Possible incentives for subsidy acceptance

Incentivizing landlords/owners/property managers is a big topic these days!  This is a discussion that will be brought up at brainstorming sessions on municipal, county and state levels.  I've given this feedback to city officials in the South Bay and in the North Bay so I can only imagine how many other places talk about this outside the scope of Northern California.

The Mayor of NYC, Bill De Blasio made an attempt to incentivize landlords by offering $1,000 for every homeless person they housed as part of the 'Living in Communities program'.  I'm sure this has worked a few times but the landlords I've talked to said that they wouldn't accept $1,000 for a "long-term problem".  (That's their perspective, definitely not mine.)

I've spoken to countless landlords/owners and I've heard a couple things that they thought would persuade them to accept subsidies.  I still say that the good old fashioned way would be to ask them yourselves, but some people don't know what they want until you offer it to them!  Here is a short list you can bring to your next city council meeting, board of supervisors meeting, etc.:

• Refinancing - Can the government assist in getting a lower interest rate on the mortgage?  Maybe they would save so much long-term that they don't want to turn it down regardless of what they believe their 'better judgement' would be.
• Refurbishing - Is their property in dire need of repair?  Could there be funding for renovation if they contracted to allot their units to the government for rent?
• TOT Tax - This is a tricky one.  Some people say they would like to see it raised, then the money could be allocated to low-income properties that take in these residents.  Some say that it should be accompanied by a steeper tax for property managers that have unoccupied units.  An "un-occupancy tax".  Others completely disagree and say it should be lowered.  It was raised from 6%-14% in the 90's and some property managers that have been in the game for the past 30 years can't get over that.  It's all about the opinion in your geographic area.
• Parking/Zoning issues - Is the property manager having issues renting a room because they don't have enough parking spaces allocated to them?  Would they like to become an SRO but their not zoned for it?  These are things to bring up as well.
• Master Leasing - Can the agency facilitating rent payment do master leasing?  Do they have the ability to rent out a 5-bedroom house as a whole instead of asking a property manager to sign 5 different leases?  It's making it simple for them!
• Petty cash/Flex funds incorporation - Is there funding that can be used for bed bug issues?  Minor repairs cause by the tenant?  This gives property managers peace of mind and they will continue to rent to your clients because of it, trust me!
• Rental Insurance - this is such a great tool that it deserved it's own bullet point.  This would come out of flex funds but the idea of offering rental insurance for tenants is such peace of mind for landlords that it's definitely worth having in the back pocket.
• Doubling deposits - One thing that property managers fear is the time/cost of an eviction.  Doubling a deposit will give enough peace of mind that at least they will have money to cover that along with potential damages.
• Intensive case management - this is an intricate topic all in itself.  Please refer to my last blog.  It identifies all the key points of being an effective Case manager.

I hope this helps in your next brainstorm session!  Cheers!