Launching Our Alternative Property Management System
We bring good news: On March 1st, BNCLT will launch our new property management system! We have learned over the years that traditional property management companies that typically serve big properties might not be a great match for our own CLT model, with scattered site buildings and community governance. This year, we decided to build a property management structure well suited for our CLT model. We developed this system in partnership with Common Good Management Services (Common Good), a national property management company that serves community-owned and -governed housing initiatives like CLTs. And with the support of Community Purchasing Alliance, Common Good and BNCLT were introduced to RNS Facility Services, a facility services management company rooted in Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan.
Under our new model, Common Good will have two Community Service Representatives working directly with our residents one-on-one. Meanwhile, Common Good will partner with RNS to take care of facility services and maintenance. Both Common Good and RNS partners share a commitment to community models, such as CLTs, coops, and the solidarity economy. We are energized as we enter into this new era of CLT property management, and hope the model can be leveraged by fellow Boston area CLTs and other community focused entities.
As we enter this transition, we would like to express gratitude to all of the property management companies we’ve worked with in the past. And we extend a special shoutout to WinnCompanies who graciously stepped in on an interim basis to be our property management company while we were building out our new model with Common Good.
This week, we spoke with Mark Goehring (of Common Good), and Kendall and Cornell Mills (of RNS) to learn more about their respective companies.
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Common Good provides property management services for community-owned and -governed affordable housing organizations, including CLTs. Common Good was formed in 2021 by the company Columinate, a national consulting cooperative that serves a much broader array of mission-driven organizations. As it expands to new communities, including Boston, Common Good is filling a critical gap in the community-governed affordable housing world. Mark explains: “Our organization has a long history serving cooperatives and other community-centered organizations. Our commitment is to treat residents with dignity and respect, and, whenever possible, to serve residents in a way that works best for them. Of course, we are all subject to important laws and rules, but we’ve found that putting residents’ needs and their well-being at the top of the list of all we do makes a big difference.”
Common Good worked alongside BNCLT’s Executive Director Meridith Levy and BNCLT residents over a yearlong exploration of what a property management model for CLTs and their residents could look like. Mark outlined why this partnership is a good fit: “We are honored to serve the network of CLTs in the Boston area. Their work is so important to bring more affordable housing opportunities to Boston residents. My observation and experience is that they don’t do this work in isolation, but are working together with others to develop innovative solutions to extract housing from the investor marketplace so it can become permanently affordable for residents. Our team and culture fits right in by providing a management service that works in concert with the CLT and residents for the best possible outcome.”
At BNCLT, it’s not only important for our property management company to have a compatible external mission; it’s equally important for them to exercise strong relational skills. Our goal, and our commitment, is to be as relational as possible, because our residents are our community. Common Good fits the bill on this internal culture, as Mark illustrates: “Our team has a strong culture of supporting each other. Lots of things come up in this work and our Community Service Representatives learn and build experience every day. We share this among ourselves so each of our team members has the backing of the full team. It’s a powerful mix of empowerment and accountability!”
Common Good will partner with RNS to do the on-the-ground facility maintenance services. BNCLT and Common Good were thrilled to connect with RNS, as a third partner with strong values-alignement. Mark says: “We were looking for a locally-owned team that shares the values of our CLT clients and RNS is a perfect fit! An important part of property management is to ensure timely and quality service and communication with residents. Just like Common Good, this is all ‘business as usual’ for RNS!”
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When RNS started in 2015, their initial idea was to create jobs in their community by developing a worker coop, modeled on Mondragón Corporation in the Basque County of Spain — the world’s largest coop. Today, Kendall and Cornell explained, RNS is officially an LLC, but maintains its “coop feel.” At our meeting, Cornell said: “Glad to hear you are in tune with the new way of doing business. Because it’s really just cooperative economics.”
There are two models within RNS. First, they have in-house employees who do the day-to-day cleaning, maintenance, and light plumbing and electrical work. Second, they have contractors that have more specialized knowledge and skill in a particular area — pest control, HVAC, plumbing, etc. RNS prioritizes working with subcontractors “who are not able to get in certain rooms — minority-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, and veteran-owned businesses.” Rather than paying these vendors an hourly wage, RNS pays them for a percentage of the contract. For them, “the concept is about us passing on the opportunity.”
In addition to working with existing subcontractor companies, RNS has a new program where they train community members on entrepreneurship and starting small businesses. They are also trying to implement a program where they could subcontract residents themselves (maybe even BNCLT residents!) to do particular maintenance work at their own buildings. Cornell emphasized: “It adds to the upkeep, because it’s better for folks to be able to maintain the place they live at. It gives them more of a sense of ownership. That’s a priority. [...] And people need to make money somehow. And if [we can give them work], then that’s what we’re all about.”
Overall, our conversations with Mark, Kendall, and Cornell were illuminating and energizing, and we feel excited to work with two partners that share many of our values — a base in Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan; a commitment to community-based work and collective ownership; and a strong culture of mutual support. We are really looking forward to working with Common Good, and RNS, as we implement our new model this spring!
BNCLT’s Community Service Representatives, who will be the point-people for Common Good, can be contacted as follows:
Aaliyah Crawford, 617-655-6466, aaliyahcrawford@commongoodmanagement.coop
Malachi Hernandez, 857-810-0050, malachihernandez@commongoodmanagement.coop