04/14/2026
What We Wish We Knew Before Getting Into Affordable Housing Development
Nine degrees. 35+ years. Kansas City City Council. 254+ units across three markets.
And we still got caught off guard more times than we care to admit.
Affordable housing development is not a real estate business. It is a relationship and finance business that happens to produce buildings. Here is what we mean:
1. Relationships are your first source of capital. Before you secure a single dollar, you need lenders, syndicators, city housing officials, and CDFI program officers who trust you. Those relationships take years to build and seconds to lose.
2. Nobody teaches you how to layer financing. LIHTC, HOME funds, CDBG, TIF, gap financing, deferred developer fees, soft debt from local trust funds. A single deal might require five or six sources just to close. Assembling that capital stack is where most developers either level up or wash out.
3. Your pro forma is a guess until it isn't. Rent projections, absorption timelines, operating costs. They all look great in a spreadsheet. Reality is a different story. Stress test every assumption because the market will test them for you.
4. Political capital is as valuable as financial capital. A letter of support from the right neighborhood leader or a relationship with the right council member can unlock funding that no spreadsheet can access.
5. The developers who survive are the ones who move slowly. Patient money wins in this space. Every time.
This is why we created Affordable Housing Development 101. Not a lecture. A real foundation for the people who want to do this work and do it right.
June 6, 2026 | Live on Zoom | $249
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/affordable-housing-development-101-live-virtual-course-by-dr-troy-nash-tickets-1987177569604
Dr. Troy Nash & Arielle Nash
Co-Founders, The Nash Group LLC
Learn the basics of affordable housing development live online with Dr. Troy Nash—easy, fun, and super practical!