ALOC NEWS
| January 2 , 2001 | Associated
Landlords of the Cumberland Area ALOC Phone (301) 759-0530 P.O. Box 1867 |
Vol. 7, Issue 1 |
|
New Members and Dues Recently
in the newspaper an article described the possibility that
access to court records could be severely restricted. The
Court of Appeals was slated to act on the proposed policy
in 200 I. MDE Surveys The MDE recently mailed out survey forms to various property owner groups and ALOC received one that we filled out and returned. The MDE is preparing to design a new system for the Lead Poisoning Prevention Program that would probably be accessible via the Internet and would allow fee payments to be made electronically using credit cards, debit cards or direct checking account withdrawal. Some of the questions were very interesting and one in particular (Do you have suggestions for methods of monitoring occupancy turnover?) gives us a glimpse into what we can expect in the future! We can soon expect the MDE to move beyond the enforcement of registration requirements to turnover inspections, so be prepared! The
most interesting question was (Would you prefer making electronic
payments by a direct automatic withdrawal from your checking
account?). We, of course answered no!! Any citizen of this
country who would allow any government agency direct access
to withdraw from their account has got be a few quarts shy
of a full gallon. Personally I would burn all of my money
before I would I'm from the government and I'm here to help you! Yeah right and I've got some swampland in Arizona to sell you cheap! MDE Renewal All members should have received their renewal forms from the MDE and they are due before the end of the year 2000. If you have not received your forms you should contact the MDE immediately to avoid fines for not registering! |
New Members and Dues Thanks
to the CBC companies recent mailings we have picked up at
least four new members in the past couple of weeks and we
expect more to join within the next few Keep in mind that ALOC becomes louder and stronger as we add members. When we talk to local government officials, numbers do count! ! On the state level it is a bit different as our delegation generally supports us, unfortunately the ultra- liberals down state have more votes, which makes it difficult to get many common sense issues through the General Assembly with a sign off by the governor. Many of out members have very promptly paid their dues, which we appreciate, as this simplifies our record keeping. Dues can be paid in person at the J anuary meeting and all members who have not paid dues by the 1s1 of the month or so will be receiving another dues notice with this newsletter. Screening Tenants One of the easiest ways to avoid problems with tenants is to properly screen prospective tenants in a slow and deliberate manner. Nothing is worse than having a tenant rush you through the process, they move in and you find that you didn't get ail of the first month's rent, any security deposit or have the unit properly inspected. The first step in the screening process is to have a completely filled out and signed rental agreement. Don't let the tenant rush you, no matter what the reason. When a tenant is in a hurry they are usually only a few steps ahead of eviction or they want to avoid paying another months rent and they plan on giVing their present landlord no notice of moVing. Check the application closely, especially the financial information. Many times you can completely disqualify a tenant because their income/welfare/SSI cannot pay the rent, utilities and allow for food and other liVing costs. This typically occurs because they may have live in mates and or friends or other possibly illegal sources of income. Checking
references can come next for those prospective tenants who
appear to have sufficient income. This can include calling
their present or past landlord as well as using the credit
bureau to investigate further. More next Month! ! ! |
Maryland Property
Owners Notes
|
The City of Cumberland Pennitting Review Committee met in late December with Mayor Lee Fiedler in attendance. As reported last month the group feels that the City Inspectors need more time to work on building pennits and this may be accomplished by making some changes in the general pennit process as well as the City Housing Code. Things are moving forward and some changes to the pennitting process are likely in the spring. We also expect that this committee will soon address the Housing Code with some possible relief by summer! The annual Pace Reception will be held in Annapolis on January 25, 200 1 and the event this year will be jointly sponsored by Alleganyand Garrett County. The event starts at 5:30 pm and includes a wide selection of food and drink. Members of the General Assembly, other state dignitaries, local government officials and many business people from the Mountain Counties will be in attendance. For information regarding tickets and hotels please contact the Allegany County Economic Development office at 301-777-5967. The Maryland Property Owners Network will meet in Annapolis on January 17th to kickoff the 2001 session of the General Assembly. Hopefully by that time we will have some idea as to what kind of goofy laws will be presented this year. We do expect the Lead Paint folks to come up with some new initiatives that will be mainly aimed at Baltimore. Unfortunately in the state of Maryland whatever hits Baltimore will ultimately affect the entire state, right or wrong, good or bad! HAPPY NEW YEAR! ! ! ! |
|
Leases and other Documents The Leases and other forms have been upgraded to reflect Law changes made in recent years and are available now.ALOC has
available leases, rental applications and tenant checklists
for sale, at cost, to members. The cost for each item is as
follows: These forms are kept at Jeff Hutter's office, TWR Comm. at 117-119 Valley Street. Any paid member can stop by and pick up whatever they need, however we ask that you call first with your order so that the forms can be ready and waiting for you. Please
call at least 24 hours in advance as these are made to order. |
ALOC
Officers
J. Jeffrey Hutter President Rose
Selby Vice President J. Jeffrey Hutter Treasurer Board of Directors Henry
Holzshu |
