Property management the affordable way: to help comply with government requirements, many affordable housing providers are turning to high-tech software.

Certifications, re-certifications, income analysis and waiting lists are just a few of the tasks that affordable housing managers face every day--not to mention the more common management issues, such as maintenance requests and rent payments. Whether they manage Section 8, Tax Credit, Rural Development or any other governmental housing assistance program, affordable housing managers will always have the additional burden of compliance and administration, which they need to complete on time and correctly to collect the program funds.

Years ago, compliance with an assisted housing program meant reams of paperwork and hours of time. Not so today. According to one affordable housing software service partner, an estimated 85 percent of affordable housing communities use software of some type of property management software. And with several software companies offering Web-based versions specifically adapted to meet the needs of affordable housing providers, life has become a lot easier.

Saving Time in Real Time

Dean Siflinger, Senior Vice President of Wingate Management Co., Needham, Mass., said the biggest benefit of the software--particularly the new generation of Web-based software--is the increase in the amount of time that it creates for staff to concentrate more on other important concerns.

Michael Burke, Vice President of Property Management for CBM Group, Auburn, Calif., said that like every affordable housing community, his company's 7,395 affordable units in California, Arizona, Oregon, Nevada and Hawaii have challenges to overcome. "The external market place, an aging portfolio and the constant battle to find qualified residents are my three biggest challenges," Burke said. "By helping to save time at the site level, the software lets staff focus on overcoming these challenges."

As older systems become obsolete, most management companies are opting for Web-based software. Before Web-based software, managers spent at least one hour per day backing up the day's information onto hard drives or disks.

"There was a constant fear that a computer glitch would cause us to lose the information," Siflinger said. With Web-based property management software, the information is backed up automatically every day onto the software provider's server.

"A manager who doesn't have to spend hours backing-up the computer is able to spend those extra hours interacting with our residents, walking the property and addressing issues that really benefit the site, both financially and from a customer-service standpoint," Siflinger said. "The additional time our staff has to concentrate on residents naturally helps as a retention tool, which in turn positively affects our bottom line."

Another time-saving benefit is that managers can access "real time" information, Burke said. "With our old paper system, we were closing our books mid-month and issuing reports at the end of the month," Burke said. "Now, we can close our boom at the end of the month and have our reports out by the second or third day of the month. With complete financial information on hand at almost all times, we can help management make better, more informed business decisions."

Remotely Accessible

Software makes managing a dispersed staff much easier, according to Robert Lampher, Executive Vice President of the Shelter Group, City, State, which owns or manages 7,208 affordable units in the Eastern United States.

"The software helps to provide oversight and support from regional offices and the home office," Siflinger said. "We manage 70 properties around the country, so we always had to assume tasks, like backing up data, were being done correctly. With the current system, these kinds of tasks are centralized by the software provider, and everything can be verified regionally or from the home office. So we are able to correct issues more easily as they occur rather than dealing with a problem after it develops."

Sharon Turrentine, Director of Management Information Systems for Standard Enterprises, Monroe, La., applauds the ability to access information remotely, from any computer at any time.

"The benefits of such access are two-fold," she said. "First, if there's a problem at a site, a manager or even regional manager can simply log on from wherever they are and see exactly what the onsite staff person is talking about."

The software also allows managers to track everything themselves, without having to take their staff members' word. "As an owner, I know exactly when rent has been collected and when subsidies have arrived," Turrentine said.

Seamless Compliance

Using the software has made many aspects of property management "seamless," Burke said. A couple of years ago, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) passed new regulations that require managers to transmit all records electronically. And although managers can go onto the REAC or TRACS Web sites and file records manually, Burke said he finds that it is much easier to transfer the information from the software to the appropriate agency's Web site.

"When it's time to make our reports to the various agencies, we now push a button and the information is transferred," Burke said. "This is a huge deal when you manage 7,400 units like we do."

Turrentine said, "Having the information in the right form at your fingertips also comes in handy when your property is being inspected by one of the agencies administering your program."

Many state agencies have also adopted electronic reporting requirements. Reporting electronically to state agencies may require using XML. Software service partners may be able to assist managers in identifying data transfer needs.

Also, software partners automatically update their programs to reflect any change in housing regulations, Turrentine said. For example, if HUD changes its income requirements, the program will adapt so that only prospects that meet the new requirements will be able to continue the application process.

The Right Fit

With the many features to choose from and the capital expenditure necessary to purchase property management software, affordable housing providers should exercise care and invest time when choosing a software program and ultimately choose the product that satisfies most--if not all--of their criteria, Burke said.

"This software is certainly not cheap," Siflinger said.

Lampher said that the cost of the software can vary tremendously, depending on the number of properties and units managed and on the number of modules--or software components--management wants to purchase. "The fees are usually monthly and you may also incur additional fees for having the company host the server and for ongoing training provided by the software company," Lampher said.

Burke's company manages units that are subsidized by several different programs, including HUD, Tax Credit and Rural Development. So his company waited until one software company developed a property management program for each of those types of subsidies.

