Cherrytree Group LLC Blog

... By Warren Kirshenbaum

Baltimore Area Institutions to Receive Over $155 Million in New Markets Tax Credit Awards

BALTIMORE, MD - In an effort to highlight the Obama Administration’s key investments in broad-based economic growth and commitment to the revitalization of communities stricken by the economic crisis, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund Director Donna Gambrell today visited a job training and human services organization in Baltimore benefiting from private sector investments made possible through the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC). Speaking alongside Representative Elijah Cummings, Director Gambrell announced the selection of 99 organizations nationwide to receive NMTC allocation awards under the 2010 program round. These 99 awards will leverage billions of dollars of investment into businesses and real estate projects to create jobs and promote growth in communities with high rates of poverty and unemployment.

“The New Markets Tax Credit continues to be a tool for job-creation and economic revitalization in areas that struggle to attract investment because of poverty, unemployment and a lack of opportunity” said Director Gambrell. “I am honored to announce the 2010 New Markets Tax Credit Award allocations with Representative Cummings here in Baltimore, where our partners have demonstrated why this tool has been so effective in making literally thousands of projects possible across the country and give Americans a chance to make a living, to start a business and to build a better future in areas that need it most.”

The NMTC, established by Congress in December 2000, permits individual and corporate taxpayers to receive a credit against federal income taxes for making equity investments in investment vehicles known as Community Development Entities (CDEs). The credit provided to the investor totals 39 percent of the cost of the investment and is claimed over a seven-year period. CDEs must apply to the Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) to compete for this allocation authority. The 99 organizations receiving awards were selected from a pool of 250 applicants that requested over $23.5 billion. They are headquartered in 27 different states and the District of Columbia; but have identified principal service areas that will cover nearly every state in the country, as well the District of Columbia.

“By helping our partners in community development secure critical funding for job-creating projects, the New Markets Tax Credit is helping to bring opportunity and drive investment in our local businesses and communities,” said Representative Cummings. “In these tough economic times Baltimore welcomes the support of the CDFI Fund, and we will continue working to ensure that we're reaching the hardest hit.”

Director Gambrell’s and Representative Cummings’ announcement was made today at Humanim Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides workforce development and rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities and other barriers to employment. An award winning human services organization, Humanim provides a ground-breaking model for delivering expanded employment services that gives those individuals in greatest need the opportunity to build a career and attain financial independence. Over $14 million in NMTC financing provided by City First Bank of DC and the National Trust Community Investment Corporation allowed Humanim to convert a large brewery that sat abandoned for 35 years in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Baltimore into its headquarters. Humanim reaches individuals of all ages with comprehensive vocational services.

Having benefitted from funding under the NMTC, Humanim highlights the effectiveness of the NMTC in leveraging private investment to complete economic and community development projects that help revitalize communities with high rates of poverty and unemployment. In total, five institutions in Maryland will receive funds in this NMTC award round to invest in development projects.

To date, over $20 billion of private-sector capital has been invested through the NMTC into urban and rural communities throughout the country, helping to create or retain hundreds of thousands of jobs and to provide low-income community residents with access to quality education, health care, job training, housing and critical retail services in their communities.

2010 NMTC Program Awards

2010 NMTC Program Award List
2010 NMTC Program Highlights
2010 NMTC Program Allocatee Profiles
2010 NMTC Program Award Booklet

A complete list of the 99 organizations selected and additional information on the NMTC Program can be found on the CDFI Fund’s web site at: http://www.cdfifund.gov.

If you are thinking about a strategy to make money in real estate, skip residential properties and focus on commercial real estate. This does not necessarily mean that you need to focus on commercial buildings, start with a small residential multi unit building. Buildings with five units or more are considered commercial.

Where the money happens is here; residential properties are not appraised in the same way by lenders as commercial real estate. This makes all the difference for someone looking to invest in commercial real estate.

Small residential rental properties are appraised by comparing the building to recently sold similar buildings within a mile radius. Therefore, to increase the appraisal value and recoup your down payment you have to either hold the property long enough for the value to be driven up by the market, or you need to improve the property itself. Neither of these options are very cost effective for making money quickly.

A commercial building is appraised by comparing the income and expenses to other comparable commercial properties in the area. So essentially, the lender subtracts the expenses from the rent roll and multiplies that by the capitalization rate for the vicinity of the property. The challenge is to look for properties with artificially low rent rolls. This can be found in a landlord who has owned a property for a long time or in buildings where the owner resides within and is looking to sell.

Therefore, in order to increase the value of the property and recoup your deposit, you can increase the rent roll and or decrease expenses. Not a costly endeavor in relation to the residential option, and if managed correctly, will not take an exorbitant amount of time.

You, as the investor, can recoup your deposit money in less than a year, giving you the funds to purchase a new property and repeat the strategy. With rates as they are now, still low despite the rise of the last couple months, this can make you, the investor, quite a bit of money in a few short years.