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Senior Priority / Tax Credit First priority on the sign-up list will be given to those with a senior priority.
Senior Priority: Simply means that anyone 65 years or older who is working in Pitkin County or worked in Pitkin County full time (at least 1500 hours per year) for the 4 years immediately prior to retirement at age 65 or older. Any retired applicants must be able to demonstrate their senior priority with W-2 forms, taxes, etc.
Second Priority: Those people between the ages of 55 and 64, working full time in Pitkin County, and meeting all other local guidelines, will have second priority.
If the available unit is not rented to someone with Senior Priority or Second Priority, it will then be opened up to applicants of any age, who meet all the other guidelines.
These applications are processed using local guidelines and also the federal guidelines that are in place due to the property being a Low Income Housing Tax Credit property.
Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Properties: Developments that investors, whom we call syndicators, have put money into to build the project. In return for investing the money for these developments they receive a tax credit from the federal government (IRS). A credit is not the same as a deduction. A credit is taken from the investor’s tax liability; a deduction is taken from the investor’s taxable income. A credit is much more valuable than a deduction. Syndicators are almost always large companies such as Boston Capital, which is the syndicator for ACI.
How this affects the applicants: Very stringent federal guidelines must be met and maintained for a certain length of time (10 years or more) in order for the syndicator to claim those tax credits. These guidelines are set by Section 42 of the IRS code. The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) are the monitoring agents for the IRS. CHFA will do all of the auditing and compliance checks. Usually done once a year, but could happen more often if they choose to. If noncompliance is found and not cured in a certain length of time, the syndicator can lose tax credits for that unit or the entire property, depending upon the nature of the noncompliance, which we will not go into because there are many ways to be noncompliant and many ways to cure noncompliance. The main thing to know here is that all noncompliance must be cured.
Qualifying: For a tax credit unit, qualification is based solely upon income and size of the household from a federal point of view (there are some other factors from a local standpoint). CHFA publishes Income and Rent Tables each year showing the Area Median Income (AMI) and the Maximum Allowable Rents for each county in Colorado. At the time the tax credit deal is being set up, it is decided what the AMI will be for the complex. Aspen Country Inn has two different AMI’s, which are 6 units at 40% of the AMI, and 34 units at 50% AMI. Those applicants that qualify at 40% have a lower rent than those that qualify for the 50%, but only for 6 units. So there are six households in the Aspen Country Inn that pay less rent than the other units which are at the 50% AMI. The property must maintain 6 units at all times at this 40% AMI level. After those 6 units are filled then the other units are rented to anyone at or below the 50% income limit. The Aspen Country Inn 40% annual income limit for 2005 for one person is $27,320. It is $31,240 for a 2 person household and so on. The Aspen Country Inn 50% annual income limit for 2006 for one person is $34,150. It is $39,050 for a 2 person household and so on.
To put this in perspective, please refer to the 2005 rental rates for ACI. It is important to keep in mind that there are only 6 units at the lower rents and those stay full most all the time. When a 40% unit does become available it is given to the most senior (not by age, but by years as a resident at ACI) current resident that qualifies at or below the 40% income limit.
Once an applicant has been qualified and has been leased an apartment (ACI has one-year leases), then the applicant’s income can increase by 140%. An annual re-certification is required by the IRS and CHFA. This means that the same qualifying process that was done upon initial certification is done over again each year. This entails filling out an application form, verification of all employment, income, assets and income from assets. It is through this annual process that changes in household circumstances are discovered and dealt with as well as federal compliance issues.
Senior Services: Aspen Country Inn is employee housing with a senior preference for those seniors that meet the Aspen/Pitkin County Affordable Housing Guidelines. Therefore, our housing staff are only equipped to provide tenants with the property management and maintenance services outlined in the lease, similar to all other employee housing projects. If additional support services are needed by senior tenants (eg., help with cleaning, meals, activities, financial assistance, etc.), we encourage them to speak with Pitkin county Senior Services for information and referral assistance regarding outside community resources available to meet their needs. Pitkin County Senior Services phone number is 920-5432.
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