TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14th SESSIONS
These sessions all relate to the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA) and
apply to nearly all housing programs; training  provides a detailed review of the impact of the
HOTMA Final Rule on LIHTC properties.
 
HOTMA Sessions (On January 9, 2023, HUD published a final rule implementing The Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA), which was signed into law on July 29, 2016.  This final rule was published in the Federal Register on February 14, 2023, and will become effective on January 1, 2024. Virtually all HUD programs are impacted by the rule, as is the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Program and the Rural Development Section 515 Program. The final rule makes sweeping changes to HUD programs and will have a significant impact on the determination of income for the LIHTC Program. This full-day training, provided by AJ Johnson (AJ Johnson Consulting Services), will explain the sweeping changes made by the final rule and will cover the following areas:
 
Session 1 (9:00 – 10:30a.m.)
Introduction to HOTMA
The Programs That are Affected
New & Revised Definitions
EIV
Consent Forms
Mandatory Deductions

 

Session II (10:45a.m. – 12:15p.m.)
Inflationary Adjustments
Hardship Exemptions
Calculation of Income

 

Session III (1:30 – 3:00p.m.)
Changes to Asset Rules
Revised Income/Asset Exclusions
Student Financial Assistance
Interim Recertifications

 

 Session IV (3:15 – 4:45p.m.) HOTMA HUD & State Agency Panel
HUD guidance has now been released providing a new timeline for HOTMA implementation and compliance. How does HUD and your state regulatory entities advise you to proceed?  Representatives from Virginia Housing, Maryland DHCD, and DC HCD will be joined by April Lasker, Branch Chief, Baltimore Account Executive Division/HUD and AJ Johnson, to share what they know and to answer your HOTMA questions.

 

This day of HOTMA training is a must for all managers of HUD, Rural Development, and LIHTC properties,
and will provide plenty of opportunity for Q & A.

 

 

NOVEMBER 15th SESSIONS

Track A Sessions
Virginia Housing Compliance & Asset Management Regulatory Updates
This informal session will focus on the work life of Property Management staff and Compliance and Asset Management professionals with updates affecting our changing industry, including Virginia Housing’s Compliance and Asset Management monitoring updates, updates on the QAP and Loan programs, new requirements from HUD and the IRS, and other topics affecting portfolio and site management. [Instructor:  Erica Etterling]
 
Thriving Amidst Chaos: Cultivating Strengths in Stressful Times
In a fast-paced work environment where stress often takes center stage, it's common for self-development to take a backseat. However, neglecting personal growth can undermine our effectiveness and limit our potential. Recognizing the importance of nurturing our strengths and leveraging them to make a greater impact is crucial. Today, I invite you to embark on a transformative journey towards personal strength. By prioritizing self-development, we can build a solid foundation that empowers us to achieve our goals and maximize our contributions. It's time to take those crucial first steps towards a brighter, more impactful future. [Instructor: Jason Boron]
 
Workplace Violence Prevention for Multifamily Professionals
On any day, Property Managers may have to handle irate residents, frustrated applicants, and disputes between co-workers.  This session is primarily designed for on-site Management staff and for corporate leaders responsible for their Company’s safety policies.  The instructor will describe and define types of conflict that may commonly occur in multifamily management settings, provide actionable measures employees can take to help protect themselves and deescalate situations before they become violent, and outline recommended workplace safety policies and procedures for property management companies. [Instructor: MPO Allen Perry]
 
Handling Difficult Legal Issues and Risk Management in Affordable Housing
Join Billy Cannon from Offit Kurman for a session that will cover some of the most common issues, pitfalls, and difficulties that property managers encounter in affordable housing. Bring your questions. From marijuana to income certifications to ESAs, no topic is off-limits. Billy will address some common scenarios and how to handle them, as well as an overall review of best practices for risk management and fair housing.  To submit a specific topic or question for Billy to discuss/address, email your suggestion to terry@mid-atlanticahma.org by September 22nd with subject line FC: LEGAL ISSUES [Instructor:  Billy Cannon | Offit Kurman]
 
Track B Sessions
Average-Income Set-Aside - Pros/Cons/Lessons Learned
This 1.5-hour session will cover the IRS Final Regulation on the LIHTC Average Income Set-Aside. It will be presented by affordable housing expert A. J. Johnson and will provide a detailed discussion of the new regulation. Discussion points will include (1) the minimum set-aside vs. the Average-test; (2) the elimination of the “cliff” test; (3) the Available Unit Rule; (4) the timing of unit designations and changing designations; and (5) Average Income and the Applicable Fraction. There will also be plenty of opportunities for Q&A and a review of the election’s advantages, disadvantages, and what we have learned so far. [Instructor: AJ Johnson]
 
