Affordable Housing Underwriter

Harmony Housing Affordable Development; North Carolina; On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Harmony Housing Affordable Development Inc. (HHAD) is seeking a detail-oriented Underwriter to join our Finance team in Raleigh, NC.

This role focuses on underwriting, financing, and closing transactions for our multi-family affordable development platform, including new construction, rehabilitation, and Rural Development programs. The ideal candidate will bring at least two years of real estate finance experience, strong LIHTC knowledge, and advanced financial modeling skills.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, real estate, mathematics, or a related field.
• Minimum of two years of progressive experience in real estate development, real estate finance, or LIHTC financing.
• Strong financial modeling skills and advanced Excel proficiency.

Responsibilities

• Lead underwriting, financing, and closing of multi-family development projects.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to execute multiple developments.
• Prepare and maintain financial models and analyses for leadership and investors.
• Monitor project budgets and financial performance to meet milestones.
• Raise debt and equity by preparing investment packages and negotiating terms.
• Ensure compliance with state QAPs and other regulatory requirements.

Skills

Financial modeling

LIHTC knowledge

Real estate finance

Underwriting

Excel

Regulatory compliance

Stakeholder engagement

Project coordination

Education

Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, real estate, mathematics, or related field

Master’s degree a plus

Tools

Microsoft Excel

SharePoint

SmartSheets

Microsoft Project

Job description

Harmony Housing Affordable Development Inc. ("HHAD") is among the largest real estate developers of affordable rental housing in the United States. Every community we develop reflects the quality, dignity, and excellence we would demand for our own families. Driven by this commitment, our mission is to improve lives through exceptional affordable housing. HHAD is a wholly owned subsidiary of Harmony Housing, a 501c3 not-for-profit owner and operator of affordable housing.

Our fast-growing organization is currently seeking a detail-oriented and experienced Underwriter to join the expanding Finance team and be an integral part of the growth of HHAD’s affordable housing development business. The ideal candidate will be responsible for managing the financial aspects of affordable housing projects, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, and providing accurate financial reporting to stakeholders. This position works in close coordination with HHAD’s Accounting, Business Development, Construction, Development, and Executive teams and is based in our Raleigh, North Carolina office, reporting to the Director of Finance.

This position will be responsible for leading all efforts related to underwriting, financing, and closing transactions for the Company’s multi-family affordable development platform (new construction, rehabilitation, mixed-use, and Rural Development ("RD")). The Underwriter will perform financial analyses of development opportunities and regularly interface with external development partners, as well as lenders, syndicators, equity investors, and various government agencies. This position requires a great deal of autonomy and accountability, along with strong experience in financial analysis, low-income housing tax credits, critical thinking and problem solving, negotiating, networking, and teamwork.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

• Project Finance:
• Support the execution of the multi-family affordable development platform by leading efforts related to underwriting, financing, and closing projects
• Collaborate with a cross functional Project Team (Finance, Development, and Construction) to successfully execute on multiple development projects at a time
• Facilitate the collection, organization, review, and analysis of financial due diligence materials
• Prepare, update, and maintain detailed project-level and portfolio-level financial models using Excel macros and various data analysis techniques
• Prepare financial analyses and supporting materials for presentations to senior leadership, Investment Committee, external development partners, and other stakeholders
• Provide regular status reports on projects to senior leadership
• Monitor and drive project schedules to ensure financial milestones are achieved as scheduled
• Track pre-development costs and cash needs for assigned projects
• Lead efforts to raise debt and equity by preparing investment packages, soliciting proposals from potential lenders and investors, responding to questions, and negotiating terms
• Identify potential sources of soft funding and be able to update financial models with the unique associated financing terms
• Work closely with the Development Team to prepare applications for tax credits, tax-exempt bonds, and other sources of funds
• Assist in monitoring project budgets, ensure development sources and uses remain balanced, and provide insights into cost management and financial performance
• Participate in project meetings and contribute to financial decision-making processes
• Prepare closing draws and facilitate project financial closing and funding requests; review closing statements for accuracy
• Regulatory Compliance:
• Ensure continuous adherence to local, state, and federal regulations (including state QAPs) related to affordable housing financing and reporting
• Review project partnership and financial documents and ensure funding terms and conditions are consistently maintained
• Stakeholder Engagement:
• Effectively and timely communicate with bank representatives, lenders, investors, housing agencies, market analysts, appraisers, auditors, clients, and other external deal participants
• Establish, cultivate, and maintain strategic relationships with potential and existing partners, brokers, institutional and equity partners, owners, lenders, and other key stakeholders in various markets
• Lead meetings with external clients, financial partners, as well as government agencies and pertinent officials as may be needed
• Collaborate with financial analysts, developers, project managers, and other stakeholders to provide financial insights and support
• Foster a collaborative environment that encourages continuous improvement and innovation
• Identify and implement process improvements to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the Finance and Underwriting functions
• Stay updated on industry trends and best practices in affordable housing finance
• Ensure individual and departmental goals and objectives are achieved

