A word from ANDP LEADERSHIP

A word from
ANDP LEADERSHIP
John O’Callaghan
President & CEO
Pam Sessions
ANDP Board of Directors, Chair
ANDP | ANNUAL REPORT | 2009
Dear Friends,
ANDP continues to devote its full attention in development, lending and public
policy to addressing Metro Atlanta’s devastating foreclosure crisis. In 2009,
Georgia ranked sixth in the nation for foreclosure filings, and Atlanta had the third
highest housing vacancy rate behind Detroit and Las Vegas. Federal support from
the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) will make an important difference
starting in 2010, but federal support alone cannot reclaim our most vulnerable
neighborhoods. ANDP, working with many partners, is resolved to direct every
possible resource and programmatic tool to rebuilding our communities.
Preventing even more people from losing their homes is critical and requires
effort of many in our industry. Atlanta is uniquely blessed with a strong network of
housing counseling organizations --- Consumer Credit Counseling Services (CCCS),
Resources for Residents and Communities (RRC), D & E Financial Group, the
Atlanta Urban League and others. These organizations are tireless in their efforts to
keep families in their homes. Responsible lenders are offering greater flexibility and
workout solutions to help desperate homeowners avoid foreclosure.
ANDP’s policy arm has engaged in the fight to keep families in homes by
addressing inflated and unfair property taxes in Metro Atlanta neighborhoods most
impacted by foreclosure. Traditionally, tax assessors have not included foreclosed
and bank-owned sales in the property valuation process. As foreclosure began
to dominate the market in many Metro neighborhoods, current market values
plummeted while tax assessed values remained stable. We identified tax policy as
the most effective way to return dollars to the budgets of struggling families.
In late 2008, we released the first in an ongoing series of reports with Robert
Charles Lesser and Company that projected a potential property tax overpayment
of $71.5 million in the metro’s 15 highest-foreclosure zip codes if dramatic
reassessments were not made. These 15 zip codes alone, representing only 20
percent of metro homeowners, accounted for over 82 percent of the metro wide
overpayment risk. Our research revealed further that these 15 zip codes had a higher
percentage of minorities, lower median incomes, and higher rates of unemployment.
A follow-up report, released in April, 2009, showed that the property tax disparity
was worsening. We found that the risk for property tax overpayment in the 15
highest-foreclosure zip codes would climb to $118.5 million if values were not
adjusted. In short, we found that homeowners who could afford the least were being
asked to pay more than their share.
In 2007, the ANDP Board of
Directors approved a shift in
organizational focus to one
of Foreclosure Response.
Since then, our development,
policy advocacy and lending
programs have all had one
primary focus:
To help our neighborhoods
and families in need!
ANDP’s research reports and significant media
attention to the issue helped inform legislation
at the Georgia General Assembly mandating that
county tax assessors include foreclosed and bankowned sales in the property valuation process. That
legislation was signed into law in April, 2009 and
was effective immediately. In May, 2009, the AJC
reported that more than 350,000 properties in the
five core Metro counties received reduced property
tax assessments. Future research is critical to
monitoring where values were reduced and by how
much. As foreclosure filings continue to climb, we
will need to repeat our original analysis to project
and quantify the property tax overpayment risk for
2010.
The cornerstone of our response to the crisis
is our foreclosure redevelopment activity. In
2009, ANDP implemented an innovative pilot
program to acquire, rehab and repopulate – through
homeownership or lease-purchase – vacant homes
in vulnerable neighborhoods. The successful
pilot program enabled us to test systems, build
capacity, and identify strong local partners. When
the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program
(NSP) was launched later in the year, ANDP was
well-prepared to offer local governments a proven
model that could be applied to their NSP plans. We
were selected by six area governments to partner in
their NSP program design and implementation – a
programmatic total of almost $18 million in funding
to purchase, repair and market vacant properties.
ANDP set a goal of completing 125 NSP
homes in our partner jurisdictions. At the close
of 2009, we were on pace with initial acquisition,
program development and staffing. While the
program is complex and oversight is appropriately
considerable, we are confident that our efforts to
help local governments with the NSP program will
be successful. More details of the program can be
found at a newly created website to promote home
sales – www.ANDPHomes.org.
