Spotlight on Affordable Housing

YASC session gives inside look

By Mike Sederholm on Sep 17, 2024 in Events

If you’ve attended a Yardi Advanced Solutions Conference (YASC), you know that Yardi addresses professionals from every property management industry segment, including affordable housing.

The Affordable Housing Spotlight Session during YASC drew approximately 400 people representing providers from across the country.

During the session, Yardi Director of Client Services Jackie Mills-Delling gave attendees a glimpse into Yardi’s vision for the future of affordable housing property management.

Agenda items included a schedule of Yardi software releases, guidance on HOTMA implementation and solution overviews for different types of affordable housing organizations.

What’s Happening with HOTMA?

HOTMA stands for the Housing Opportunities Through Modernization Act of 2016. Through HOTMA, the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development is updating guidelines for several affordable housing programs that will streamline core administrative processes.

Jackie provided HOTMA updates for HUD 50059, Rural Development, HOME and Low Income Tax Credit properties. The updates covered the changes that HOTMA will bring, including new forms, reports, financial calculations and more.

“HOTMA has been an ongoing priority for Yardi as we work with affordable housing providers to get prepared for everything coming their way. YASC is a great opportunity to get a lot of people in the room to have a discussion of the current status of these important changes to the industry,” said Jackie.

Voyager 8

Perhaps the most anticipated portion of the spotlight session was a look at Yardi’s newest version of its flagship affordable housing solution, Voyager 8.

Voyager 8 includes a reimagined user interface for affordable housing professionals called Compliance Manager. YASC attendees saw a demo of Compliance Manager, many for the first time. Yardi expects to release Compliance Manager, powered by Voyager 8, in the coming months.

Compliance Manager centralizes access to affordable housing data, compliance reviews, metrics, communication tools and automated income and asset verifications. With Compliance Manger, users can access each of these tools from a dashboard that does not require switching screens or logging into separate modules.

“The new Compliance Manager interface will enable users to quickly see and access what they use as their daily routine. It truly is a reimagined user experience, and it’s coming soon for Yardi clients,” said Jackie.

Current Yardi Voyager users will be able to access Compliance Manager at no cost and without extensive implementation efforts once they’ve migrated to Voyager 8.

Solution Recommendations

Another exciting portion of the spotlight session provided attendees with a look at Yardi affordable housing solutions that may be a great fit for their current and future needs.

For example, the overview of Maintenance IQ showed how affordable housing providers can enhance their ability to comply with new inspection standards referred to by HUD as NSPIRE.

NSPIRE is a system that assigns affordable housing units with a safety score based on varying levels of hazards identified as inspections occur.

“Maintenance IQ is designed to give our clients an estimated NSPIRE score. That way, they can make sure vital repairs are made to keep residents safe and to prevent findings once federal inspectors are on-site,” said Jackie.

Other products covered during the session included Yardi Aspire, which is a complete learning management solution, Yardi Verification Services which delivers income and asset verifications usually within a matter of minutes, Yardi Case Manager, a ticketing solution for tracking service delivery, and much more.

“YASC offers a great time for our clients every year. But, beyond the fun and entertainment, there really is a focus on educating Yardi clients on our current and future solutions. There’s a lot to learn at YASC, and this affordable housing spotlight session was a great example,” said Jackie.

Interested in attending a Yardi event? Check our events page for information about client events and industry tradeshows happening in the United States and Canada.

If you’d like more information about Yardi affordable housing solutions, visit our website or call (800) 866-1144 to ask for an online demonstration.