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History & Accomplishments

1980

  • Established by an act of the Alabama Legislature as a public corporation, the Alabama Housing Finance Authority began to create housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income citizens.
  • Issued first tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds, providing $150 million in financing at 11 percent interest for 3,036 first-time home buyers.

1983

1984

  • Transitioned to in-state single-family loan administration.

1985

  • Surpassed $1 billion mark in single-family mortgage revenue bonds issued.

1986

  • Offered first single-family mortgage revenue bond issue with a rate below 8 percent.

1987

1988

  • Created Single-Family Division.
  • Brought all accounting and investment functions in-house.

1989

  • Instituted the Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) program to provide federal tax credits to qualified homeowners.
  • Created Multifamily Division.
  • Published first annual report.
  • Assumed responsibility for administration of all single-family loans purchased through bond issues.

1990

  • Created the Down Payment Assistance Program to provide interest-free loans to families who earn less than the state's median income.
  • Began in-house arbitrage rebate calculations.
  • Brought administration of whole loan issues in-house from two firms.
  • Created first-come, first-served reservation system in Single-Family Division to make funds more readily available throughout the state.

1991

  • Developed the Habitat for Humanity Loan Purchase Program, the first of its kind in the nation, and dedicate $1 million to the project.
  • Purchased 25,000th MRB loan.
  • Assumed responsibility for writing the state's first Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) and developing a five-year plan to address Alabama's housing needs.
  • Offered first "Building Blocks to Homeownership" seminars, providing new and prospective home buyers with information on money management, consumer credit, financing tools and other topics.
  • Began developing the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, a new federally funded housing program, for the state of Alabama.
  • Became first in the nation to submit quarterly disclosure reports to various rating agencies.

1993

  • Participated in nationwide campaign to win permanent federal extension of MRB and LIHTC programs.
  • Awarded first commitments of Alabama HOME funds in 12 counties, financing 568 units with the state's $14.686 million allocation.
  • Funded construction of 10,000th housing unit through AHFA-administered LIHTC program.
  • Earned awards of merit presented by the National Council of State Housing Agencies, recognizing the Accounting Division’s quarterly disclosure reports for single- and multifamily bond issues.

1994

  • Made available $40 million in mortgage revenue bond loans at lowest mortgage interest rate ever--5.79%.
  • Became one of the first state housing finance authorities to earn a general obligation rating, obtaining an "A" rating from Moody's Investors Services for overall creditworthiness.
  • Brought production of all publications in-house and earned top award for program excellence from the National Council of State Housing Agencies for Communications Department’s quarterly AHFA newsletter, Thresholds.
  • Exceeded $2 billion in single-family homeownership program activity.
  • Brought funding and delivery of closed loans in-house.
  • Offered 100% financing in 24 counties to disaster victims displaced by tornadoes, flooding and windstorms.
  • Reached $500 million milestone in construction activity generated by LIHTC program.

1995

  • Dedicated a second $1 million to the Habitat for Humanity Loan Purchase Program.
  • Participated in the development of Alabama's first Consolidated Plan, which provides a comprehensive look at affordable housing and community development needs, priorities and strategies.
  • Held first combined cycle for HOME and Housing Credit funds.
  • Created new promotional campaign recognizing outstanding customer service, which received enthusiastic support from AHFA's participating lender network.
  • Earned top award for program excellence from the National Council of State Housing Agencies for Communications Department’s MRB brochures targeting potential home buyers.
  • Commemorated success in providing "A Firm Foundation for Fifteen Years."

1996

  • Led coalition to create the Access Alabama program, making homeownership an option for lower-income people with disabilities.
  • Sponsored Alabama Home Builders' "Little House Under Construction" exhibit, which began traveling the state to teach children about the construction industry.
  • United with the Alabama Bankers Association to create the Alabama Multifamily Loan Consortium.
  • Offered no-down-payment mortgages to storm victims in a record 39 of 67 counties in the aftermath of spring tornadoes and Hurricane Opal.
  • Participated in week-long "Blitz Build" of 10 Habitat homes.
  • Hit a 12-year high in state’s homeownership rate, due in part to AHFA's affordable housing programs.

1997

  • Solidified outreach to Hispanic population through publication of Spanish-language brochures.

