Recently, we had the opportunity to interview David Ogunsanya, the Program and Stewardship Manager at City First Homes, Inc. City First Homes is a nonprofit that helps make home ownership more affordable. City First Homes lowers the barrier to homes and becomes a stepping-stone to homeownership.
Briefly tell us about yourself and how you use Homekeeper to quantify the impact of City First Homes.
I had spent two years managing all of the loan and transaction deadlines and paperwork using an Excel spreadsheet before switching to HomeKeeper. HomeKeeper is a Salesforce based system designed specifically for Affordable Housing organizations. We use it to maintain accurate and complete records of all the homes in our portfolio, and any deadlines related to transactions. Currently, I am managing a little over 120 units in HomeKeeper and have been using it for the better part of two years.
With HomeKeeper, I can easily:
- Access accurate demographics & homeowner income data
- Track communication with homeowners
- Track the number of closing, the refinances or resales for every quarter or calendar year
- Track property inspections
- Track that our portfolio average meets the target of 80% area medium income in DC
HomeKeeper has become “an indispensable application” for us. We no longer have multiple spreadsheets managing all the information.
Since adoption, HomeKeeper has become “an indispensable application” for us. We no longer have multiple spreadsheets managing all the information. It has simplified our operation with more accurate real-time information. The data was useful for identifying gaps in our investment side and has lead to partnerships that impact our targeted demographics.
Do you find yourself using HomeKeeper more, less, or pretty much as expected? Much, much more. I use the service and property views everyday.
- Service view is useful for tracking every homeowners income, AMI and housing needs and preferences.
- Property view gives you a quick snapshot of purchased price, the location they are in and the condition they are in.
- “Edit in View” is a real plus, it saves time not having to go into the files.
Would you purchase HomeKeeper again if you could do it all over again? Absolutely.