Eligibility and roles
Can a non-eligible covenant holder be a part of the long-term stewardship or only play a role in development?
The long-term steward’s role is to own the land and manage compliance for all properties. They are also responsible for the LIFT loan. They also need to be an eligible covenant holder. However, a non-eligible developer may still take a role in stewardship, such as in property management, ground lease enforcement, or holding a stake in an HOA.
Can any nonprofit apply as the LIFT applicant in a mixed-development team?
The nonprofit must be registered in Oregon and must own the land for the project by closing of the LIFT loan. OHCS will review the full development team for experience and capacity. If the nonprofit has lower experience or capacity for development, OHCS will require another member of the development team to provide a guarantee for the loan.
Are for-profit developers eligible to apply?
No, per ORS 456.270, for-profit developers are not eligible covenant holders and are not eligible to apply. A for-profit developer can participate in LIFT if they partner with a nonprofit that can be the lead applicant. See
the LIFT 101 training for more information.
Am I eligible for rural benefits if my offices are in an urban area but we are developing in a rural area?
Yes, you will be eligible for rural benefits for any project that is in a rural area, regardless of where your office is located.
Can an organization submit two intakes in 2026 and 2027?
Yes, you can submit as many Intakes and applications as you’d like, up to the maximum amount of funding you are eligible for. Refer to the NOFA to determine your organization’s cap.
Set-asides and Factory-Produced Housing Initiative (FPH)
Is the FPH set-aside satisfied once five projects are funded, even if they don’t total $25 million?
Yes, it is five projects or $25 million, whichever is smaller.
What happens if most of the projects awarded are for LIFT Rental?
LIFT Homeownership and Rental have separately set aside $25 million to ensure that selected projects can meet the requirements. If most of the awarded projects are for rental, then most of the $25 million that was set aside for homeownership projects will return to the NOFA.
How do we let you know that we plan to apply for the Factory-Produced Housing Set-Aside?
There is a question in the Intake form asking if you will be applying for the Factory-Produced Housing Initiative; however, each FPH set-aside applicant must fill out the Factory-Produced Housing Selection Form, which will be released separately from the NOFA. You can check the
FPH Initiative webpage for updates on the funding process.
Is the Factory-Produced Housing Initiative available to 2027 projects?
No, this funding will only be available to 2026 projects.
If I have to apply for the Factory-Produced Housing Initiative separately, how will that work if I’m not selected for Due Diligence?
Being selected for Factory-Produced Housing funding will allow you to move into Due Diligence. If you are selected for the Factory-Produced set-aside, you will receive an invitation to complete Due Diligence, even if you weren’t selected via the main NOFA process.
Application process, timing, and Workcenter
When should I expect to receive my Procorem Workcenter after submitting my Intake form?
We will work as quickly as we can, but please allow up to five business days.
If I am applying for 2027 funding, is there a benefit to submitting my early application in February versus March?
No. Any application received on or prior to Sept. 21 will be treated equally.
How are applications timestamped?
Your Submission Date is determined by the day that you complete the Submit task in your Project Workcenter. We will only consider the date, not the time. All applications submitted between midnight and 11:59 p.m. will be treated equally and go through a tiebreaker to determine order.
Is there a pathway for 2027 applications to submit early and complete Due Diligence prior to Sept. 21?
No. Applicants will only be invited to complete Due Diligence once they have been selected for on a first-come, first-served basis. For 2027 projects, that selection will not occur until on or after Sept. 21. If 2027 projects would like to have a shorter timeline, they may request a list of Due Diligence tasks and complete them on their own at their own risk, with no guarantee they will be selected. If an applicant completes Due Diligence early, they may move on to closing when they are ready rather than wait until the deadline.
What are the application charge requirements?
When you submit your Intake form, OHCS will use that information to generate an invoice for your application charge. This invoice should be available within 24 to 48 hours after Procorem setup and will be added to the Blank Forms folder of your Project Workcenter. This invoice will include a link to an online payment portal. If you do not submit an application, the invoice will be voided and not due.
If I am not selected for 2026 funding, do I need to pay another application charge when I resubmit my application for 2027 funding?
You do not need to resubmit your application. It will be automatically considered for 2027 funding. You will not need to pay a separate application charge.
If I already have a Partner Portal in Procorem, do I need to re-upload things like my Bylaws or Articles of Incorporation?
Only if they’ve changed. If you already have a Partner Portal, you should go through the task list and use that to double check that the document is already uploaded and hasn’t changed since it was submitted, but you do not need to upload duplicates of any documents.
When will the tiebreaker be applied?
OHCS will complete both preliminary and threshold scoring for all applicants of a certain submission date before applying the tiebreaker.
What is the timeline from Concept Proposal to Reservation if I’m selected?
We can generally move as quickly as you can through the Due Diligence stages. Realistically, the earliest Reservation Letters could be issued in summer 2026.
If I’ve already created a Partner Portal or similar for OHCS’ rental programs, will you be able to use that?
Unfortunately, our systems do not currently communicate. You will need to maintain a Homeownership Partner Portal in addition to any Workcenters that you have for rental projects.
Is this the first time OHCS has used a tiebreaker for this NOFA?
Yes.
If I am installing solar panels in most but not all of my homes, how do I answer the Yes/No question in the tiebreaker section?
Please only answer “Yes” if at least 75% of the units will have solar panels installed.
Experience and capacity (biennial cap and scoring context)
Will experience with LIFT Rental count toward determining if an applicant is experienced when determining the biennial cap?
Yes. We will consider if your organization has completed a LIFT Rental project.