ANDP’s lending arm ---- Community
Redevelopment Loan & Investment Fund (CRLIF)
--- also played an important role in our overall
foreclosure response efforts. To meet the gap
financing need of NSP recipients, our CRLIF team
created loan products that would provide temporary
bridge capital until the reimbursement-based NSP
funding is applied. In addition to the NSP bridge
product, CRLIF also added an NSP acquisition/
rehab loan product to its menu. CRLIF’s efforts
were bolstered by a $1 million award from the
U.S. Treasury’s CDFI Fund to support foreclosure
response activity. In addition, the loan fund was
selected by DeKalb County to create and administer
their innovative NSP Second Mortgage Program.
We are proud of our successes to date and
undaunted by the road ahead. Addressing the
worst housing crisis since the Great Depression is
the greatest challenge our organization and others
working to address Atlanta’s mixed income and
affordable housing needs has had to meet. ANDP
has moved very quickly to re-organize, re-prioritize
and re-align staff and resources. With your ongoing
support, we will help to stabilize and protect the
neighborhoods that we and many others worked so
hard to rebuild. The long-term health of our region
depends on it.
John O’Callaghan
President & CEO
Pam Sessions, Chair
Board of Directors
Development: Helping neighborhoods rebuild, rebound.
Neighborhood Stabilization Program
The most significant barrier to economic growth and
recovery of metro Atlanta neighborhoods is the large
number of vacant and foreclosed properties. ANDP’s
Housing Development Department is currently engaged
in a multi-year effort to help these neighborhoods rebuild
and rebound. Our Foreclosure Redevelopment Program,
a vital component to the organization’s overall response
to the crisis, aims to acquire, rehabilitate and repopulate
more than 125 homes in six jurisdictions.
In 2008, the Federal Neighborhood Stabilization
Program (NSP), was created and Georgia was awarded
$155 million to address the State’s foreclosure issue.
Metro Atlanta, which accounts for more than 80% of the
State’s foreclosure problem, was awarded approximately
$94 million in NSP funding.
Prior to NSP, ANDP’s board of directors made
a strategic move to focus its efforts on restabilizing
neighborhood severely impacted by vacant and
foreclosed homes. The Board made a commitment
to develop a program to acquire vacant foreclosed
homes, rehab them and then repopulate them with
new homeowners or lease purchase tenants. In 2009,
we successfully completed a pre-NSP six-home pilot
which laid the foundation for the full NSP program now
underway.
By regulation, NSP funds can be used to acquire and
rehab foreclosed, abandoned properties. Sales of these
properties is targeted to both low and middle income
families earning up to $86,000 per year (120 percent
AMI for a family of four). A quarter of the NSP funds
are targeted to low income families earning 50 percent of
AMI.
Any time you can put
someone in a home,
the person who lives
next door will tell you
it’s a success.
James Shelby, City of Atlanta
Commissioner of Planning
and Community Development
ANDP’s Metro Atlanta
NSP Partners
For more details about the ANDP
NSP program visit us online at:
www.ANDPHomes.org
Become a fan of ANDP Homes on Facebook.
And follow us on Twitter @ANDPHomes.
ANDP applied for and received local government
NSP funding in the City of Atlanta and DeKalb, Douglas,
Fulton, Henry and Rockdale Counties - totaling $18.4
million. We secured an additional $9.5 million in debt
capital to leverage NSP funds and to bring our program
to scale. With program design complete and funding
secured, the work began in earnest in 2009. The goal is
to purchase, rehabilitate and repopulate more than 125
homes by late 2010.
Neighborhood Focus - The neighborhoods targeted
for NSP work are determined by analyzing the greatest
percentage of home foreclosures, the highest percentage
of abandonment, the highest percentage of homes
financed by sub-prime mortgage related loans and the
areas likely to face a significant rise in the rate of home
foreclosures. While the program will focus on areas
that have high foreclosure and abandonment scores,
ANDP has selected submarkets we classify as tipping
point neighborhoods. These are areas where foreclosures
have had a negative impact, but that still exhibit signs of
stability and are the most likely to rebound if targeted
vacant homes were reoccupied with working families.
Sustainability in Redevelopment - ANDP is
committed to green and sustainable redevelopment
as a way to extend the useful life of affordable housing
and help reduce utility costs for the residents. Where
possible, our NSP redevelopment activity will include
energy efficient HVAC systems, low flow toilets and
showers, vapor barriers, insulation, caulking and sealing,
and energy efficient appliances.
