With about a quarter of a million residents across the country, Invitation Homes knows the importance of being a good neighbor. As we are long-term investors in each of the 17 markets where we operate, we are focused on giving back to these communities in tangible ways. This includes hiring local workers, helping to raise home values through significant investment in homes and neighborhoods, and volunteering for local charities. As the country’s largest single-family home leasing company, community engagement is a critical component of the culture at Invitation Homes.
Hiring Local Workers
Invitation Homes creates and supports jobs across the country by hiring local vendors in each of the markets in which we operate. We currently employ approximately 1,100 hard-working associates nationwide, and we hold standing maintenance contracts with hundreds of skilled vendors and purchasing contracts with dozens of suppliers across the country.
Our associates, vendors and suppliers are all vital members of the Invitation Homes team as they help to ensure our residents’ needs are being addressed in an efficient and professional manner. We see these relationships as mutually beneficial. By utilizing local professionals, we are able to address any unexpected maintenance issues on short notice and our associates are able to work in neighborhoods they call home.
Notably, 44 percent of our associates represent an ethnic minority group and nearly half of our leadership positions are held by women.
Taking Care of our Homes and Communities
Part of being a good neighbor means taking care of your own home. We’re steadfastly committed to ensuring our homes are well cared for, which in turn raises home values for others in the neighborhood. We invest an average of $22,000 up front on our homes – ensuring that our properties are up-to-date and help to improve the aesthetic of any neighborhood. Further, in 2018 we paid roughly $285 million in state and local taxes, money that was immediately invested back in schools, roads and other social services.
Community Engagement
Invitation Homes is actively engaged in a broad range of community and philanthropic activities, including those that promote education, improved and affordable housing, and community improvement.
Our team members routinely hold fundraising events for and volunteer at non-profits that serve local populations in need. They show up for their neighbors by gathering and delivering toys to children, serving meals and delivering other supplies to the homeless, packing and delivering meals to serve the undernourished, raising money to fight illness, and penning letters of gratitude to active-duty military personnel.
To help foster an environment of community engagement, we offer each full-time associate up to 20 hours of paid volunteer time each year. In 2018, our employees donated 2,533 hours to non-profits across the U.S., for a total time-value of $75,516. By encouraging employees to take paid time off of work to volunteer for local organizations, we’ve strengthened our relationships with these groups and deepened our ties in the community.
Community engagement is a pillar of our company. We look forward to strengthening our relationship with each of the communities in which we operate and continuing to help give back in a meaningful way. It’s just one of the ways we are America’s premier home leasing company.