2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 18. Health, Safety, Housing, Human Rights, and Public Defender › Chapter 56. Alaska Housing Finance Corporation › Article 1. Alaska Housing Finance Corporation. › Sec. 18.56.090. General powers and limitations.

(a) In addition to other powers granted in this chapter, the corporation may, for the purpose of providing housing for persons of lower and moderate income or persons located in remote, underdeveloped, or blighted areas of the state and for its other corporate purposes,
(1) make or participate in the making of mortgage loans to sponsors, developers, builders, and purchasers of residential housing, if the corporation determines that
(A) mortgage loans are not otherwise available, wholly or in part, from private lenders upon reasonably equivalent terms and conditions; and
(B) the residential housing for which the mortgage loans are made complies with applicable provisions of AS 18.56.096(c) and the applicable thermal and lighting energy standards of AS 46.11.040;
(2) purchase or participate in the purchase of mortgage loans made to sponsors, developers, builders, owners, and purchasers of residential housing, if the corporation
(A) has given approval before the initial making of the loan and has determined that mortgage loans were, at the time the approval was given, not otherwise available, wholly or in part, from private lenders upon reasonably equivalent terms and conditions; or
(B) has determined that
(i) the purchase or participation will result in additional residential housing, taking into account without limitation such factors as reinvestment of the proceeds of the sale in additional mortgage loans, increased availability of mortgage loans insured by the federal government, its agencies or departments, the reduction, if any, of interest payments to be made with respect to mortgage loans, or such other factors as will tend to increase or improve the supply of residential housing within the state; and
(ii) the residential housing covered by the mortgage loan complies with applicable provisions of AS 18.56.096(c) and the applicable thermal and lighting energy standards of AS 46.11.040;
(3) make partial rental payments and mortgage interest payments under a contract with any housing owner if the payments will be applied to decrease rental or mortgage interest charges of persons of lower and moderate income or owners or purchasers of residential housing in remote, underdeveloped, or blighted areas of the state;
(4) make loans from the housing development fund;
(5) collect and pay reasonable fees and charges in connection with making, purchasing, and servicing its mortgages, loans, notes, bonds, certificates, commitments, and other evidences of indebtedness;
(6) acquire real property, or any interest in real property, in its own name, by purchase, transfer, or foreclosure, when the acquisition is necessary or appropriate to protect any loan in which the corporation has an interest; sell, transfer, and convey the property to a buyer; and, if the sale, transfer, or conveyance cannot be effected with reasonable promptness or at a reasonable price, rent or lease the property to a tenant pending the sale, transfer, or conveyance;
(7) sell, at public or private sale, to any purchaser, including the Federal National Mortgage Association, all or any part of a mortgage or other instrument or document securing a construction, land development, mortgage, or temporary loan of any type permitted by this chapter;
(8) purchase, in order to meet the requirements of the sale of its mortgages to the Federal National Mortgage Association, stock of the Federal National Mortgage Association;
(9) procure insurance against any loss in connection with its operation;
(10) consent to the modification of the rate of interest, time of payment of any installment of principal or interest, or any other terms, of the mortgage loan, mortgage loan commitment, construction loan, temporary loan, contract, or agreement of any kind to which the corporation is a party;
(11) borrow money as provided in this chapter to carry out and effectuate its corporate purposes, and issue its obligations as evidence of borrowing;
(12) include in any borrowing the amounts necessary to pay financing charges, interest on the obligations for a period not exceeding one year after the date on which the corporation estimates funds will otherwise be available to pay the interest, consultant, advisory, and legal fees, and other expenses that are necessary or incident to this borrowing;
(13) under AS 18.56.088, adopt and publish regulations respecting its lending programs and other regulations that are necessary to effectuate its purposes;
(14) provide technical and advisory services to sponsors, builders, and developers of residential housing and to residents of it;
(15) promote research and development in scientific methods of constructing low-cost and energy-efficient residential housing of high durability;
(16) make and execute agreements, contracts, and other instruments necessary or convenient in the exercise of the powers and functions of the corporation under this chapter, including contracts with any person, firm, corporation, governmental agency, or other entity;
(17) receive, administer, and comply with the conditions and requirements respecting any appropriation or gift, grant, or donation of property or money;
(18) sue and be sued in its own name;
(19) adopt an official seal;
(20) adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business and adopt regulations and policies in connection with the performance of its functions and duties;
(21) employ fiscal consultants, engineers, attorneys, real estate counselors, appraisers, and other consultants and employees that may be required in the judgment of the corporation, and fix and pay their compensation from funds available to the corporation;
