Choice Awards.

A bonus on bonds

Don’t miss the bonus session, “Tax- Exempt Bond Financing for Beginners.” This session will include loads of case studies as panelists discuss the ABCs of bond financing. What are the steps involved in putting together a bond deal? When is a private placement a better idea than a credit-enhanced deal? The discussion will include the answers to these questions and many more, as plenty of time will be set aside for audience interaction.

Rehab is fab

Want to get into acquisition rehab? “Nuts and Bolts of Acquisition Rehab” will show you how to identify possible deals, negotiate terms, get the best financing, and plan the rehabilitation. Developers and financing gurus will hold your hand through the process of acquiring and rehabbing older affordable properties.

Attendance is reserved exclusively for people who are affordable housing developers, government agency housing policy staff, and nonprofit organizations focused on the affordable housing business. The early-conference registration rate of $495 ends Sept. 15, at 5 p.m. EDT. Registration after this date will be $595. For more information, visit www.ahflive.com.