After nearly 20 years as a landlord, our President, Jeff Hutter sold his last remaining rental property in September. Our VP Carey Walker presented a plan, approved by the Board of Directors, to the membership to retain Jeff with monthly compensation of $ 100 (approx. minimum wage), which was approved unanimously by the membership in attendance. This will be an independent contractor relationship and will cover most of the duties he now takes care of including the newsletter, running meetings, working with local housing groups and many other items. Attendance at meetings in Annapolis for the MPON or testifying at hearings will be compensated at $ 50.00 per day with reimbursement of mileage at the applicable IRS rate.
Frederick County passed an ordinance in 2002 to mandate the construction of moderately priced dwellings. The city is considering a similar bill that may require a builder constructing more than 25 units to include a percentage of moderately priced units. Oh Boy!!
With colder weather moving in we need to consider external paint waivers that will expire April 1st of next year. Keep in mind that according to our sources, in order to obtain a full inspection certificate in the spring you will not only have to correct the paint, but the work will need to be done by a licensed Supervisor and or contractor who will sign off with your inspector. If you fail to complete the work and have the re-inspection the MDE will notify your tenant that they are living in a unit that does not meet the provisions of the applicable risk reduction standards outlined in the law; therefore making the certificate invalid. Consult your regular inspector for more details.
AC has a full slate of lead courses coming in November and we recommend that all Landlords take this training and get licensed so that you have the option of using the visual inspection method. Check the link on our website to get more details.
One of the major problems we run into as Landlords is determining if a prospective tenant will pay his rent on time or not. Mike Wright with CBC Companies, which supplies credit reports and other background information will be the speaker at our October meeting to go over the process. He will bring us up to date on the many services offered by CBC Companies and will guide us through the interpretation of credit reports, which can be difficult for many of us.
On October 20th our President, Jeff Hutter, met with representatives from the Allegany County Health Department to discuss various aspects of the Lead Program Regulations. The first step was to make sure that both sides understood the regulations. This was interesting because the Health Dept. could not understand why we didn't all get lead free or lead safe certifications! This would certainly eliminate the need for all of those inconvenient inspections! After explaining the costs factors and other misconceptions they came away from the table with a better appreciation of our difficulties.
We inquired about the process for notifying Landlords about lead poisoned children and their procedure is to only notify the tenant/parent if the level is below the 20ugdl threshold. When it is over this level a notice to the Landlord will occur to trigger the Qualified Offer.
We had an in depth discussion about the lead problem and they feel that a large part of the problem is the unfamiliarity with safe work practices when home renovations occur. We supplied them information regarding EPA publications, which will give them a good resource.
We also agreed to sponsor a Lead Awareness Seminar, to be held sometime in March, at Allegany College for Landlords, Contractors, Homeowners, Government Housing Officials and Tenants. We are currently working on this with the Coalition to end Childhood Lead Poisoning. We will keep you informed as things progress.
Rental Property Inspections
Dust Wipe Tests/Visual Inspections
301-777-1369
MDE: Certified Lead Paint Visual Inspector
HUD: Certified Lead Sampling Technician
Lead Inspections for Rental housing
Visual Inspections and Dust Wipes
201 Massachusetts Ave.
Cumberland, MD 21502
301-722-8328
Lead Abatement - Lead Risk Reduction
Rental Property Maintenance Contractor
Phone: 301-729-1086
Fax: 301-729-4801 Pager: 301-546-0221
Visual Inspector
MDE Inspections - Lead Dust Wipes
Lead Paint Supervisor
"Excellent Rates"
Phone/Fax: 301-729-2994
Your prospective tenant is ready to sign the lease, pay his deposit and move in - so what is next? You may have already received the Security Deposit money but typically it all comes together with the signing of the lease and move in. This is also where the game playing can begin! Many tenants who promised that they would have the full rent and deposit will now all of sudden be short of cash and ask you to let them pay the Deposit in payments. Don't fall for this as few if any tenants will ever pay the Deposit in full and it is a pain to keep track of it with the need for multiple receipts. Instead take the Deposit in full and use what is left as a partial rent payment. You can always take them to court if they don't get caught up, whereas you have NO recourse if they don't pay their Deposit as promised. Also don't fall for Tenants demands to use their Deposit as security for a loan from you! Politely tell them to go see a bank or relative, as you cannot touch the Deposit money.
The real fun begins when your Tenant calls you and tells you they are moving out in 30 days and that you can go ahead and use the Security Deposit for the last months rent. I usually explain to each new Tenant, when we sign the lease, that this contrary to Maryland law and as such is illegal and I can't do it. Assure your Tenant that they will be entitled to a refund on the Deposit if they pay their rent for the last month and leave the unit in reasonable condition. Avoid giving the Tenant the impression that you may keep their Deposit or that they are guaranteed to get all of their Deposit back as you have no way of knowing this until they have left and you have run an inspection. Don't forget about water bills or other utilities they may be responsible for. If they fail to pay the rent promptly be prepared to take them to court. Keep in mind many Tenants will avoid paying the last months rent so that they can pay the Deposit on another rental unit!
When the Tenant is ready to move out you will need to schedule a walk through with them to determine if there are any damages. If you do not allow this, you will certainly open yourself to a lawsuit. If you are unable to arrange such an inspection within a few days of their vacating, you should send them written notice of a convenient date and time that you will be at the unit for the inspection. If they fail to show you have at least notified them and given them an opportunity. To be continued next month.....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. If you need mare than 5 of each item please call at least 24 hours in advance so that we can make sure we have plenty on hand. Call 777-2692 ext 113 Monday through Friday and you can talk to Pam, Gary or Sean. Please note: We do not keep MDE or City Housing registration forms on hand.
Our President, Jeff Hutter, will be teaching a course at Allegany College in April titled " How to Survive as a Landlord". This will be a two night venue and is tentatively scheduled for April 21 and 22, 2004 from 6-9 PM. The course curriculum is still being worked out and more details will be available in early 2004. Mark your calendars and consider attending these classes to learn Landlord Survival tactics!
Replacement windows, doors, painting, trained in Lead Abatement, Also roofing, porches and decks,plumbing and electrical work. Lets us take care of your lead problems! For more information call:
Rick 301-268-7712
Craig 301-689-6736
TWR supplies quality high speed Internet Access, both dialup and Wireless in the Tri-state area. TWR provides other computer services including training, computer repairs, networking and website hosting. If you have need of storage space check out our self-storage facilities on Necessity St.
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 www.hereintown.net
Some men are alive simply because it is against the law to kill them. ---- Ed Howe
The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart. ---- Robert Green Ingersoll
December NO Meeting
Jan 12, 2004
Feb 9, 2004
March 8, 2004
April 12, 2004
May 10, 2004
Meetings are held at the South Cumberland Library on Race and Seymour St. beginning at 7 PM
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 800-825-6602
J. Jeffrey Hutter - President
Carey Walker - Vice President
Stephanie Wharton - Secretary
J. Jeffrey Hutter - Treasurer
Board of Directors
Clarence Anderson
Steve Jenkins
Bob Saville
Bob Miles