Reasonable Accommodations & Modifications
The training will focus on the specific duties and responsibilities of multifamily rental managers with regard to accommodating the needs of disabled applicants and residents. The difference between a “modification” and an “accommodation” will be covered, as will who is responsible for paying for these modifications and accommodations. Multiple court cases will be used to illustrate the requirements of the law. [Instructor: AJ Johnson]
 
Top Ten File Review Findings - How to Avoid/Respond/Fix
Findings during file reviews are generally the result of mistakes in ten specific areas – (1) Failure to properly address tips; (2) insufficient verification of income; (3) unidentified bank deposits; (4) errors relating to income calculation; (5) failure to verify the need for live-in aides; (6) missing affidavits; (7) lack of child custody documentation; (8) mistakes regarding the income counted for full-time students; (9) zero asset households; and (10) zero income households.  This 90-minute session will provide an overview of each of these areas, with recommendations on how to avoid noncompliance that may result in credit reduction. [Instructor: AJ Johnson]
 
Compliance Case Studies
This unique 90-minute session will provide participants with the opportunity to review and solve problems for situations that are common to affordable housing. The training will be split into separate income and asset case studies and will give both new and experienced affordable housing managers and compliance staff a series of challenging problems that will test their understanding of the rules of the program. After students work to solve the problems, there will be an extensive discussion and review of each situation. [Instructor: AJ Johnson]
 
Track C Sessions
What's on Your Multifamily Mind? 
This is a broad session for Multifamily owners, agents, and managers that touches on a variety of different subjects like exploring Special Claims to recapture loss revenue, preparing and responding to MOR findings - when to fight and when to fold, and other developments like waiting list lotteries, mass annual recertification schedules, and applicant preferences owners can consider incorporating into their properties. [Instructor:  Jenny DeSilva] 
 
TRACS 203A - Are you informed and ready for the new TRACS Version being released? 
While HOTMA related updates are crucial and the common focus of today's discussions, there are several other long- overdue enhancements with TRACS 203A the industry has waited patiently for.  In this session, we will discuss the new SSN masking enhancements, the use of new suspension codes, expanded Race and Ethnicity Reporting, unique certification and voucher actions for PBRA Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) contracts, and improved subsidy repayment agreement reporting options.  [Instructor:  Jenny DeSilva] 
 
Maintaining a Finding-Free EIV Master File
Does EIV have you stumped? In this introductory EIV course, participants will be provided a concise overview of monthly and quarterly reports stored in the EIV Master File as well as the Existing Tenant Search. Learn when to print them, what they are telling us and where to store them. Example screenshots make this a superb class for visual learners! This fundamental class will give managers a clear summary of steps to ensure their tenant files and EIV Master File are organized and ready for assessment during an upcoming Management and Occupancy Review. [Instructor:  Jenny DeSilva] 
 
Is there a HOTMA Easy Button Out there?  
No.  HOTMA is a comprehensive shift in leasing operations for HUD Multifamily Properties.  However, as owners embark on implementing HOTMA changes into their applicant selection and eligibility determinations and recertification duties, there are choices to be made regarding voluntary changes, and strategic methods to consider that might make incorporating some of these changes easier for staff and more digestible for residents.  In this session, we will explore some of these strategies to consider to simplify the process as much as possible for all involved. [Instructor:  Jenny DeSilva] 
 
Track D Sessions
Recruiting is the New Marketing
As the competition for talent continues to challenge rental housing, hiring supervisors and recruitment leaders are turning to a creative partner: marketers. Discover how forward-thinking multifamily recruiting and marketing teams are joining forces to solve their staffing challenges. And because recruiting is everyone’s job, we’ll talk about how everyone, regardless of title, can put their creative juices to work to fill your company’s empty seats. This high-energy session features dozens of real-world examples of property management firms’ social media campaigns on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and even TikTok to further their employer brand and attract new employees. Participants will: 1) Explore the importance of employer branding and how it impacts recruitment and retention; 2) Discover the New Recruiting Rules to live by (because the old rules are no longer getting the job done; 3) Dive into employee-generated reviews on sites like Glassdoor and Indeed—another aspect of reputation management that can make or break your recruitment efforts; and 4) Be inspired by real examples of employer success stories—and walk away with a road map for your future recruiting efforts. [Instructor: Kara Rice]
 
