To public housing and beyond…

Nearly one year ago, MRI presented a vision for the future of public and affordable housing at our users conference in Atlanta. We vowed to create web-enabled software with a world-class user experience to meet the needs of the often-overlooked public and affordable housing sectors.

With the help of a dedicated crew of clients and testers, we have worked hard to make that vision a reality. We recently launched MRI Affordable Housing, a comprehensive property management and compliance solution for affordable owners and operators in the United States. This solution lays the groundwork for the next milestone: the release of MRI Public Housing later this year. We’re excited to bring features to manage a variety of funding programs for public housing authorities, including voucher management, MTW and RAD, that will help agencies work more efficiently. The vision of an open and connected ecosystem within the affordable and public housing industry will become a reality.

Industry expertise on display

As a market leader for public and affordable housing, MRI is proud of the expertise and knowledge that we have to offer. Our team will present multiple sessions at the 2019 NAHRO Summer Conference – here’s a sample of the industry topics that you can learn about at the event.

Systemizing the applicant process
Joe Panto, Director of Sales for Public Housing at MRI will discuss different strategies to simplify the applicant-to-resident process, from online applications to tenant screening. In his session at NAHRO, Joe will take a deep dive on topics such as knowing when to open the waiting list at your PHA, best practices for collecting applications, how to select the right tenant screening partner, and much more.

What does “asset management” mean after RAD conversion?
Elaine Magil and Martha Tai from TCAM will hold a session centered around the question, “What does asset management mean after a RAD conversion?” As PHAs enter into relationships with private investors to own and renovate PHA properties, the conditions of the properties are improving. By nature, however, a PHA’s relationship with its properties changes after a RAD conversion, and along with new responsibilities in oversight and compliance, there are new opportunities to create a better-than-expected outcome.

TCAM services for public and affordable housing

With the acquisition of TCAM, MRI now offers many services that benefit the public housing sector, including asset and portfolio management, transaction oversight, and consulting services. TCAM’s expertise and services allow PHAs to:

• Address new challenges and opportunities for managing RAD portfolios
• Manage risk and on-going reporting responsibilities cost-effectively
• Provide effective and responsive direction to property management
• Free up staff time to focus on recapitalization and community impact

MRI Software is also proud to welcome Allen Feliz, previously a Senior Director of TCAM, as MRI’s new Industry Principal of Public and Affordable Housing, Allen’s extensive knowledge and industry experience will ensure a bright future for MRI’s public and affordable housing solutions.

An open and connected approach to public housing

MRI believes that a comprehensive, flexible, open and connected technology platform is the future of software, and we are thrilled to bring this approach to the public housing industry. Our Partner Connect program now includes FileVision, a partner focused on
delivering paperless solutions, developed specifically for public housing and community development authorities, to streamline the collection, organization, review, storage and retention of documents. Scores of housing authorities have gone ‘paperless’ with FileVision’s Electronic Tenant Record (ETR) Solution, a full-featured document management system that handles your paper-based applicant and tenant processes. PHAs have been able to eliminate file cabinets, streamline workflow, support paperless audits, identify required – and missing – documents, ensure compliance and work from dynamic electronic checklists.

From our expert presentations at NAHRO to our new colleagues and partners, MRI is beyond excited to continue our public and affordable housing journey. We cannot wait for our vision to become reality in the months ahead.

Stay tuned, as more information on our public housing solution will be announced in Anaheim this October at MRI Ascend.