MRI Software has expanded its reach in the affordable housing market with the acquisition of IPM Software, a provider of property management, accounting, and compliance solutions.

David Carner
David Carner

The move furthers MRI’s scale and growth in the key market, said company leaders, noting IPM’s deep affordable housing expertise and market share.

“The affordable housing market is actively seeking innovation, and we are answering the call. We’re now in position to do that across the industry, leveraging modern technologies and an unparalleled team of affordable housing specialists,” said David Carner, senior vice president of residential solutions at MRI Software, in a statement. “IPM’s hundreds of years of combined expertise, strong client list, and robust solutions perfectly complement MRI’s core competencies as we prepare for the launch of our next-generation, web-based, affordable housing solution in the first half of 2019.”

According to the Solon, Ohio–based company, MRI solutions are used to manage more than half of all affordable housing units in the United States.

The IPM deal follows the recent acquisition of several other firms by MRI. In March, the firm announced the acquisition of HAPPY Software, a provider of housing solutions and services for public housing authorities (PHAs). In October 2017, the firm also announced the acquisitions of Tenmast Software and HAB, Inc., providers of PHA and private affordable housing management software. Taken together, MRI’s three public housing acquisitions, in addition to the company’s Affordable Housing Bostonpost solutions, make it a major force in the public and affordable housing software markets.

Headquartered in Texas, IPM Software serves hundreds of clients with its affordable housing property management and contract administrator solutions. IPM’s CornerStone management solution is available as self- or cloud-hosted software and includes customizable modules for rent, payables, ledger, work order, and compliance for Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and low-income housing tax credit properties.

IPM’s CaTRACr contract administrator solution implements core tasks associated with HUD certifications to build and audit vouchers, sends certifications to HUD, and electronically disburses payments to owners or agents. This represents a new addition to MRI’s affordable housing portfolio serving the organizations that create and distribute HUD vouchers that allow individuals to subsidize their own housing due to public and affordable housing shortages.

MRI’s suite of affordable housing solutions extends from property management and compliance to investment management and, now, HUD voucher processing for contract administrators. Four of the five largest affordable housing developers and 22 of the Top 50, as ranked by Affordable Housing Finance, rely on MRI for asset and property management, while each of the 10 largest banks in the United States access MRI’s Investor Connect portal to monitor affordable housing investments, according to the firm.