Experience, Skills, and Abilities Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, business, finance, real estate, mathematics, or a related field; Master’s degree a plus
• Minimum of two (2) years of progressive professional experience with a successful track record in real estate development, real estate finance, or low-income housing tax credit syndication, with an in-depth understanding of real estate fundamentals and transaction structuring
• Exceptional financial modeling skills with the ability to create, update, maintain, understand, and audit complex financial models using Microsoft Excel (advanced levels)
• Experience reviewing real estate financial information (operating statements, rent rolls, audits, loan documents, etc.); ability to process information including gathering, assessing, coding, organizing, auditing, and verifying data
• Experience in advanced multi-family real estate underwriting with LIHTC and tax-exempt bond financing, FHA mortgage insurance programs, as well as Agency debt products (Fannie/Freddie), and familiarity with other affordable housing funding programs and compliance regulations
• Demonstrated excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills
• Ability to recognize and mitigate investment risks
• High-energy, accurate, organized, highly detailed, and results-oriented professional with demonstrable ability to successfully manage multiple projects and successfully work under pressure of strict deadlines
• Excellent written and oral communication skills with an ability to clearly and concisely express ideas, thoughts, and concepts in writing and verbally
• Strong financial and analytical skills, as well as advanced computer skills (Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe, SharePoint, and SmartSheets and other similar programs)
• Ability to handle daily responsibilities and projects with minimal direction, while also working in close collaboration with a team to provide solutions where needed
• Ability to maintain a "big picture" focus while attending to very detailed work and providing thorough documentation
• Resourceful, flexible, and maintain the ability to react and respond quickly towards positive outcomes
• Strong personal standards and values consistent with HHAD’s core values (entrepreneurial, integrity, caring, and excellence)

A satisfactory background check will be required as part of the selection process.

At Harmony Housing Affordable Development (HHAD), we believe that finding creative solutions for our clients comes from the collaboration of people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives. We strive to build a work environment that empowers all individuals with opportunities to channel their entrepreneurial spirit. HHAD is an EEO employer.

This job description is not inclusive of all responsibilities, skills, requirements, efforts or working conditions associated with this position. While this job description is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current position, management reserves the right to modify the position or to require that other or different tasks be performed when circumstances change. This job description replaces all previous descriptions for this position.

RECRUITMENT SPAM:

HHAD posts open roles only on our official Careers page at hhad.org and on our HHAD LinkedIn page. We communicate with candidates exclusively through @greyco.com email addresses and our verified LinkedIn company page.

We will never request payment, fees, gift cards, or sensitive personal or financial information outside of a formal hiring and onboarding process, and we do not conduct interviews solely via text message or messaging apps.

If you are contacted by someone claiming to represent HHAD and suspect the communication may be fraudulent, please do not respond.

Instead, report the incident through the "Contact Us" form at hhad.org/contact/ and notify the platform where the contact occurred.

HHAD does not authorize or endorse communications from individuals falsely representing our organization.