1998

  • Began sponsoring a "School-to-Work" program with Montgomery Public Schools, training high school students in vocational skills through construction of Habitat homes.
  • Instituted annual "Manager of the Year" award to recognize outstanding service at AHFA-funded multifamily developments.
  • Earned award from the National Council of State Housing Agencies for Communication Division’s federal legislative campaign to adjust MRB and housing credit caps.

1999

  • Closed first loan for affordable apartments through the AHFA-led Alabama Multifamily Loan Consortium, now 42 members and $21.2 million strong.
  • Reached $5 million in commitments to the pioneering Habitat for Humanity Loan Purchase Program.
  • Purchased the 100th loan through Habitat for Humanity partnership.
  • Served 40,000th Alabama family through the MRB program.
  • Earned an upgraded general obligation rating of Aa3 from Moody's Investors Service.
  • Launched the Rural Alabama Mortgage Program (RAMP), which used small rural and community banks as loan originators for MRB loans and supplied affordable mortgage financing in rural markets where access to mortgage lenders traditionally was limited.
  • Implemented the Rehab Assistance Partnership (RAP) for home repair, weatherization, and access modification in alliance with the Home Builders Association of Alabama and committed $500,000 in mortgage financing for low-income homeowners.
  • Reached 15-year peak of 74.8 percent in state’s homeownership rate, bolstered by AHFA's affordable housing programs.

2000

  • Celebrated 20th anniversary and service to more than 78,000 Alabama families.
  • Funded third "School-to-Work" Habitat home built in part by Montgomery high school students.
  • Instituted "Processor of the Year" program to recognize top single-family loan processing performance.
  • Offered interest-free loans up to $10,000 to low-income homeowners for basic renovations through local home builders associations through a new Rehab Assistance Partnership (RAP). The AHFA-led initiative was named "Best Community Service Project" by the Executive Officers Council of the National Association of Home Builders.
  • Earned fourth award for program excellence from the National Council of State Housing Agencies for Communications Department’s quarterly newsletter, Thresholds.
  • Unveiled the new Step Up program, making Alabama the first state to provide $100 million in mortgage funds and down payment assistance for moderate-income home buyers.

2001

  • Dedicated a seventh million dollars to its pioneering Habitat for Humanity Loan Purchase Program.
  • Agreed to commit a major portion of HOME and Housing Credit allocations for two years to building housing for more than 600 clients of the Alabama Department of Mental Health in response to the state's settlement of the longstanding Wyatt v. Sawyer legal case.
  • Distributed a detailed brochure to mortgage lenders, home builders, and realtors to explain the history and remove the mystery of federal recapture tax.
  • Offered 100 percent financing to potential buyers in eight rural counties through a three-way partnership uniting AHFA's Mortgage Revenue Bond program, New South Federal Savings Bank's mortgage origination services, and USDA Rural Development's Guaranteed Loan Program.

2002

  • Instituted Lender Online, a web-based loan reservation and tracking system, eliminating the need for phone-in loan reservations.
  • Reached commitment of $10 million and celebrated 10 years of the pioneering Habitat for Humanity Loan Purchase Program.
  • Expanded Down Payment Assistance Program to include Rural Development loans.
  • Concluded two-year HOME initiative for individuals with mental disabilities, funding more than 500 units of supportive housing.
  • Formed the Homeownership Consortium of Alabama, a housing counseling collaborative focusing on standardization for housing counseling agencies, in partnership with the Fannie Mae Foundation.

2003

  • Gathered 16 employees to participate in Habitat for Humanity's Jimmy Carter Work Project in Anniston, Ala., building 35 houses with the former U.S. president and thousands of volunteers.
  • Published a comprehensive demographic analysis, entitled Sweet Home Alabama: A Census-based snapshot of Selected Housing Conditions.
  • Offered mortgage loan rates as low as 5.02% through Step Up program.
  • Honored by the National Council of State Housing Agencies and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Alabama for efforts to help resolve Alabama's Wyatt v. Sawyer lawsuit. In its 2001 and 2002 multifamily funding cycles, AHFA provided affordable housing for more than 600 individuals with mental health needs.

