Dos & Don'ts

Don't Perform Full Recertifications When They’re Not Necessary

March 28, 2013    

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) eliminated the annual income recertification requirement for 100 percent buildings. Each state agency, however, may opt to tighten the rule and impose its own recertification requirements. In addition, some owners may still complete annual...

Focus on Resident Retention to Save Money, Paperwork

March 28, 2013    

The paperwork associated with tax credit sites is formidable. Owners and managers must not only deal with paperwork generated from the application process, but also annual owner certifications and submissions of various compliance forms on an annual basis.

Let Prospects Pay Security Deposit by Credit Card

July 15, 2012    

If your tax credit site lets residents pay their rent by credit card, consider letting prospects pay their security deposits by credit card as well, suggests property manager Kristen Morgan. Doing so can increase the likelihood that prospects will sign a lease when they first visit your site,...

Stagger Maintenance Staff's Work Shifts to Add Perceived Site Value

July 15, 2012    

Try staggering your maintenance staff's hours to add perceived value to your site, suggests marketing expert Tracey Hopkins. Maintenance staffs typically work the same hours that residents work, which means that most residents don't see the maintenance staff hard at work to keep the site...

Rent Up to Minimum Set-Aside

March 23, 2012    

An owner can claim only the credits allocated to him by his state housing credit agency. Suppose an owner is in the process of leasing up a brand-new 80 percent tax credit building and the marketing department brings in nine qualified low-income households. Eight of the 10 units must be rented...

Don't Count Same Child as Part of Two Households

March 23, 2012    

Don't count a child as part of two households if her parents live in separate units at your site and share custody. According to the HUD Handbook, you must count a child in a joint custody arrangement as part of a household if that child is “present in the household 50 percent or more...

Don't Allow Commercial Use of Community Room

March 23, 2012    

If your community room is part of the site's basis for tax credit calculation purposes, meaning that the owner counts it as part of the property for which the state has awarded tax credits, don't permit commercial use of this room. To permit this type of use would reduce the amount of...

Don't Round Down to Meet Minimum Set-Aside

March 23, 2012    

Don't round down the number of units you must rent to qualified low-income households to meet your minimum set-aside, warns A.J. Johnson, president of A.J. Johnson Consulting Services. Rounding down may seem like an attractive option because it leaves you free to charge market-rate rents for...

Use Caution When Selecting Pesticides for Bedbug Control

September 27, 2010    

Before buying the first pesticide on the shelf that promises to eradicate bedbugs, check the label, warns the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The agency says that this year's widely publicized bedbug outbreaks across the United States have spawned an increase in the number of...

Safeguard Your Site Against Squatters

September 30, 2009    

Squatting may be making a comeback in the United States. In the 1970s, it became a widespread problem in cities after the housing market collapsed. Nearly 40 years later, high unemployment, rising evictions, and homelessness along with the surge of vacant housing may be contributing to its...

To Find Qualified Applicants, Woo Local Employers

August 31, 2009    

Finding qualified applicants for your tax credit site is a little like dating. You have to spend some time with each candidate before discovering that he's not a good fit—this person is over-income; that one cannot afford the rent, and the next doesn't meet another screening...

HUD Releases EIV Brochure for Residents

August 31, 2009    

HUD has developed a new brochure that outlines the Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) system for residents of Section 8 and HUD-assisted sites in a clear, concise, easy-to-read format. EIV and You may help to ease residents' concerns about what information is available, how their...

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