Bettering the Bottom Line
Resourceful Resident Services Programs Provide Cost Savings
Economically challenged families residing in affordable housing often rely on social services to achieve stable housing and increase their financial standing. These services vary from adult education and employment assistance programs intended to locate a job or advance in a career, to supplementary after-school programs designed to provide wraparound academic guidance to ensure scholastic success. However, research also illustrates that resident services in affordable family properties, working in combination with local social services, can reduce rental property management costs. Reductions in turnover and nonpayment of rent have been observed, likely as a result of families becoming more financially stable. This is often the result of forming relationships with a network of reliability beginning with resident services coordinators, and an overall stronger sense of community. This data demonstrates how properties and owners can better their bottom lines, by implementing resident services programs. By comparing family properties with resident services to family properties without resident services, Operation Pathways was able to determine that resident services programs reduced property vacancy losses, legal fees, and bad debts. Our organization’s analysis also shows that Operation Pathways’ residents services programs decrease the number of skips and evictions. These results indicate that 83% of evictions and skips were from households that were not enrolled in resident services programs. This information underscores the importance of resident services programs and their often overlooked and underappreciated value. Resident services programs, like those provided by Operation Pathways, expand opportunities to residents, improve life outcomes for adults and children, allow seniors to age in place, and provide a financial benefit for property owners and management. Resident services decrease the chances of skips and evictions, lower the costs of vacancy losses, legal fees, and bad debts. The evidence is clear, properties where Operation Pathways is present, realize substantial cost-savings per unit, in comparison to those properties that do not provide resident services programs.
Pathway to Financial Stability
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