ocal real estate investors across the country are uniquely
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By specifically focusing on afford - able housing, real estate investors often generate secondary and ter- tiary benefits for the communities in which they operate and are critical to the affordable housing solution as they are on the ground in under- served areas and have visibility into each neighborhood’s unique back- ground, obstacles, and solutions for improvement. They can often shorten the learning curve for the ultimate home buyers with respect to credit improvement and the benefits and opportunities of home ownership. One such investor is Mohin Abedin, who is intimately familiar with the need for affordable hous- ing – and has been committed to a solution since he was 19 years old. Raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey by his father, an immigrant from Ban- gladesh, Mohin grew up seeing low- er income families being gradually pushed out of neighborhoods that for generations served as starting points for minority groups and immi- grants from Asia, Africa, the Carib- bean and Latin America. He espe - cially took note of nearby Newark, a city that has been experiencing a rapid transition from low-income rentals to higher priced units – dis- placing long-standing communities with no path to affordable options or home ownership. Having taken an internship while enrolled at Farleigh Dickenson University with a real estate finance firm, Mohin decided to take matters into his own hands. Not willing to wait, he dropped out of college and started his own home renovation investment business. To date, Mohin has deployed more than $3.6 million to rehabilitate and stabilize 23 homes in Newark, typically for families with an aver- age household income of $44,000
Real estate investors
positioned to help alleviate the sig- nificant shortage of homes available to low- to mid-income families. They work closely with private lenders and capital providers who enable and encourage the delivery of updated affordable housing. The severe lack of quality afford- able housing in the U.S. market is unmistakable. A National Association of Realtors report shows new hous- ing construction in the U.S. over the past 20 years fell 5.5 million units below historical levels, and in the past decade, new home construction fell 6.8 million units short of what is needed to meet household forma- tion growth and normal reductions to housing inventory. The data also shows that for every 100 low-income households, there are only 37 afford- able and available rental homes. While the pressure placed on those in need of affordable housing options was already immense, the COVID-19 pandemic only made the problem worse for those in need of affordable housing as the sudden and sustained flight from city centers combined with new migration pat- terns to raise prices on homes that were previously accessible to those with lower incomes. But with challenges come oppor- tunities. Local investors, with their grass roots insight to the local markets are able to meet the hous- ing needs of their communities by improving outdated housing stock, converting industrial and retail prop- erties into residential units, con- verting single-family properties into multifamily properties, and starting new ground-up construction. In turn, they create additional opportunities for members in their communities by hiring local and promoting economic activity in the areas where they invest.
are critical to the affordable housing solution.
(well below the U.S. national average of $78,000). His investment almost doubled property values – from an aggregate of $3.8mm to $6mm with- in an average of one year. But Mohin’s returns are measured in much more than simple dollar amounts, and what sets him apart is his focus on the local community. Mohin understands that renovating previously dilapidated homes can not only have a positive impact on resi- dents and the overall aesthetic of the neighborhood but can also serve as a springboard for broader community engagement, employment, and edu- cation about upward mobility. Instead of looking outside the community to realize higher rent or resale value, Mohin actively seeks out members of the Newark community in need of affordable housing, par- ticularly historically disadvantaged groups such as immigrants and per- sons of color. In most cases, Mohin rents his rehabilitated properties and remains engaged with his tenants as a way to educate them on the process and merits of home ownership. He provides credit counseling, financial planning, mortgage brokering and other services that enable tenants to improve their financial standing to the point where they may remain in their homes as first-time buyers. For each project, he makes an effort to hire locally at every level,
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