How Technology Could Boost Affordable Housing Supply

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With the housing crisis proliferating throughout California, many experts are proposing solutions, from more development to grants to design solutions. According to Jerry Cohen of AppFolio, technology should certainly be part of the conversation. Affordable housing is among the most challenging properties to manage, and the efficiency created through technology could make it a more attractive asset class.

“Affordable housing programs are incredibly important and are some of the most complex types of properties to manage. Affordable housing programs come with a stringent set of regulations that must be adhered to by property owners and operators—it’s an entirely different beast from conventional residential housing, requiring a great deal more compliance with local and federal guidelines. Luckily, modern technology gives property managers more visibility and transparency when it comes to operations across their affordable housing program portfolios,” Cohen, lead project manager of affordable housing at AppFolio, tells GlobeSt.com. “It helps them to stay compliant with regulations and facilitates better communication, cross-sites. The leasing process, alone, which already has many moving parts, is ten times as difficult to navigate for affordable housing units.”

Technology has a wide-range of benefits that make it especially appealing to affordable housing operators, according to Cohen. “Technology helps expedite some of this, for example, automating parts of the leasing process, like generating income certifications, doing income calculations, tracking set asides,” he says. “Unlike general residential housing, the bar to verify applicant information is much higher and comes with significant cost overhead (third party verification of income and assets, affidavits, credit history, criminal background check). That’s why having the aid of technology to guide some parts of the process is a game-changer for property managers and operators.”

While there are a lot of different technologies, Cohen says that affordable operators should start with electronic systems of record. “Technology acts as the gatekeeper, especially for rules, regulations and the information needed to qualify tenants. Cloud technology allows employees across offices to collaborate remotely during file review,” he says. “Technology allows a compliance manager to create internal controls for onsite staff to ensure applicant selection is always in compliance with regulations, so property managers don’t have to worry about human error or getting fined by the government for mistakenly overlooking a compliance standard.”

These systems don’t only track leasing activity, but all information about tenants and individual units. “Leasing aside, there is so much more information that needs to be tracked year-over-year with affordable housing properties, like updating income and rent limits, utility allowances,” says Cohen. “These are not static numbers, they continuously change. Technology contributes greatly to mitigating risk in this property segment.”