The Virginia Housing Coalition and the VHC Information Service would like to extend a special thank you to the VHDA for sharing their news clipping service.

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VHC News Clips, volume 2009-23 (December 10, 2009)

Opinion: Fairfax County Needs a New Affordable Housing Policy
FairfaxTimes.com, December 8
(RECAP: As we face the twin challenges of tighter county budgets and greater demand for human services, we need an "affordable housing" policy that focuses our available resources on those most in need.)

Habitat House Going Green
NBC 29, December 8
(RECAP: A Habitat for Humanity house in Charlottesville is going green.)

Public Housing Redevelopment Close to End of Planning Stage
C'ville Weekly, December 7
(RECAP: The redevelopment of the city's public housing stock is nearing the end of its planning stage. Consultants who have been working on revamping Charlottesville 's old and battered sites presented a draft master plan last Thursday that calls for the complete redevelopment of Westhaven and the rehab of Crescent Hall among other projects.)

Comments Sought on Public Housing Mortgage Program Proposal
NLIHC Memo to Members, December 7
(RECAP: HUD will accept comments on its proposed Public Housing Mortgage Program until January 31, 2010. The PHMP, which allows housing agencies to mortgage public housing properties and use the funds to develop or rehabilitate affordable housing, was authorized by the 1998 Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act.)

Low Income Veteran Housing Development Bill Introduced
NLIHC Memo to Members, December 7
(RECAP: Representative Albio Sires (D-NJ) introduced H.R. 4156, the “Increasing Housing Opportunities for Veterans Act of 2009” on November 19. The bill would create a $2.4 billion loan program for developing supported housing for veteran households that would provide development and rental assistance funding to for profit developers.)

NHTF Allocation Formula Released; State Estimates Available
NLIHC Memo to Members, December 7
(RECAP: The proposed regulations governing how NHTF funds will be allocated were published in the Federal Register on December 4. The regulations were developed by HUD.)

Rental Housing Affordability Gap Increased For Lowest Income Families In 2008; Data Reinforce Need for NHTF
NLIHC Memo to Members, December 7
(RECAP: NLIHC released a new research note on November 30 detailing the extent to which the rental housing shortage for the lowest income households worsened from 2007 to 2008.)

Arlington Sued Over Alleged First Amendment Violation
The Washington Examiner, December 7
(RECAP: A longtime Arlington resident has filed suit against the county, claiming that a plan for apartment buildings to be constructed above a church is a violation of the First Amendment.)

Development Authority Director Looks to the Private Sector but Rules Out Widespread Building at Fort Monroe
Daily Press, December 6
(RECAP: Bill Armbruster, a former military man who is overseeing the departure of the Army from Fort Monroe , is planning for an uncertain future.)

With a Little Help, They Have Home of Their Own
Fredericksburg.com, December 5
(RECAP: Thanks to a new program authorized under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, the Parkers and their children now have more space.)

LETTER: 4-person Bonanza
The Virginia Gazette, December 5
(RECAP: Allowing four unrelated persons to live in an apartment or condo is a bad idea for Williamsburg , but if City Council votes to allow it, I may be able to profit.)

Housing Rehab's Price Tag a Big One
Daily Progress, December 4
(RECAP: The document's draft financing plan assumes that if the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority's housing stock was expanded from 376 to 558 units — containing a mix of new and rehabilitated public housing plus affordable and market-rate rentals and homes — the cost would run up to more than $115.5 million.)

Foreclosures Can Offer Deals, but Buyer Beware
New York Times, December 4
(RECAP: Despite the seemingly high inventory, anyone considering buying a distressed property should heed the classic warning: Caveat emptor, or let the buyer beware.)

The Rebirth of Real Cooperation
Alexandria Times, December 3
(RECAP: When the Arlandria Chirilagua Housing Cooperative took definitive shape in the early 90s after a 10-year organizational effort, its residents hoped to stomp out the evictions, rent increases and utility hikes plaguing the low-income development on the Northeast fringe of the city. Thirteen years later, the ACHC has seen internal tumult among its members.)

Homeless Activist Wants Former Hampton Armory Building to be Used as a Winter Shelter
Daily Press, December 3
(RECAP: The Rev. Jim Rudisill says homeless people will hold regular prayer meetings and vigils outside the boarded-up building on North King Street until the city takes seriously a request to open it up as a winter day shelter to get people off the streets.)

Silverwood Acquires 305 Affordable Apartments in Seven Corners, VA
LHB Communications, December 3
(RECAP: Silverwood Companies of Reston , Virginia has led a group of local investors, including David Mayhood of McLean, VA, in acquiring The Fields of Westover, a 305-unit low-income apartment community located at 2913 Peyton Randolph Road in Falls Church , Virginia .)

Rates on 30-year Mortgages Set New Record Low
Star Exponent, December 3
(RECAP: The average interest rate for a 30-year mortgage dropped to a record low of 4.71 percent this week, pushed down by an aggressive government campaign to reduce borrowing costs.)

Five Historic Norfolk Buildings. One Vision for New Housing.
The Virginian-Pilot, December 3
(RECAP: The South Carolina developers who plan to renovate the 100-year-old Union Mission into a 90-unit apartment building say they also want to transform four other historic buildings into affordable rental housing.)

Houses, Lots Stay Mired in Limbo as CM Development Case Drags
The Virginian-Pilot, December 3
(RECAP: Norfolk 's Lindenwood neighborhood has attracted drug users and vagrants, trash and trouble.)

$27M Takes VA Multifamily
GlobeSt.com, December 2
(RECAP: Kettler has sold a local apartment building called Fields at Westover. The 305-unit complex traded for $26.7 million to Silverwood Cos. Jeff Kunitz. This trade is the latest example of VHDA's stepped-up support--at least anecdotally--of multifamily sales in Virginia that have an affordable housing component.)

Homeowners' Smart Guide to Loan Modification
MSNBC.com, December 2
(RECAP: The Obama administration's Making Home Affordable program was looking like another government failure, but its numbers have improved sharply, with 650,000 borrowers getting trial loan modifications and 375,000 eligible to convert to permanent modifications by the end of the year.)

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