Affordable Property Manager

Meritus is comprised of a committed team of commercial and multi-family management professionals that take great pride in being stewards of the built environment, operating assets efficiently, and providing an outstanding tenant experience.

We are seeking an experienced, highly organized, resident-focused Property Manager to oversee the day-to-day operations of a 54-unit affordable senior housing community. This is a hands-on property management position that requires substantially more than conventional apartment leasing experience. The successful candidate will understand how strong property operations, affordable-housing compliance, resident service coordination, financial management, maintenance oversight, and compassionate resident relations work together to create a well-run community.

The community serves income-qualified older adults and includes multiple affordability and subsidy requirements. The property includes units restricted at 30% and 60% of Area Median Income (AMI), as well as 24 Project-Based Voucher (PBV) units. The overall community serves residents age 55 and older, while the PBV program includes an age 62+ requirement.

The Property Manager will be responsible for maintaining compliance with applicable affordable-housing requirements, coordinating closely with compliance and regional leadership, managing the property’s waitlists and occupancy, supporting housing-authority and subsidy processes, maintaining strong financial controls, overseeing maintenance and vendors, and creating an inclusive and welcoming environment for senior residents.

• OHCS-regulated affordable housing requirements.

• Income-restricted housing with units designated at 30% AMI and 60% AMI.

• 24 Project-Based Voucher units administered in coordination with the applicable housing authority.

• Senior housing requirements, including 55+ community eligibility and 62+ eligibility for PBV units.

• Tenant Selection Plan requirements and regulated waiting-list administration.

• Initial certifications, annual recertifications, income and asset verification, and other eligibility reviews as required by applicable programs.

• Rent and income-limit compliance and maintenance of required unit set-asides.

• Fair Housing, reasonable accommodation, VAWA, accessibility, and Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing requirements.

• OHCS compliance monitoring and reporting.

• Resident-services coordination focused on housing stability, housing retention, resource navigation, community engagement, and successful aging in place.

The Property Manager does not need to personally perform every compliance function without support; however, they must understand the programs well enough to identify compliance risks, maintain accurate resident files, obtain required documentation, meet deadlines, coordinate effectively with the compliance team, and recognize when something is incorrect before it becomes a finding.

• →Strong and stable occupancy.

• →Timely completion of annual and other required recertifications.

• →Accurate and complete resident files.

• →Proper maintenance of 30% and 60% AMI unit requirements.

• →Proper administration of PBV units and minimal preventable subsidy loss.

• →Accurate resident and subsidy receivables and strong rent collection.

• →Timely completion of maintenance requests and unit turns.

• →Clean and well-maintained common areas.

• →Positive resident relationships and effective coordination with resident services.

• →Timely and accurate reporting.

• →Strong inspection and audit performance.

• →Immediate identification and resolution of compliance concerns.

• →Consistent communication with regional leadership and ownership.

• Manage the overall daily operation and performance of the 54-unit community.

• Maintain a professional, organized, and welcoming management office and ensure consistent on-site management presence.

• Conduct routine property walks and inspections of common areas, building systems, grounds, vacant units, and resident-facing spaces.

• Maintain strong curb appeal, cleanliness, safety, and overall property condition.

• Identify operational concerns early and escalate significant financial, compliance, resident, maintenance, or safety issues appropriately.

• Maintain accurate property records, logs, resident files, inspection records, and operational documentation.

• Implement company policies and procedures consistently while ensuring property-specific regulatory requirements are followed.

• Maintain confidentiality of applicant and resident information.

• Maintain a thorough working understanding of the property’s applicable affordable-housing programs, regulatory agreements, Tenant Selection Plan, and occupancy requirements.

• Ensure applicants and residents meet applicable income, household, and age eligibility requirements.

• Coordinate timely and accurate initial certifications, annual recertifications, interim certifications or eligibility updates when applicable, income and asset verification, household-composition changes, rent calculations, subsidy documentation, required notices, compliance file reviews, and move-in/move-out documentation.

• Maintain proper documentation supporting income eligibility, assets, deductions, household composition, student status when applicable, and other program requirements.

