Share This
Related Posts
Tags
Easing Applications
By Mike Sederholm on May 8, 2019 in News
Use of Yardi’s RentCafe Affordable Housing platform is skyrocketing. With more than 250,000 units covered nationwide, affordable housing providers, residents and applicants are reaping the benefits of online applications.
Historically, affordable housing applications could be characterized as a big homework assignment. Interested households would leave a leasing office with an envelope full of papers to fill out and a checklist of things to find. Later, they’d be tracking down a photocopier for their bank statements, paycheck stubs and other paperwork.
RentCafe Affordable Housing replaces that process with a self-service, online app. Applicants can work on their application when they want, and where they want. Instead of a stack of papers, applicants submit PDF’s and digital files. Files are safely stored electronically, not stuffed into a file cabinet. Rather than calling the affordable housing office, applicants can go to online FAQ’s and explainer videos to get their questions answered.
Simply put: online applications are a big change and they’re creating a lot of benefits. Just how successful is RentCafe Affordable Housing in revolutionizing the process? Let’s look at the most up to date usage data from actual RentCafe Affordable Housing clients.
By the numbers
683: the number of affordable housing applications created online every day, as of April 1, 2019. That’s 683 stacks of paper that don’t exist. That’s 683 (at least) applicant intake meetings that didn’t happen. That’s a lot of savings, and it’s happening 683 times every day.
78 percent: the rate of affordable housing applications that are abandoned before submission. This is a scenario where a high rate of abandonment is a good thing. By putting eligibility requirements and application forms online, applicants can self-screen themselves from the process. This statistic proves that nearly 8 in 10 do.
Self-screening is a unique benefit of online applications. It eliminates staff hours that are typically spent working with households who aren’t serious about completing the application process, who are categorically unqualified, or who are just curious about the program but not sincerely looking for housing assistance. That time savings means housing specialists can be much more attentive to the 22 percent of households who complete their application and intend to move through the process.
52 percent: the average growth rate of online affordable housing applications submitted since RentCafe Affordable Housing launched. Online affordable housing applications are trending up, and for good reason. Applicants are just as averse to spending part of their day in your office as you are to having a line of applicants waiting for staff. The process is much more efficient when applicants can do the work when they want and from the convenience of their home.
63 percent: the rate of affordable housing applications completed after 5p.m. and before 8a.m. CST in 2018. Modern life is busy. Applying for affordable housing shouldn’t require households to take time off work to drive to your office and wait for a chance to ask questions that can easily be answered online. This statistic proves that most affordable housing applicants prefer to do the work while your office is closed. RentCafe Affordable Housing makes it possible.
100 percent: the rate of applications that Pinnacle Property Management receives which are complete and ready to review. Online applications aren’t just convenient, secure and easy to process. They also do a great job of requiring applicants to submit everything necessary to qualify for a unit. Outdated paper forms see unanswered questions, time-consuming communication, and missing pieces of eligibility documentation.
RentCafe Affordable Housing proactively checks for non-answers and blank spaces, so housing specialists don’t have to track down missing information. Imagine what your staff could do with the time saved by receiving every application complete and ready for review.
What does it mean for my property?
Paper-based and burdensome housing application processes have become an impediment to effective affordable housing. Today’s generation of renters expects to do everything online, including applying for housing assistance. Qualified households are likely put off from applying for housing because paper-based processes are so difficult to complete. RentCafe Affordable Housing can help ease those impediments and makes the process of applying for housing more open to everyone.
Are you ready to jump in? Call 800.866.1144 and ask to schedule a demonstration. You can also log on to Yardi.com/success to read how RentCafe Affordable Housing is benefitting applicants, residents and housing providers.
