Purchasing Property or Partnership Interests
Brad Weinberg
Partner
Novogradac & Company LLP
Brad Weinberg is a partner in the metro Washington, D.C., office of Novogradac & Company LLP and heads the Government Consulting and Valuation Advisory Services (GoVal) group nationally for Novogradac & Company LLP. Mr. Weinberg has extensive experience in providing business valuation, real estate appraisal, transaction support and economic impact analysis (IMPLAN) services to both public and private sector interests. Mr. Weinberg also provides litigation support, including consultation and testifying expert witness services. He also provides valuations for estate and gift tax purposes. Mr. Weinberg’s previous experience includes working as a manager in the Washington, D.C., office of Ernst & Young LLP. He received a bachelor’s degree in urban planning and a master’s degree in accounting and financial management from the University of Maryland. He holds the CVA business valuation designation from the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA). Further, Mr. Weinberg is a certified real estate appraiser and is a designated member of both the Appraisal Institute and the Commercial Investment Real Estate Institute.
James Kroger
Partner
Novogradac & Company LLP
James Kroger is a partner in the San Francisco office of Novogradac & Company LLP. Mr. Kroger has extensive experience in consulting for affordable housing projects financed with low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) and tax-exempt bonds. He conducts workshops concerning tax credit applications, tax-exempt bond applications and tax credit property compliance; and he has created a training program to help property managers become certified in IRS Section 42 tax credit property compliance. Mr. Kroger serves as the technical editor of the firm’s LIHTC Property Management Handbook as well as the technical editor on IRS Section 42 property compliance issues for the monthly Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits. He serves on the board of directors of the California Housing Consortium and is often a speaker at the housing credit conference hosted by the National Council of State Housing Agencies. He received his bachelor’s degree in legal studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and his master’s degree in business administration from the University of California, Davis. Mr. Kroger is licensed in California as a certified public accountant.
Thomas Mangum
President
Wentwood Capital Advisors
Thomas Mangum is president of Westlake Housing, an affiliate of Wentwood Capital Advisors. Westlake Housing is a replacement general partner and property management agent for LIHTC properties and specializes in workouts and repositioning of under-performing assets. Westlake also acquires stabilized assets for long-term investment and provides receivership services. Mr. Mangum has nineteen years of commercial and multifamily real estate experience including thirteen years of experience in the LIHTC sector with significant expertise in workouts, dispositions, acquisitions and asset management. Prior to joining Westlake Housing, Mr. Mangum co-founded a national brokerage group that specializes in the sale of LIHTC properties, served as Vice-President/Director of Dispositions for a large tax credit syndicator and held several other positions in connection with the origination of debt and equity financing. Throughout his career, he has closed more than 150 acquisition, disposition and financing transactions. Mr. Mangum earned his Bachelor degree in Accounting from Hillsdale College and his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Toledo's Executive MBA program. He is also a licensed real estate broker in four states and a Housing Credit Certified Professional (HCCP).
Nicki Cometa
Chief Financial Officer
Affirmed Housing Group
Nicki Cometa oversees all financial and accounting aspects of Affirmed Housing Group. Her responsibilities include the comprehensive management of development financing, underwriting, due diligence coordination, lender and investor negotiations, and asset and risk management. Ms. Cometa also monitors and directs the implementation of strategic financial business plans. Ms. Cometa brings a wealth of senior financial management experience to Affirmed Housing Group, having worked more than 26 years in the construction and homebuilding industry. She has worked for both public and private corporations, both large and small, with revenues ranging from $10 million to more than $500 million. Ms. Cometa most recently worked as vice president of finance for Shea Homes, one of the largest privately held homebuilders in the United States.