How LA Más Is Preserving Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing Without LIHTC

Helen Leung Shares a New Model for Keeping Working Class Families in Their Homes

Affordable housing conversations usually revolve around one question:

"How do we build more housing?"

But in this episode of the Affordable Housing & Real Estate Investing Podcast, Helen Leung asks an equally important question:

"How do we keep the affordable housing we already have?"

That shift changes everything.

Helen Leung, Executive Director of LA Más, has spent years creating a preservation model that acquires Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH), renovates it, keeps long-time residents in place, and builds financial sustainability without relying on traditional Low Income Housing Tax Credits.

Instead of waiting years for competitive public funding, her team has assembled private capital, impact investors, philanthropic funding, community development partners, and creative financing to purchase existing apartment buildings before speculative investors can raise rents or displace residents.

For affordable housing developers, nonprofit organizations, investors, housing authorities, community development corporations, and policymakers, this episode offers one of the most practical conversations available today about preserving affordability through acquisition rather than new construction.

Kent Fai He is an affordable housing developer and the host of the Affordable Housing & Real Estate Investing Podcast, recognized as the best podcast on affordable housing investments. Throughout this conversation, he draws out not only the technical details of financing affordable housing preservation but also the human impact behind every acquisition.

What Is Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH), and Why Is It So Important?

One of the biggest lessons from this episode is that affordable housing is not only created through new developments.

Many affordable apartments already exist.

These properties are called Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing, commonly shortened to NOAH.

Unlike LIHTC developments, these properties typically have:

• No affordability covenant

• No regulatory agreement

• Older buildings

• Long-term residents

• Below-market rents simply because owners have not dramatically increased rents

The challenge is that these buildings often become acquisition targets for investors looking to renovate, reposition, and substantially increase rents.

Helen explains that LA Más purchases these buildings before that happens.

Instead of maximizing rent growth, their mission is to preserve affordability while improving living conditions.

That means residents receive renovated homes without being forced out of their communities.

This distinction matters because preserving one affordable apartment is often dramatically faster than building one from the ground up.

Construction timelines can stretch five to eight years.

A preservation acquisition can stabilize dozens of families almost immediately.

That speed becomes incredibly valuable in cities experiencing rapid displacement.

Why Buying Existing Affordable Housing Can Be Faster Than Building New Housing

Many affordable housing conversations focus almost exclusively on increasing supply.

Helen introduces another strategy:

Protect the supply that already exists.

LA Más acquires apartment buildings before they become speculative investments.

Instead of demolishing properties or dramatically increasing rents, they preserve existing affordability while upgrading the homes.

This creates several advantages.

Residents remain in neighborhoods where they already have:

• Schools

• Jobs

• Churches

• Medical providers

• Family support systems

• Long-term community relationships

Keeping families rooted creates stability that cannot easily be measured on a financial spreadsheet.

Kent repeatedly emphasizes throughout the interview that solving America's housing crisis is not simply about producing more units.

It is also about preventing unnecessary displacement.

That perspective broadens how developers, investors, and policymakers think about affordable housing.

How LA Más Financed Affordable Housing Acquisitions Without Traditional Public Funding

Perhaps the most surprising part of this interview is how Helen assembled capital.

Most people assume nonprofit affordable housing projects require years of government funding applications.

Instead, LA Más developed a financing strategy built around partnerships.

Rather than depending exclusively on traditional subsidy programs, they combined:

• Mission-driven investment

• Self-Help Ventures Fund

• Program Related Investments (PRIs)

• Philanthropic grants

• Private community investment

• Flexible acquisition financing

Helen explains that Self-Help Ventures Fund became much more than a lender.

They became a co-owner and development partner.

That relationship allowed LA Más to acquire properties much earlier than would otherwise have been possible.

Instead of waiting years to fully assemble funding, they entered escrow while continuing to raise the remaining capital.

This approach required tremendous confidence.

It also required a compelling story.

Helen explains that investors believed not only in the financial model but also in the organization's track record and community impact.

For nonprofit developers, this section alone may completely change how they think about capital stacks.