Enticing Opportunities for Buyers - Our local
government partners are allowing a portion of their
NSP funds to be used by eligible homeowners (with
incomes up to 120% of Area Median Income) to use nonamortizing (0%) soft second mortgages for a portion of
the home purchase price.
Most of the neighborhoods being served need
more homeowners to restore an appropriate rental/
homeownership balance. And the primary goal of
our NSP program is sale of newly refurbished homes.
Unfortunately, the market reality is that many families
will be close - but not ready for home homeownership.
Thankfully, the $3.5 million in lease purchase capital
secured from Self Help Ventures fund will enable us to
provide lease purchase options which help families with
impaired credit move to home ownership.
The Housing Development Department continues
to conduct numerous information sessions for buyers,
lenders and real estate professionals. A special web site
has also been created to assist with home sales. The
site, www.ANDPHomes.org, also provides a variety of
informational pages for the new homebuyer.
Other key activity in 2009
Martin House at Adamsville Place - ANDP’s active
adult living facility, Martin House at Adamsville Place
continues to meet an important need in housing Atlanta’s
aging population. Located in Southwest Atlanta, this
property features 153 units of apartment housing. 32
units are offered at market rate and 121 units are offered
at affordable rates. For rental information, contact Martin
House at 404-696-0757 or at 3724 Martin Luther King,
Jr. Drive, Atlanta, GA 30331.
TWELVE Centennial Park - Despite a troubled housing
market, sales of affordable condominiums at TWELVE
Centennial Park continue. Of the 104 units offered at
affordable rates, only 10 remain available at the end of
2009. TWELVE Centennial Park developer Novare is
working with ANDP, Atlanta Development Authority
and the City’s Tax Allocation District (TAD) to promote
this unique transit-oriented development. For more
details on this award-winning development visit www.
TWELVECentennialPark.com or call the Sales Center at
404-961-8888.
Advocating to reduce foreclosures.
Addressing the crisis through
research, policy and information
Coming off a successful
2008 effort to increase in the
Atlanta/Fulton Homestead
Exemption rate, ANDP’s 2009
policy effort again turned to
measures that would help keep
families in their homes.
In the last quarter of
2008, ANDP commissioned a
report to examine the disparity
between real estate sales and
tax assessment levels in high
foreclosure neighborhoods.
Our first report identified
a potential overpayment of
$70 million in the 15 high
foreclosure rate zip codes assuming no action was taken to
lower assessment levels.
On April 2, 2009, ANDP
published a second report to assess what changes, if any,
had been taken. The follow-up report revealed that areas
with the highest rate of foreclosure would risk overpaying
their property taxes by more than $118 million - an
increase of 66 percent from the previous analysis - if values
were not adjusted. Additional findings in the second
report include:
-Homes in the 15 highest-foreclosure zip codes were
overvalued by an average of 43 percent while homes
outside those zip codes are overvalued by only 12 percent.
-Homeowners in the 30315 neighborhoods surrounding
Turner Field, for example, saw their tax overpayment risk
increase by 28 percent during the latter half of 2008 as the
median sales price dropped nearly 50 percent from the first
six months of the year. The 30315 zip code had the second
highest potential overpayment risk at $1,677.
-Neighborhoods with the greatest risk
of overpayment tend to have higher
concentrations of minority, lowerincome and unemployed residents those least able to absorb the impact.
The report findings and the
accompanying media attention helped
to inspire and inform legislative activity
on the issue. The Georgia General
Assembly adopted SB55, legislation
requiring Georgia tax assessors to use
foreclosed and bank-owned sales in
their valuation formula for residential
properties. The law became effective
on April 14, 2009. The Atlanta Journal
Constitution reported that over
300,000 properties in Metro Atlanta’s
five core counties had their assessments
reduced to reflect current market conditions.
As part of our foreclosure response efforts, we
developed and published online, a homeowner tax
assessment “how to” guide and worked successfully to
increase the number of real property tax returns through
neighborhood meetings in impacted communities and
media interviews.
To view all reports, visit www.andpi.org/propertytax.
