LOCKE LIDDELL & SAPP

Locke Liddell's 400 lawyers pay attention to the right things - meeting or beating deadlines, exceeding expectations, responding quickly and always delivering the highest quality work. We practice in virtually every area of the law, with our core focus to get the best results for our clients creatively and efficiently every day.

We are loyal to clients’ individual and corporate goals. For more than a century, we have grown along with many of our clients. Together we’ve weathered economic and regulatory change, championed passage of new laws, developed new business models and structures, and proven that lawyer/client relationships can stand the test of time.

The attorneys of Locke Liddell & Sapp’s Affordable Housing Practice Group understand the business of affordable housing and can tailor their services to meet each client’s unique needs.  Our lawyers’ experience includes the use of various financing vehicles, such as low-income housing tax credits, tax-exempt bonds, traditional commercial loans, and HUD programs, for the development of multifamily and single family housing.  We utilize a team approach, providing our clients with expertise in real estate, tax, finance, and related matters as needed. Our lawyers combine this legal experience with industry knowledge and professional contacts to serve our clients efficiently and effectively.  Together, we have worked on hundreds of affordable housing finance transactions for properties across the country.
In addition to our transactional work, we actively represent clients in administrative matters before the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs and other applicable governmental authorities.  We also combine with lawyers from our Tax section to assist tax-exempt organizations with their special needs, including IRS interpretations and state tax exemption matters.
Locke Liddell attorneys benefit from their participation with local, state, and national trade associations, including:

• National Association of Home Builders
• National Association of Bond Lawyers
• American Bar Association, Affordable Housing and Community Development Forum
• Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers
• Texas Association of Community Development Corporations
• Texas Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies
• Real Estate Council of Austin
• Home Builders Association of Greater Austin

Our attorneys are committed to advocating safe, decent, and affordable housing for our communities, not just in their professional lives, but in their personal lives as well. We believe this commitment shows through in the work we perform for our clients.  Some of our lawyers have served on boards of directors of non-profit developers of affordable housing and housing finance authorities.  Other lawyers devote their time to speaking on the topic of affordable housing at schools and industry seminars.  Our Firm supports Texas Community Building with Attorney Resources, an organization providing pro bono legal assistance to non-profit organizations in low-income communities.
Our clients include for-profit and non-profit developers, lenders, investors, governmental agencies, trade associations, and bond issuers, underwriters, and trustees.  Representing a variety of parties in the affordable housing industry gives us a breadth of contacts and perspective that benefits our clients in each and every matter.
Our list of practice concentration areas is long and includes the following:

• New construction and rehabilitation
• Multi-family and single family housing
• Special needs housing, including assisted living
• Low-income housing tax credits
• Historic rehabilitation tax credits
• Tax-exempt bond financing
• Construction and permanent loans
• HUD programs, including HOME, CDBG, and HOPE VI
• Housing Assistance Payments
• Local and state tax matters, including ad valorem taxation
• Entity formation and structuring
• Environmental
• Local zoning and land use issues
• Construction law
• Fair housing and compliance issues
• Dispute resolution
• Public policy