Boston Progress to Mid week

Progress so far Monday 7th to Wednesday 9th

I am renting a room through AirBnB in a house in Jamaica Plain. This is a gentrifying area of Boston consisting of leafy streets and clapboard houses. Robert, my host, who works in commercial real estate, could not have been more welcoming including inviting me to a dinner party with some of his friends. This evening I am attending an evening celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Hibernian Institute with another of Roberts friends who is the CEO of a for profit affordable housing developer.

Since Monday I have met with:

Clark Zeigler and Mark Curtiss of Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP is a non profit who lend soft loans to LIHTC and affordable housing schemes)

Tom Bledsoe of Housing Partnership Network -  trade based body with c 100 members. HPN's aim is to represent their interests, give advice, and promote innovation

David Smith, Recap Advisors - gives advice to clients on LIHTC and other affordable housing schemes (link with R4 Capital)

Peter Dion, R4 Capital - syndicator

Charlie Rhuda, - Novogradac accountants

Bart Mitchell - CEO Community Builders Inc

Everyone I have met has been  generous in giving their time to discuss their insights into the LIHTC system. These meetings have increased my understanding of the workings of the US affordable housing system and the issues, risks, and dysfunctional operations that it gives rise to.

I will be circulating the notes to the CiH Advisory group as I write them up. At the end of this week I will review what I have learned from the discussion during the week and assess to what extent this answers the questions posed in the September meeting of the Advisory Group.