Mixed Income Communities Initiative (MICI)
MICI’s county specific program in DeKalb, DMICI
produced a report on national best practices in addressing
the blight of vacant and abandoned properties. The report
included an analysis of DeKalb County’s existing Nuisance
Ordinance along with recommendations for instituting
a vacant property registration ordinance, designating
field inspectors to locate vacant properties that must be
registered, and publicizing the status of code enforcement
claims via the County website. The recommendations
to the County Commission have been presented for
consideration during DeKalb County’s current effort to
rewrite its zoning code.
Setting Green Priorities
In 2009, MICI continued to build upon its
understanding and identify priorities in sustainable
development where it could lend its voice.
The committee also adopted its educational priorities
to include: building support for strengthening and
expanding existing weatherization programs; encouraging
the inclusion of sustainable development in local zoning
efforts; educating various audiences on the need for an
official City of Atlanta green building ordinance; providing
support for the BeltLine Affordable Housing Advisory
Board’s (BAHAB) green building recommendations for the
Housing Opportunity Fund and strengthening ANDP’s
voice on green issues in the Qualified Action Plan for lowincome housing tax credit projects.
Analysis of Home Sales
Prices and Appraised Home
Values in High Foreclosure
Rate Neighborhoods
Released April 2009
Total Potential Overpayment by County
“The study found what was once a
phenomenon limited to blighted
neighborhoods has spread throughout
the core five urban counties. If tax
values aren’t adjusted to account for
plummeting values, property owners
in the five counties will overpay
property taxes by
$367.2 million, ANDP found.”
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, April 2, 2009
Community Redevelopment Loan & Investment Fund
In 2009 ANDP’s lending arm, Community
Redevelopment Loan & Investment Fund, focused on
creating new loan products to support NSP recipients,
promoted its green lending program, and partnered with
DeKalb County to create a special NSP second mortgage
program.
CRLIF: By the Numbers
Bridging the NSP Gap
4,300......... Total units of affordable housing supported by CRLIF since it’s inception in 1991
After surveying NSP awardees, CRLIF concluded
that start up capital was needed as some awardees
contemplated turning down NSP contracts to produce
affordable housing as access to capital continued to wane.
CRLIF committed to support NSP recipients and rolled
out two loan products specifically for this group.
The first product, an NSP Bridge Loan, was
introduced to provide affordable housing developers
with upfront bridge capital to be repaid through NSP
reimbursements.
The second was an NSP Acquisition/Rehab product
made available at lower rates and offered specifically
for those entities who proposed a leveraging model that is to leverage NSP funds with additional capital to
maximize the program impact. In this leveraging model,
the Federal NSP award combined with CRLIF financing
extends scare resources and maximizes the impact of the
NSP program.
$1 million......... U.S. Treasury’s CDFI Fund grant to support CRLIF’s foreclosure and other activity
DeKalb NSP Second Mortgage Program
DeKalb County allotted a portion of its NSP
award to a zero percent second mortgage program and
contracted with CRLIF to administer it. Under the
program, qualified buyers could receive up to $25,000
12....... The number of loans renewed or restructured in 2009
20 . .... The number of currently active loans in the portfolio
$2.8 million....... Amount in new loans in 2009
$263 million....... Value of all projects supported by CRLIF in its history
in financial assistance to help purchase a foreclosed home.
The assistance takes the form of a zero percent second
mortgage which is forgiven over time. In addition to
qualifying homebuyers, the program is also being marketed
to DeKalb’s police, fire and first responder personnel.
Green Lending
CRLIF adopted green lending policies and created an
incentive program that rewards applicants meeting green
development standards which lower monthly energy
and water costs. Borrowers whose projects rate well on
CRLIF’s Green Build Score Card are eligible for a 25 basis
point reduction in interest rate or origination fees. These
incentives will save committed green developers thousands
of dollars in financing costs.
CRLIF gets $1 million from U.S. Treasury’s CDFI Fund
ANDP’s foreclosure response program got a critical
boost in 2009 with a grant of $1,000,000 from the U.S.
Department of Treasury’s CDFI Fund. The funds were
awarded to CRLIF to increase lending capital to affordable
housing developers participating in the NSP, other
foreclosure redevelopment programs, and multifamily tax
credit projects.
CRLIF is a U.S. Treasury certified Community
Development Financial Institution (CDFI). The Treasury
established the CDFI Fund to provide credit, capital
and financial services to under served populations and
communities through CDFI organizations. This award was
received from a special funding cycle made possible by
Federal stimulus funds. CRLIF was the only housing entity
in Georgia to receive a grant through this competitive cycle.
