Traveling Compliance Specialist- LIHTC

Fairstead ESC LLC; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical and Dental

Vision Plans

401(k) Retirement Plan

12 Holidays

PTO

Sick days

Life Insurance

Flexible Spending Account

Pet Insurance

Disability Insurance

Discounts

Job summary

Fairstead ESC LLC seeks a Compliance Lease-Up Specialist to lead all compliance efforts during the lease-up phase, ensuring adherence to LIHTC, PBRA Section 8, and other housing regulations. This role collaborates with leasing, operations, and social services, acting as a liaison with housing agencies and site staff to maximize outcomes while minimizing risk.

The position requires 90-100% travel and offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, and retirement plans.

Qualifications

• 3 years of affordable housing compliance experience with LIHTC and PBRA Section 8 knowledge.
• LIHTC Initial Lease-Ups or Acquisition/Rehab Lease Ups experience required.
• COS Certification through NCHM required or obtainable within 60 days of employment.
• Other certifications (HCCP, BOS, AHM) preferred.

Responsibilities

• Oversee compliance during initial lease-up and/or takeover phases with timely documentation and reporting for management and external agencies.
• Process tenant and resident third-party verifications and compliance paperwork.
• Perform detailed initial reviews of lease-up files for accuracy and program eligibility before regulatory submission.
• Establish a standardized review process and QA checks to reduce errors.
• Upload final lease-up files to SharePoint, OneSite/Yardi, and investor platforms.
• Address audit findings with corrective action plans.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

LIHTC & PBRA compliance

Lease-Up experience

COS Certification

Yardi / RealPage experience

MS Excel / MS Office

Strong communication

Travel 90-100%

Education

COS Certification

HCCP/BOS/AHM preferred

Tools

Yardi

Job description

Fairstead is a purpose-driven real estate firm dedicated to building affordable communities across the country. Headquartered in New York, with offices in Colorado, Florida, and Washington DC, Fairstead owns and manages a portfolio of more than 30,000 apartments, including pipeline, across 28 states. As an integrated owner, operator, and innovator, Fairstead brings development, construction, and property management under one unified platform to deliver high-quality affordable housing that serves our residents at scale.

At Fairstead, we believe affordable housing should be thoughtfully designed, professionally managed, and responsibly operated. We seek to create and preserve housing that serves residents while delivering long-term value to communities, partners, and stakeholders.

Fairstead challenges industry norms through our tech-forward, entrepreneurial approach to affordable housing. In addition to core real estate capabilities, we operate innovative service lines designed to improve resident outcomes, strengthen communities, and drive operational efficiency. We embrace digital transformation, data-driven decision-making, and emerging technologies, including AI, to build scalable systems that support sustainable growth, grounded in a culture of entrepreneurship, innovation, partnership, dedication, and integrity.

Fairstead is seeking a Compliance Lease-Up Specialist to join our property management team. In this role, the Compliance Lease-Up Specialist will lead all compliance efforts related to the lease-up phase, ensuring 100% adherence to federal, state, and local housing regulations. This role is responsible for maintaining compliance with all federal and state housing regulations, including Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and HUD Project-Based Section 8. This compliance role will work alongside leasing, operations, and social services teams to guarantee a smooth, timely, and fully compliance lease-up experience, as well as acting as a liaison between site staff, residents, housing agencies, and other stakeholders to maximize economic outcomes, and minimize operational risks.

*This position requires 90-100% travel

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Oversee compliance during the initial lease-up and/or takeover phases, ensuring documentation and reporting are completed on time for management and external agencies.
• Ensure the accurate and timely processing of all tenant and resident third party verifications, and compliance paperwork requirements.
• Conduct detailed initial reviews of lease-up files, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and program eligibility prior to submission to regulatory agencies.
• Establish a standardized review process and Quality Assurance check to streamline file approvals and reduce error rates.
• Ensure all final approved lease-up resident files are uploaded into SharePoint, OneSite/Yardi (as applicable), and investor platforms.
• Ensure timely responses to audit findings and implement corrective action plans as necessary.
• Performs other duties assigned.
• Generous employer contribution for Medical and Dental.
• Employer Paid Vision Plans.
• Company Matched 401(k) Retirement Plan: 100% of the first 3%; 50% of the next 2%.
• 12 paid Holidays.
• 15 days of PTO.
• 7 Sick days.
• Employer Paid Life Insurance.
• Flexible Spending Account.
• Nationwide Pet Insurance.
• Disability Insurance.
• Laser Correction Discount.
• Employee Discounts on appliances, apparel, and more.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• 90-100% Travel Required .
• Three (3) years of affordable housing compliance experience with strong knowledge of affordable housing multifamily leasing and compliance for both LIHTC and PBRA Section 8 programs.
• Must have recent experience with LIHTC Initial Lease-Ups or LIHTC Acquisition/Rehab Lease Ups.
• COS Certification through NCHM required or must be able to obtain within first 60 days of employment.
• HCCP, BOS, AHM, or other widely known affordable housing compliance certifications are preferred.
• Excellent communication skills - written and oral.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including experience managing people (in multiple locations preferred).
• Strong organizational, prioritization, and time management skills.
• Extremely detail-oriented.
• Able to thrive in a fast-paced environment with tight deadlines.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite, including advanced Excel functions.
• Yardi and/or RealPage/OneSite experience (preferred) or ability to learn new software quickly.

Diversity in backgrounds and experiences is key to Fairstead’s success. Being an equal opportunity employer is a central tenet of our philosophy that shapes who we are and the communities we serve. Our goal is to ensure competitive total compensation that is commensurate with experience, location, and other market benchmarks.

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For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Fairstead ESC LLC’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

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