- Don Schmidt
Our meeting in May was different and interesting. It was the first time we had a joint meeting with the Holly Hills Improvement Association. Their organization has about four times the membership of ours and consists mostly of resident property owners in the area. The meeting started with the legislation update from Jim Magnus. The update is as follows:
HB 977 Abatement of Property
HB 1089 Seller Disclosure Report (bill not on calendar)
HB 1205 Reassessment of Real Property from Two to Five years (bill not on calendar)
HB 1209 Interest on Security Deposits (bill not on calendar)
SB 876 Fee for Vacant Housing
SB 629 Property Tax Against Declining Property Values (sent to the governor)
Paul Rauls expressed concern about the possibility of opening another tavern at Bates and Virginia. Do we really need another tavern in that area. . For more information on this matter contact Paul at 832-1153. Brigitte Pidduck announced that there will be a National Night Out in our area on the first Tuesday in August. This program is designed to bring the neighborhoods closer together. I gave a presentation, "Landlords, Who Needs Them". I told them just like any other profession, there are good landlords and there are bad landlords. Our organization consist of good landlords. We provide a necessary service of providing affordable housing. We are the alternative to federal housing. Unlike federal housing we do not cost the taxpayer money. On the contrary, we pay taxes. I also pointed out that landlords also get frustrated over the time it takes to evict a bad tenant.
Alderman Villa was present and discussed such items as the city forestry budget and the number of vacant buildings in the city of St. Louis. He also stated that if the city is required to cut grass and over growth on the property because of neglect, the unpaid bills for their service will be tacked onto the real estate tax for that property. I do not know what the city charges to cut grass, but I suspect you could hire someone to cut the grass for the whole growing season for less. The subject of tax abatement came up and invoked a rather lengthy discussion. What appeared as a WIN/WIN situation in the case discussed was not perceived as such by all residents. Even though the program provided a tax incentive to build new residential housing, which intern improve the overall status of the neighborhood, some felt it unfair because they did not get any kind of tax relief for their house. As this discussion continued I began to understand both sides. It also became clear to me why I would never become a politician. Thank you Matt Villa and keep up the good work.
The last presentation was from the Carondelet Historical Society. It was very informative. Most of us are not aware of the historical significance of the Carondelet area.
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
July of 1998 marks the 2nd anniversary of the Carondelet/Holly Hills Landlord Association.
Who would have guessed that in that two-years we would become the largest Landlord Association in the city of St. Louis. We must be doing something right. In January of 1998 we passed our first milestone as an organization when we renewed our existing membership and added many new members. Now we are approaching our second milestone of electing a new board of directors.
As I stated earlier, the present board's main function was to identify if a need existed for a landlord organization and if so, organize and establish such an organization. The result was the Carondelet/ Holly Hills Landlord Association. The success of the Organization leaves little doubt that the need exists. Some of the board members have requested not to be considered for the next two year term. However, all board positions are open for candidates. I, myself, do not feel it fair to the organization that I remain president because I will probably be out the landlord business before the two year term expires. Our July meeting, we will be identify candidates for all board positions and also attempt to identify committees to assist the board. The board of directors consist of a president, two vice presidents, treasurer and secretary. We will also established the following committees:
Newsletter
Mailing
Phone tree and membership
Legislate
I hope that all members will give serious consideration of becoming a candidate on the board of directors. My personal experience of being a member of the board has proven to be interesting, educational and rewarding. There was always some body to help. The term for a board members is two years. Please give it some thought. If you cannot make the meeting and are interested in becoming a board member, send a note to our post office box number or give me a call.
Rental property is your business. Stay involved and keep informed. Your business will be profitable and a asset to the community.
An organization of our size should be able to make a difference and work towards our mission, "TO MAINTAIN AND IMPROVE PROPERTY VALUE, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COMMUNITY, TO ATTRACT QUALITY TENANTS AND TO HAVE A SAFE, DESIRABLE NEIGHBORHOOD."
Remember, there is no saturation level for knowledge. A knowledgeable Landlord is a good Landlord and an effective business person.
LEGISLATIVE REVIEW - Don Schmidt
Senate Bill 911, the "rebuilding Communities Bill" is written to benefit the City of St. Louis and other parts of the metropolitan area which are distressed as well as other parts of the entire state of Missouri. The City of St. Louis as a whole meets the definition of a distressed community under the bill. This means that all of the incentives for businesses to locate in the city and for the development of market rate housing through Missouri Housing Development Commission would apply throughout the city. Some of the major points of SB911 are:
** It applies to distressed cities or census block groups whose median household income is under 70% of the median household income for the subject area.
