Webinar Q&A

Who is eligible for CHAI (Comprehensive Housing Assistance, Inc.) housing? Jewish and non-Jewish? Eligibility for our housing is based on age and income/assets. We rent without regard to race or religion, pursuant to the Fair Housing Act.

Since people with disabilities and seniors have a lot of the same needs when it comes to housing, has anyone included or thought about including the disability community in any of these housing/community development plans? Yes, and we also see combining with foster youth or intergenerational projects.

Do you take Medicaid Waivers to help pay for the housing? Or is it all private pay? Private pay how much? It’s private pay based on income with low-to-moderate-income requirements.

Since eligibility cannot be based on religion, do you know what percent of residents are Jewish? While you can not be based on religion or other factors like the LGBT-friendly housing mentioned earlier, there are steps you can legally take which vary from city to city, such as locating the building in an area that already has a lot of residents you wish to serve and publicizing the signup window (that the developer can dictate) in that specific community. In doing this, we have seen have the majority of residents do end up identifying as the population that was the focus of outreach.

You mention tax credits for payment. What does that mean in New Jersey? Can anyone live there private pay? If yes, how much per month? Can Medicare offset costs for seniors? Can respite/habilitation hours from the state offset residential costs to individuals with disabilities? Everyone has to meet low-to-moderate-income requirements to live at Weinberg Commons, and there are multiple income brackets. Individuals with disabilities may have dollars to put towards their rentals and services from the State of New Jersey.

Can you explain what you mean when you say that the tax credits have allowed you to hire a case manager? Included in the application for the LIHTC was the case management position (the application requires you to hire a full-time person) and the credits can be used towards that salary.
Are the senior residents people who had been homeless? Are they indigent? They are all low-to-moderate-income eligible.

What fee does Adirondack take? Adirondack, as developer, will typically earn an industry standard developer fee of approximately 15% of the ‘allowable tax basis’ used to calculate the amount of the tax credits (generally ranging between 10%-20% based on deal size). The developer fee is charged to the overall deal budget and is generally funded out of the tax credit equity contributed by the Tax Credit Investor/Syndicator, so this would not be an expense that would be paid by a Federation partnering with a developer. A portion of the developer fee may be deferred and paid out of operating cash-flow post construction. Additionally, the developer will also customarily receive all or a majority portion of the operating cash-flow from the property. The amount of the developer fee permitted is determined by the applicable state Qualified Allocation Plan or QAP.

Does Adirondak work in Texas? Yes, we have a significant presence in Texas. Both Adirondack, and our affiliated property management company, Mayfair Management Group, are based out of Dallas, Texas.

What are the current low-to-moderate-income requirements for the LIHTC? The primary threshold levels are 30% and 60% of area mean income (AMI). Because AMIs vary from area-to-area, the specific maximum rent levels will vary based on the applicable AMI. Rent levels will also very based on the size of a family living in an apartment unit (e.g. a 4-person family would have a higher maximum AMI level than a 2-person family living in the same apartment).

Do all states offer the necessary tax credits? (FL does not have a state tax.) Yes. The LIHTC program is a federal tax credit that applies to federal taxes and is available in all U.S. States and Territories, and not affected by state tax rates. A handful of states separately offer a state-level tax credit mirrored off of the federal tax credit.