With more than 70 attorneys, our housing practice is one of the largest in the country. We provide innovative and practical advice in the development and financing of housing and community development projects nationwide.
Our experience includes the representation of more than 75 housing authorities, the closing of hundreds of bond transactions as bond and underwriter's counsel, and involvement in thousands of tax-credit transactions. We routinely represent borrowers and more than a dozen lenders under all of the multifamily programs of Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and HUD.
We are called upon by clients engaged in the acquisition, development, expansion, and disposition of virtually every type of housing, including:
A Team Approach to Complex Housing Issues
Our experience in banking, securities, zoning, green building, litigation, and bankruptcy complements our housing practice. We have been engaged as bond counsel in billions of dollars in single family and multifamily housing revenue bonds. Our energy team is at the forefront of the green construction and retrofitting of buildings, and several of our lawyers hold the LEED AP designation.
Our finance lawyers provide pragmatic, leading-edge advice on even the most complex transactions, including:
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Acquisitions/assumptions
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Bonds
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Construction and bridge loans
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Capital grant financing programs
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Community development lending
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Defaults and workouts
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Green building/energy efficiency initiatives
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Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac
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FHA-insured loans/GNMA
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HUD programs
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Mixed finance
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Portfolio sales and acquisitions
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Section 8 contracts and vouchers
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Tax credits
We represent clients in every space in the market, including:
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Commercial lenders
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Developers
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Low Income Housing Tax Credit investors
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Mortgage and investment bankers
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Nonprofit and for-profit developers
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Public housing authorities
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State and local housing finance agencies
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Underwriters
We work with housing authorities nationwide, advising on the demolition, disposition, and development of public housing projects. Our work includes implementing mixed-finance development projects, assisting with RAD conversions, obtaining HUD regulatory waivers, structuring and closing transactions involving capital fund bonds, and private financings using various tax credits.
We have closed numerous affordable housing projects, including mixed-income units, mixed-use developments, and sustainable-energy improvements. Our attorneys assist clients in innovative transactions, combining public housing redevelopment with energy improvements, continuing care facilities, school construction, and transit-oriented development.
We also assist housing authorities with other programs, such as Moving to Work, Section 8 contracts, asset management, the Section 30 Public Housing Mortgage Program, and OIG investigations. Our lawyers have developed productive working relationships with HUD officials and have a solid understanding of their programs and procedures.
We represent private and public lenders, borrowers, and other clients nationwide, counseling on all aspects of HUD-insured financing transactions. Our work has included acquisition, rehabilitation, and new construction loans; tax-exempt bond financings credit enhanced by HUD insurance; Government National Mortgage Association mortgage-backed securities; IRP decoupling transactions; and transfer of physical assets applications. We are experienced in virtually all of HUD's multifamily programs and with the related tax, securities, environmental, and other legal issues associated with HUD transactions.
We also assist lenders in obtaining HUD mortgagee and MAP approvals to originate HUD-insured loans. We help lenders respond to audit reports, pre-penalty determinations, and other adverse findings and advise on servicing issues. We negotiate loan and servicing portfolio sales and perform due diligence reviews. Our lawyers enjoy effective working relationships with HUD headquarters and local office employees.
GSE-related Financing
We counsel lenders, borrowers, and other clients nationwide on all aspects of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac financing products for multifamily housing projects and seniors facilities and on related compliance and servicing issues. Our attorneys handle all types of conventional mortgage and bond financings, including acquisition, rehabilitation, refunding, and forward commitment new construction loans. We also assist clients with loan assumptions, distressed asset advice, and default resolution. We represent Freddie Mac on an ongoing basis as counsel for its tax-exempt bond credit enhancement and securitization programs.
Our attorneys assist lenders in obtaining approval to originate and deliver loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, advise on servicing issues, negotiate loan participations and loan and servicing portfolio sales, and perform due diligence reviews. We have developed extensive relationships throughout Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and have a solid understanding of their loan products, procedural requirements, and preferences.
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