Property Management at BNCLT: Bringing Care Back Under Our Own Roof
BNCLT has been on a journey in search of the right model for Property Management. One that centers on community governance, strong relationships built on transparent communication and trust, and quality service. We have been humbled by the challenges to pin down a property management model that matches our values and our residents’ priorities. Part of the challenge is that scattered site, small buildings like ours require more capacity than larger buildings. Additionally, we know that the property management industry is facing its own challenges to survive. Organizations like BNCLT, committed to keeping rents deeply affordable, cannot provide the profit margins companies are seeking.
One thing is abundantly clear: whatever we do, our model of property management is only successful when our vision of community governance can thrive. This is at the core of who we are. Today, we announce a big shift: rather than relying on another party, no matter how mission aligned, to perform all of the property management tasks required, BNCLT is now moving to set up full property management operations in-house. This is an enormous change, but we are more ready than ever to make this move.
Bree Herne, our Senior Operations Manager, has been hard at work over the last 9 months to set up vendor contracts, manage capital improvement projects, implement our plans to invest in climate friendly landscaping, continue our weatherization work across our buildings, and hire Derol Reid, our Facilities Stewardship Manager! Since September, BNCLT has taken on all aspects of maintenance work. Derol has come to know all of our residents and buildings, sharing our priority to build relationships and trust, so that our CLT residents can make a call when there’s a problem at their property, and Derol will show up to help.
On March 1st, we will be moving 100% to Self-Management. Our finance team, Adrian Sr. and Adrian Jr. Carrillo, will take on all of the bookkeeping, reporting, and financial diligence responsibilities. They have been working with BNCLT for over 5 years, and know our properties and financials inside and out. They are smoothly transitioning all of the property financials into our own systems. We will also add an Assistant Property Manager at 50% time, Darianny (Dari) Baez, to take care of rent collection, assist residents to access resources, lease up new residents, and other tasks. Bree will oversee our Property Management Department. Meanwhile, Markeisha Moore will continue as Resident Leadership Coordinator, and will work intently with the residents to build our model of community governance, no longer encumbered by disjointed property management. We aspire to continue our build out of a management system that relies on a local workforce, including potentially our own residents, and an eye on opportunities for collective ownership.