"We didn't want managers to have to learn to use different products for different types of affordable housing programs," he said. "Having one product that is adaptable to every type of housing program they offer has been worth the wait."

Turrentine advises affordable housing providers to make sure the software is user friendly. "It took some time for our staff to get completely familiar with the software," Turrentine said. "But once they did, they literally stood up and applauded."

Managers are getting hit from all sides, Siflinger said. "'The software needs to be as simple and as easy to use as possible so that managers aren't spending all of their time training or figuring out glitches that prevent them from interacting with residents and completing more productive tasks," he said.

Support and Training

With the software Turrentine's company has chosen, "glitches are rare," she said. "But if there are any real problems, the support is right there to walk our employees through a fix."

Siflinger said Wingate Management chose to keep its software company when Wingate switched from Windows-based software to Web-based software. A major reason was the outstanding support the software company provided Wingate's staff, Siflinger said.

When Shelter Group began its roll out, a staff member from the software company trained its core staff. "Once the core staff was trained, they were able to train the site-level people on how to use the system," said Sandy Scheuerman, Shelter Group's Director of Information Services. "The software company should also provide some level of ongoing training to keep staff updated on new developments in the software."

Siflinger suggested that affordable housing managers ask their software providers to save all inputted information and automatically back up the data. "This is like a security blanket for owners, as we don't have to worry about lost or stolen records in the event of fire, theft or computer error," Siflinger said. "Having the provider host your server also means that it provides you with instant upgrades. The provider usually does this overnight."

Scheuerman said, "You probably will have to pay a monthly fee for this, but it is definitely worth it."

A final factor that helped Siflinger choose his software provider is how the provider adapts the software to meet its users' stated needs. The software company he chose has a user group that works like a focus group and helps the software company to determine what the users need and want in their product.

"Almost all of the time, the company is very reactive to what users say they want, and we see the changes or additions made to the software," Siflinger said.

Slow Rolling

Like any new product, rolling out the software can come with a few aggravations, Burke said.

"When we first rolled out the software, we naively expected it to take about six months to get all of our staff accustomed to the program," Burke said. "Instead, it took about 15 months before we were totally up and running."

Burke said that when CBM Group purchased the software, it was switching from a basically manual system to a high-tech one. Some of his onsite staff had never turned on a computer or used a mouse before, he said. So some of the training sessions had to be basic.

"In fact, we had two or three managers who were so distrustful of the computer on their desks that they hung onto their paper system for weeks after we were fully automated," Burke said.

For Wingate Management, the roll out was smoother, Siflinger said. Wingate had first used a DOS and then a Windows version, so learning the Web-based version and all its new capabilities didn't present a problem, he said.

After about 18 months, Shelter Group completed the roll out of a Web-based property management software system.

"We had a fairly significant learning curve, as our staff had been using multiple systems to do different tasks," Lampher said. "Since completing the roll out, our feedback from staff has been extremely positive."

A recent e-mail from a staff member who was using the system for the first time to do reports says it all, Lampher said. The staff member gushed that the manual review that used to take her hours was now "as simple as clicking a button."

"Results like this make all of the expense, commitment and hard work required to learn the software well worth it," Lampher said.

What Software Can Do For You

Property management software for affordable housing management has many of the same capabilities of traditional property management software. It keeps track of rent payments, handles maintenance requests and lets leasing professionals input guest card information. But its additional capabilities are what have many affordable housing managers jumping for joy.

Income qualification made easy. To determine income for purposes of affordable housing, managers must factor in child or spousal support payments, disability benefits and other income sources. The software lets them input prospects" various forms of income and then computes whether the resident is eligible for the housing program.

Certifying and re-certifying become routine. At move-in and each year--or sooner if a resident's income changes--managers must certify that residents meet the program's requirements. Where once manual recertification could take up to an hour, with software, managers input income changes or other required status information with immediate results.

Determines amount of rent payment. For tax credit communities, where rent calculation can be particularly complicated, many versions of the software will help calculate the maximum tax credit rent and make allowances for other subsidies or set-asides.

Manages waiting lists according to regulations. Affordable housing management software programs help to manage the waiting list, which federal law requires managers to keep. The program also gives managers a way to ensure staff is properly administering the list.

Transmits program reports. Software programs also help managers comply with government programs' complex reporting requirements. For example, managers can submit HAP (Housing Assistance Payments) payment documentation with a click of the mouse. The software also detects errors before managers submit the reports and because managers complete everything online, they can submit reports immediately to the appropriate agencies.

Tracks compliance with regulations. By monitoring and controlling compliance needs, the software frees managers from worrying about regulations and serves as a daily compliance trainer for staff. For example, if a community requires that at least 15 percent of residents have a disability, the software will raise a red flag if managers try to move in non-disabled residents when the quota hasn't been fulfilled.--M.G.

Mindy Grill is a freelance writer who lives in Melville, N.Y.