| Resources |
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| How Big is Your Thumb? |
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| LISC Guide: Recapitalizing Affordable Housing |
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| HVAC Maintenance |
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| Rural Development CNA Statement Of Work |
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| NHT Newsletters |
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How Big is Your Thumb? - The Fallacy of Reserve Adequacy
LISC Guide on Recapitalizing Affordable Rental Housing Two OSI principals made a primary contribution to Recapitalizing Affordable Rental Housing: A Handbook for Nonprofit Owners. The handbook was published by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), with support from the Fannie Mae Foundation, The Home Depot Foundation, and Living Cities. Thousands of existing affordable rental properties across the country need some form of recapitalization to remain viable. The LISC guide is intended to assist nonprofit community development corporations (CDCs) with the demands of a complex rehabilitation and redevelopment process. OSI Principals Edward Daly and David Whiston co-authored a chapter on physical needs due diligence related to recapitalization transactions. Other chapters address general revitalization strategies including working with partners, renewing property-based subsidy assistance, the types and merits of financial resources available, and special regulatory issues. "Preserving and revitalizing existing affordable properties is both essential and difficult. Getting to the right answers regarding the properties’ physical circumstances is critical. We are pleased to make our contribution to the Handbook." commented OSI President David Whiston. LISC is a national organization dedicated to supporting the work of CDCs through loans, grants and equity investments, technical and management assistance, and policy support. Since 1980, it has assisted 2,800 CDCs build or rehabilitate more than 160,000 affordable homes, and almost 2.5 million square feet of retail, community and educational space.
Almost every week, we see unit-level heat, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems with cooling and/or heat recovery coils and condensate pans. While this may seem like an odd time to be thinking about this (New England has been strangely mild so far this winter), effective maintenance of these systems can reduce energy costs year-round, and improve resident comfort. The operation and efficiency of air conditioning (AC) and heat pump coils is a function of cleanliness. Dirty coils degrade heat-transfer efficiency, decreasing the system’s cooling capacity, and increasing energy demand to meet intended performance. Coils should be cleaned and kept that way. Various industry trade organizations and federal agencies all recommend regular coil cleaning regularly. In the face of rising energy costs, twice a year may be reasonable (spring and fall); the conventional wisdom for a long time has been once a year. A visual inspection by site maintenance staff is generally adequate. Coils are usually downstream of the air-handling unit, fan-coil unit, or heat pump. Shine a light through the coils. Light dust is acceptable; heavy dirt demands cleaning. (Enhanced fin designs are more difficult to inspect visually, and may require third party help.) Use an alkaline detergent initially; it should break down dirt and biofilm without damaging the aluminum coil fins. An acid-based coil cleaner may be required for scale deposits if they exist. Cleaning the condensate pan is also very important; dust, rust and other debris can clog drain lines, causing real problems. Backed up pans can allow carryover onto ductwork, which can allow mold or other microbial growth (affecting indoor air quality). Winter is a good time to work on condensate pans; they are usually dry. When coils and condensate pans are being worked on, this is a good time to clean blower and fan blades. Accumulated dirt on such blades can drastically affect how much air they move. Cleaning them can restore performance but be careful not to dislodge any balancing weights on these blades. Other system components worth checking are air filters (be sure to use filters specified for your system) and ducts. Some dust in ducts is normal and does not mean they need cleaning; attending to the items above should keep ducts reasonably clean. Some work – replacing coils or other components, or calibrating and adjusting air flows at the registers – may require greater expertise than your site staff should take on themselves. Where this is the case, HVAC service technicians can be brought in. The EPA has a useful checklist for pro-actively maintaining HVAC systems. It can be found on-line at www.epa.gov/iaq/largebldgs/graphics/hvacshrt.pdf. Documenting all this work could provide the added benefit of a paper trail in the event of air quality complaints down the road.
Rural Development CNA Statement Of Work USDA - Rural Development is making third party capital needs assessments (CNAs) a vital element of affordable housing preservation activity. It has developed a detailed statement of work and guidelines for consultant qualifications and RD approval of CNA contracts.
The National Housing Trust now publishes a monthly newsletter that should be of interest to many affordable housing decision-makers. |
