Finding Success by Sheltering the Masses

For the city that never sleeps, New York still has a large need for housing where people can rest their weary heads at night — and affordable housing, at that. In 2014, the city had 3,400,093 total housing units, with 64.2% of its tenants renters — making NYC a land of promise in the real-estate world.

For Todd Menowitz of Menowitz Management Corp., the real opportunity now lies in the subsidized housing market, where local competition is low.

"What makes affordable housing more lucrative for us is we know how to navigate through the many difficulties involved in obtaining approval and getting through sticky issues that you currently incur as you acquire these properties. There's usually less competition and more left on the table if you can navigate through those issues. So the upside is it's much larger than a typical, conventional multifamily deal."

Founded 70 years ago by grandfather Harold Menowitz to develop multifamily units, the firm was eventually taken over by his father, Fred, boasting a portfolio of 4,700 properties in Brooklyn and Queens. Today, Todd and his brother Marc stand at the helm — with properties spanning the country.

The firm recently addressed the need for affordable housing in the city of 8.4 million — acquiring subsidized multifamily units with contracts on the property or an attached affordability component. Typically, subsidies from the federal government or local housing authorities are paid directly to the property owner for the management and offering of the affordable unit (contract-based subsidies).

As the firm grows, Menowitz sees its concentration shifting outside of the metropolitan area, where they expect to experience less competition. By self-managing all their properties and building the middle-management tier while developing the multifamily market, he sees the firm acquiring more property in additional locations throughout the country.

"The deals can be tough to find, and it's a lot of work to get through the process of getting approved by local housing authorities. But that makes our competition a little more limited than just acquiring conventional multifamily deals. There's definitely competition, but certainly less than in the conventional arena."

In real estate, acquiring properties and enlarging market penetration is a constant and visible sign of growth. But changes made to technology may not be quite as tangible — yet are just as essential for remaining relevant.

For Menowitz Management Corp., technological innovation means always looking for a way to automate. Marc Menowitz, with a background expertise in field, service, and factory automation, spearheaded the development and implementation of key cell phone processes.

The team continues to look ahead by searching for better ways to automate elements of bill payments and payment processing — including options to automatically log payments to tenant accounts and update tenant ledgers in real time.