Foster Pepper is the law firm most active in affordable housing finance in Washington State and is recognized as the preeminent bond counsel firm for Washington housing authority bond issues. Foster Pepper represents approximately 20 housing authorities and several other entities in Washington and Oregon that are devoted to low- and moderate-income housing, including public development authorities and 501(c)(3) corporations.

In addition, we have served as underwriter's counsel for more than $1 billion of bonds issued by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. In that role, we have been closely involved in every aspect of structuring that entity's single-family and multifamily housing finance programs.

Lawyers in our finance and housing law practice group have been in the forefront of the developing role of housing authorities as tax-exempt lenders and as developers of low- and mixed-income housing. We have written and rewritten the relevant law, negotiated with developers and bond underwriters, and helped structure transactions that had never before been done anywhere in the country.

As part of our work with tax credit projects sponsored by Washington housing authorities, we have pioneered the use of lease arrangements between the authorities as lessors and the tax credit limited partnerships as lessees to obtain exemptions from real property and leasehold excise taxes while still retaining the benefits of tax credits for the cost of acquiring their projects.

We also serve as general or special counsel (in the areas of real estate, construction, employment, prevailing wage, and public bidding and land use/hazardous waste law) for more than a dozen Oregon and Washington housing authorities and developers of low- and moderate-income housing projects.