Deon Spilker & David Damschen and the Utah Housing Corporation on Affordable Housing

Deon Spilker is the vice president of mortgage banking at Utah Housing Corporation, and David Damschen is the president of the organization. In this episode we have a conversation about what the organization does, who some of the key stakeholders are in affordable housing in Utah, and what are some of the complications attendant to solving the problem of unaffordable housing on the state level. This interview was a great pleasure for me. I loved to hear insights from two of the most knowledgeable people in our state on affordable housing.

Here are a couple of highlight quotes from our discussion. 

"It takes all of us together to do the building, and the lending, and to do the tax credits and to have the knowledge."  - Deon Spilker

Spilker also pointed out that she frequently hears the phrase "We couldn't have without you" in the context of getting into a home.

A couple more quotes I liked: "You need all hands on deck for problems of this complexity and magnitude." - David Damschen

"Smart government, working hand-in-hand with the private sector can be very constructive and very helpful, but you want to have a light touch." - David Damschen

We also talked about Low Income Housing Tax Credits, which I have wanted to understand better for a long time, and I loved hearing Mr. Damschen's insightful explanation of how they work.

It was such a pleasure for me to talk to people who are truly making a difference for Utah families who need affordable housing every day. I hope you enjoy listening to this interview as much as I enjoyed having it.