• Ensure the correct AMI restriction is maintained for each designated unit and immediately identify potential compliance issues that could jeopardize affordability or subsidy requirements.

• Work closely with the company’s compliance team on file reviews, corrections, audits, monitoring visits, reporting, and corrective actions.

• Maintain resident and applicant records in a manner that is consistently audit-ready and inspection-ready.

• Maintain strong working relationships with the applicable public housing authority and other program partners.

• Understand the operating requirements associated with Project-Based Voucher units.

• Coordinate referrals, applications, eligibility documentation, inspections, lease-up, and Housing Assistance Payment-related documentation as applicable.

• Track PBV vacancies closely and work proactively to minimize subsidy loss and vacancy exposure.

• Ensure housing-authority inspections, documentation requests, and required corrections are completed promptly.

• Monitor subsidy payments and work with accounting, compliance, and the housing authority to research discrepancies.

• Understand the distinction between tenant rent, subsidy payments, and contract rent.

• Ensure PBV applicants meet the applicable 62+ age restriction in addition to other program eligibility requirements.

• Administer property waiting lists accurately and consistently in accordance with the approved Tenant Selection Plan.

• Maintain proper applicant order, documentation, preferences, and eligibility information.

• Process applications thoroughly and within established timelines, including screening, income qualification, compliance review, approvals, unit offers, and move-ins.

• Maintain strong documentation supporting applicant selection, rejection, withdrawal, and cancellation decisions.

• Ensure applicant communications comply with Fair Housing requirements.

• Monitor vacancies, notices, upcoming expirations, and expected availability.

• Maintain strong occupancy while never compromising eligibility or compliance requirements to achieve occupancy goals.

• Maintain strong working knowledge of federal, Oregon, and applicable local Fair Housing requirements.

• Apply policies consistently and without discrimination.

• Properly recognize and escalate requests involving reasonable accommodations, reasonable modifications, assistance animals, accessibility, disability-related needs, VAWA protections, language-access needs, and other protected rights.

• Maintain appropriate confidentiality when working with residents, service providers, and outside agencies.

• Ensure leasing, enforcement, and resident interactions are consistent, documented, and defensible.

• Build respectful and professional relationships with residents while maintaining appropriate management boundaries.

• Communicate clearly and patiently with older adults and residents who may have different communication, accessibility, or technology needs.

• Handle difficult conversations calmly and professionally and document significant resident interactions accurately.

• Recognize when a resident issue should be referred to resident services rather than handled solely as a property-management issue.

• Partner with the community’s resident-services provider to support resident housing stability and successful aging in place.

• Help residents connect with available programs, resources, and service coordinators without attempting to act as a social worker or service provider.

• Coordinate use of community spaces for resident programming, workshops, meetings, and activities while protecting resident privacy.

• Understand and actively manage the property’s financial performance.

• Review property financial reports and identify unusual activity, unfavorable variances, or operational concerns.

• Monitor rent collections, resident receivables, subsidy receivables, delinquency, vacancy loss, accounts payable, utilities, maintenance expenses, contract services, and budget variances.

• Collect rents and other amounts due in accordance with program and lease requirements.

• Review invoices for accuracy, proper coding, and completion of work before approval.

• Manage property expenses within the approved operating budget and obtain appropriate approvals before exceeding spending authority.

• Assist with annual budgeting and provide accurate property-level information regarding expected expenses and operational needs.

• Protect property assets and immediately report significant financial concerns or irregularities.

• Work closely with maintenance personnel to ensure service requests are completed accurately and timely.

• Review open work orders and aging regularly and prioritize emergencies, life-safety issues, and resident-impacting repairs.

• Conduct move-out inspections and coordinate unit turns; inspect completed turns before units are approved for move-in.

• Coordinate vendors and contractors when outside services are needed and verify work before invoices are approved.

• Monitor preventive-maintenance schedules and maintain documentation relating to inspections, repairs, warranties, and vendor work.

• Prepare for and support regulatory, housing-authority, lender, owner, and other property inspections.