10 Steps for Starting New Hires Off Strong
Hiring is hard. When you finally find that new team member, don’t blow it by botching their onboarding experience. Data shows that one-third of new hires don’t even make it to the 90-day mark, which indicates there is significant room for improvement in how we’re orienting and onboarding new team members. If you’ve been burned by a new-hire flaming out before they even made it through a season, you may be reluctant to get too invested in your newest team member. That’s understandable, but it’s also a huge mistake. In this session, explore the most common mistakes hiring supervisors make when welcoming a new team member—and what you can do differently. Participants will: 1) Learn how to get your new hire to be a productive contributor as quickly as possible; 2) Uncover techniques for rapidly building relationships with the team, which is a huge confidence-booster for new hires; and 3) Explore what you can do from the very start to increase the length of time your new hire will stay on the job. [Instructor: Kara Rice]
 
Taming Turnover: Top Tactics for Multifamily Talent Retention
Excessive employee turnover has long been an operational challenge for rental housing companies. In today’s uncertain economy, it’s especially hard to hang on to top performers. Wouldn’t you like to know what it takes to make people stay? Swift Bunny has analyzed the candid responses to thousands of apartment industry employee satisfaction surveys to spot the turnover trends. Attend this session to discover what factors have the greatest impact on an employee’s likelihood to stay with their company—and how to drive down turnover on your team. Participants will: 1) Study industry-specific satisfaction survey responses and learn what on-site teams say drives employment satisfaction—or drives them out the door; 2) Uncover retention drivers for the highest turnover positions, including leasing and maintenance team members; and 3) Take away actionable insights to improved employee retention in your own workplace. [Instructor: Kara Rice]
 
Leading for Loyalty: How to Inspire Rental Housing Teams
Research shows the biggest contributor to how happy or unhappy an employee is with their job is their immediate supervisor. Great bosses inspire loyalty, while less than inspiring leaders can drive teams away. Nobody sets out to be a horrible boss. Yet, about half of workers who voluntarily quit their jobs do so to get away from a manager they don’t respect. What’s going on? Clearly, there is a massive disconnect between many supervisors and the associates they lead. What makes a “great boss” different, and what does it take to be one? It turns out, multifamily teams know exactly what they like about their bosses…and what they don’t.  Participants will: 1) Examine candid feedback found in employee survey data to discover what highly respected multifamily supervisors do differently; 2) Unravel the secrets to earning the enthusiasm, best efforts, and loyalty of the associates you lead; and 3) Walk away with practical, actionable steps to “preventative management” to stop employee turnover before it happens. [Instructor: Kara Rice]
 
 
Lunchtime Keynote Speaker:  Jason Boron
 
KEYNOTE: Tiny Habits, Big Impact
We all aspire to lead healthier, happier, and more productive lives, but often we find ourselves overwhelmed by increasingly fast-paced and demanding workplaces. It is paramount to find ways to prioritize your wellbeing. And it is easier than you think! Small, consistent actions, known as tiny habits, can significantly impact your wellbeing. Motivation can be fleeting and unreliable, preventing you from making the necessary changes. Instead, we will talk about how to spark small actions to make big differences in your work-life, at home, and even in your sense of wellbeing.
 

 

Thursday, November 16th Session

NSPIRE is HERE!
Whether you are an owner, a manager, a regional or a maintenance professional, whether or not you participated in the NSPIRE demonstration project, this extended session is a must-attend timely session if you are subject to NSPIRE inspection (and, PHAs [July 1], MF and HQS/PBV [October 1] are all subject to NSPIRE this year!). Changes abound in the final definitions/scoring and misunderstanding or not having a full understanding of them could have dire consequences when you’re inspected. Are you aware that there are NO LIMITS on point loss?  Attend this session and learn the basic startup actions/steps to take for a successful implementation plan and gain a full understanding of the scoring system and how to make it work for you. Our instructor, Dennis DiBello--COO/Chief Inspector of American Property Consultants--has performed inspections all over the US and Puerto Rico and conducted over 375 training sessions for over 7,000 personnel. . .In this inspections deep-dive session, Mr. DiBello will whittle down the complex NSPIRE protocol into simplified understandable language that will guide your pre-inspection actions to achieve a positive result when the inspectors come knocking at your door! [Instructor: Dennis DiBello]