Chuck Intravaia

This summer I worked at Specialized Housing, Inc., a company that helps families create independent living spaces for adults with developmental and other disabilities.   Located in Brookline, MA, Specialized Housing has developed and continues to manage several multi-unit homes, which are organized through condominium associations. Specialized Housing developed 14 homes in Greater Boston, and 2 in southern Maine.  

The model for the housing is “home ownership”, rather than rental, with approximately 10 residential units in each home, plus 2 staff live-in units.  The mission of Specialized Housing is to promote independence, dignity, responsibility, and a sense of community for the residents. The residents and their families form relationships, support each other, as well as reach out and function within the wider community.

I was drawn to Specialized Housing both because of my work experience in multifamily housing and for a personal reason.  My wife and I have been blessed with three young sons, and our middle son, Dylan, who is 2, was born with Down Syndrome. We want Dylan to grow up to become the best person he can be – and to be as independent as he possible can.  Although it’s several years down the road, part of my interest in Specialized Housing was to learn about independent living situations and opportunities for Dylan as he reached adulthood.

The home ownership model for Specialized Housing’s homes intrigued me.  I assumed that owners would tend to be more committed and emotionally invested in a property than renters.  I experienced that commitment first hand when I visited several of the properties and met the residents. In addition to the professionalism of the program managers at each house, the residents seemed cheerful and content.  Some residents even went out of their way to conduct personal tours of their homes and living spaces for me as a new visitor. Also, the homes were clean, orderly and organized, which demonstrated to me that the residents were helpful and cooperative with house rules.

However, as with other forms of real estate, the cost of ownership of a Specialized Housing unit is greater than the cost renting a similar unit at a different facility.  Residents and their families purchase the units and pay condominium fees which cover program managers, on-site staff, food and other living expenses. Although some residents receive housing and other assistance, which can be used to offset the condominium fees and possible mortgage payments, the net cost to live in these homes is relatively high.  Most of the families are middle or upper class with the means to purchase the units and keep up with the ongoing costs. Also, when a resident is no longer able to live in the home and needs to move, due to a variety of reasons, Specialized Housing tries to find a suitable candidate to replace that resident. However, there is a limited number of candidates available to replace the resident due to both: 1) Specialized Housing not being aware of potential candidates, and 2) the families of special needs adults not having the means to purchase the unit outright and maintain expenses.

My internship’s main goal was to help Specialized Housing address the concerns of not having available, qualified candidates to replace departing residents through:

• developing contacts and relationships with professionals (attorneys, financial planners, agencies) who could recommend Specialized Housing to client families with a disabled family member who may be interested and financially qualified to move into a home went a unit becomes available
• communicating with local banks who may provide lower or moderate income families mortgage and other funding options for the initial purchase of a unit

Specialized Housing’s contact list of professionals and local banks was limited – so I searched the internet for likely candidates among the professionals in the Greater Boston area who provided “special needs planning” and local banks who referenced mission driven “community service” and “support for local communities” on their websites.   I made numerous telephone calls and sent various emails to attorneys, financial planners, agencies, and local banks.

Fortunately, I was able to successfully connect with several professionals who responded positively to my initial inquiries and requested further information about Specialized Housing to pass along to their client families.  Furthermore, a few local banks noted that they would seriously consider lending opportunities for Specialized Housing units. The team at Specialized Housing was hopeful to develop a long term relationship with a local bank. Such a relationship may be needed to provide finance opportunities for Specialized Housing units which are unique and include certain restrictions that do not fit with traditional lending for condominium units.  

Although some of my inquiries went unanswered, I was very pleased with the overall response.  Also, I was encouraged that many people I spoke with were definitely mission driven – to help adults with development disabilities.  They are part of our overall community. These professionals (attorneys, financial planners, agencies) and local banks were willing to get involved, to make contacts, to provide services and help the families of these members of our community find a unique model of a home that could potentially become an independent and constructive living opportunity.