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

Publication

Municipal Update: Maine Legislature Acts to Clarify Sales of Tax-Acquired Properties

Early this week, in response to the  United States Supreme Court’s recent decision in  Tyler v. Hennepin County, Minnesota  (598 U.S. (2023)) , the Maine Legislature passed emergency legislation establishing a new process for...

Publication

Maine Law Amended to Require More Details When Public Employees Disciplined

Governor Mills recently signed a bill amending the public disclosure requirements for public employees who have been disciplined. Although widely reported as applying to police misconduct, the law applies to all government employees. The...

News

Matt Warner Named to Cannabis Law Journal Global Top 200 Cannabis Lawyers 2023

Preti Flaherty attorney and Cannabis Business Group member Matt Warner has been named to the list of Global Top 200 Cannabis Lawyers for 2023-2024. A joint publication of  Cannabis Law Report and  Cannabis Law...

Publication

How to navigate the legal side of nondisclosure agreements

Preti Flaherty attorney Kristy Abraham has authored an article for  MaineBiz  on navigating the legal side of nondisclosure agreements (NDAs), outlining six questions for organizations to review before entering into a NDA.

News

Jeffrey Talbert Named to American College of Environmental Lawyers

Jeffrey Talbert, Chair of Preti Flaherty’s Environmental Law Group, has been invited to become a Fellow in the distinguished American College of Environmental Lawyers (ACOEL). Membership in the premiere association of environmental lawyers is by...

Event

2023 Maine Employment Law Summit

For nearly 30 years, Preti Flaherty's Employment Law team has provided Maine employers with practical guidance and best practices at our annual Employment Law Summit. Join us  Thursday, October 5  for the 2023 Employment...

Press Coverage

Maine Media Organizations Oppose Foreign Electioneering Ban

Question 2 on Maine’s November ballot asserts that corporations owned or controlled by foreign governments do not have the same rights to political speech as companies here in the U.S. and that foreign governments should be prohibited...

News

Preti Flaherty Litigation Practice Group Adds Four New Attorneys

Preti Flaherty is pleased to announce the addition of four experienced Associates to the firm’s Litigation Practice Group: Stephen Garvey, Michael Hanify, Hanna May, and Tiffany Ottenga. Stephen Garvey is a graduate of Boston...

Publication

Schutz and Harriman Author Article for MLRC on Mill's Veto of Constitutionally Fraught Legislation

In an article for the Media Law Resource Center's July 2023 Media Law Letter,  Preti Flaherty attorneys Sig Schutz and Alex Harriman explore Gov. Janet Mills' recent veto of L.D. 1610, “An Act to Prohibit Campaign Spending...

Press Coverage

Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting Wins Public Records Dispute with York County Jail