Acquiring Public Housing from RTC

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the public housing authorities' (PHA) acquisition of federal foreclosed properties from the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) to satisfy PHA needs for low-income housing. GAO noted that: (1) in the six states surveyed, very few PHA had acquired federal foreclosed properties from RTC; (2) obstacles that prevented PHA from acquiring federal foreclosed properties included insufficient financing, poor marketing and advertising, and limitations in the quantity, quality, and type of properties available; (3) PHA believed that they had a small chance of getting federal funds to purchase the properties; (4) PHA that were able to acquire RTC properties had problems obtaining adequate information from RTC on the properties; (5) PHA had mixed views on whether RTC was helpful in their attempts to acquire properties; (6) RTC did not timely respond to PHA requests, decisionmakers were not accessible, approval processes were lengthy, and RTC did not make properties affordable; and (7) the Affordable Housing Disposition Program (AHDP) may make multifamily properties more affordable by permitting AHDP staff to negotiate purchase prices directly with PHA and offering discounts on the unrestricted appraised value of the property.