• Ensure identified deficiencies are corrected within required deadlines.

• Maintain accurate data within the company’s property-management and compliance systems.

• Meet all weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual reporting deadlines.

• Prepare requested occupancy, delinquency, leasing, compliance, maintenance, and financial reports.

• Maintain accurate resident ledgers and supporting documentation.

• Review property data for accuracy rather than assuming system-generated information is correct.

• Provide regional leadership with timely information regarding significant resident, compliance, financial, or operational concerns.

• Prepare documentation for audits, management reviews, and agency monitoring.

• 3+ years of multifamily property management experience, preferably with direct responsibility for day-to-day site operations.

• At least 1 year of direct affordable-housing experience involving income qualification, certifications, recertifications, or regulated affordable units.

• Working knowledge of LIHTC/income-restricted affordable housing concepts, including AMI limits, income qualification, asset verification, rent restrictions, and unit set-asides.

• Experience working with Section 8, Project-Based Vouchers, Housing Choice Voucher programs, or another housing-authority administered rental-assistance program.

• Demonstrated ability to interpret and follow a Tenant Selection Plan and other regulatory documents.

• Experience maintaining resident files and supporting documentation for compliance review.

• Strong understanding of Fair Housing, reasonable accommodation/modification procedures, and VAWA protections in federally assisted or affordable housing.

• Experience administering waiting lists or regulated applicant-selection processes.

• Ability to understand resident ledgers, delinquency, subsidy payments, accounts payable, and property-level financial statements.

• Experience managing vendors, maintenance requests, apartment turns, and property inspections.

• Strong written documentation, organization, and deadline-management skills.

• Professional communication skills with residents, applicants, housing authorities, service providers, vendors, and ownership representatives.

• Ability to maintain confidentiality involving resident financial, disability, household, and personal information.

• Strong computer proficiency, including Microsoft Outlook, Word, and Excel, and the ability to learn property-management, compliance, and housing-agency systems.

• Ability to work primarily on-site Monday through Friday and respond appropriately to occasional after-hours property emergencies.

• Valid driver’s license and reliable transportation when required for property-related business.

• High school diploma or equivalent.

• 3+ years managing affordable housing communities.

• Previous direct management of a LIHTC property.

• Previous experience with a 30% AMI / 60% AMI layered affordable community.

• Direct experience managing Project-Based Voucher units.

• Experience working with Washington County housing programs or another Oregon public housing authority.

• Previous experience managing an OHCS-regulated property and preparing for OHCS, investor, housing-authority, or other regulatory compliance reviews.

• Experience resolving affordable-housing compliance findings and completing annual compliance reporting.

• Knowledge of HAP processes and subsidy reconciliation.

• Experience managing a senior or age-restricted housing community and working with residents age 55+ or 62+.

• Experience partnering with resident-services organizations, social-service agencies, or supportive-service providers.

• Experience serving diverse senior populations, including LGBTQ+ older adults.

• Knowledge of Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing requirements, accessibility requirements, and Section 504 protections.

• Certified Occupancy Specialist (COS), Housing Credit Certified Professional (HCCP), Certified Professional of Occupancy (CPO), or similar affordable-housing certification.

• LIHTC compliance certification through an established affordable-housing training organization.

• Oregon property management experience.

• Experience with Yardi Voyager or comparable multifamily property-management software.

• Experience managing a smaller property independently where the Property Manager must be both strategic and hands-on.

• Associate’s or bachelor’s degree in property management, business, real estate, housing, social services, or a related field.

The ideal candidate is an affordable-housing operator first and a leasing professional second. They understand that running this community exceptionally well requires equal attention to compliance, resident experience, financial performance, and the physical property.

They are comfortable reviewing an income certification in the morning, meeting with a senior resident in the afternoon, following up with the housing authority regarding subsidy documentation, walking the building with maintenance, reviewing invoices, and ending the day knowing exactly where the property stands operationally and financially.

Most importantly, they understand the responsibility that comes with managing affordable senior housing and approach that responsibility with accuracy, urgency, professionalism, compassion, and accountability.