DASH Compliance

It is a beautiful day today.  It is unseasonable warm and the sun is bright and shining.  I should be outside soaking up the warmth, yet here I sit making sure that you are all informed on the most important of issues!  Not to make you feel guilty or anything…

 It is a good day to remind you about the upcoming state SAHMA meetings.  I know that sometimes it feels like you have heard all you need to on the subjects that are addressed at SAHMA, but keep in mind that one of the main reasons for going is to meet other folks. 

Networking.  It is important for everyone, but especially those of us in the small world of affordable housing where all roads lead to each other.  SAHMA meetings are a good opportunity to see what is working for other community managers.  It is a chance for you to get HUD’s opinion on subjects without having to get “written up” and it is a place where you can relax and enjoying knowing that you aren’t the ONLY one having “that” problem.

I love SAHMA meetings and I am very proud to be associated with SAHMA and to be invited to speak at many of the state meetings.  I think that the opportunity to just spend a few days away from your community is valuable.  We all need to be able to take a deep breath and smile.

So, if you weren’t planning on going to your state meeting, take a look at your calendar and see if you can squeeze it in.  And if you are planning to be there…see you then!

I imagine that you are sitting at your desk right now reading this and hoping that I will give you some tidbit of actually usuable information and not drone on and on about some drivel that really doesn’t matter a hill of beans in what you do every day.  Guess what?  Today is your lucky day.  I’m actually going to give you something you might be able to use!

We have all experienced some kind of audit or review…no matter what our job.  As affordable housing managers, what we experience (every year, I might add) has become more than just a simple audit to see if we understand and are performing the responsibilities of our positions to HUD’s standards.  They have become more of a test to identify one small mistake that can be written up to expose our inability.  Shameful, really.

So, I wanted to give you some pointers on getting through these dreadful Management and Occupancy Reviews…better known to all of us as MORs.  Whether you are an experienced manager who has received multiple superiors, or a brand new manager who has never even been though a MOR, there is always something to learn so that you can be better prepared.

If you haven’t already, or haven’t in a while, you need to read the HUD Form 9834…it’s the TEST folks…ahead of time…all you have to do is read it.  Take time to understand it.  This is the best tool we have to prepare for and do well on an MOR.  Take a look at each and every section and examine it.  Answer it ahead of time.  Heck, write the answers down so you have them ready at the time of the review.  In order to be successful in this day and age, we need to all take advantage of every item we can. 

Print this form and add it to your tool box.  I promise it will be worth it.

I have much more to say on the subject, but my mother always told me to leave them wanting more…so until next time…

I facilitated a training class today for MOR Preparation and it reminded me of how much information new managers of affordable housing have to learn.  For those of us “old timers” we tend to rant and rave about the “good old days” when life was so much easier.  Days before 3rd party verifications and EIV.  Imagine starting as an affordable housing manager today.  There is more to learn than can possibly be grasped in a short period of time.  And let’s face it, all we ever have is a short period of time, right?  I can’t explain the blank look on some of the faces that I saw today and I can hardly imagine how frustrated they must be.  Years ago, life was simpler, so housing was simpler…and yes, we’ve all had to learn the new information, but not at once.

So, I urge you to take pity on those brand new managers this year.  If you meet one, take a few minutes and share with them what you actually LIKE about your job.  Give them pointers on things you find that work; from ideas on how to keep trash picked up to a good attorney in town.  Let them ask you questions – at least a few.  And most of all, don’t discourage them with talk about how it used to be so much better when.  Remember when you first started and then imagine learning it all again but all at once.

 Bless their hearts…