Audited financial statements from our auditors, The Reznick Group, are available by contacting
Agnes Casimir, ANDP Chief Financial Officer at 404-420-1585.
Audited financial statements from our auditors, The Reznick Group, are available by contacting
Agnes Casimir, ANDP Chief Financial Officer at 404-420-1585.
Audited financial statements from our auditors, The Reznick Group, are available by contacting
Agnes Casimir, ANDP Chief Financial Officer at 404-420-1585.
Board of Directors
Pamela Sessions (Chair)
President, Hedgewood Properties, Inc.
John Ahmann
President & CEO, Ahmann
Harriet J. Macklin
Principal , CHJP and Associates,
Reginald R. Fenn (Vice Chair)
Senior Vice President, Bank of America
Bill Bolen
Director , Homrich Berg
Chris R. McGillis
President & CEO, SunTrust Community Capital, LLC
Thomas J. Roeck, Jr. (Treasurer)
(Retired)
Dana Chestnut
President, Chestnut Company, LLC
John O’Callaghan (Ex-Officio)
President & CEO, ANDP
Young T. Hughley Jr. (Secretary)
President and CEO, Resources for Residents & Citizens
Wendell Dallas
Vice President & General Manager, Atlanta Gas Light
Don R. Phoenix
District Director, NeighborWorks America
Sharon A. Gay (Immediate Past Chair)
Partner, McKenna Long & Aldridge, LLP
David Ellis
Exec. Vice President, Greater Atlanta Homebuilders Assn.
Marc S. Pollack
Chairman & CEO, Pollack Partners
Sarah Kirsch
Senior Principal, RCLCO
Dan J. Reuter
Land Use Division Chief, Atlanta Regional Commission
Catherine Lasher
Vice President, Fannie Mae
Kenneth F. Woods
Senior Vice President, Wachovia Bank, NA
Corporate & Foundation Supporters
Anonymous Foundation
John and Mary Franklin Foundation
PBS&J
AT&T
Fulton County FRESH Grant
Publix Super Market Charities
AGL Resources Private Foundation
Georgia-Pacific Foundation
RBC Ventura Bank
The Atlanta Foundation
Georgia Power/Southern Company
RCLCO Foundation
Bank of America Foundation
The John H. & Wilhelmina D. Harland
Charitable Foundation
The Rich Foundation
The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation
The Mary Allen Lindsey Branan Foundation
Best Bank
The Annie E. Casey Foundation
The Citi Foundation
The Coca-Cola Company
Community Affordable Housing Equity Corporation
Enterprise Community Partners
Fannie Mae
Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta
Flagstar Bank
Hedgewood Properties
The Sartain Lanier Family Foundation
The Home Depot and The Home Depot Foundation
SunTrust Directed Funds - SunTrust Bank, Atlanta Foundation,
and Florence C. & Harry L. English Memorial Fund
JP Morgan Chase Foundation
United Parcel Service and The UPS Foundation
Kiwanis Foundation of Atlanta
John Wieland Homes & Neighborhoods
McCalla & Raymer
Wachovia Wells Fargo Foundation
McKenna Long & Aldridge, LLC
Wells Fargo Housing Foundation
The Richard C. Munroe Foundation, Inc.
The Robert W. Woodruff Foundation
The National Community Reinvestment Coalition
The David, Helen & Marian Woodward Fund
NeighborWorks
Northern Trust Bank
Our Staff
Susan E. Adams
Director, Research, Policy & Information/MICI
KC George
Senior Director for Housing Finance & Administration
Karyl Bentley
Donor Relations & Housing Development Assistant
Mijha Butcher Godfrey
Housing Development Manager
George S. Burgan
Senior Manager for Marketing and Communications
Audrey Jordan
Loan Portfolio Manager
Christie Cade
Senior Manager for Housing Development
Colleen Lyons
Manager of Human Resources & Administration
Agnes Casimir
Chief Financial Officer
John O’Callaghan
President & CEO
J. Cassandra Clark
Senior Loan Officer/Underwriter
Zenovia L. Palmer
Assistant Manager of Program Services
Natalie DiSantis
Director of Fund Development
Dorothea Reed
Administrative Coordinator
Angela G. Edwards
Staff Accountant
Tayani Suma
Director of Housing Development