(22) do all acts and things necessary, convenient, or desirable to carry out the powers expressly granted or necessarily implied in this chapter;
(23) invest or reinvest, subject to its contracts with noteholders and bondholders, any money or funds held by the corporation in any obligations or other securities or investments in which banks or trust companies in the state may legally invest funds held in reserves or sinking funds or any funds not required for immediate disbursement, and in certificates of deposit or time deposits secured by obligations of, or guaranteed by, the state or the United States;
(24) purchase a mortgage loan made to refinance an existing mortgage loan, without regard to whether the corporation holds the existing mortgage loan, as long as the interest rate and fees charged to the borrower are sufficient to fully reimburse the corporation for all costs incurred by the corporation in purchasing the mortgage loan and as long as the borrower will be in compliance with AS 18.56.096(a)(6) after purchase of the mortgage loan by the corporation;
(25) participate in the making of mortgage loans to borrowers for congregate housing under AS 18.56.100(b)(1) as the purchaser of those loans; loans made for congregate housing under this paragraph must reflect application of prudent underwriting standards and lending practices that include, but are not limited to, appropriate loan-to-value ratios and the ability of a borrower to repay the loan;
(26) participate in the development of buildings or units that, by their use, address homelessness but that, by their operation, appear nonresidential in nature;
(27) provide financial assistance to prevent homelessness, including prevention of foreclosures and evictions;
(28) provide financial assistance to support housing retention services or facilitate transition from dependency on low-cost housing;
(29) participate with appropriate sponsoring agencies or groups in demonstration housing projects that address homelessness;
(30) authorize, under AS 18.56.230, certain commercial uses in a multi-unit residential housing development owned or financed by the corporation.
(b) The corporation may, subject to (c) of this section,
(1) reserve money to itself, or provide money for, or provide deferred loans, interest rate subsidies, building subsidies, participation financing through housing partnerships, and other forms of housing assistance as set out in regulations of the corporation to, another governmental agency, a municipality, a regional housing authority, or a private nonprofit organization, to pay for the design, construction, development, rehabilitation, or improvement of housing for persons of low and moderate income, for housing in remote, undeveloped, or blighted areas of the state, and for congregate and special needs housing;
(2) provide money for, and provide deferred loans, interest rate subsidies, building subsidies, participation financing through housing partnerships, and other forms of housing assistance as set out in regulations of the corporation to, corporations and project sponsors for congregate and special needs housing; and
(3) receive money for a purpose described in (1) or (2) of this subsection.
(c) The corporation may not provide money or another form of housing assistance authorized by (b) of this section unless the board identifies in the corporation's proposed operating budget the money available to the corporation, including the corporation's own assets, for the proposed housing assistance. The provisions of this subsection apply to
(1) subsidies authorized by the home ownership assistance program under AS 18.56.091;
(2) mortgage subsidies authorized by the graduated payment mortgage loan program under AS 18.56.098(c);
(3) interest rate deductions authorized in the housing development fund under AS 18.56.100(b)(1) and (l);
(4) money or another form of housing assistance payable from corporate earnings or assets of the corporation, other than money appropriated to the corporation for the specific purpose, for a program set out in AS 18.56.400 - 18.56.850.
(d) Notwithstanding authority granted by AS 18.55 and this chapter, the corporation may not acquire or construct a building for the corporation's own use and occupancy unless the proposed acquisition or construction has been approved by the legislature by law.
(e) In furtherance of its corporate purpose, the corporation may, in cooperation with the Alaska Energy Authority, provide technical assistance to municipalities related to residential and commercial building energy codes and energy efficiency standards.
(f) In (a) of this section “homelessness” means the state of an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, and includes an individual who
(1) is sharing the housing of other individuals because of loss of housing, economic hardship, domestic violence, or a similar reason;
(2) is living in a motel, hotel, trailer park, or camping ground because of the lack of alternative adequate accommodations;
(3) is living in an emergency or transitional shelter;
(4) is abandoned in a hospital;
(5) is waiting for a foster care placement;
(6) has a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
(7) is living in a car, a park, a public space, an abandoned building, substandard housing, a bus or train station, or a similar setting;
(8) is fleeing a domestic violence situation, does not have an alternative residence, and lacks the resources and support needed to obtain housing;
(9) is being evicted within a week, does not have an alternative residence, and lacks the resources and support needed to obtain housing;
(10) is being discharged within a week from an institution, including a mental health treatment facility, substance abuse treatment facility, or prison, in which the individual has been a resident for more than 30 consecutive days, does not have an alternative residence, and lacks the resources and support needed to obtain housing.