Will a staff member’s experience with LIFT count toward the biennial cap if the organization hasn’t received LIFT?
No. This is a requirement for the organization/entity. A staff member’s experience can be counted toward the Staff section of the Experience threshold scoring.
My organization is not experienced, but we are partnering with an experienced developer. What should we submit in terms of experience and capacity?
Submit a Partner Experience Workbook and financials for both your organization and your development partner. OHCS will determine how best to move forward with scoring based on your specific situation and may request additional information if needed.
What do I do if I have fewer than two years of financials?
Submit what you have, and you will be scored accordingly. It is possible to pass this threshold without receiving all the points for financials.
For “most recent” financial statements, do you mean my most recent monthly statement or my most recent annual statement?
Please include your most recent annual statement.
Is the three-project maximum for project managers for any project or just projects they are leading?
We are only going to consider the projects they are leading.
Specific application questions
A cell in one of the Excel Workbooks is locked and I can’t type my response!
Sorry about that! Go ahead and enter that information either as a comment on the cell or in the Blank Worksheet tab.
How do you define visitability and accessibility?
For visitability, OHCS will use the definitions in ORS 456.510 and 456.513. For accessibility, OHCS will refer to
HUD’s guidance on accessible development. In general, we will look for the following:
- The public use and common use portions of such dwellings are readily accessible to and usable by handicapped persons;
- All the doors designed to allow passage into and within all premises within such dwellings are sufficiently wide to allow passage by handicapped persons in wheelchairs; and
- The main or accessible floor contains the following features of adaptive design:
- an accessible route into and through the dwelling;
- light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats, and other environmental controls in accessible locations;
- reinforcements in bathroom walls to allow later installation of grab bars;
- usable kitchen such that an individual in a wheelchair can maneuver about the space; and
- a minimum of one usable bedroom and one usable full bathroom that an individual in a wheelchair can maneuver about the space.
Can I count a private land donation for the tiebreaker considering local resources?
No, the question about using local or other state funding is less about leverage and more about OHCS being a good partner to other jurisdictions that have prioritized and supported a project.
Should I include the third-party developer in the Development Team tab if they do not have a financial or ownership stake in the loan?
Yes. We will use this page to keep track of the entities on this project and do not necessarily consider them a party to the loan.
Do I need to submit any of the maps required at the end of the Site Review Checklist during concept proposal?
No. We will only require maps during the Due Diligence phase of construction.
I have a scattered site project, one site of which is a later phase of a project supported by LIFT. Can I get those tiebreaker points?
You can get those tiebreaker points if at least 50% of the units in your scattered site project are on the site that is the later phase.
I have a scattered site project. How do I fill out my Site Review Checklist?
Please fill out a separate Site Review Checklist for each site.
Program funding and eligible costs
If you have to build a public road to access your site, is that an allowable cost?
LIFT can fund public infrastructure that is on your own site, such as the streets and sidewalks in your neighborhood. It cannot fund public infrastructure that is not on your own site, such as a new road through an easement or water main upgrades on the main street to support your development. These expenses can be included in your project pro forma as part of the cost of the project. You will just need to use a different funding source to pay for them.
If project costs for a partially completed project that is already funded by LIFT have increased, are those cost increases eligible to enable completion of the project?
We cannot award new LIFT funds to increase a prior LIFT award. You are welcome to shuffle LIFT around to pay for increased costs and use another source later in the project, but please notify OHCS of any project budget changes.
Is the Developer Fee maximum 14% of the LIFT award or the total project cost?
The total project cost.
Is there a worksheet to help us determine LIFT and permanent loan sizes?
Yes. The Application Workbook has a Unit Mix section on the Project Information tab that will calculate the amount of LIFT that you will be eligible for. For OAHTC, either the full OAHTC application or the OAHTC Supplemental Application will include a calculation to determine your eligible amount.
Where can I learn more about the Predevelopment Loan?
You can find more information in the NOFA document beginning on page 41.
Due Diligence
Can I change my funding ask from the Concept Proposal?
We can lower the award from what you requested at Concept Proposal, but we will not be able to increase the amount of what we have reserved for you.
Are there any requirements around capital improvement reserves?
We will require that you submit an operating budget that includes planning for reserves, especially if there is shared infrastructure or other shared areas that come with maintenance. This is a new requirement in 2026.
How will you verify tiebreaker responses to ensure that the responses are real?
OHCS may request additional information about specific tiebreaker questions during Stage 1 of Due Diligence. If evidence is not available until later in the development timeline, OHCS will require evidence that the items included in the tiebreaker are used in your development. Not completing items listed in the tiebreaker may impact future applications.
What’s the difference between the Project Uses and Operating Budget tabs?
Project uses is the cost of building your homes up to sale, and operating budget is for ongoing costs and shared expenses like property management, infrastructure maintenance, etc.
Closing, construction, and compliance
Can I see the legal documents that I’ll need to sign for LIFT?
Yes. Email HO.Development@hcs.oregon.gov and we can send you our current document templates. In that email, please let us know if your planned project is a community land trust project on subdivided land, a CLT on unsubdivided land, a condo, or a limited-equity cooperative. Please note that the templates may change depending on how your development is structured.
What funding source can I use to pay OHCS fees?
Any other funding source that you would be able to use to complete your project, such as loans, grants, donations, cash on hand, profits from other projects, or income from thrift stores or other retail.
Can I begin construction before I receive the Reservation letter?
You can begin site work at your own risk, but do not begin vertical construction until after you receive a Reservation letter and close on the loan.