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Once an Austin Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) Housing Development Assistance (HDA) award has been received and the loan closed, there might be questions on how to obtain loan disbursements and comply with the loan agreement. The HDA Compliance Team monitors projects awarded HDA funding as well as Developer Incentive Certifications and oversees loan disbursements and loan compliance. The services of the HDA Compliance Team are obtained through your assigned Ownership Housing Development Assistance (OHDA) Contract Manager or Rental Housing Development Assistance (RHDA) Contract Manager.  

Below are the next steps you must take as the vendor to receive your loan disbursements. Please refer to your loan documents to ensure you understand all loan requirements, specifications, and important dates.

Meet the HDA Compliance Team
Yolanda Quinton, Contract Management Specialist for the Rental Housing Development Assistance Program Yolanda Quinton is the Contract Management Specialist for the Rental Housing Development Assistance Program and provides technical assistance and support to development teams from loan execution through project completion. Specific tasks include facilitating loan disbursements, monitoring loan agreement deliverables, and ensuring loan agreement compliance.
Kathleen McCullough, Contract Management Specialist for the Ownership Housing Development Assistance Program Kathleen McCullough is the Contract Management Specialist for the Ownership Housing Development Assistance Program under the Austin Housing Finance Corporation. She provides assistance to housing and community developers throughout the development process for affordable ownership housing projects.  She also verifies income for individual applications under AHFC and City programs, processes draw requests and deliverables, and ensures compliance with all OHDA loan agreements.
Picture Josh Rudow is the Housing Division Manager over the Housing Development Assistance Division. 
 

Step 1 - Loan Disbursement

Setup Requirements

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The process to set up your loan disbursements may take four to five weeks and requires that you register as a vendor with the City Finance Department along with your banking information if you want to receive Automated Clearing House disbursements. We recommend starting this process before your loan closes.

Vendor Responsibility

  • Registering as a Vendor: You must register the Borrower’s name as a vendor on Austin Finance Online (AFO) exactly as it appears on the loan agreement, including any spaces, commas, and abbreviations if not already registered. For funds disbursed for property acquisitions, the title company must be registered as a vendor to receive funds. Review the How to Register as a Vendor (PDF).
  • Register Banking Information: Once registered as a vendor, contact vendor@austintexas.gov and request forms to register your banking information. Return the forms with the required information and signatures, and you will be contacted once the registration has been completed.
  • Deliver Certificate of Insurance(s): Reference your loan agreement for the project's insurance requirements. Submit the Certificate of Insurance to the HDA Compliance Team. The HDA Compliance Team will forward them to the City’s Insurance Manager for review and approval. Insurance approval is required before disbursements can take place. We recommend obtaining your required insurances prior to loan closing.

City Responsibility

  • Master Agreement and Delivery Order Setup: Once the Borrower has registered as a vendor, the required insurances have been approved, the executed loan documents have been received, and the AHFC receives copies of the Filed and Recorded Restrictive Covenants and Deed of Trust from the County Clerk, the Compliance Team begins the process of establishing a Delivery Order for your loan. Staff submits a request for a Master Agreement for the Delivery Order to the City’s Central Procurement Office. Once established, a Delivery Order can be issued. This process takes four to five weeks.

Step 2 - Receiving Payments

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The DO must be established, and the vendor’s banking information filed with AFO before disbursements can begin.

For Acquisition

Funds are disbursed at closing. This means the title company must be set up as a vendor with the City on AFO and wiring information for the transaction coordinated ahead of time. 

For Pre-Development

Progress draws are used to disburse funds during this phase of the project. Requests for funds can be submitted by the developer once a month. Allowable costs must have been incurred within 90 days of the disbursement request. Requests must be accompanied by supporting documentation such as invoices or receipts to prove costs were incurred.

For Construction

Progress draws are used to disburse funds during this phase of the project. Requests for funds can be submitted by the developer once a month. Allowable costs must have been incurred within 90 days of the disbursement request. Requests must be accompanied by a notarized American Institute of Architects (AIA) payment application to prove costs were incurred and a Compliance Affidavit, executed by the Borrower, evidencing payment of contractors and subcontractors with respect to the draw request. A draw inspection conducted by the City is required before payment can be issued.

