Real Estate and Finance

Affordable Housing

Preti Flaherty’s Affordable Housing Practice Group operates at the complex intersection of business, real estate, and tax law. Circumstances may change, but the goals of affordable housing developers remain the same: sustainable economic development, community revitalization, and safe and affordable housing for populations in need. Success in an environment of constantly evolving market forces, such as government incentive programs, zoning and land use issues, and challenging economic conditions, demands innovative legal strategy to get the job done.

A Framework Built for the Future

Working both regionally and nationally, we handle major transactions for nonprofit and for-profit developers, lenders, equity investors, and state and local housing authorities.  Our Affordable Housing Group provides a wide range of services, including:

  • 9% and 4% Low-income housing tax credit financing
  • Tax-exempt bond financing
  • Historic tax credit financing
  • Project-based Section 8 transactions
  • Community Development Block Grants
  • HUD Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) conversions
  • Construction and permanent mortgage loans and syndications
  • Federal and state subsidies
  • Public-private partnerships
  • Multi-family housing and community development transactions
  • Senior housing transactions
  • Property acquisitions and sales
  • Limited partner dispositions
  • Sale/leasebacks
  • Ground and space leases and condominiums
  • Property tax exemptions, abatements and PILOTs
  • Legislative and agency approvals and permitting
  • Land-use matters (zoning, site plan approval, special permits, and subdivisions)
  • Environmental matters
  • Title matters
  • Rental housing operations matters, including Fair Housing and lead-based paint compliance

The attorneys that make up Preti Flaherty’s Affordable Housing Group are actively and proudly involved in various organizations supporting affordable housing in New England, including the Northern New England Housing Investment Fund, the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition and the Maine Real Estate Development Association.

On a Foundation of Results

We have a demonstrated record of success working with financing authorities to secure historic results for our clients. Our tax attorneys were instrumental in obtaining first-of-its-kind financing for renovations to 40 senior housing units under Maine’s expanded tax credit program. We took the lead in coordinating the financing, acquisition, leasing, and tax structuring related to a $30 million-tax exempt bond financing provided by the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority to assure the expansion, refurbishment, and sustainability of seven senior housing complexes. Our team serves as trusted advisors and general counsel to small and large-scale affordable housing developers across New England and maintains strong relationships with local, state, and national housing and finance agencies.  

The connections we have cultivated and our creativity in working with a combination of financing vehicles are the key factors our clients need to overcome the challenges presented by regulatory and economic forces to see their projects through to completion.

Firm Highlights

Press Coverage

Authorities Refuse to Release Records for Maine School Shooter Hoax Calls

On November 15, 2022, multiple law enforcement agencies in Maine received false calls alerting police to active shooter situations at several high schools throughout the state. In the wake of this widespread hoax, the Kennebec...

Publication

Maine Workers’ Compensation New Year Update 2023

The new year brings proposed legislation, an update to the Medical Fee Schedule, and two recent decisions from the Appellate Division. Proposed Legislation Workers’ compensation bill LD 53 (HP 28) would amend 39-A M.R.S.A...

Event

Jeff Talbert to Moderate Panel on PFAS Regulatory Action at ABA Toxic Torts & Environmental Law Conference

Jeff Talbert, Chair of Preti Flaherty's Environmental Law Group, will moderate "Regulatory Action: History & Horizon" at the ABA Toxic Torts & Environmental Law Conference. This panel will discuss the 2016 EPA health advisory, the...

News

Maine Lawyers and Judges Once Again Show Overwhelming Support of Campaign for Justice

2022 proved to be another challenging year for Mainers. Skyrocketing inflation, an uncertain economic future, an ongoing housing crisis and more factors continue to push more at-risk individuals into a tight spot. Maine’s civil...

Press Coverage

What’s Inside Maine Freight Trains? Public Can Only Hazard a Guess

Due to an exemption from the state's Freedom of Access Act, Maine residents are prevented from reviewing information regarding the transportation through their communities via freight trains of potentially hazardous materials. Rail industry officials...

News

Benchmark Litigation Names Preti Flaherty 2023 “Maine Firm of the Year”

Benchmark Litigation has named Preti Flaherty as 2023 Litigation Firm of the Year in the State of Maine. The Benchmark Awards honor distinguished litigators and law firms in all 50 states and 10 practice...

Publication

Enforcers Make It Easy to Report Cartels

This article was originally published in the American Bar Association  Antitrust Newsletter  on February 8, 2023.  Did you know that global competition enforcers have easy-to-find websites to encourage reporting of anticompetitive conduct? Not only...

News

Attorney Jeffrey Thaler Named to 2023 Lawdragon Green 500: Leaders in Energy Law

For the second time, Preti Flaherty attorney Jeffrey Thaler has been recognized by the esteemed legal publication Lawdragon as an elite practitioner in the field of energy law. Jeff is the only Maine-base lawyer...

Event

Bodie Colwell will be a Featured Panelist at ABI Annual Spring Meeting

Bodie Colwell will be a featured panelist on "Danger Ahead! Avoiding and Addressing Ethical Landmines in Attorney Engagement and Compensation" at the American Bankruptcy Institute's Annual Spring Meeting. The panel focuses on disputes regarding engagement...

Publication

FY2024 H-1B Registration Fact Sheet for Employers

Registration Process To file H-1B petitions subject to the FY2024 cap for an employee, you must first electronically register and pay a $10 fee for each electronic registration. The electronic registration includes basic information about...