** It gives a tax credit for three years to manufacturing and technology companies which, in St. Louis, would offset the city earnings tax and head tax and encourage such businesses to move into the city or to the distressed communities.
** It widens the existing tax credits for investment in small business thereby making a more readily available supply of venture capital investment in small business.
** Expands existing programs, such as BUILD Missouri which targets large out-of-state employers, and certified capital companies which invest venture capital though insurance company tax credits to encourage location of investments in companies in distressed communities. Presently, most of these investments have gone to businesses in locations in outlying areas on the fringe of the metropolitan areas.
** It will help to build market-rate housing by allowing the Missouri Housing Development Commission to finance market rate housing, not just low income housing, thereby increasing the tax base in distressed communities.
These incentives as a whole create a very targeted opportunity for the city of St. Louis and distressed county municipalities to offer attractive inducements to both large and small businesses to locate within the city limits. It would greatly increase the incentives for venture capital and other investment in job producing businesses which locate in St. Louis and would allow the Missouri Housing Development Commission to finance market rate housing, not just low income housing.
Bringing in more investment money into the city that results in providing more jobs can do nothing but help increase the quality of the tenant pool available to residential investment property owners (landlords) such as us. The package of incentives provided in this bill could go a long way toward turning around the image of the city.
I recommend that SB911 be a candidate that you, as a member, contact your State Senator and inform them of your views.
DELEGATING RESPONSIBILITIES TO TENANTS
You may want to delegate some repair and maintenance responsibilities to the tenants themselves, perhaps you live at a distance and the tenant is particularly responsible and handy. Is this a good idea? Is this legal?
By law, housing must be habitable because society has decided that it is unacceptable for landlords to offer substandard dwellings. For this reason, the implied warranty of habitability and the covenant of quite enjoyment cannot be waived by a tenant. Can you delegate to the tenant the responsibility of keeping the premises fit for habitation, Many courts have held that you cannot, fearing that the tenant will rarely be in the position, either practically or financially, to do the kinds of repairs that are often needed to bring a structure up to par. It is always a mistake to try and delegate to a tenant your responsibility for major maintenance of essential services, such as heat, plumbing or electricity or repairs involving the roof or other parts of the building structure. And remember, even inexpensive jobs can have enormous repercussions if done poorly. For instance, replacing an electrical outlet seems simple, but the results of an improper job(fire or electrocution) can be devastating. Think twice before entrusting sensitive jobs to people who are not experts.
The delegation of basic repair and maintenance work to a tenant may not relieve you of liability if the repair is done poorly and someone is injured or property is damaged as a result. Of course, you could always try to recoup your losses by suing the tenant, but your chances of recovery will be slim to none.
The cruelest cut of all could be the ability of the tenant-repair person to sue you if he/she is injured performing the repair tasks. The tenant could argue that you had no business entrusting a dangerous job to someone whose expertise was not proven, and, in some courts nd in front of some juries, he might prevail. So ask yourself, is the savings and the conveyance of having a tenant do your repairs worth the risks?
THE ADVENTURES OF JETHRO
Jethro had this nice three bed room house vacant an was anxious to get it rented. One thing about renting houses, they are either 100% occupied or 100% vacant. Jethro house was 100% vacant.
In comes the Dufus family. They were fairly nicely dressed, they had fairly nice kids, and they drove a fairly nice car. Jethro took their application and read it over. But because he thought they were such nice people he didn't check anything. In fact, he thought they were so nice and got so excited about getting such nice people into his rental house, that he forgot to have them sign the smoke-alarm disclosure.
It wasn't long before the weather got warm. Since the house did not have air conditioning, the Dufus'es bought a used fan at a garage sale. This was one of those square ones that cost under $20 new. You can imagine what they paid for it and why it was being sold at the garage sale.
They took it home and plugged it in using a 18-gauge 35 foot extension cord so it would reach across the room and the rug. It didn't work very well, but they went to bed leaving it running anyway. The Dufus'es daughter said that she saw sparks shooting from it. It wasn't too long before the fan motor froze up and overheated the extension cord, eventually starting a fire.