  • Monthly Reports must be provided throughout the project so that AHFC can track the project's progress, delays, and any issues that may arise. Monthly Reports (PDF) are due on the 10th of each month and must contain a breakdown of the project's timeline with significant milestones, project completion percentage, breakdown of financing, change orders, and issues/solutions. 
  • Approved Budget: Any change to the budget must be approved by the AHFC in advance. Notice of change orders must be submitted with the monthly report.
  • Developer Fee: The maximum fee allowed by AHFC shall be no more than 15% of the total development cost for applicants with 50+ units and no more than 20% for applicants with 49 or fewer units. At least 25% of the developer fee must be deferred. The developer fee is paid out according to the following schedule:
    • 25% at Construction Funding
    • 45% at Project Completion (Architectural Signoff)
    • 30% at Full Occupancy (submittal of all required TICs)
  • Retainage: AHFC may reserve up to 5% of the total AHFC loan as retainage to be disbursed as a portion of the Developer Fee. When applicable, the retainage will be disbursed as a final draw to be issued upon completion of the development and submittal of all required documentation, including all Tenant Income Certification forms (TICs) and the Final Development Summary.

Housing Development Assistance (HDA) Reporting Requirements
Home Sales - Ownership Housing Development Assistance (OHDA)

Refer to your loan documents regarding dates and pricing for final home sales. All individual homebuyer contracts must be delivered within five days of execution. Documents required for closing:

  • Title Commitment
  • Initial Closing Disclosure
  • Release of Lien to be signed
  • Restrictive Covenant/Resale Agreement-covenant running with the land and agreement by all parties regarding affordability period, equity,
  • Appraisal
  • Homebuyer Education Certificate

Principals Residence

Purchasers of OHDA-assisted affordable housing must occupy the properties as their principal residence for the applicable term of the affordability period. The subject property cannot be used for rental, commercial or any other purpose other than their principal residence. This requirement will be reflected in a restrictive covenant running with the land.

Ownership

The OHDA program requires ownership of the property using one of the approved forms of ownership described below. Families and individuals own the property if they:

  • Have fee simple title to the property, or
  • Maintain a 99-year leasehold interest in the property through a Community Land Trust or other similar vehicle, or
  • Own a condominium, or
  • Own or have a membership in a cooperative or mutual housing project that constitutes homeownership under Texas law, or
  • Maintain an equivalent form of ownership approved by the AHFC

Resales

For resale of any OHDA assisted units, the seller must submit to AHFC all documents required for income certification. After closing on any OHDA assisted unit, all necessary documents including executed and recorded deed of trust as well as Restrictive Covenant must be submitted to AHFC for record retention.

Leasing - Rental Housing Development Assistance (RHDA)

Refer to your loan documents regarding dates and rental rates for final lease-up.

  • A copy of potential lease document must be provided to AHFC for approval before it is used for any leases with tenants.
  • Borrower must adopt written tenant selection policies as laid out in the RHDA guidelines and follow the provision laid out in the RHDA Tenant Lease Addendum (PDF).
  • If tenant paid utilities, Borrower must use approved Utility Schedule to adjust rents under the maximum allowable rent per unit.
  • Borrower must complete and have tenant sign the Initial Tenant Information and Income Certification Form (TIC) (PDF) for each affordable unit due monthly on the tenth calendar day of each month until 100% initially occupied accompanied by the Initial Occupancy Monthly Tenant and Compliance Report (PDF).
    • If a unit has been leased and then vacant again before 100% initial occupancy, such unit does not need to be reported again.
  • In the event of a rejected application for rental housing, Borrower must give prompt written notification of the rejection and the basis for the decision.
  • Tenants must be selected from a written waiting list in chronological order, or in the case of units set aside for Continuum of Care (CoC), accept referrals exclusively from the Coordinated Assessment system maintained by the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO).
  • Leases between Borrower and tenants must be for at least one year unless the tenant and Borrower mutually agree to a shorter term.
  • A Schedule for annual recertification of tenant household income must be adopted, either:
    • Recertifying income on the anniversary of the original income evaluation,
    • At lease renewal,
    • On an annual schedule whereby all tenant households are recertified during the same month
  • For recertification, source documentation must be collected each time OR a self-certification must be completed through the Annual Tenant Information and Income Certification Form (PDF).  If the latter method is used, Borrower must collect original source documentation for each tenant household every sixth year during the Affordability Period.
  • No tenant may be displaced due to increases in income subsequent to initial occupancy of a unit. If a household’s income exceeds the applicable limit at the annual income recertification:
    • Borrower may adjust the rent to an amount that does not exceed 30% of the household’s monthly income; and
    • Borrower will not be found to be in non-compliance provided that when the household vacates the unit, the unit is next leased to a household whose income is within the required limit at the time of occupancy.

