During our many years together, Vesta's principals and staff have developed a wealth of expertise, which coupled with our grit and determination enables us to resolve tough problems. Our strength goes well beyond identifying a problem, but, more importantly, we find and implement the solution.

Simply put, if a housing development breaks, Vesta knows how to fix it.

Programs we regularly use include Low Income Housing Tax Credits, tax-exempt bonds, FHA-mortgage insurance, HOME, and Section 8, in addition to state and local programs.

Since 1986 the Low Income Housing Tax Credit has been a dominant source of financing for affordable housing. Vesta's staff was among the first in the country to utilize this program and has actively used the program as it has evolved. We have raised nearly $120 million of equity from the sale of Low Income and Historic Tax Credits.

Since 1981 Mr. Erie and Mr. Greenblatt have arranged bond financings totaling more than $250 million. These include issues using new allocations as well as bond refunding of older allocations. FHA-mortgage insurance can be a valuable credit enhancement to bonds.

The HOME program is a significant source of soft money for affordable housing projects. It offers much-needed flexibility in structuring interest rates and payment schedules to fit the needs of a project. It also often brings valuable local government input to the development process.

Section 8 remains an important resource for reaching low income households in need of decent affordable housing. It can provide valuable stability to the occupancy and income stream of projects in difficult development areas. Vesta has mastered the navigation of the renewal process for expiring project-based Section 8 contracts to ensure continued viability of affordable housing developments.