Affordable Housing Training & Consulting Services

I Don’t Know It All, But I Do Know Everything!

People usually know more than they think they do, but those who think they know everything usually don’t.

Training folks in the affordable housing industry is fun and rewarding.  Watching the light go on when my students learn something new, or even confirming that something they had been doing correctly, is a delight.  The folks who are new to affordable housing typically hinge on every word…

What To Do With Medical Waste in Affordable Housing

What are we supposed to do with our tenant’s medical waste?  Whether you are an Elderly or Disabled property or multifamily site there is no doubt that the medical waste ends up someplace on the property other than the appropriate receptacle.  For a short time, I was thought to have (more…)

When Should I Handout The VAWA Forms?

HUD has clarified that owners MUST begin now to give current and newly-admitted households a copy of the new notice of occupancy rights and the certification form. This MUST be done either during the annual recertification or lease renewal process, or, if there will be no recertification or lease renewal for a household during the first year after the rule takes effect, through other means.

This…

Proactive or reactive, some of you out there have chosen the latter. File audits are not inexpensive, but if your files have been neglected, it is going to take a whirlwind to get them back in shape! Management Occupancy Reviews (MOR) have begun and we have been busier than ever!

For some, the paper work has accumulated and now needs to be properly organized and filed in preparation for impending…

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Rejecting an Affordable Housing Applicant

If you are an affordable housing provider, it is critical to know the rules regarding when an applicant for housing can be rejected.  The software you use typically has a Waitlist module and some folks rely on the old spreadsheet method even today.  Knowing the rules will greatly reduce complaints filed against the O/A. It’s a MUSTin my opinion to have a written guideline, or resident selection…

Affordable Housing As a Way of Life!

I just came back from another File Audit…this time it was outside of Cleveland…as I was going through the files I kept coming  across the fact that there were some residents of have been there not just since the 90’s, but the 80’s.  I spoke with the property manager there and she had told me that there were in some cases three generations of the same family living on site.  It was appalling to me…

Exemptions to the Section 8 Minimum Rent

Tenants in properties subsidized through the Section 8 program must pay a minimum rent (TTP) of $25. However, bare in mind that the Minimum rent rule does not apply to Section 202 PAC, Section 202 PRAC, Section 811 PRAC, RAP, Rent Supplement, Section 221(d)(3) BMIR or Section 236 programs.

The minimum rent is used when 30% of adjusted monthly income and 10% of gross monthly income, and the…

TRACS Discussion Forum Alternative

During the beginning of my webinars I always discuss the importance of the many affordable housing resources we have and as part of that discussion, is the TRACS Discussion Forum. I talk about how great it is as a resource for everyone in our industry. Well I have been very frustrated that the resource we have been able to use for so many years has been down for at least the past 6 months. (more…

To File Special Claims or not

I wish there was a Special Claim for “Not enough time in the day” but I guess I will have to wait for that one. Some affordable housing properties submit claims and others may not think it’s worth their staff’s time. Others file them when necessary. Would I file a Regular Vacancy claim for a day or two of vacancy…probably not. Who knows, but hey, it could add up! Over the life time of a property…

Fair Housing, It’s Their Right!

Our country is sadly riddled with racism and discrimination. We can easily open the newspaper, turn on the TV or read about it on our smart phones, discrimination is prevalent throughout our society. Web based technology (social media) also seems to bring it out of people or just brings it to the surface. I see it on Twitter or Facebook; rants from people ripe with racist views and it permeates…

Where should I send the Utility Allowance Check?

The handling the disbursements of utility allowances (UA) in affordable housing varies from property to property. The question remains how do properties determine the best way to apply the utility allowance. Do the checks need to be made out to the utility companies with C/O on the checks, or do the tenants come in every month and need to sign the back of the check? Should I just give the tenants…

Valet Parking in Section 8 Housing

Wouldn’t that be nice!  A property manager told me that they have a disabled applicant who is scheduled to move in and is requesting a handicapped parking spot close to her soon to be new HUD subsidized apartment. None of the parking spots near her apartment are designated as “handicapped.” ​Her apartment is situated in the middle of the building, ​so there are several spots that are equally…

Staffing your Subsidized or Conventional Community

Finding the right person for the right job is a job in it of itself. It’s not always easy to fire someone and it’s not easy finding a replacement. When hiring a person to manage a subsidized or conventional property you are looking for someone with some industry knowledge and all their personality.  Industry knowledge can always be taught.  The smartest affordable housing and conventional housing…

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Keeping The Peace in Subsidized Housing

Let’s face it, affordable housing property management can be a rewarding yet a tough job ;) Property managers have so many “fires” to put out on a daily basis! Mondays being the toughest days of the week where you have to get caught up on the work that you weren’t able to complete on Friday and then all of the incident reports from the weekend. Some of the incidents may involve the occasional…