Last month we left off with the keeping of a maintenance log and this is a record we should all keep. In fact it probably is not a bad idea to keep an ongoing log on each apartment-tenant covering not only repairs but rental payments, phone conversations and other things done for tenants such as responding to lock out calls, complaints about other tenants, neighborhood problems and etc.
In many cases questions arise about the landlord's response time to various events, especially repairs, and such a log can be invaluable.
The best time to address your response to repair work is when the tenant signs the lease. If you do not have an answering service or other arrangements for after hours service or to cover you when you are on vacation or away for a weekend you need to explain this to your tenant. Some arrangements need to be made in case a water pipe breaks, the sewer line gets backed up, the furnace quits, the roof leaks and etc. In some cases the landlord gives the tenant telephone numbers for service contractors to call if there is a problem.
The point is you need to consider how you plan to respond to repair calls with arrangements for the appropriate contractors available to handle the work. If you plan on doing your own work or you use a handyman you also need to know your limitations so that you can call in a professional when the situation warrants it.
Spend some time planning how you will respond to repair calls from your tenants and have arrangements with service contractors to respond with anticipated response times. We just hope that you do not have to call the plumber during the Superbowl !!
Whether we like it or not when we rent to people we assume a certain amount of responsibility for keeping our rental units properly maintained and the timeliness of repairs can be just as important as getting the item repaired.
We are looking into arrangements for us to obtain credit reports for the membership using the staff at TWR and we need to discuss this at the next meeting. ALOC would have to pay an initial fee of roughly $ 100 and there would be a minimum charge of $ 25 per month. If we use the staff at TWR to obtain the credit reports it would be done via the Internet and could be done in person, while you wait, or via fax. We have to have a release paper signed by the prospective tenant with all appropriate information before we can run the report. The expected cost per report, to cover all of the costs would be somewhere around $ 6.00-7.00 each. This is probably a workable plan as many members have limited monthly needs for reports, which can make it cost prohibitive.
At our last meeting we voted to change our meeting time to 6:30 PM aiming to conclude by 8:30 PM. This is the time we will use for our fall meetings to see what everybody thinks.
We have invited the candidates for the Cumberland City Council to attend our September meeting and inform us about their plans if elected. We have heard from Ed Hedrick and Terry Rephann that they will attend and I assume the other candidates will also attend but I have not received any confirmation from the others as of this date.
For October we have invited Pam Ronan with the Allegany County Health Dept. to give us a presentation regarding the Lead Program administered by her department. We are also extending our meeting to include members of the Frostburg Landlord Association. Plans are still in the works.
In November we plan to have Bonnie from the District Court to attend and update us on changes to the court forms, fees and procedures enacted this year. Copies of the new forms with changes that will take effect in October are attached and explained elsewhere in the newsletter.
We have received many, many calls from landlords and other property owners about notification letters they have received from the MDE. From what we can figure out the MDE mailed out 50,000 + letters to property owners around the state and unfortunately they have cast a wide net that is capturing second homes, non rental homes and post 1950 and or post 1978 residences. From what we can figure out they appear to be using the tax records and in some cases they doubling up on some already registered properties. Hopefully the registration figures will rise which ultimately can take the heat off those of us who have tried to comply with the law.
We continue to receive multiple complaints about the Cumberland HUD program and I would encourage any members who have had problems to write to the Mayor and Council and copy to me. If I can amass enough information I can arrange for an appointment with the Mayor and or others within the City to lodge some formal complaints. Please keep in mind that I need specifics before I can proceed.
As part of legislation passed this year the District Court forms will be changing their rent complaint forms to include space for information regarding MDE registration and inspection of the rental unit involved. A copy of the new form as well as an instruction sheet on the reverse is attached and you should study it over and be prepared to use it in October. We will discuss it at the September meeting.
More Landlord courses are scheduled for the fall with the basic course being repeated at Allegany College on October 20-21st and on November 10-11th an advanced course will follow. For those members who are real estate professionals there will be a special course regarding landlord/tenant law on November 9th at the Country Club. For more details about the courses you can call AC at 301-784-5341 or you can contact Jeff Hutter. An excerpt from the ACM course catalog is attached.