Affordable Housing: What is it? How can we, as vendor/ associates, better serve the needs of these managers?
Recently, during a conversation I was having with a new Atlanta Apartment Association member, I was asked what exactly it means when someone refers to a Community as Affordable or Tax-Credit. This individual was under the impression that these properties were essentially low income properties in undesirable neighborhoods with like deferred maintenance issues! I am familiar with many communities which fall into the Affordable Housing category that are newer, attractive A properties in very desirable locations. I hope to shed some light on this important component to our industry.
The difference between these Affordable/ Tax-Credit properties and their Conventional Market-rate competitors is that the developer/ owner of the property will receive a Low Income Tax Credit Benefit to provide housing to those earning below a certain wage. There are many variations of this; some properties may be 80% Affordable Units and 20% Market Units. Some properties may receive Government subsidies for the rent as assistance to its residents. These communities are heavily regulated by HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) and by DCA (Department of Community Affairs) for their compliance within the legal guideline of the program.
Many of the AAA Owner/ Manager companies across Atlanta and beyond manage Affordable Properties. A few of these are Aderhold Properties, Lincoln, Vista Realty Partners, Walton Communities, Signature Management, Ambling and Wood Partners who has management of some of their communities but also hire Third Party Management Companies such as Riverstone for some communities. Many of these communities have Special Programs or demographic profiles largely consisting of Families or Active Adults/ Seniors. I asked Holly Berney of Vista Real Estate what we could do to better serve companies like Vista she said “We would like our suppliers to be more of a Partner in the Community.”
Tarla McCann
On-Site.com
770-286-2060