All Forum Posts by: Sonja Bell

Landlords/Real Estate Investors, did you know that there are nonprofit organizations needing housing for their clients? 

My name is Sonja Bell-Jones. Many of you have reached out to me about my posts on special needs housing. 

As my family invested in property between 2009-2014, we developed relationships with local organizations that sought out dependable landlords who would partner in creating successful environments for their clients.

If you have vacant units and desire to be a change agent in your community, this course is for you! This course is not for "get rich quick", short-term investors. Making an impact takes time and love ❤️

Interested? The link to my course is below: 
Housing Partnerships with Nonprofit Organizations

Al, we can talk about this ALL day!

Our properties and the properties of our partners are in low-income areas, mainly because these properties weren't being represented in our local investing group. Our properties are successful because we go into our properties with a servant's heart. Everybody deserves the opportunity to live in a decent home...period! With that being said, we make our tenants accountable and most of them (not all of them..lol) understand that.

Some of the things that we do for our tenants to enhance community is...
1. Provide a monthly newsletter, highlighting tenant success and our appreciation of them.
2. Inform them about community events- whatever we get word of in the community that will help our tenants, we create flyers and inform our tenants. For example, we're sponsoring a community 3 on 3 basketball event in June which will include our tenants participating and creating their own team. Hopefully they will participate.

Another best practice that we received from another landlord is giving the tenants $5-of their rent if they donate food to a local drive. Prospective tenants can bring in donated food and have a portion of their application fee waived.

To sum it up, it's all about perspective. Do you want to get just a monetary return on your investment or do you want to see your investment's return maximized through changing a life?

I just got involved in special needs housing about 2 years ago. I haven't heard about Sidoti's program but I've heard of other programs that provide online membership access to housing grants. Unfortunately, you have to pay for additional assistance. Waste of time and money.

I agree with Bill. I originally thought that starting a non-profit would be the way to go, but, especially when it comes to applying for city funding, you can partner with a non-profit and get more accomplished. They provide the funding and the need while you provide the expertise in property rehab/management.

Simply visit the non-profits and ask, "How may I help you?" :0)

Some of the non-profits that we've been successful with are the Salvation Army, The Community Alliance for the Homeless, and MIFA (this one is local to Memphis). You'll have to research the local agencies in your area that specialize in helping the homeless.

Regarding the types of housing to purchase, I wouldn't purchase anything until you talk to the agencies about their needs and what their housing vouchers include (if they offer vouchers).

@ Natasha-- From our experience, the req's that non-profits have are not as strict as Section 8; if you ask, they will surely provide a copy of their requirements. They will come out and inspect the unit. If there are items that need to be fixed, they will let you know.

What I did to get our units 100% occupied was really simple, I just googled the non-profits in my area and called every single one (literally) and asked about their housing program. I informed them that we offered rental property and that we would love to support their mission and the phones haven't stopped ringing. Get to know the community and the people who serve in that area. Take part in the events there. We are taking part in Project Homeless Connect tomorrow, offering housing and also small job opportunities (we need a handyman and a resident manager). What better way to support the community than to offer jobs and REAL support, not just making a quick buck. Just some things to think about.

Be blessed, y'all :0)

Ok, here are my replies:

@Jason mak- yes, most of the non-profits have tenants and/or housing in low-income areas. Most of the tenants choose to stay in these areas due to familiarity as well as transportation (i.e bus routes). In my experience, most of the org's that I work with have very little housing resources and yes, the harvest is plenty when it comes to tenants. The biggest issue here in Memphis is that tenants need housing that includes utilities. The tenants either 1. have outstanding balances with MLGW (Memphis Light Gas and Water)and can't get their services activates or 2. can't pay the monthly bill due to fixed income.
Also, org's in Memphis mostly provide temporary housing; we offer permanent housing and their referrals get top priority.Just keep in mind the type of tenants that these org's assist; they are normally not your ideal tenants. The good side of this is that non-profits offer additional support and make the tenants accountable for keeping their units clean/paying their share of the rent (if necessary) to stay in the housing program. Hope this answers your question.

Hi, David!

I work with non-profit organizations and we provide housing for their clients.

What I did, literally, was call the non-profits in my area that offered emergency housing, offer your property as an opportunity for housing, and they will place you on their list. It's always good to call and meet them in person with a flyer of your property and some other form of credibility (tenant references, brochure, etc.).

Also, keep your ears and eyes to what's happening in the community. Read the paper and listen to the news. There are plenty of org's that are looking for housing but 1. The housing in the neighborhoods aren't visually attractive nor provide safety 2. Most of the active investors aren't in low-income neighborhoods.

It's all about relationships. Check out my recent blog post and hopefully it will give you some insight.

Be Blessed!