2004

  • Launched a redesigned Rural Alabama Mortgage Program to provide low-interest financing in Alabama's rural counties in partnership with USDA Rural Development.
  • Relaunched Mortgage Credit Certificate program.
  • Began offering the American Dream Downpayment Initiative (ADDI) to reduce the first mortgage loan’s principal balance by $10,000 for first-time, lower-income home buyers.
  • Translated single-family program brochures into Spanish and created a Spanish-language section of web site to meet the needs of this growing population.
  • Purchased a record nine mortgage loans in one day from a single Habitat affiliate, making the holidays happier for nine Birmingham families.

2005

  • Created in-house servicing department to manage a portfolio of AHFA loans formerly held by third-party servicers. Creation of this department, designed to keep AHFA loan servicing within the state, also initially saved 20 jobs for Alabamians.
  • Offered vacant multifamily units financed with AHFA-administered Housing Credits and HOME funds as temporary housing for displaced individuals after Hurricane Katrina ravaged South Alabama.
  • Simplified Step Up down payment assistance program, removed the cap on liquid assets, and instituted a single, statewide income limit of $97,300.

2006

  • Received $15.6 million in additional Housing Credits to aid the area's of Alabama hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina, a result of the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005.
  • Announced Delegated Examiner option for Step Up lenders, giving lenders opportunity to perform in-house underwriting to speed the loan approval process.
  • Financed in part by AHFA-administered Housing Credits, Albertville's Angela Meadows Apartments received the 2006 Community Impact Best Practices "Right Stuff" award for its work providing affordable housing for special needs residents in the Marshall County area.

2007

  • Received an upgraded issuer rating of Aa2 from Moody's Investors Service.
  • Received an upgraded issuer rating of Aa2 from Moody's Investors Service.
  • Began partnering with Genworth to offer borrowers no-cost involuntary unemployment insurance and recapture tax protection.
  • Marked highest annual production ever with more than $300 million in single-family loans reserved and more than $53 million in multifamily program funds allocated, serving a total of 8,200 families.

2008

  • Received a record 92 applications for consideration during annual HOME/Housing Credit application cycle.
  • Designated to administer the Housing Trust Fund, created by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, on behalf of the State of Alabama.

2009

  • Honored with a Silver ADDY award by the American Advertising Federation-Montgomery for website, AHFA.com.
  • Volunteered staffers’ time and labor to assist with Alabama's 1,500th Habitat for Humanity house.
  • Utilized federal stimulus funds to allocate $31.9 million in Tax Credit Assistance Program funds and $50.5 million in Tax Credit Exchange Program funds to aid Housing Credit-financed developments that were unable to secure equity commitments in a slow economy.

2010

  • Surpassed 400 loans purchased through the Habitat for Humanity Loan Purchase Program.
  • Created ServiSolutions to expand AHFA's loan servicing department to include other originators.
  • Financed by AHFA, Jordan's Gate, a 48-unit development in Opelika, is named as a winner of the 16th Annual Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Awards.
  • Approved by U.S. Treasury to administer $162.5 million of the Housing Finance Agency Innovation Fund for the Hardest Hit Housing Markets to aid unemployed homeowners.

2011

  • Introduced Hardest Hit Alabama, a foreclosure-prevention program for unemployed and underemployed homeowners across the state.
  • Offered vacant multifamily units financed with AHFA-administered Housing Credits as temporary housing for displaced individuals after tornadoes and straight-line winds bisected Alabama.
  • Approved to act as Master Servicer for the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, AHFA's mortgage servicing department begins operating under the trademarked name ServiSolutions®.

2012

  • Exceeded $1 billion in total mortgage loans for an estimated 8,600 households financed after 12 years of Step Up program.