Neighbors saw the fire and came running over to wake up the Dufus'es. The daughter, who was sleeping downstairs, ran outside, the rest of the family was upstairs. Mr Dufus pushed his son out the upstairs window. The son broke his arm when he hit the ground.
Then he pushed his wife out the window. She broke her ankle and her arm. Now he was ready to jump. A neighbor yelled for him to wait, he would bring a ladder. Dufus couldn't wait. He jumped head first out the window, landing on a concrete walkway, in the process cracking his skull and breaking his jaw. He was some time in the hospital. So far, Jethro's problems caused by the Dufus'es had nothing to do with their not being nice, just stupid.
The smoke alarms, which, incidentally, had worked when they moved in, didn't work when the fire started because the Dufus'es had removed the batteries from all of them (sound familiar?).
Naturally, the Dufus'es sued. The tenants claimed that the house never had any smoke alarms in it. After all, there was no smoke alarm disclosure.
Jethro went through the rubble of the house and found all three smoke alarms, He took them to his lawyer to show that the batteries had been removed. The Dufus'es lawyer said Jethro could have just bought some smoke alarms, put them in a barrel and burned them to make it look like there had been some in the house. Jethro's insurance company hired a private investigator. It didn't take him long to discover what Jethro would have discovered had he done some minimal checking on these nice people.
Mr. Dufus had been evicted several times, once for building a huge trash fire in a fireplace and causing smoke and odor damage in a house. His ex-wife had a restraining order against him. He had also been arrested for leaving a child in his car while he went drinking in a bar. He had been in prison for molesting his step son. Now, Jethro's problems have to do with the Dufus'es not being nice.
Eventually, Jethro's insurance company settled for a very tidy sum. So maybe the Dufus'es were not as stupid as they appeared. But you can bet that the tidy sum will not last the Dufus'es very long. Jethro says, " its just gotten to the point any more where you can't trust anybody. You've got to be so careful and not forget anything." So beware, the Dufus'es are out there.
MICHIGAN THEATER
Tired of seeing the old dilapidated Michigan Theater. Not only is it an eye sore, but it has a negative impact on the value of the neighborhood properties and is dangerous to passers-by because things fall off of the building periodically. Alderman Matt Villa says that the City Of St. Louis is trying to resolve the situation with the owner. Maybe you could help by writing or calling the owner and expressing your concerns. The owner is:
Carlo Piccinino
2643 Ruth Ave.
St. Louis, Mo. 63144
Phone 968-1167
CHECK YOUR CALENDAR
Our next meeting will be on July 20, 1998 at Southern Commercial Bank, 5515 S Grand at 7:00 P.M. This is a very important meeting for all the members. We will be picking candidates for the Board of Directors. Show your support by coming to the meeting. All members are eligible to be on the board. In addition, we will have Sgt. Sloan as our guest speaker. He is a member of the Intelligence & Gang Unit of the St. Louis Police Dept. I have seen his presentation and can tell you it is well worth your time. He will address such items as Gang organizations, how to identify gang members, and gang activities.
NEXT MEETING
PLACE: SOUTHERN COMMERCIAL BANK - 5515 S. GRAND
DATE: MONDAY, JULY 20, 1998
TIME: 6:30 P.M. - 9:00 P.M.
AGENDA TOPICS
6:30 - 7:00 MEMBERSHIP DRIVE/SOCIAL
7:00 - 7:05 WELCOME
7:05 - 7:15 BUSINESS UPDATE
7:15 - 8:00 IDENTIFY/ELECT BOARD OF DIRECTORS
8:00 - 8:40 GANG ACTIVITY IN THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS - SGT. SLOAN
8:40 - 8:55 GENERAL DISCUSSION OF MEMBERS CONCERNS
8:55 - 9:00 RAFFLE (THE PRIZE IS NOW $110.00)
NEW MEMBERSHIP DUES ARE $20.00. PLEASE COMPLETE THIS FORM AND MAKE A CHECK OR MONEY ORDER PAYABLE TO:
CARONDELET/HOLLY HILLS LANDLORDS ASSOCIATION
INCLUDE:
NAME
ADDRESS
CITY STATE ZIP
PHONE #
MAIL TO:
CARONDELET/HOLLY HILLS LANDLORDS ASSOCIATION
P.O. BOX 25154
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI 63125
PHONE: 314-544-5572
