CHECK YOUR CALENDAR
Building Bridges, the first annual Landlord Networking Conference will be held on Saturday, October 24, 1998 at St Louis Community College at Forest Park (5600 Oakland Av.) form 8:30am - 5pm. The $15 charge includes continental breakfast, lunch and Infor Rent package. Call Lisa Potts 622-4628 for reservations.
Many of us "old hands" learned by trial and error. New people in the rental housing business do not have such a forgiving atmosphere because the less desirable tenants are so knowledgeable. Please encourage less experienced rental property owners to come to this conference. The time and $15 could save thousands of dollars if just one management mistake is avoided.

MAILING COMMITTEE
This newsletter was mailed because of the efforts of Lori Jerome. Lori agreed to chair the Mailing Committee, but she needs your help. The news-letter will be folded, stuffed, sealed, labeled, stamped, etc. at Cecil Whitaker’s (6018 S. Grand) several weeks before each general meeting. Lori will have all the supplies at the pizzeria, but she needs four or more people for a few hours one evening to get the newsletter ready for the mail. It's a Dutch Treat occasion with work that is easy to do while talking. Actually, it is more of a social event, than work.
We will be asking for volunteers at the September meeting. Lori will have a list of dates for mailings. Please do it at least once. This can be a really nice project to get to know each other better.

COMMITTEES NEED MEMBERS
We have three committees that need chairs and committee members. The board would like a Telephone Tree and Membership Committee that would telephone and e-mail meeting reminders to all members. The Legislative Committee needs people who are interested in monitoring city, state and federal legislation that effects rental property. Internet access or time to use the library computers will be helpful. The newsletter also needs more contributors. Do you have a Jethro and Elvira story? Do you use management techniques that would be helpful to other members? Do you have interesting graphics or cartoons? Send your contributions to Secretary, John Korst, by e-mail november@fastrans.net, fax to President, Patty Hofer (352-9140) or mail to P.O. Box 25154, St. Louis MO 63125.

GOOD DEAL
ReStore, 1024 S. Vandeventer (531-4155) is a retail recycling arm of Habitat for Humanity. They accept donations of excess materials, salvage items and close-outs that they resell at reasonable prices. The public may shop from 10am - 6pm, Tuesday through Saturday. The last time we were there they had a good selection of kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, wire shelving and hardware.
Stop by to see if you need any thing or consider donating your surplus or your time.

LEGISLATIVE REVIEW
This edition of the newsletter was produced while neither the Board of Aldermen, nor the state legislature was in session. Therefore we will review fair housing requirements this month. As members of the largest landlord association in the city we all need to have a working knowledge of the protected classes and other main points. Pay special attention because we may have a test at the September meeting. Or as Jim Magnus was telling us in July, any of us may get a personal visit from one of EHOP's new testers.
The Fair Housing Act is a law that is comprised of Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988. The Fair Housing Act states that discrimination based upon race, religion, disability, familial status, national origin, color or sex is illegal in the sale or rental of housing. In Missouri and Illinois some state and local ordinances also include legal source of income, ancestry, marital status, military status, sexual orientation, and unfavorable discharge from the military in that list of those protected under fair housing law.
Even when discriminatory actions are not intentional, they are still discriminatory. If we offer options to one applicant and not to another, that is discrimination. If we make assumptions about a potential resident; about their ability to pay, about their likelihood of being a "good" tenant, about their potential of causing problems, based on their race, appearance, disability, nationality, dress, speech, etc. That is discrimination. How can we prevent discrimination? Treat everyone alike. Provide consistent and complete information to everyone. Make decisions based only on objective criteria.
Do not make credit assumptions about potential residents based on non-credit factors. Adhere strictly to established policies and practices. Note: The St. Louis Info Rent package has complete instructions for the whole rental process.
How can we make sure that we do not discriminate? Know the law. Understand your own cultural and personal bias. Manage your own feelings about differences in others. Learn about other cultures. Learn to communicate effectively.
Clarification or more information is available from Fair Housing, 539-6322 or the Equal Housing Opportunity Council, 534-5800.

President Patty wrote almost all the articles in this issue of the newsletter. She could use a hand and we all could benefit from your input or even your questions. Please drop us a line.