2013

  • Purchased 500th loan with the $23 million now committed to the Habitat for Humanity Loan Purchase Program, which helps affiliates in their mission to provide no-interest, no-down-payment loans to the state’s lower-income citizens, for the Nixon family in Prattville.
  • Added loan servicing for the Missouri Housing Development Commission, making ServiSolutions® Alabama's largest residential mortgage servic

2014

  • Expanded ServiSolutions® to service the loans of a third and fourth housing finance agency — the Mississippi Home Corporation and the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency.
  • Introduced the Alabama Home Buyer Initiative, a limited-time offering which provides private mortgage insurance (PMI) at no cost to the borrower, to complement the Step Up program.
  • Exceeded $2 billion in total loans serviced by ServiSolutions®.
  • Celebrated the grand opening of Valor Grove, a $11 million, 50-unit apartment complex for homeless veterans, alongside the Tuscaloosa VA. Financed in part by $537,303 in Housing Credits, Valor Grove was the first of a VA initiative to identify and revitalize unused VA land and buildings in support of the VA’s goal to end veteran homelessness.

2015

  • Celebrated first decade of home loan servicing by ServiSolutions®, exceeding $3 billion in total loan volume and reporting lowest-ever delinquency ratio of 3.9 percent in March.
  • Ended the Alabama Home Buyer Initiative in March after allocating funds to more than 1,600 homebuyers and generating approximately $243 million in home sales.
  • Marked the 15th anniversary of Step Up, AHFA’s flagship homeownership program. Step Up made Alabama the first state to provide an innovative mix of financing and down payment assistance to moderate-income homebuyers. Since 2000, Step Up has helped make the dream of homeownership a reality for more than 13,000 Alabama families.
  • Earned a program excellence award at the NCSHA Annual Conference for the Alabama Home Buyer Initiative. The initiative was the winning entry in the "Homeownership: Empowering New Buyers" category.

2016

2017

2018

  • Expanded ServiSolutions® to service the loans of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority.

2019

  • Introduced the Affordable Income Subsidy Grant to help eligible borrowers with closing costs in addition to the down payment assistance provided by Step Up.
  • Joined Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta's Community Heroes initiative. This innovative partnership provided grant funds exclusively to FHLBank Atlanta member institutions to help law enforcement officers, public school educators, firefighters, and other first responders purchase a home. 

2020

  • Teamed up with Fannie Mae to offer the HFA Preferred Rural Homebuyer Program. The temporary program was used in conjunction with the Step Up down payment assistance program and provided a subsidy to help lower rural homebuyers’ monthly mortgage payments and decrease upfront costs.
  • Surpassed $1 billion in approved and active funding investments to provide affordable rental housing throughout the state.
  • Celebrated 20 years of Step Up, AHFA’s flagship homeownership program. Since 2000, Step Up helped make the dream of homeownership a reality for more than 18,500 Alabama families.

2021

  • Celebrated 30 years of administering the HOME Investment Partnerships Program in Alabama. HOME has proven to be one of the most effective, locally driven tools to help states and communities provide access to safe, decent, and affordable housing for low-income residents. In Alabama, HOME has helped finance 322 developments, adding 11,269 affordable rental units to our state’s housing stock.
  • Accepted designation as Alabama’s grantee for $263 million in federal COVID-19 emergency rental assistance funds enacted in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Alabama began accepting applications from landlords and tenants on March 1. Eligible households must have earned no more than 80 percent of area median income and faced hardships related to COVID-19.

2022

  • Distributed temporary federal emergency assistance to prevent eviction and foreclosure for 26,682 Alabama households following the pandemic.
  • Began hosting financial literacy classes for kids. Through in-person events, coloring books, interactive online games, and a video series featuring cartoon character “Bud” and his friends, participating children learned the differences between needs and wants, how to count U.S. coins, good savings habits, and more.
  • Sponsored first kids’ art contest in celebration of National Homeownership Month, drawing original entries from children statewide who shared the meaning and value of “home” in their lives.
  • Partnered with United Way to offer housing counseling for 3,394 Alabama homeowners receiving pandemic-related financial assistance.

2023

  • Earned the top integrated communications campaign award from the National Council of State Housing Agencies for the AHFA Kids financial literacy program outreach.
  • Saved 3,383 renters from immediate risk of homelessness through the Imminent Eviction Prevention Initiative, an offshoot of the Emergency Rental Assistance Alabama program. 
  • Conducted a “FUNancial” literacy event for children and their parents at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville in observance of Financial Literacy Month.
  • Co-hosted the “Making Homeownership Affordable” seminar with Mortgage Bankers Association of Alabama to a full capacity crowd of real estate and mortgage professionals.