A Foundation for Growth

AHFA's 2023 Annual Report

To everything there is a season. This year’s housing headlines have focused on historically high interest rates, though those rates have begun to fall. Anyone who shops for groceries knows that everything seems more expensive lately. Costs associated with the affordable housing market – including mortgages, construction materials, land, insurance, and related services – are no exception.

In times like these, the mission of the Alabama Housing Finance Authority is more important and impactful than ever. We have seen challenging conditions in the past. We remain sensitive to the obstacles faced by households struggling to make ends meet. By keeping our interest rates competitive, forming creative partnerships, and intelligently

directing assistance where it is most needed, we have improved housing situations for Alabama homeowners and household renters in all 67 counties.

Since our creation, AHFA has leveraged public and private funding to finance more than 200,000 affordable homes and apartments. Just this year, we provided financing, tax credits, and down payment assistance for 904 homebuyers. We placed 922 newly built or rehabilitated apartments in service. We allocated funds for the construction and repair of 765 more units of multifamily housing. And we distributed temporary federal emergency rental and mortgage payment assistance to prevent eviction and foreclosure for 18,742 additional Alabama households.

Not only do we enable Alabamians to put down roots in homes of their own, but our work also grows the communities where they live. Each family’s mortgage loan and each renter household’s affordable apartment is a seed planted, representing additional jobs, business activity, and taxes paid to support local services. These investments enable our communities to survive, adapt, and thrive in a variety of economic environments.

In fair or foul financial weather, AHFA remains vigorously committed to encouraging growth and stability for homebuyers and renters throughout Alabama.

For homebuyers ready to put down roots, AHFA offers a trio of programs that make homeownership more affordable. Our Step Up down payment assistance program offers up to $10,000 in down payment assistance along with a competitive 30-year fixed rate and no sales price limits.

Qualified buyers can combine Step Up down payment assistance with an Affordable Income Subsidy Grant that helps with closing costs and a Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC). An MCC is a dollar-for-dollar annual income tax credit for the life of the loan that increases available income to qualify for a mortgage.

All three of these options help boost purchasing power for homebuyers of modest means.

Homeownership Financing in FY23

In addition to helping Alabama homebuyers, AHFA works in several fields to cultivate relationships, strengthen homeowners’ financial outlook, and grow financial knowledge in children.

Helping Homeowners in Crisis

Though the COVID-19 pandemic seems like a thing of the past, its repercussions continue to impact Alabama homeowners with limited means. AHFA administered relief provided by the U.S. Treasury’s Homeowner Assistance Fund to an additional 2,592 households this year, reaching a total of 6,053 families in all 67 counties under the Mortgage Assistance Alabama program. These funds help homeowners in dire straits with mortgage payment assistance, foreclosure prevention and lien extinguishment.

Connecting with Our Partners

Our staff conducted 346 outreach visits and training sessions this year. In conjunction with the Mortgage Bankers Association of Alabama, we cohosted a one-day “Making Homeownership Affordable” workshop with record attendance. We checked in regularly with our network of 88 participating lenders. We conducted classes to help lending and real estate professionals understand our programs and offer them to qualified customers.

Nurturing Financial Literacy

We continue to expand our financial literacy programs for children. We shared earning, saving, spending, and giving concepts with a children’s class at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville in observance of Financial Literacy Month, and later to families of foster children in Elmore County. We hosted another successful Kids’ Art Contest during Homeownership Month in June. We regularly added educational videos and other content to our “AHFA Kids” web pages. For these efforts and more, we earned the top integrated communications campaign award from the National Council of State Housing Agencies.

Expediting Habitat for Humanity Builds

Through our 31-year partnership with Alabama’s Habitat for Humanity Affiliates, we purchased 10 loans this year, bringing our total to 587. This process enables the Habitat affiliates to continue building homes for those in great need, without waiting on monthly mortgage payments to trickle in.

“The partnership that Habitat Tuscaloosa has with Alabama Housing Finance Authority has been transformative for our organization and other affiliates across the state,” said Habitat Tuscaloosa Executive Director Ellen Potts. Watch the video at right for more from Ellen and HFH homeowner Cassandra Jones.

Rental Programs

Rental housing is the best option for many Alabamians due to financial constraints, life phase, mobility issues, personal preference, and other reasons. For these households, AHFA administers a trio of multifamily programs maximized to create high-quality, affordable rental housing.

AHFA is Alabama’s administrator of the federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, and Housing Trust Fund. In addition, AHFA issues multifamily housing revenue bonds for the acquisition, renovation and new construction of affordable rental housing. By combining funding and tax incentives, these programs encourage developers to build or rehabilitate properties for our state’s low- to moderate-income residents, with units often set aside for disabled individuals and elderly residents.

Since its beginning, AHFA has layered these funding and tax incentives to help build or preserve 955 developments comprising 58,919 units found in every county across the state.

construction type

19 developments opened, comprising 922 units

tenant type

breakdown by units

From ground-breaking to ribbon-cutting and beyond, AHFA-financed multifamily developments bring stability to their communities in a variety of ways.

Reaping Rewards

More than 900 families and individuals are living in new or renovated apartments this year with the opening of 19 multifamily developments. Click below to watch one resident, Dorothy McGreevy, describe the community spirit she found at Nathan’s Ridge in Wetumpka.

Accelerating Emergency Relief

We created the Imminent Eviction Prevention Initiative to speed up federal financial assistance for more than 3,000 renters facing eviction with court cases pending. AHFA worked with Legal Services Alabama to make accelerated funds available to people with eviction notices who applied to the statewide Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program administered by AHFA, earned less than 80 percent of area median income, and attested to financial hardship caused by the pandemic.

Sowing Seeds for Future Success

Studies show that children who grow up in secure housing perform better academically and increase their earning power as adults. For this reason, we support the Alabama Affordable Housing Association’s scholarship program, which has helped fund educational opportunities for more than 100 students -- many of whom are residents of AHFA-funded properties.

Watch the videos below to hear from first-generation college student Khong Ngyuen, who dreams of leaving the bayou to study aerospace engineering. Listen as returning student and mother of three Karinsa Morgan reveals how she is using her education to open a small business. Learn how college freshman Jayson Butts hopes to become a marine biologist. Their stories show how safe, affordable housing can lead to educational opportunities that translate into future success.

$6.17B

total $ of portfolio

AHFA provides loan servicing activities to all customers under the tradename ServiSolutions.

Not only does ServiSolutions manage all the mortgages funded by AHFA, but we also service mortgages for customers in other states, currently acting as master servicer for the state housing finance agencies of Arkansas and North Carolina.

Additionally, ServiSolutions services mortgage loans on behalf of many Alabama-based community banks.

Loan types serviced by ServiSolutions include FHA, VA, Rural Development, and conventional loans with or without mortgage insurance.

The Alabama Housing Finance Authority is a public corporation and instrumentality of the State of Alabama created July 25, 1980, by Act No. 80-565 of the Alabama Legislature.

The bonds of the Alabama Housing Finance Authority are not obligations of the State of Alabama and are not repaid with tax dollars.

AHFA is a self-sustaining organization which pays all operating expenses from program revenues.

Stay Connected: