Partner organizations

VHFA has three immediate job openings: Development Underwriter, Business Development Coordinator and Research and Communications Coordinator. 

Caño Martín Peña, a sister community land trust to Vermont's own Champlain Housing Trust, needs our help to rebuild the homes it operates for 26,000 lower income San Juan residents. 

September's hurricanes have left these homes partly or completely destroyed. Donations will be used to buy construction materials and replace furniture and goods for those who have lost everything.

The Caño residents won last year's United Nations / BSHF World Habitat Award for their Community Land Trust -- joining the Champlain Housing Trust as a past award recipient.

Vermont Governor Phil Scott joined legislative and housing leaders in a press conference last week to update the public on the first year progress of the Building Homes Together campaign.

Goal

In an effort to increase the availability of affordable homes in Vermont, Champlain Housing Trust teamed up with Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission and Housing Vermont to set a goal of 3,500 new homes within 5 years, with 20% of them being permanently affordable.

VHFA invited bids from investors Friday for the "Housing for All" initiative passed by Vermont lawmakers earlier this year.  The proceeds from this financing will be used to create and rehabilitate an estimated 650 rental and owned homes across the state.

"We consistently hear about how widespread the lack of affordable, decent housing is in many parts of Vermont," said Governor Phil Scott. "By leveraging other funds, this investment will help create much-needed homes that are affordable for working Vermonters at the middle and lower end of the wage scale."

Governor Phil Scott has appointed Thomas S. Leavitt of Waterbury Center to VHFA's Board of Commissioners.

Leavitt, has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Northfield Savings Bank since 2014.  Prior to Northfield Savings Bank, Leavitt was President and CEO of MountainOne Financial in North Adams, MA and before that he was on the senior management team of Merchants Bank in Vermont for 16 years.

He serves on the Boards of Norwich University Applied Research Institutes, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, and the Flynn Center. He is an active member of the Vermont Financial Literacy Commission.

Registration is open for this year's Tri-State Housing Managers Conference to be held October 25-27, 2017.  The conference will be hosted by Vermont Housing Managers Association , Granite State Managers Association and Maine Real Estate Managers Association. 

This year's conference, located at the North Conway Grand Hotel in Conway, New Hampshire, will feature a variety of informative sessions.  Check out the full agenda at the registration website. 

Despite continued signs of a strengthening national economy, HUD's reported this month that severe housing problems are on the rise. In 2015, 8.30 million households had worst case needs, up from 7.72 million in 2013. These households are defined as very low-income renters who do not receive government housing assistance and who paid more than one-half of their income for rent, lived in severely inadequate conditions, or both. High rents in proportion to renter incomes remain dominant among households with worst case needs, leaving these renters with substantial, unmet need for affordable housing. 

This morning Union Bank funded nearly $600,000 of Vermont Housing Finance Agency’s (VHFA) highly successful “ASSIST” down payment assistance program. By purchasing Vermont Affordable Housing Credits for the past three years, Union Bank has helped nearly 500 Vermont households buy their first homes.

Interested buyers who qualify for a VHFA mortgage can receive up to $5,000 in the form of a no-interest second mortgage to help with down payment and closing costs.  The down payment assistance requires no monthly payments, with repayment to VHFA due only when the home is sold or refinanced.  VHFA uses repayments to continue funding the program for future homebuyers.

Staff from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board will outline specifics of the Housing for All initiative, the program funded with the state's recently-enacted bond for housing development.  VHFA will issue the revenue bond and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board will administer the funds statewide to expand Vermont’s stock of permanently affordable housing. 

Staff from regional planning commissions, economic development corporations and affordable housing development organizations are encouraged to attend either of these two public meetings:  

Based on feedback from property managers and apartment seekers, VHFA launched this week a redesigned, user-friendly Vermont Directory of Affordable Rental Housing at www.housingdata.org. We improved search tools and expanded the site to include more information people looking for an apartment need, such as rent and income limits, property photos, proximity to public transportation, accessibility features and pet policies.  

Development of the new website was supported in part by TD Charitable Foundation, AARP Vermont and the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity’s HUD Inclusive and Vibrant Communities Vermont Grant.