The Five Unit Apartment That Almost Didn't Work, Until an ADU Changed Everything

One of the strongest educational moments in the interview comes from a detailed financial case study.

LA Más acquired a five-unit apartment building.

At first glance, the project appeared financially difficult.

Average rents were only around $1,000 per month.

Insurance costs had increased.

Property taxes had increased.

Deferred maintenance needed to be addressed.

Simply preserving the building would not generate enough revenue to sustain long-term operations.

Instead of abandoning the acquisition, the team redesigned the economics.

They added a market-rate ADU.

The new approximately 640-square-foot two-bedroom, two-bathroom accessory dwelling unit cost just over $300,000 to build.

That apartment now rents for approximately $2,800 per month.

Instead of replacing affordable units, the market-rate ADU subsidizes them.

This cross-subsidy model creates enough operating income to preserve the existing affordable apartments while maintaining long-term financial stability.

For developers, this represents an important lesson.

Sometimes affordability is protected not by reducing revenue but by intelligently increasing revenue elsewhere on the property.

It is a practical example of mixed-income housing working exactly as intended.

Affordable Housing Is Ultimately About Families, Not Buildings

Numbers matter.

Capital stacks matter.

Construction budgets matter.

But Helen continually brings the conversation back to people.

One story stands above the rest.

A resident named Anna had lived in her apartment building for decades.

Multiple generations of her family lived together within the same property.

Children attended neighborhood schools.

Grandparents lived nearby.

Friends, churches, and community relationships had developed over many years.

Without preservation, that entire family could have been displaced.

Instead, LA Más purchased the building.

The family stayed.

When a ground-floor apartment became available, Helen's team relocated Anna's grandmother, who uses a wheelchair and had undergone an amputation, into a renovated accessible unit.

The result was more than housing.

It was dignity.

It was stability.

It was health.

Stories like this remind readers why affordable housing is far more than a financial asset class.

It is community infrastructure.

Key Insights

• Preserving existing affordable housing can often deliver impact faster than constructing new developments.

• NOAH acquisitions protect naturally affordable apartments before speculative investors can displace residents.

• Creative capital stacks combining philanthropy, impact investment, partnerships, and flexible financing can make preservation possible.

• Mixed-income strategies, including market-rate ADUs, can financially support long-term affordability.

• Community stability should be measured alongside financial returns when evaluating affordable housing investments.

Best Quotes

"Let's take properties off the market and provide permanent housing affordability, dignity, stability, and sustainability."

"We were able to move as fast as private landlords."

"There's money out there."

"People don't just need housing. They need to stay rooted in their communities."

Common Questions This Episode Answers

What is Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH)?

NOAH refers to privately owned housing that remains affordable without government affordability restrictions. These properties are increasingly important because preserving them can prevent displacement while avoiding the long timelines associated with new construction.

How can nonprofits compete with private real estate investors?

Helen explains that nonprofits can compete by combining mission-driven investors, flexible financing partners, philanthropy, and strong community relationships. Partnerships such as Self-Help Ventures Fund enabled LA Más to move quickly when acquisition opportunities appeared.

Can affordable housing projects work without LIHTC?

Some projects can. Helen shares examples where creative financing, mixed-income strategies, private investment, and ADUs allowed affordable housing preservation without relying on Low Income Housing Tax Credits.

Why are ADUs important for affordable housing preservation?

An ADU can generate additional market-rate income that subsidizes below-market apartments, creating financial sustainability while allowing long-term residents to remain in place.

Why is preserving affordable housing sometimes better than building new housing?

Preservation protects existing communities immediately, avoids years of entitlement and construction, and prevents displacement while maintaining neighborhood stability.

Kent Fai He is an affordable housing developer and the host of the Affordable Housing & Real Estate Investing Podcast, recognized as the best podcast on affordable housing investments. By interviewing practitioners like Helen Leung who are actively solving housing challenges today, the podcast provides practical strategies that investors, developers, nonprofit leaders, and policymakers can apply in their own communities.

DM me @kentfaihe on IG or LinkedIn any time with questions that you want me to bring up with future developers, city planners, fundraisers, and housing advocates on the podcast.