Assessing Property Management for Affordable Housing

Marc Diaz

This research examines how nonprofit owners of affordable multifamily rental housing choose their approach to property management. It draws on existing literature on property management, insight from leading policymakers and practitioners, and survey responses from NeighborWorks® organizations that participate in the NeighborWorks® Multifamily Initiative. The paper explores how the structural features of a nonprofit’s portfolio and local market, the owner’s priorities driven by its mission and resources, and the capacity and incentives of managers shape the property-management approach that the owner embraces. It encourages owners to evaluate these factors and seek out a range of choices. By considering portfolio size and stage of organizational development, the importance of property management to the core mission, and the quality of property-management options in their local market, nonprofits can align their property-management approach with the financial and mission-driven double bottom-line focus of their organization. The paper also presents findings that describe how third-party managers tend to bring economic advantages of efficiency, while nonprofit managers often better serve owners seeking to organize and empower resident communities…