CommuniTIES

In this episode, our public sector accounting partners explain the benefits of working with Baker Tilly as an outsourced accountant and/or auditor to improve governmental operations and save money.

David Haviland is a Baker Tilly senior manager, best known for his multitude of experience helping multifamily housing developers identify opportunities through market studies. In this episode, he reveals how COVID-19 has impacted the process of market studies and why virtual site visits may be the wave of the future. Hosts, Don Bernards and Garrick Gibson dig deeper to uncover chatter around rent collections, especially as it relates to secondary outbreaks. David deconstructs the multifamily housing market to share predicted design and amenity changes as renters’ mindsets shift, as well as new and successful marketing strategies that listeners can implement.

In this episode of CommuniTIES, Baker Tilly public sector specialists discuss the COVID-19 relief funding sources available to state and local governments, schools and utilities.

Join Don and Garrick as they interview, Baker Tilly senior manager Spencer Skinner, on a trend gaining momentum in the industry for developers: modular construction. With a primary goal of reducing construction labor costs of a project, Spencer shares how he helped a client use modular building to close a construction gap of six to eight million and reallocate the savings to other parts of the project. Spencer will also answer common questions for developers considering modular construction, including when you should consider this type of building, what components developers are responsible for, and some challenges you may face.

The hosts will also give some quick industry updates including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) final release of their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requirements and Senator Wyden’s call for housing credit enhancements in the next coronavirus bill.

Over the next five years approximately 635,000 low-income multifamily housing units will reach Year 15. To date, this is the most in the history of the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) preservation program (Year 15). As you approach your 15-year compliance period, specialized disputes involve extremely complicated transactions, new and existing parties, and parties whose objectives have changed since inception of the partnership. Guest and trial lawyer David Davenport speaks with Don Bernards and Garrick Gibson on signs of dispute, where disputes may arise and language you should focus on when drafting buy-out sections.

As your company reacts and changes to address all the new rules and regulations resulting from COVID-19, you’ve likely already incurred additional costs beyond what was expected. From work-from-home expenses to new technologies, all current and future costs should be documented in a harm statement. This statement serves as an inventory of past costs and expected future costs from a contractor’s COVID-19 response. Join special guests, Tony Ollmann and Jim Miller, as they discuss why a harm statement is especially important in today’s environment, what costs should be documented and what contractors should be considering regarding the impacts to future revenue.

In this episode of CommuniTIES, Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors discuss the importance of comprehensive financial planning for state and local governments, particularly during and post-COVID-19.

Laura Cataldo, a Baker Tilly senior manager who works with contractors across the country on performance and management effectiveness, joins Don Bernards and Garrick Gibson in an episode geared towards developers with projects in construction.

Learn about what contractors are doing to stay healthy and safe during COVID-19, force majeure clauses in contracts that may benefit you, and how to vet potential contractors for future jobs. The team will also dive into how you can be proactive as you deal with supply chain issues affecting building materials, furloughed municipal workers delaying inspections and certificate of occupancies, and impacts causing delays in project timelines.

With unemployment rising to an ultimate 14.7% rate, many multifamily housing developers and owners are interested in what future rent collections will look like. Join Don Bernards and Garrick Gibson as they speak to these upcoming rent collections, as well as how to make your deal more attractive for a tax credit investor, and what developers can do to help mitigate the current drop in investor pricing.

As the multifamily housing industry pushes for a fixed 4% tax credit and lower requirements for the 50% test, Garrick will explain the key factors driving this and recommend some talking points when addressing legislators.

Don and Garrick will also dive into what the next round of proposed COVID-19 legislation could mean for you, including a housing assistance fund and emergency rental assistance.

With interest rates at an all-time low, many multifamily housing developers may be considering refinancing properties. Hosts Don Bernards and Garrick Gibson outline the main considerations when looking at a refinance opportunity and how you should approach an investor. In addition, Garrick details examples of how refinancing can be used to pay off deferred fees or sponsored loans that would be considered eligible debt and Don discusses tax credit pricing in the equity markets over the last few weeks. You’ll also get an inside look at what the historic industry is doing in Washington to aid in economic recovery after experiencing historic project construction delays.