What Makes a Multifamily Housing Community Work? In Conversation with CHOC’s Property Management and Community Impact Leaders
A strong, resilient housing community includes both the property itself and the people who live within those walls. Stephanie Browning, Vice President of CHOC Property Management, and Terri Smyth Canillo, Vice President of CHOC Community Impact, recently met to discuss how their teams work together to support residents, as well as outside multifamily housing owners and developers.
Their conversation circled a common theme at the core of our mission: What support do our residents need to remain housed and succeed in the long term?
CHOC property management and resident services approach that question from different angles, but their work often meets in the daily life of a community.
Let’s dive in.
From left: CHOC Community Impact Vice President Terri Canillo Smyth and CHOC Property Management Inc. Vice President Stephanie Browning.
Strong operations and stable residents go hand-in-hand
At CHOC Property Management, Stephanie’s team manages the property’s day-to-day operations, from lease requirements and compliance to maintenance and the financial health of the property itself. She explains that property management focuses on “the four corners of the lease”: what the lease requires, whether residents are meeting those requirements, and how the property is functioning day-to-day.
On the CHOC Community Impact side, the work is focused on what may be happening beyond those four corners. If a resident is struggling to meet a lease requirement, Terri’s team can help identify a barrier and connect that person with appropriate support.
“For Community Impact, the work is really about housing stability,” Terri says. “Housing stability works best in a team environment with property management.”
The partnership between property operations and resident services sets CHOC apart and enables our organization to provide excellent property management and resident services simultaneously, helping families and households become stable and productive. Through the efficiencies of this on-property partnership, the entire community benefits: operations are stronger, properties succeed, and residents succeed.
A new community’s first months set the tone
Operationally, a new lease is a chance to start off on the right foot with residents and welcome them into the community. During lease-up, people move in, are onboarded regarding the expectations of their leases, and begin the process of getting to know their neighbors.
“Lease-up is exciting because it’s when all of the planning finally becomes reality,” Terri says. For Community Impact, it’s a chance to introduce residents to available services, build connections, and learn what support a given community may need.
Those early conversations help the team shape its work around the people who actually live there, rather than assuming every property needs the same programs.
Stephanie sees lease-up as a chance to establish strong operations from the very beginning. When these two divisions coordinate together, they are able to reinforce community policies in a way that helps residents understand expectations and feel connected to their new home.
One partnership, a fuller picture for owners
Because CHOC Property Management and CHOC Community Impact work together and support their combined operations, this collaboration streamlines communication, increases efficiency, and benefits community residents as well as their clients (i.e. outside owners/developers).
Stephanie and Terri describe how this ongoing communication helps their teams understand what’s happening across a community at any given moment, providing residents and clients clear, consistent information. Because both areas work together under the CHOC parent company, Stephanie says, they’re invested in each other’s respective and shared success.
Success is mutually beneficial, which isn’t always the case when an outside third party provides resident services. With CHOC Community Impact and CHOC Property Management working together, the relationship is a true and time-tested partnership designed to support residents, clients, and the overall success of multi-housing communities.
If you’re a multifamily housing owner or developer who would like to engage CHOC Property Management Inc. and/or CHOC Community Impact, please contact Stephanie and/or Terri via their LinkedIn pages (hyperlinked above).
Next month, several CHOC-produced videos of this conversation and individual Q&A’s will be released across CHOC’s website and social media channels - stay tuned!
Founded in 1984, Community Housing Opportunities Corporation (CHOC) is a non-profit affordable housing developer, energy, services and property management provider headquartered in Fairfield, CA; we create and manage equitable communities for individuals, families, seniors, and those with special needs. CHOC believes that economically integrated affordable housing is key to self-sufficiency and achievable with enriching, supportive programs that instill pride in residents, stabilize families, and improve local economies. Visit CHOCHousing.org. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, The Circle.