Driving affordable housing success with asset management services

The affordable multifamily housing industry consists of dedicated professionals focused on the mission of creating and preserving quality affordable homes, within inclusive communities, that support economic security and access to opportunity for all. The affordable rental housing space has faced many challenges, including issues dating back to the Great Recession and the subprime mortgage crisis, which resulted in resource constraints and a severe shortage of housing units.

More recently, the industry has encountered headwinds from operating cost increases (particularly in the areas of insurance and utilities), constantly changing regulatory and compliance requirements, and obstacles for property management staff like stress, burnout, and attrition.

Despite these obstacles, industry continues to weather the storm, supported by a web of stakeholders – developers, construction specialists, operators, capital providers and regulators. Access to the right expertise and tools is a critical factor in driving success and the role of the asset manager is central to navigating these challenges and supporting property management teams while ensuring portfolio health and resilience.

The importance of asset managers in supporting site staff

MRI’s Voice of the Subsidized Housing Operator survey offers insight into the sentiments of affordable and public housing operators. The research report indicates relatively positive sentiments about their work, including satisfaction with the tools they use to do their jobs (e.g., PropTech), but several areas of improvement exist.

Key findings to improve the state of affordable housing property management include:

• Greater focus on compensation and job flexibility
• Investing in technology innovation for younger generations
• Continuing to provide training opportunities in the areas of compliance, finance and industry trends
• Providing PropTech that maximizes efficiency and facilitates communication with residents
• Increasing investment in change management

Asset managers are uniquely positioned to help property managers improve their working conditions and satisfaction and optimize performance – the most important drivers of property and portfolio performance.

The value of asset management services

The work of asset managers requires specialized tasks to support the affordable multifamily housing industry. In a world of limited resources, many organizations lack the resources, expertise, and reliable systems needed to perform comprehensive, high-performing asset management.

TCAM Asset Management, which became part of the MRI Software family in 2018, has proven time and again that its team of experts has the knowledge and experience to drive success for the sector. Joining forces with TCAM has enabled MRI to deepen and expand its subordinate loan, asset and portfolio management services in support of the affordable housing industry, while continuing to uphold and build on the expertise of TCAM.

Moving forward, TCAM Asset Management will be known as MRI Asset Management Services. This highlights the winning combination of TCAM’s deep knowledge of affordable housing with MRI’s broad set of software and services, which manage over half of all affordable housing units in the U.S. MRI provides end-to-end managed services and consulting solutions for financing, development, asset and investment management, property management, and more. Specialized services, such as direct and shadow asset management, subordinate loan administration, and transaction support, will continue to be key offerings of MRI Asset Management Services.

With MRI Asset Management Services, affordable housing organizations can expand their capacity to perform this critical function. MRI helps all types of housing providers, such as:

• Owners, including for-profit and non-profit developers and housing authorities
• Lenders, including banks, insurance companies, city and state agencies and CDFIs
• Equity investors, including banks, syndicators, insurance companies
• Guarantors, including major financial institutions

MRI Asset Management Services take care of the details and analytics so organizations can focus on maximizing value and minimizing risk. Our team monitors and reports on operations and trends to make sure performance stays on track, allowing organizations to:

• Optimize property cash flow
• Cost-effectively manage risk and ongoing reporting responsibilities
• Provide effective and responsive direction on property management
• Free up time to focus on recapitalization and value maximization

A bright future ahead

As a co-founder of TCAM Asset Management, I am excited about the future of MRI Asset Management Services and the value it brings to the affordable housing industry. Our team of asset and portfolio management experts enjoys serving our clients and helping them maximize value and minimize risk.

We look forward to continuing to provide asset management services to developer/owners, investors, lenders, and public agencies nationwide.