The Wonderful Waitlist?

Conceivably, waitlists have been around for a very long time. In primitive days, waitlists may not have been very organized or orderly, but surely our ancestors had to wait alongside others who sought the same things, such as a warm spot next to the fire or their share of a meal. In the 18^th and 19^th centuries, waitlists began to emerge for transportation, such as for the railways and ocean vessels. Throughout the 20^th century, we have seen waitlists used for many different situations, like college admissions, medical transplants, upscale dining experiences, and most importantly, for affordable housing units.

Waitlist management is a vital part to running your business. For one thing, customers who get put on waiting lists dread this experience. Companies who must deal with this aspect of property management have undoubtedly felt the pains involved with keeping an orderly and accurate waitlist, especially if it has multiple dimensions and factors associated with it. Many organizations are able to find a way to manage their customers and the waitlists they are on, even if it’s less than ideal. Some use old fashioned paper lists. Some improvise and use technology such as Microsoft Excel or other computer programs which may not have specifically been developed as a waitlist management tool. Finally, some companies opt for cutting edge solutions to manage their waitlists.

In the affordable housing industry, waitlists are common place. Many state and local agencies have waiting lists established because there is not enough funding to satisfy the needs of the community. Recently, the University of Florida conducted a survey regarding affordable housing waitlists. Nearly all of the Public Housing Agency’s responding to the survey indicated that they had waitlists for their public housing and Section programs. They found that Section 8 waitlists were much longer than public housing waitlists, ranging as high as two years whereas public housing waitlists didn’t exceed six months. There are also waitlists with respect to the housing provider, who maintains waitlists of tenants who are seeking affordable units at their communities.

Fortunately, Bostonpost Affordable Housing has an intelligent waitlist feature that can solve many of these frustrations. The software is able to track many different details regarding the applicant including their name, application date, funding type, disability, and income layer.. In addition, the software can generate compliance statistics based on income layer to ensure that you are meeting minimums/maximums according to the funding program rules that apply. Moreever, move-in transactions are cross-referenced with these statistics to ensure regulatory compliance. Want to learn more? Contact us to see how Bostonpost can help your organization with waitlist management.