Maximizing Tax Credits in an LIHTC Acq/Rehab Deal
John Cole
Partner
Novogradac & Company LLP
John Cole is a partner in the Austin, Texas, office of Novogradac & Company LLP. Mr. Cole oversees the Government Consulting and Valuation Advisory Services (GoVal) group. He has more than 14 years of national commercial real estate experience. Mr. Cole’s professional background also includes more than five years in the environmental consulting industry. He earned a bachelor’s degree in civil and environmental engineering from California Polytechnic State University in 1992 and a master’s degree with a finance concentration and real estate specialization from the University of Texas at Austin in 1999. Since joining Novogradac & Company, he has developed broad expertise in performing market analysis and appraisals of affordable multifamily properties, including those funded by low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development. Mr. Cole is a candidate for designation with the Appraisal Institute and is a state certified general real estate appraiser in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arizona, California and Florida.
Dominick Buffa
Managing Director
First Sterling Financial
As managing director, Dominick Buffa oversees new business development, originating, structuring, financing and underwriting of complex affordable housing transactions and is also responsible for developer and investor relationships. Mr. Buffa is an expert in market analysis and property valuation. He serves on the Strategic Corporate and Investment Committees.
Mr. Buffa has 35 years of real estate experience, joining First Sterling Financial 18 years ago. He played a key role in NYS RPL 581-a legislation, which requires an income-based valuation on New York properties. He holds an MAI from the Appraisal Institute and was a nationally certified faculty member and past President of Chapter 201. He has taught several courses and national seminars on appraising low-income housing for the Appraisal Institute and was an adjunct professor at New York University’s Real Estate Institute and Long Island University’s Practitioners Institute. Mr. Buffa is formerly an appraiser and consultant for income producing properties and specialized in subdivision analysis and proposed construction. Mr. Buffa previously managed acquisitions, financing and construction of new and commercial properties and was a principal and general contractor in various real estate development firms. Mr. Buffa holds a bachelor’s degree from Ithaca College and a master’s in business administration in banking and finance from Hofstra University.
Michael M. Snowdon
Vice President, Asset Management
Highridge Costa Housing Partners
Michael Snowdon is responsible for overseeing all asset management activities for the Highridge Costa portfolio. He joined the Companies’ predecessor firm as a portfolio manager in 1998 and was subsequently promoted to senior portfolio manager, director of portfolio management and then vice president. Since joining Highridge Costa, he has been involved in the lease up of more than 280 LIHTC communities. The current portfolio has 274 LIHTC communities (27,000 apartments) in 33 states, Puerto Rico and District of Columbia. Mr. Snowdon has been successful in continual NOI growth of more than 2 percent for the past six years. Previously, he served as a residential district manager for Insignia. During his seven-year tenure with Insignia, he was responsible for day-to-day supervision of staffing, financial performance, reporting and lease-up for multistate property management operations. Mr. Snowdon attended California State University, Long Beach, where he studied business management. He holds the Housing Credit Certified Professional (HCCP) certification from the National Association of Homebuilders, as well as the Specialist in Housing Credit Management (SHCM) designation from the National Affordable Housing Management Association. He is active in 50+ Housing Council of Southern California, for which he has served as a member of the board of directors.
K. Nicole Flores
Senior Vice President, Acquisitions
City Real Estate Advisors Inc.
K. Nicole Flores has been a senior vice president with City Real Estate Advisors (CREA) for five years and is responsible for identifying and evaluating potential low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) investment opportunities in affordable housing properties located across the South and parts of the Midwest. Before joining CREA in 2010, Ms. Flores served for seven years as a senior vice president of originations with a national banking institution and focused on originating equity and debt finance opportunities throughout a seven-state region comprised largely of the Southwestern United States, from Mississippi to Arizona. Before joining the syndication and finance side of the affordable housing business in 2003, Ms. Flores was instrumental in the development and construction oversight of approximately 2,500 apartment units throughout major metropolitan areas in Texas and the greater Denver area. Duties included all aspects of land negotiation and acquisition, project design, budget development, scheduling and finance packaging. Various finance techniques were utilized alone or in combination for successful developments including federal mortgage insurance programs, tax-exempt bond financing, low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) as well as conventional financing. Ms. Flores received her bachelor’s degree from California State University at Fullerton. An active member of the executive board of the Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers (TAAHP), she serves as first vice president for that organization, which is instrumental to housing policy and legislation in Texas. In addition, Ms. Flores was appointed to board of directors for the Rainbow Housing Assistance Corporation in 2013, a nonprofit organization specializing in providing unique support services and programming to affordable properties nationwide. Ms. Flores maintains offices and homes in both Texas and Colorado.