RENTS AND SECURITY DEPOSITS - Donald Schmidt
Sometimes a prospective tenant proposes moving in immediately and paying the deposit later. You should just say no to these requests unless you are certain that the unit cannot be rented otherwise. Not only is letting a tenant move in without making a security deposit foolish on the face of it, but it invites future problems. The tenant may assume that your willingness to accept a partial deposit indicates your willingness to accept partial rent.
It is a better policy to insist that all deposits be paid in full. You may lose a few prospects along the way, but they will probably be the ones you would not want anyway. Surprisingly, many prospective tenants who claimed to have no additional financial resources will suddenly, when faced with your firm stand, find the needed money by borrowing from friends, family or employers.
Every Landlord's nightmare is a new tenant who's first rent or deposit check bounces and who must be dislodged with a time consuming and expensive legal proceedings. To avoid this, never sign a rental agreement/lease, or let a tenant move furniture into your property or take a key until you have the tenant's certified check or money order for the first month's rent and security deposit. A better alternative is to cash the tenants check at his Bank before the move-in date (most banks will tell you if there is enough money in the account to clear the check in question). You should make a note of the Bank and the tenant's account number for future reference.
If the rental agreement or lease requires tenants to pay the rent on the first of each month and the move-in day is other than the first day of the month, the rent is pro-rated between that day and the end of that month. As a general rule, if the pro-rated rent for that first partial month is less than half a month's rent, you should request a more substantial amount up front. A few tenants might impress you in person and look good on their applications, but nevertheless be unable to come up with all the rent when due. You stand to lose heavily if you allow a person like this to move in on low pro-rated rent for the last few days of the month. If he doesn't come up with the full rent on the first of the following month, and it takes up to a month to evict him, you're out a month's rent plus eviction cost. The security deposit, which should be used to compensate you for any damages and mess this tenant may leave, won't cover your costs.
There are few ways to insist on a substantial up front payment:
1. Require the pro-rated rent of less than half a month plus the next month's entire rent, plus the security deposit. This is the recommended approach.
2. Insist on an entire months rent up front and then pro-rated the second month.
3. Collect a full month's rent and then simply require rent payments on the day of the month that the tenant moves in. This is appropriate, but can become cumbersome if you have many rental units.
The first of the month is a customary and convenient due date for rent, at least in part because many tenants get their paychecks on the last workday of the month. Also, the approach of a new month can, in itself, help remind people to pay monthly bills due on the first.
However, some tenants on a fixed income rely on their Social Security or pension checks to pay rent. They get their checks on a fixed day each month. What ever you decide, be sure to put it in your lease or rental agreement.
Lots of tenants are absolutely convinced that if rent is due on the first, but they pay by the fifth (or sometimes the 7th or even the 10th) of the month, they have a legally paid their rent on time because they are within a legal grace period. This is simply not true. It is your legal right to insist that rent be paid on the day it is due, and you should use your lease or rental agreement to disabuse tenants of this bogus notion.
In practice, many landlords do not get upset about late rent or charge a late fee until the rent is a few days past due. Your best approach is to consistently stress to tenants that rent must be paid on the due date. If you wait more than three to five days to collect rent, you are running your business unwisely, and just extending the time a non-paying tenant can stay. Be firm, but fair. Any other policy will get you into a morass of special cases and exceptions and will cost you a bundle in the long run. If you allow exceptions only in extreme circumstances, tenants will learn not to try and sell you sob story.
Failure to pay rent on time is by far the reason landlords go to court and evict tenants. First, however, a landlord must give the tenant a written notice, demanding that the tenant either pay within a few days or moved out. It is recommended that you send such a notice after five days. An example of an notice would be to state that if the rent or some agreement to pay the rent is not reached within the ten days of the due date, eviction proceedings will start the eleventh day. And then follow through.
Do not bluff about the eleventh day eviction proceedings. File on the eleventh day. In most instances, the tenant who receives this kind of notice pays up, and that is the end of it. But if the tenant doesn't pay the rent (or move), you can and should file an eviction law suit. The odds of getting the rent from this tenant are slim to none.

Handy Contacts:

Police 911
Hotline 241-COPS
Captain Reagan 444-0110
Citizens Service Bureau 622-4800
N.S.O. Brigitte Pidduck 772-3484
Alderman 11th W. Matt Villa 622-3287
Alderman 13th W. Fred Wessels 622-3287
State Rep. Brian May 352-35
State Sen. John Scott 751-3644
Carondelet Community Betterment Federation 752-6339
Bellerieve Neighborhood Assoc. 351-9545
Holly Hills Improvement Assoc. 569-5708
Carondelet/Holly Hills Landlord Assoc. 352-9140
State Capitol switchboard (573) 751-2151
Bill summaries on the web http://www.moga.state.mo.us/

NEXT MEETING

Place: Southern Commercial Bank - 5515 S. Grand
Date: Monday, September 21, 1998
Time: 6:30pm - 9:00pm

AGENDA TOPICS

6:30 - 7:00 Social
7:00 - 7:05 Welcome
7:05 - 7:15 Business Update/Aldermanic Report
7:15 - 8:00 Tom & Sharon Sandknop
8:00 - 8:30 Jim Magnus
8:30 - 8:55 Discussion of Members Concerns
8:55 - 9:00 Raffle