www.cumberlandlandlords.com
ALOC NEWS
May 1, 2002 Vol. 8, Issue 5
In April we had Bonnie Zembower from the District Court
as our speaker. To continue the court and eviction story we have asked the
Sheriff’s Dept. to send a representative to tell us about their end of the
eviction process. This is not confirmed as of the date of this newsletter. Election of Offices and
Directors At our last meeting Carey Walker was appointed to work
on a slate of new directors and officers and the membership will have an
opportunity to participate in this process at the May meeting. We encourage
all members to attend so that we can vote on this important matter. If you
wish to be considered for any office please contact Carey Walker prior to
the meeting. When purchasing rental properties you should keep in
mind that the MDE may fine you if the property is not registered, inspected
and totally compliant on the day you take over ownership. One of the
requirements in your sales contract should be proof of registration and
compliance with the lead paint regulations before the closing. A number of fines and penalties were recently listed in
a newsletter from the MDE and they include a number of Landlords from all
over the state. As expected a number of Baltimore property owners face
fines ranging from $ 12,500 to $ 35,000 and one in Hagerstown was hit with
a $ 40,000 fine regarding two properties. Allegany County was not left out and the MDE reported
that former School Board member Jodie Gordon and her husband Tim were hit
with a $ 25,000 penalty for not having properties registered, risk
reduction performed and inspections done. The complaint is dated February
6, 2002. We cannot stress too strongly that all units need to be
registered, treated and inspected without exception!! After discussions with the Mayor and the City
Administrator we have finally figured out the problem with billing for
garbage collection. According to the Ordinance passed by the Council the
only charges listed are residential, commercial and industrial. The problem
with the wording is that it does not specifically say that the charges are
to be administered based on the number of families and or rental units. In
conversations we and others have had with the City it was understood that
garbage charges would be based on the number of rental units in a building.
A random check of some rentals reveals that charges are all over the place.
Some charge the flat $ 16.20 charge for commercial, regardless of the
number of units while we found a three unit paying somewhere around $ 26.10
which reflects the single rate times three. Each landlord will need to
check their bills and decide how they want to react. It is our understanding that the Mayor and Council will
make some adjustments to the language to clear up the misunderstanding. Members that attended the April meeting received a set
of sample documents of all the normal eviction, warrant of restitution,
breach of lease and holding over complaint forms. Also included was a
District Court Brochure that explained some of the processes. For those
members who did not attend we are enclosing a copy for you along with a
three page piece that was sent out in the past, but has been updated. This combined package of documents covers nearly all of
the problem areas that you may encounter when filling out forms and going
to court. Please examine this package carefully and come to the next
meeting with any questions you might have. Please note that there
apparently is a different form for rent cases involving mobile home park
rentals, which we were not aware of.
Keep in mind that these forms change infrequently as the court
updates its procedures and if you hold onto these forms for any length of
time (more than a year) they will eventually become outdated. Rental Property
Inspections Dust Wipe Tests/Visual
Inspections 301-777-1369 MDE: Certified Lead
Paint Visual Inspector HUD: Certified Lead
Sampling Technician 9-30-02 Lead Inspections
for Rental Housing Visual Inspections and
Dust Wipes 201 Massachusetts Ave. Cumberland, MD 21502 301-722-8328
3-03
Upcoming
Speakers
MDE Matters
Cumberland
Garbage Bills
Court
Documents
Richard Bonig
Carey Walker
Lead
Abatement - Lead Risk Reduction Rental
Property Maintenance Contractor Telephone
301-729-1086 FAX
301-729-4801 - Pager 301-546-0221 3-30
/ 9-30 VISUAL INSPECTOR MDE
Inspections Lead Dust Wipes LEAD PAINT
SUPERVISOR Telephone/FAX: 301-729-2994 1-30
Highland
Enterprises LLC
Robert Saville
“Excellent Rates”
MPON Meeting in Annapolis
Bill Russell from Frostburg and Jeff Hutter from ALOC
traveled to Annapolis on April 10th to attend the wrap up
