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Volume 4 Number 1 |
LIBRARY |
FROM THE PRESIDENT - Patty Hofer  I like our business, renting homes to people. I like the security of owning more than one property. I like the piece of mind that should financial circumstances change I will always have some income from the property. I like not having to be there every minute of a forty hour work week, but still having the checks arrive promptly. I like providing homes for some of the nicest families I have met.Or maybe I just don't know any better, my family having had a rental house since 1926. The house was acquired only because it was located on the farm that my grandparents really wanted. Through the years those modest rental checks have come in handy as did the milk check and egg money. The same family I remember moving in during the 50s is still there. Granted the parents have died, but one of the children and her family still live there.Just like the family farm, gas stations and mom and pop confectioneries, the rental business is getting more difficult all the time. We really have to stay alert to stay viable. Media sensationalism like KMOV-TV's "Notorious Landlords" show the most egregious practices, then severely edits the remarks of the only property owner who will speak on camera. Every story has two sides. That is why we must use the courts to balance the rights of both parties in a rental dispute. I personally practice a "same information to everyone, same expectations from everyone" type of management. The rent is due, no excuses, no exceptions. Repairs are to be done immediately, no excuses no exceptions. I try to perform maintenance on a regular basis to prevent complaints. Legal actions against property owners are like evictions, they do not just appear. We do get various warnings. The first complaint should come from the tenant. Only when we disregard the tenant's notification do we find ourselves in front of city, state or federal authorities. Those same authorities do not have the manpower or inclination to cite everyone for everything that may be hazardous or illegal. In a non-conservation neighborhood one could conceivably omit smoke detectors. Because there is no inspection only the tenant would know. That is, until there is a fire and one is facing a manslaughter charge because a $10 smoke detector was too big an expense. Is a $10 expense worth the gamble of a $100,000 legal defense?As burdensome as the lead paint legislation is getting, I cannot imagine that the city will close all our units having lead paint. But do yourself a favor – attend to chipped paint immediately so the city will not get a complaint. Nothing can justify endangering a child.As burdensome as the lead paint legislation is getting, I cannot imagine that the city will close all our units having lead paint. But do yourself a favor – attend to chipped paint immediately so the city will not get a complaint. Nothing can justify endangering a child.Our mission "To maintain and improve property values, in partnership with the community; to attract quality tenants and to have safe, desirable neighborhoods." is only possible through constant vigilance of our properties and their residents.
WHAT IS THE FAIR HOUSING ACT? - Don Schmidt Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 with the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 is called the Fair Housing Act.These combined laws make it illegal to discriminate in housing sales or rentals or in housing lending and insurance on the basis of race, color, national origin, family status, disability, sex and religion. The law states it is illegal to take the following actions against someone because of their protected status:Housing discrimination against families with children is not legal. Prospective tenants are told to be suspicious if they hear:In a few circumstances, it is legal to exclude the families with children from an apartment or house. Housing complexes designed for older persons can exclude families with children if the housing unit residence meet strict criteria:If a prospective tenants suspect race discrimination they are told to be suspicious if they hear: Prospective tenants with disabilities are told to be suspicious if they hear: You must give tenants permission to make physical changes to the apartment if they need them, but you aren't responsible for the cost (such as putting in grab bars or widening a door). You must make reasonable exceptions to the rules that interfere with their ability to live comfortably in their home. For example, if they need to make an extra key so a friend can come to help them, you have to bend the rule that only tenants may have keys. If they can't hear a smoke alarm, you must install visual alarms in public areas and you must let them put one in their apartment.It is illegal for a landlord to decide where persons can live based on their gender. Sexual harassment is a criminal violation of federal and state law. Sexual harassment can range from a landlord making sexual comments to actual physical assault. It is a violation of the Fair Housing Act for a landlord to ask for or require sexual favors in exchange for the rental of an apartment, lease renewal, repairs, or any other condition or privilege of renting. The landlord cannot retaliate against the tenant because the tenant said no or because the tenant reported the landlord. It is illegal to question potential renters about their religion or religious affiliation in connection with the rental of housing. A landlord can not advertise or publish a preference for renting housing to persons of a particular religion or refuse to rent because of their religion or religious affiliation. Discrimination has no place in our society. It is against the law to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, family status, disability, sex and religion with regards to housing whether it be selling or renting. Race, color, national origin, and family status account for about 70 per cent of the discrimination cases reported in the St. Louis metropolitan area. More details concerning the information in this article can be gotten from brochures printed and distributed by the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunity Council free of charge along with all the other services provided by the Council. Contact them at 534-5800The information is readily available to any prospective tenant. Ignorance of the law will not protect you. It would be difficult for a landlord to prove that he or she unknowingly discriminated against a tenant or prospective tenant. To put it another way, keep it simple. Do unto others as you would have done to you.
 not an endorsement
TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL RENTAL PROPERTY
OWNER - James E. Magnus
NEWSLETTER TO EXPAND - P.H.
 not an endorsement
St. Louis University - 997-2797.
The schools will not have any responsibility should you rent to a member of their student body. The contract will be between the property owner and student so all the usual criteria and credit checks will apply.
NEXT MEETING
Place: Southern Commercial Bank - 5515 S. Grand
6:30 - 7:00 Social |