Ohio LIHTC Consultants

TFG Housing Resources is a Columbus-based consulting practice that guides nonprofit developers, public housing authorities, community development corporations, and faith-based sponsors through Ohio's Low Income Housing Tax Credit programs. Our team has spent many years inside both the 9% competitive round and the 4% non-competitive credit paired with tax-exempt bonds, and we work with the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) on virtually every deal we touch. If you are evaluating a LIHTC transaction in Ohio — preservation, new construction, scattered-site, or PHA-sponsored — we can tell you within a first call whether the deal is worth pursuing and what it will take to close.

How TFG Supports Ohio LIHTC Developments

Ohio LIHTC development is highly competitive and increasingly strategy-driven. Successful applications require more than simply assembling a financing package. They require a clear understanding of OHFA scoring priorities, market conditions, site selection, subsidy layering, and long-term project feasibility. TFG works with public housing authorities, nonprofit organizations, mission-driven developers, and private development teams to structure projects that are financially viable and competitive within Ohio's evolving LIHTC environment.

Site Selection & Early Feasibility

Much of the success of a LIHTC transaction is determined before the application process even begins. TFG helps clients evaluate:

• Competitive census tract scoring
• QCT and basis boost considerations
• Local political and community support
• Rent potential and SAFMR trends
• Opportunity Zone eligibility
• Preservation versus new construction strategies
• Target population and set-aside opportunities
• Availability of gap financing and local incentives

We regularly advise clients when a site or concept is unlikely to compete under the current QAP and work collaboratively to refine the development approach before significant predevelopment dollars are spent.

9% Competitive LIHTC Applications

TFG assists development teams in preparing competitive Ohio 9% LIHTC applications, including:

• QAP scoring analysis and positioning
• Development concept refinement
• Sources and uses development
• Financial modeling and underwriting
• Coordination with market analysts and third-party consultants
• Narrative and threshold documentation support
• Set-aside and strategic positioning analysis
• Preliminary feasibility and implementation planning

Our approach focuses on aligning the project concept with the realities of the current funding environment, market conditions, and OHFA scoring priorities.

4% LIHTC & Bond-Financed Transactions

TFG also supports 4% LIHTC and tax-exempt bond-financed developments, including transactions involving:

• Public housing authorities and governmental issuers
• FHA-insured financing
• HDAP and other state soft financing programs
• Local and philanthropic funding sources
• Mixed-finance and public-private partnership structures

We help clients evaluate feasibility, structure financing strategies, coordinate development team members, and navigate the complexities associated with layered affordable housing transactions.

Financial Modeling & Development Strategy

TFG develops practical financial models designed to support both early-stage feasibility analysis and ongoing transaction structuring. Our modeling work typically evaluates:

• LIHTC equity assumptions
• Debt sizing and coverage
• Operating feasibility
• Development cash flow and deferred fee considerations
• Exit and long-term ownership scenarios

Because many of our engagements involve housing authorities, our analyses often integrate LIHTC financing with broader repositioning strategies involving RAD, Faircloth-to-RAD, or mixed-finance redevelopment efforts.

Coordination Through Closing & Implementation

TFG remains involved throughout the development process to help coordinate moving pieces between ownership entities, lenders, syndicators, housing authorities, legal counsel, and public funding partners. Depending on the engagement, support may include:

• Closing coordination
• Development and financing strategy refinement
• HUD and OHFA process coordination
• Relocation and resident planning considerations
• Organizational and ownership structuring
• Long-term implementation planning

Why Specialized Ohio LIHTC Experience Matters

Ohio's LIHTC environment is highly competitive and increasingly nuanced. Scoring priorities, set-asides, and funding dynamics evolve regularly, and successful projects typically require thoughtful positioning long before an application is submitted.

Our Ohio LIHTC Experience

We have advised on Ohio housing tax credit transactions across the full geographic and programmatic spectrum: family and senior new construction in the major metros (Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, Akron, Toledo), preservation and PHA repositioning in mid-market cities (Youngstown, Canton, Springfield, Lima, Mansfield), and rural and Appalachian Ohio deals where the development is genuinely harder.

We are based in Columbus, which means most of the state's LIHTC ecosystem is within a short drive.

Common Ohio LIHTC Challenges We Solve

Most Ohio LIHTC deals fail in predictable places. Knowing where saves you a round.

• QAP scoring shortfalls. We rebuild applications around the threshold, set-aside, and competitive points that actually move the needle in the current OHFA round.
• Gap financing. Layering OHFA HDAP, HOME, NHTF, FHLB AHP, and local trust fund dollars without tripping subsidy-layering or basis-boost rules.
• Site control issues. Structuring options, ground leases, and PHA land contributions that satisfy OHFA site control evidence requirements.
• Syndicator negotiations. Pricing benchmarks, adjuster language, and timing-of-pay structures that hold up at investor closing.