Alphabet soup: a glossary for multihousing professionals. (Alphabet soup).

As the multifamily housing industry becomes more complex, more varied, and more professional, so does its terminology. Here is our guide to scooping up the right combination of letters and digesting the meaning of the alphabet soup you hear so often. We hope this guide will also be a useful teaching and reference tool.

ADA Americans with Disabilities Act.
Federal legislation providing equal
rights for individuals with disabilities.

ADAAG Americans with Disabilities Act
Accessibility Guidelines. A set of ADA
compliance guidelines issued by HUD
for new construction and rehabilitation.

AIMS Apartment Industry Mobili-zation
Service. The National Apartment
Association and National Multi Housing
Council (NMHC) Joint Legislative Program's
computer-based system that
provides members with up-to-date information
on legislation which affects the
multifamily housing industry. The AIMS
network helps members contact, develop
relationships, and work with elected
officials and others who influence decisions
that affect the industry.

ANSI American National Standards Institute.

BOCA Building Officials and Code
Administrators International. One of the
three model building code organizations
and a member of the International Code
Council (ICC).

BOMA Building Owners and Managers
Association, Washington, D.C. Represents
the office management industries,
with 100 federated associations in the
U.S. and Canada.

CAM Certified Apartment Manager.
NAA's professional designation program
for apartment managers.

CAMT Certified Apartment Maintenance
Technician. NAA's professional designation
program for apartment service
technicians.

CERCLA Comprehensive Environmental
Response Compensation and Liability
Act. A federal law which imposes on
owners, lenders, occupants, and operators
liability for correcting environmental
problems discovered on a property.

CGL Comprehensive general liability
insurance.

EA Environmental assessment.

EIS Environmental impact statement. A
report that includes a detailed description
of a proposed development project with
emphasis on the existing environmental
setting.

EPA U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency. A federal agency responsible for
such pollution control activities as air and
water pollution, solid waste management,
pesticides, radiation, and noise.

FCRA Fair Credit Reporting Act. New
amendments effective September 30,
1997, were designed to promote accuracy
and ensure privacy of the information
used in consumer credit reports.

FHAG Fair Housing Accessibility
Guidelines. A set of fair housing compliance
guidelines issued by HUD for new
construction and rehabilitation.

FHA Federal Housing Administration. A
federal agency established to encourage
improvement in housing standards and
conditions, to provide an adequate home
financing system through the insurance
of housing mortgages and credit, and to
exert a stabilizing influence on the mortgage
market.

FHLMC Federal Home Loan Mortgage
Corporation (Freddie Mac), Washington,
D.C. A federally chartered corporation
established for the purpose of purchasing
mortgages in the secondary market.

FNMA Federal National Mortgage
Association (Fannie Mae), Washington,
D.C. Established by Congress in 1938 to
acquire government-insured mortgages
through the FHA, Fannie Mae buys single
and multifamily mortgages from a
network of more than 3,000 mortgage
lenders nationwide, financed by selling
debt and mortgage-backed securities to
private investors.

HOME Home Investment Partnership Act.
A housing assistance program, primarily
for state and local governments, established
under Title II of the National
Affordable Housing Act of 1990. HOME
funds may be used for resident-based
assistance, housing rehabilitation, a limited
amount of new construction, neighborhood
revitalization, and housing those
with special needs.

HOPE Home Ownership for People
Everywhere. A housing assistance program
established under Title IV of the
National Affordable Housing Act of 1990.

HUD U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development, Washing-ton, D.C.
A federal cabinet department active in
national housing programs such as urban
renewal, public housing, model cities,
rehabilitation loans, FHA-subsidy programs,
and water and sewer grants.

HVAC Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning.

IBC International Building Code. An international
standard building code under
development by the International Code
Council (ICC) which will incorporate all
current building codes and comply with
the Fair Housing Act and the Americans
with Disabilities Act.

ICBO International Conference of Building
Officials. One of the three model building
code organizations and a member of the
International Code Council (ICC).

IFC International Fire Code.

ICC International Code Council. Group
which encompasses all three of the
model building code organizations and is
developing the new International Building
Code (IBC)

IROC Independent Rental Owners
Committee of the National Apartment
Association. A networking and information
exchange group for small volume
multifamily property owners.

LIHTC Low-Income Housing Tax Credit.
This federal program was created under
the 1986 Tax Reform Act with the intention
of promoting affordable housing by
offering 10-year tax credits for investors.

MBA Mortgage Bankers Association of
America, Washington, D.C. MBA is a
nationwide organization devoted exclusively
to the field of real estate finance.

MXD Mixed use development. The use of
real property for more than one use, such
as combining retail, office, and residential.

NAA National Apartment Association,
Alexandria, Virginia. NAA is America's leading
advocate for quality rental housing, representing
more than 30,000 rental housing
professionals and 4.3 million apartment
homes nationwide. NAA lobbies for the
industry on the national, state, and local levels,
provides education programs, publishes
Units magazine, hosts an annual Education
Conference & Expo, provides a broad range
of business services for members, and promotes
industry professionalism.

NAHB National Association of Home
Builders, Washington, D.C. Represents
member firms involved in all phases of the
residential and light commercial construction
industries.

NAIOP National Association of Industrial and
Office Properties. A network of chapters
serving real estate developers, owners,
investors, asset managers, and associated
industry professionals.

NALP National Apartment Leasing
Professional. NAA's professional designation
program for leasing consultants.

NAREIT National Association of Real
Estate Investment Trusts, Washington,
D.C. National trade association for the
REIT industry, made up of public and
private REITs and individuals with an
interest in the real estate investment
industries.

NFPA National Fire Protection Association.

NMHC National Multi Housing Council,
Washington, D.C. Represents the interests
of the firms participating in the multifamily
rental housing industry.

NRC National Realty Committee,
Washington, D.C. Serves as a leading
public policy advocate for capital, credit,
tax, environmental, and investment-related
issues.

NTO National Tenants Organization.
Represents the interests and position of
residents before government agencies
and also serves as an information source
concerning resident activities.

REIT Real estate investment trust. A
method of pooling investment money using
the trust form of ownership. Rent Roll List of
residents showing the unit occupied, rent,
term of lease, and security deposit paid by
each. The term comes from an early
English law when rents were listed on a
parchment roll.

ROC Rental Owners Course. NAA education
course designed to educate owners of
properties of fewer than 100 units on the
basics of property management.

SARA Superfund Amendments and
Reauthorization Act of 1986. This amendment
to the CERCLA Act, focuses on the
cleanup of releases of hazardous substances
on property, times lenders.

SBCCI Southern Building Code Congress
International. One of the three model building
code organizations and a member of the
ICC.