Vermont Housing and Conservation Board

The Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) is an independent, state-supported funding agency providing grants, loans and technical assistance to nonprofit organizations, municipalities and state agencies for the development of perpetually affordable housing and for the conservation of important agricultural land, recreational land, natural areas and historic properties in Vermont. VHCB contracted Compass, through a HUD technical assistance contract with ICF International, to conduct a three-part assessment of the State’s housing portfolio. This assessment included:

  1. Underwritten vs. Actual Look-Back. A comparison of the actual performance of a sample of 70 VHCB-funded properties to their underwritten performance and a determination whether the existing financing is consistent with long-term physical and financial viability (“sustainability”) of the properties.
  2. Use Expiration. A study of the 17 VHCB-funded properties whose nonprofit general partners will have an option to purchase the properties in the next five years and an estimation of the likely level of cash that the general partners will need in order to purchase the properties and position them for sustainability and affordability.
  3. Reserve Adequacy. A determination whether the properties’ existing reserve funding and existing financing are likely to allow the property to meet long-term capital needs without requiring additional subsidy.

Vermont’s Housing and Conservation Board relied upon Compass’ extensive knowledge of affordable housing operations, finance, asset management and public policy. This assignment demonstrated Compass’ fluency with issues of concern to State agencies with large portfolios of investments.

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