NMA Blog

Thank you to everyone who joined us at the NMA and GoSection8 Housing Conference last week in Chicago. To view a gallery of photos from the event, go here. I’d like to extend a warm thank-you to our generous sponsors, GoSection8, HAI Group and HousingHub, COTG, Aurico, and National Credit Reporting, who helped make the conference a truly special event.

It was a real pleasure to enjoy face-to-face conversations with so many enthusiastic and thoughtful members of our industry who appreciate the unique challenges and successes we all navigate, whether new to affordable housing or an old pro. I continue to be inspired by what you're doing to improve the lives of the families in your communities. For some more impressive achievements, go here to read about the honorees of the 2014 NMA Housing Awards.

It's been a while since I've written for the blog, so I wanted to take this opportunity to share some news about what NMA has been up to over the past few months:

• I've been spending much of my time at our Miami office, where we're managing the HCV program for Miami-Dade County's Public Housing and Community Development department.
• We now have NMA Inspections contracts with agencies in 10 states. If you missed Michael Petragallo's recent article about the future of HQS inspections and the new deregulation options, read it here.
• Our calendar of classes for the last quarter of 2014 has just been released. Get more details here.

Finally, if you missed the NMA Housing Conference, we'd love to say hi to you at another event! The NMA team will be attending the upcoming conferences for PHADA (September 7–9 in Washington, DC), AZ NAHRO (September 18 in Phoenix, AZ), and national NAHRO (October 16–18 in Baltimore, MD).

John McKay has been with NMA since 1998, and has served as chief executive officer of the company since 2007. Prior to his appointment as CEO, he was vice president of operations, spearheading the creation of the new consulting and technology services departments. This initiative introduced the first fully functional NMA Performance Portal to the affordable housing market.

Mr. McKay brings his knowledge of housing regulations and industry best practices into his role as project executive on many of NMA’s contracts with large housing authority clients and HUD. He has assessed, analyzed, and provided feedback to some of the country’s most well-run private and public organizations.

I have some very exciting news that I am thrilled to be able to share with you all! Thanks to the success of last year's first-ever NMA Housing Conference, we have pinned down a date and location for the 2014 NMA Housing Conference. Mark your calendars for August 18–19, we'll be traveling to Chicago, IL!

Many of you answered the poll we sent out last year about whether you prefer for the conference to be held in San Diego or Chicago — and an overwhelming majority voted for Chicago. A major transportation hub, we hope by switching gears and moving the conference to Chicago this year, that many more of you will be able to join us.

Registration will open on March 17, and a discount will be given to early registrants. Keep your eye on the blog for more updates.

John McKay has been with NMA since 1998, and has served as chief executive officer of the company since 2007. Prior to his appointment as CEO, he was vice president of operations, spearheading the creation of the new consulting and technology services departments. This initiative introduced the first fully functional NMA Performance Portal to the affordable housing market.

Mr. McKay brings his knowledge of housing regulations and industry best practices into his role as project executive on many of NMA’s contracts with large housing authority clients and HUD. He has assessed, analyzed, and provided feedback to some of the country’s most well-run private and public organizations.

Thank you to everyone who joined us at our inaugural housing conference. It's hard to say what the highlight was, but some memorable moments were the cocktail cruise on San Diego Bay, the inspiring and moving acceptance speeches made by the recipients of this year's NMA Housing Awards, and seeing industry faces both familiar and new engaged in spirited discussion. Here are a few thoughts from the housing professionals who attended:

"It was the best housing conference I have been to. I don't say that lightly, as I have been in housing for 17 years and have been to a few of them. I definitely left better equipped than when I arrived! Thank you for this wonderful opportunity!" —Steve Sapp, Executive Director, Marion Housing Authority

"The NMA Housing Conference was so worth the wait. Great speakers, three tracks of vital housing industry information to choose from, and a needed reminder of why we do what we do. I am looking forward to the next one." —Vivian Garcia, Housing Administrator, City of South Gate

"The NMA Housing Conference was great! I went home and told everyone at the Illinois Association of Housing Authorities Annual Meeting what a fine conference it was. You had very good presenters, the accommodations were spectacular, and the price was right!" —Housing Authority of the City of Marion

NMA's Terry Provance, Nan McKay, and Sammie Szabo presenting a legislative forecast for 2014

NMA's Ray Adair and Ron Urlaub leading the conference's financial strategy track

To view more photos from the conference, go here if you're using Firefox or Chrome. If you're using Internet Explorer, go here to view the photos on our Facebook page.

I'd also like to extend a warm thank-you to our sponsors, GoSection8 and Yardi, who helped make the conference a truly special event.

Of course, all we can talk about right now is the government shutdown, but I'll mention a few other items:

• You've been asking for an LIHTC class, and we heard you. Fundamentals of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Management is now open for enrollment, with upcoming classes in Chicago, Orlando, and New Orleans. Read the agenda here.
• Our calendar of classes for the first quarter of 2014 has just been released. Visit the online seminar calendar here.
• Finally, our annual NMA Customer Satisfaction Survey is now open for your feedback. I encourage you to take the survey — it's quite brief, and it's an invaluable tool to help us better serve your needs in the future.

John McKay has been with NMA since 1998, and has served as chief executive officer of the company since 2007. Prior to his appointment as CEO, he was vice president of operations, spearheading the creation of the new consulting and technology services departments. This initiative introduced the first fully functional NMA Performance Portal to the affordable housing market.

Mr. McKay brings his knowledge of housing regulations and industry best practices into his role as project executive on many of NMA’s contracts with large housing authority clients and HUD. He has assessed, analyzed, and provided feedback to some of the country’s most well-run private and public organizations.

I think we can all agree that the past year has been one of the most challenging in recent memory. Up until the last moment, many of us didn't really think that sequestration would go through. But it did, and our nation's housing authorities rose to the test.

For the upcoming NMA Housing Conference and GoSection8 User Conference, we've brought together a diverse group of speakers and industry experts to provide insight on a broad range of topics relevant to those of us facing budget cutbacks under sequestration, including:

• The impact of the Treasury's cash management requirements on the HCV program
• Managing a public agency with a corporate sector approach
• The growth of technology and its impact on rent determination
• Reporting public housing operating fund activity on the FDS
• How to focus on landlord retention and participation
• Using HUD's two-year forecasting tool for HAP expense planning
• How to improve the quality and value of your services at a reduced cost
• EIV, PIC, VMS: Are these systems costing your agency money?
• Deconcentration and its impact on rent reasonableness
• Are you using asking rents or actual rents? How it affects the open market
• PHA resiliency in the post-sequestration world
• Sustainability: Cost-effective renovation
• The ins and outs of CFP reporting and close-out
• And a legislative update from Nan McKay herself

I hope you'll be able to attend the inaugural NMA Housing Conference, now only a few weeks away — and when you do, come on up and say hi! I look forward to sharing strategies for success.

John McKay has been with NMA since 1998, and has served as chief executive officer of the company since 2007. Prior to his appointment as CEO, he was vice president of operations, spearheading the creation of the new consulting and technology services departments. This initiative introduced the first fully functional NMA Performance Portal to the affordable housing market.

Mr. McKay brings his knowledge of housing regulations and industry best practices into his role as project executive on many of NMA’s contracts with large housing authority clients and HUD. He has assessed, analyzed, and provided feedback to some of the country’s most well-run private and public organizations.