Adding New Comparisons

Access Rent Reasonableness

On the Main Menu screen, click ADD. The Browse Housing Units screen opens with all Section 8 housing units displayed in a table.

Search For and Select Unit to Compare

Select how you would like to order the unit table from the ordered by drop-down list.

Type your search criteria into the search for field and click GO. The unit table will sort accordingly. (For example, if you select to order by street name and search for “AL,” the table sorts with the first street name with “AL” in its name highlighted.)

Highlight the unit you want to compare to other similar units (proposed unit) and click

. The Comparison Results screen opens. (The fields on this screen are not editable.)

Choose Comparison Criteria

Choose the criteria that you will use to compare the chosen units. The Comparison Results screen is divided into four parts and allows you to choose the criteria that you will use to compare the chosen units:

Proposed Unit: The top area of the screen contains the basic identifying information for the proposed unit.

Required Amenities: This is the left central area of the screen that contains a list of the amenities which the proposed unit has. Check the checkbox for each amenity to indicate that a comparable unit must also have that amenity to be considered a comparison.

Required Match: The right central area of the screen contains a list of seven attributes which a proposed unit can have. Click on the box for each attribute to indicate that a comparable unit must also have that attribute. Also, fill in any filtering fields that appear to the right of the checked items. After selecting the attributes and amenities that are considered important for the comparison, click

Comparable Units: This is the bottom area of the screen that contains a list of all units in the Rent Reasonableness database which match the selected amenities and attributes for the proposed unit. Check the checkbox next to each unit to select that unit for the full comparison process.

Evaluate and Choose Comparable Units

The table of comparable units at the bottom of the screen has several columns, each of which provides information on how well each comparable unit matches the proposed unit.

Match: This column shows how many of the proposed unit’s amenities are in the comparable unit.

Score: This column shows each unit’s comparison score. The comparison score is a numerical representation of how well the comparable unit matches the proposed unit. A score of 100 indicates a perfect match, or, the proposed unit and the comparable unit are identical in terms of amenities and other qualities.

Once you have evaluated the Score Variance, the Gross Rent comparison, and the Rent Variance, narrow down the list of comparable units to a few close matches and check the checkbox for the chosen units. These are the units that will be used in the actual comparison.

To preview the comparison with the selected units, click

. The View Comparisons screen opens. This screen contains a table of characteristics of the proposed unit and every selected comparable unit.

Click

to show several units’ characteristics side-by-side with the proposed unit for easy comparison.

Preview/Print/Save Comparison Report

Click

to preview, print, and/or save the Comparison Report. This also transfers the comparison to the list of comparisons available for preview on the Select Unit for Comparison Review screen (Main Menu screen > Review button).