Our Work
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success stories
Stark Metropolitan Housing Authority
organizational and operational assessment
Stark Metropolitan Housing Authority (SMHA) hired Du & Associates to evaluate operational practices and procedures in their Asset Management Department. In addition to interviewing SMHA staff, the D&A team examined departmental work flow processes, reviewed communication strategies, and evaluated existing policies and procedures. The Du and Associates team generated a comprehensive procedures manual, and made recommendations for procedural improvements that follow best practices.
success stories
Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County
asset management
The Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County, MD (HOC) contracted with Du & Associates to provide Asset Management Services. HOC serves the residents of Montgomery County, MD, a suburb of Washington, DC, providing housing for over 14,000 families through several programs including Housing Choice Vouchers, Project Based Rental Assistance (PBRA), mixed finance, public housing, and the Moderately Priced Dwelling Units (MPDU).
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The Du & Associates team assisted HOC with the creation of an Asset Management department to oversee their diverse portfolio, which included public housing recently converted under RAD. Our team also designed and implemented a training program for HOC Asset Managers that included the following modules:
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- Budget Review
- Capital Needs Assessment and Replacement Reserves
- Monthly Metrics, Trends, Ratios, and Variance Analyses
- Compliance Monitoring and Reporting
- Financing Overviews
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success stories
business process re-engineering
Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority
RAD and Public housing repositioning
Housing Authority of the City of El Paso
The Housing Authority of the City of El Paso (HACEP) retained Du & Associates to design and implement a new business model to reposition their housing portfolio as part of the agency's transformation under the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program. HACEP leads the nation in the transformation of public housing, leveraging over $1 billion to create investor driven property management reliant on the highest standards of performance. The portfolio consists of over 8,000 units of housing, including both single and multifamily properties; high rises; townhouses; and garden apartments. The age of each property varies and an aggressive redevelopment schedule is in progress, including new construction and rehabilitation. Programs include Public Housing, LIHTC, PBRA; HOME, USDA Rural Development. The Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP) also supports housing operations with project based vouchers.
The Du & Associates team completed an assessment of operations, created a new business model, revised performance metrics, and made recommendations for transition within 10 weeks of the initial site visit. Recommendations were based on industry best practices, with the analysis of the organizational capacity shaping the plan for implementation. The analysis and recommendations necessarily included review of interdepartmental communications and interactions, e.g. IT, finance, construction/development, and HCVP.
To support the transition to the new business model, the team developed job descriptions for new positions; reviewed and revised existing property management job descriptions; and took the lead in interviewing and hiring staff to fill approximately 30 open positions. The team provided guidance for implementation of strategies to reduce costs, including implementation of Just-In-Time inventory and the closing of the central warehouse, and contracting after-hours maintenance and call management. The team supported acceleration of a Request for Proposal for an enterprise software solution and currently supports property management in the implementation of the selected product.
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The team provided technical reviews and analyses. As an example, mock Management and Occupancy Reviews (MORs) were conducted as well as additional tenant files reviews. Training programs tailored to the needs of the property management staff were successfully designed and implemented. Du & Associates served as general manager for all housing operations, including remote support as well as a scheduled on-site presence to direct day-to-day operations as staff transitioned to new leadership roles. New goals consistent with investor expectations were cascaded to all levels of property management to focus staff and align with the new level of accountability.
Atlanta Housing Agency
RAD and advisory services
The Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA) is the largest largest public housing authority in Georgia and one of the largest in the nation, serving more than 50,000 people.
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AHA engaged Du & Associates to provide consulting / advisory services and staff augmentation in the following areas:
- HUD Programmatic and Regulatory Advisory Services
- HUD Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Program
- Rental Property Oversight Advisory & Consulting Services
- Financial Planning and Performance Measurements Services​
business re-engineering and process improvement
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Du & Associates performed a comprehensive assessment of the Housing Choice Voucher program and the Public Housing program at Hawaii Public Housing Authority (HPHA). This assignment included review of all policies, procedures and processes, PHAS, SEMAP and REAC results, internal and quality control mechanisms, automation and staffing practices through review of documents, on site interviews and site visits. HPHA was provided with a list of weaknesses and recommended corrective actions.
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To complete a portfolio and RAD analysis, Du & Associates reviewed financial, physical and operational information on all AMPs to recommend courses of action for the properties in the portfolio including recommendation of which properties can qualify and benefit from RAD.​
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Hawaii Public Housing Authority
testimonials
"Shifting a government workforce's mentality to a private business model is a difficult thing. That's what Du & Associates has helped us to do.'"
Gerald Cichon
CEO, Housing Authority of the city of El paso