Landlords Association newsletter library |
 |
Volume 1 Number 2 |
LIBRARY |
FROM THE PRESIDENT - Don Schmidt Our last meeting was held on September 25, 1996. I am very pleased to announce that at the completion of the meeting we had added 22 new members to the association. We now have a total of 37 members and expect the number to grow. A strong membership is necessary if our association is to be effective. We are headed in the right direction but need the help of all members to increase our membership.The main subject of the September meeting was legal aspects which face landlords. Just some of the many items discussed were eviction processes, proper rental applications, and garnishment. Our thanks to Ollie Mares for arranging to have lawyers Paul Dieckhoff, Carl Sestric, and Howard Smith as guests to answer the many legal questions. It was a very informative meeting. However, it should be noted, the best policy that a landlord can practice to avoid most of the items discussed is to have good tenant screening. If a landlord has good quality tenants, and he/she is a honest landlord, most, if not all, of the discussed problems go away.The Board of Directors met on October 8 to plan for the association's next meeting. Now that we more that doubled our membership, it was decided that a planning session with the membership be conducted to establish plans and objectives for the future. We acknowledged that the sole purpose of the association is for the benefit of the membership. Therefore the membership must be involved in the planning. To accomplish this we will conduct a "BRAINSTORMING SESSION" during our next meeting. This is an important meeting for our membership and future members.If we are "TO MAINTAIN AND IMPROVE PROPERTY VALUE, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COMMUNITY, TO ATTRACT QUALITY TENANTS AND TO HAVE A SAFE, DESIRABLE NEIGHBORHOOD", we must have effective plans in place to achieve the association's mission.WHAT IS BRAINSTORMING? Brainstorming is a unique method of obtaining ideas freely by all members of a group meeting to achieve common objectives. A session consists of three phases. The first phase consist of a gathering of ideas from the group. The objective of this phase is to get as many ideas as possible. For this session to be successful these guidelines
must be followed.1. All ideas are accepted, absolutely no restrictions. 2. No editorializing or criticizing any idea. There is no such thing as a bad or dumb idea 3. All ideas are treated as being received anonymously. These guidelines set up a penalty free environment that is absolutely necessary for a successful session. I have personal participated in sessions where an idea presented in this first phase seem ridiculous but in the end turned out to be a primary contributor to a successful planning session.The second phase expands on and prioritizes the ideas. It is not unusal for somebody to explain or expand on an idea that they did not present. Remember, these ideas have no persons name attached to them.The Third phase is to establish a plan based on the top priority ideas and to file the lower ideas for future planning sessons.Brainstorming sessions usually have a high degree of success and are always an interesting experience.ITEMS FOR THE FUTURE?? Our next meeting will be the last in 1996. Lets give this planning session top priority so that we can be ready in 1997. If we all believe in this association and its objectives, we have a good documented plan, and we all work together, 1997 will be a good year for the Carondelet/Holly Hills area.WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
|