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If you manage several tax credit sites or one very large one, you may find it hard to get an accurate day-by-day picture of how things are going at each of them. That’s because information tends to get altered in the course of reaching you. For example, maintenance staffers and leasing agents report to their supervisors, who in turn report to their property managers, who then report to you. At each stage, less and less information gets passed on.

In these economic times, you may have experienced an uptick in qualified applicants applying for units at your tax credit site. Unfortunately, a small subset of these applicants is probably reporting false income in an attempt to take advantage of subsidized rent rates. Recently, the Worcester Housing Authority (WHA) in Massachusetts reported nearly $1.6 million in fraud over the past five years. According to the report, from 2008 to 2012, WHA staff and investigators re...

In the November 2012 Special Issue, we covered move-in procedures that make good first impressions on new residents. In this issue, we’ll cover an important step to perform when good residents move out, so you can assess the effectiveness of your management practices.

                Maybe they were perfectly satisfied and moved out for reasons unrelated to your tax credit site—...

Finding enough qualified applicants to occupy your low-income units can be a tough task. And you’ll want to attract enough qualified applicants to be able to choose those who will respect your rules and pay the rent on time.

If you don’t find enough qualified applicants for your tax credit site, the owner may not be able to claim all the credits it was allocated. Worse, your site might not even qualify for the tax credit program, in which case the owne...

Getting top-quality renters through your tax credit site’s office door is tough. But dealing with their worries about living at a tax credit site is even tougher. Some applicants think twice about renting a unit at a tax credit site. They have preconceptions that the tax credit program adversely affects the quality of housing, the mix of residents, and how well the site is managed. As a result, you may lose out on good renters who end up renting at a conventional ...

The Internet has proven to be very beneficial for apartment communities, as it gives prospects the opportunity to shop for apartments 24 hours a day in the comfort of their homes. As prospects continue to do more of their research online, user review and ratings Web sites such as yelp.com and apartmentratings.com play an ever increasing role in how your site is perceived by the public.

Applicants and residents who lie about their income or student status cause big problems for tax credit owners and managers. Many applicants lie about their qualifications for the tax credit program because they think this will increase the chances that they'll appear eligible to occupy a low-income unit and pay below-market rent.

As a tax credit manager, you must be aware of households' composition and be aware of how life changes such as pregnancies among your households or applicants can invoke specific HUD rules when it comes to eligibility, income, and unit size. For example, suppose a married couple applies for a two-bedroom unit at your site.

Unless you get the right documents from the owner, you may not be able to manage your tax credit site effectively. Part of keeping your site in compliance is making sure your staff knows all the requirements and restrictions that affect it. The most authoritative sources for much of this information are forms and agreements that the owner signed before the compliance period even began. Therefore, it's important to get the documents you need from the owner as early a...