Ask about . . . Ownership / Management / Affiliations
Ownership:
Developments and facilities might be owned by:
- Non-profit corporations, organizations, community groups
- For-profit companies, partnerships, corporations
- Publicly traded corporations and companies
- A cooperative
- A public housing authority
- An individual
Sometimes, consumers have a feeling that a "nonprofit" operated development will do a better job than a "for-profit" operated development. In reality, there are good and not-so-good nonprofit developments and good and not-so-good for-profit developments. The type of ownership should not be the primary basis upon which you make a decision to choose one development over another.
Management:
The development's owner can use his own staff to manage the day-to-day operations of the development, or the owner may hire a management firm to operate the development. In some cases, the physical property is managed by one firm and the services are provided and managed by a different provider. Often, a non-profit owner will hire a for-profit manager and service provider.
Affiliations:
Often, churches, synagogues, hospitals, service provider organizations, YMCAs, senior service centers, and community groups will provide financial or philosophical support for the development of a housing project. Sometimes, the housing project will be named after the supporting organization. For some prospective tenants, these affiliations provide a comfort level regarding the potential financial stability and service quality of the housing development.
If the development's affiliations are meaningful to you, you must ask about the amount and type of actual involvement of the affiliated organization because:
- Sometimes the affiliating organization remains actively involved in the development's operation and service-provision decisions and may assume some responsibility for the development's on-going financial stability; or
- Sometimes, the affiliating organization maintains NO sustained active involvement in the housing development's financial affairs, or in their operating policies, or in overseeing the quality of services provided—even though the affiliating organization is listed in the marketing materials and may appear in the development's name.
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