Community Manager - Affordable Housing

Affordable housing management runs on a different set of rules than conventional multifamily. The compliance layer is thick, the regulatory calendar never really lets up, and residents depend on the property in ways that go well beyond month-to-month convenience. That's the environment this Community Manager role operates in, at a Fairstead property in Boaz, Alabama.

What This Role Actually Involves

The core of the job is keeping a HUD-regulated property running on every dimension at once: occupancy, compliance, finances, and physical condition. On the compliance side, you'll own the full cycle of certifications, annual and interim recertifications included, and you'll need to know the HUD 4350.3 Handbook well enough to write responses to regulatory agencies and work alongside the Compliance Department when residents fall out of lease or program requirements. REAC inspections, Management and Occupancy Reviews, LIHTC reviews, and investor site visits all land on your desk to prepare for and coordinate.

Financially, you're watching delinquency closely, pursuing collections through the appropriate legal channels, monitoring bad-debt write-offs, and attending monthly budget reviews with your regional team. On the maintenance side, you'll coordinate preventive and emergency work with your Building Superintendent, manage vendor bids and contractor quotes, document unit inspections, and stay in close contact with the construction team if any renovation work is active on site.

Resident-facing responsibilities are woven into every week. Move-in and move-out coordination, lease violation documentation, eviction processing when necessary, and handling the steady stream of questions and requests that residents bring to the office all require consistency and a calm, organized approach.

What Qualifications You'll Need

• At least three years of management experience that included supervising a team (property management background preferred, though hospitality, retail, or restaurant management is considered)
• COS or CPO certification is required
• TCS certification if the property carries a tax credit component
• Hands-on experience with EIV, and familiarity with Yardi or RealPage
• Affordable housing program knowledge, particularly HUD-regulated occupancy
• A bachelor's degree is preferred but not required

Where Strong Candidates Stand Out

The compliance requirements here are specific and consequential. A candidate who has personally prepared for or sat through a MOR or REAC inspection carries a real advantage over someone who has only worked conventional multifamily. So does someone who understands how EIV discrepancies get resolved, or who has written a response to a regulatory finding. The technical side of affordable housing occupancy is learnable, but coming in with that foundation means you're contributing from the first month rather than spending it getting up to speed on program rules.

Fairstead operates as an integrated owner and manager with a portfolio across 28 states, which means community managers here have access to centralized compliance and construction resources that smaller operators can't offer. For someone looking to grow in affordable housing management, that organizational infrastructure tends to create clearer paths toward regional or portfolio-level roles over time.