Sarah Laubinger
Sarah Laubinger has moved up the ranks at Boston Financial Investment Management (BFIM).
Sarah Laubinger, executive vice president of production at Boston Financial Investment Management
Hired as an investment analyst in 1997, she learned the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) business by starting with the basics of underwriting. Laubinger later became an acquisitions officer and was responsible for originating and placing more than 400 properties. Since 2013, she has co-lead BFIM’s equity syndication efforts with Greg Voyentzie. Together, they have joint responsibility for the strategic direction of the firm’s syndication team.
Laubinger says the most rewarding aspect of her job is knowing that she is working with others to create safe, attractive affordable housing for families, seniors, veterans, and people with special needs.
“I feel so strongly that affordable housing is among the most important investments our country can make,” says Laubinger, executive vice president. “Stability starts at home, and all Americans deserve access to a decent place to live. Homelessness and rent burden can be paralyzing.”
Over the years, BFIM has invested in a variety of affordable and historic housing developments, including nearly $2 billion in LIHTC equity in just the past four years alone. Laubinger received a 2016 Tsongas Award honoring women in preservation from Preservation Massachusetts for her efforts in contributing more than $250 million of equity to the redevelopment of more than 30 historic properties that have been rehabilitated to provide approximately 2,000 affordable homes.
BFIM holds a seat on the board of the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition and is a member of the Housing Advisory Group. Both organizations play an important role in the industry as they advocate for the LIHTC program. Their voices will be especially important this year, as they focus their outreach efforts to the new administration and members of Congress, according to Laubinger.
“As a 20-year industry veteran, I’ve seen how the public and private partnership afforded under the LIHTC can fuel the quality and reality of successful affordable housing,” she says. “The LIHTC pairs public and private resources—infusing institutional grade equity and investment standards into what otherwise would be solely public financed and regulated housing.”