session for the Maryland Property Owners Association. The small group in
attendance was definitely basking in the success of defeating HB 1154,
which would have seriously impacted landlords. Unfortunately we expect this
bill or something similar to come back next year with a vengeance. The Lead
Paint Gang will not stop until they have literally bankrupted the private
housing industry. As our meeting was held as the session was winding down
it is difficult to be sure what other bills made it through as well as what
was signed by the Governor. We will give you our take on what happened to a
few of the bills we monitored. HB 1200, which required Home Improvement Contractors to
have lead paint training was defeated. We can understand the feelings of
the contactors but at the same time it decreases the number of trained and
certified contractors which can be a limiting factor when you need to have
lead paint associated work done. HB1167 would establish some exemptions for peeling paint
on outside surfaces if it was found to be lead free. This passed the House
and is supposedly working its way through the system. HB1024, which was sponsored by Cas Taylor, was passed by
the House. This bill involves access to public records. SB672, Nuisance Control – Authority to Investigate and
File a Complaint passed the Senate and House and is supposedly in the
Governor’s hands to be signed. This bill will extend authority to local
health officials to take on certain nuisances. HB182, Commercial Law – Dishonored Instruments – Notice
of Dishonor. This passed the House and makes some minor changes to the law
regarding proof of notices mailed. This is only a partial list and you should probably
check the State’s website for more definitive information on any of these
bills. Overall this was a relatively good year for Landlords
but as we said, we need to brace ourselves for 2003 when we will have some
new Delegates and Senators. It is hard to say what will happen with a new
bunch!
Ann
The Leases and other forms have been upgraded to reflect
Law changes made in recent years and are available now. Please Note
the change in prices!! ALOC has available leases, rental applications and
tenant checklists for sale, at cost, to members. The cost for each item is
as follows: Lease @ $ 0.50
Rental Application @ $ 0.50
Move in Checklist @ $ 0.50 Lead Paint Brochures, both EPA and Maryland and
document receipt@ $2.50 for the set. Document Receipt for MDE and EPA brochures (disclosure)
@ $ 0.25 These forms are kept at Jeff Hutter's office, TWR Comm.
at 549 N. Centre 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. When you call 777-2692 ext 113, you can talk to Pam,
Gary or Sean Please note: We do not keep MDE or City Housing
registration forms on hand. J. Jeff J. Jeffrey Hutter President Carey Walker
Vice President Stephanie Wharton
Secretary J. Jeffrey Hutter
Treasurer Board of Directors Ed Hedrick Milt Sarver Clarence Anderson On Persistence: “Nothing in this world can take the place of
persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful
people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence
and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved
and always will solve the problems of the human race.” Calvin Coolidge May 13, 2002 June 10, 2002 July 8, 2002 August NO Meeting September 9, 2002 October 14, 2002 November 11, 2002 Meetings are held at
the South Cumberland Library on Race and Seymour St. at 7 PM TWR
Communications 301-777-2692 9-30-02 The leading supplier of quality
high speed Internet Access in Allegany-Garrett-Washington Counties and
surrounding areas of West Virginia using K56 Flex modems. TWR provides
other computer services including training, computer repairs, networking,
website hosting and Internet advertising. TWR is an agent for Cellular
One, operates a wide area network with wide area paging and mobile 2-way
radio. Check us out at twr@hereintown.net The price of
ALOC Leases, Lead Booklets and other forms has been increased to cover
higher costs of reproduction as well as the change in format of the EPA
booklet, which takes more paper. A-1 Inspections, Inc. PRE-PURCHASE/PRE-SETTLEMENT INSPECTIONS RESIDENTIAL
AND COMMERCIAL LEAD INSPECTIONS 301-724-5323 9-30 9-30 Credit Bureau, Inc. We have been in the
business of building databases for over 50 years. Let us build one for you!
For those of you contributing rental history, thank you. For those who
haven’t called me, it’s easy. Mike Wright
301-729-5202 5-02
Leases and other Documents
ALOC Officers
Thoughts for
the Month
Meeting Schedule
ALOC FORMS PRICE CHANGES
Please refer to the prices listed above!
PHONE 301-724-LEAD