Step 3 - Income Eligibility

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We refer to HUD 24 CFR Part 5 income guidelines for all programs. This calculation takes into consideration income and assets to compute a forward-looking 12-month average. Guidance on determining whose income to count within the household, what type of income must be included or excluded, and the calculation of imputed income from assets is found in the Technical Guide to Determining Income and Allowances for the HOME Program (PDF) HUD Guide.

  • All potential buyers and tenants should be screened for income eligibility prior to signing a contract and be certified by the developer at the time the contract is signed.
  • For buyers: Contracts, income documentation, and buyer affidavit should be sent to the compliance department to confirm income eligibility for every homebuyer.
  • For leaders: Tenant Income Certification should be sent to the Compliance Department for all tenants, and copies of all income documentation should be kept with the property manager for at least 5 years.

Income and Rent Limits Webpage 

Step 4 - Federally Funded Loans

testProjects awarded with federal funds have a second layer of due diligence to make sure people in the community are given the opportunity to work on the project.

Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO)

A Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) is a private, non-profit, community-based service organization with the capacity to develop affordable housing in the community it serves. Such organizations must apply for the certification on a yearly basis.

Section 3

In reference to the HUD Act of 1968, as amended, “Section 3” requires projects receiving $200,000 or more in federal funds for any activity that involves housing construction, rehabilitation, or other public construction, to the greatest extent feasible, provide job training, employment, and contracting opportunities for low or very-low-income residents in connection with projects and activities in their neighborhoods. Review the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Section 3 (PDF).

Davis Bacon

The Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA), applies to contractors and subcontractors performing on federally funded or assisted contracts in excess of $2,000 for construction, alteration, or repair (including painting and decorating) of public buildings or public works. DBRA requires laborers and mechanics employed under contract to be paid no less than the locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits for corresponding work on similar projects in the area.

Step 5 - Closeouts

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Once all project deliverables have been completed and all loan terms have been met, the Development is ready for close-out as an active loan agreement.

Borrower must submit:

  • Final Development Summary, including but not limited to total development cost,  number of days from start of construction until construction completion, total construction hard costs, summary of tenant/owner selection process and tenant protections, number of leased/sold units at all MFI levels, number of accessible units leased/sold, any awards or recognitions received, name and contact info of the property management company and/or enforcing entity, and photos of the completed project;
  • Final Accounting; and
  • Final Draw, if any.

Step 6 - Monitoring

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During the affordability period the developer, management company, or enforcing entity must maintain adequate records including, but not limited to documentation of costs and contracts associated with the development, tenant waiting lists, tenant selection policies, and documentation for all tenant files for five years after the affordability period has ended.

Requirements for Enforcing Entities for OHDA

  • Confirm primary residence of all units yearly.
  • Receive and enforce Right of First refusal for resales.
     

Property Manager Requirements for RHDA

  • The Development is affirmatively marketed to qualified applicants.
  • Households are appropriately screened for income eligibility.
  • HUD-published rent limits are observed.
  • The property is continually maintained in accordance with the Uniform Physical Conditions Standard (UPCS) developed by HUD.
  • Insurance is maintained.
  • Audited Financial Statements are submitted annually.

If the development is to be sold, the development owner entity must provide a Right of First Refusal (ROFR) to AHFC that permits AHFC (or an affiliate) to purchase the development by matching a bona fide offer from an unrelated, third party to purchase the development. The AHFC ROFR will be subordinate to any TDHCA ROFR.

The Affordability Period shall not be shortened for any reason, including if the loan is repaid before the end of the Affordability Period. Affordability requirements and restrictions will remain in force throughout the Affordability Period regardless of transfer of ownership unless ownership of the property is transferred through foreclosure proceedings.