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.
11th Ward Alderman, Matt Villa attended our March meeting to bring us up to date on his work in the neighborhood. Matt has been consulting with Metropolitan Sewer District to find a long range solution to the flooding problem in the Grand/Bates area. Carondelet Park capital improvements include a new roof on the boathouse, pavilion #1 has been painted, resurfacing the tennis courts, up-grading lighting and rest rooms and fountains in the lakes. Do walk or drive through soon to see how nice everything looks.
The most impressive part of Alderman Villa's report was the announcement of a charter school at the old St Boniface School property. We all have to agree with his view that the "single most important thing we can do for our neighborhoods to keep people here and lure others back to the city is to improve the public schools." The team working on this project hopes to have the school ready by August.
NiNi Harris, a local historian had a commentary in the St Louis Post-Dispatch, Thursday, April 29, 1999 titled "Trimmer St. Louis may be a better St Louis" Her premise was that the city's top population of 850,000 in 1950 was not all that desirable then, nor should it be now. She reminisced about dining rooms and basements being used as sleeping areas because large families, with several generations were crowded into small flats. Our culture and our laws have changed in the last 49 years.
St Louis's optimal population is certainly not 850,000. I rather like it in the 350,000 - 400,000 range. Most of our neighborhoods are thriving because of a lower population density. Children have to have their own rooms now. We want homes with a computer room and a media room and a formal dining room, without cots. The housing codes have changed with the times by limiting the number of people per bedroom
I agree with NiNi's observation, "Instead of gloom and doom, our analysis of the census results or any other development in this city should be based on how to best use, restore, preserve and protect."
Mel Ossowsky won our $200 raffle. Mel is part of the team that puts the newsletter together for mailing. Congratulations Mel. The raffle will start with $20 at our May 17th meeting. We hope to see you there.
The 2nd Annual Landlord Conference will be held at Forest Park Community College, Saturday, October 24th. This year's plan will concentrate on local speakers and success stories. Everyone learns something at these conferences, but we would especially like to attract new property owners, so they can avoid the more common mistakes that we have all made. The cost is moderate for breakfast, lunch and a whole lot of information. Please plan to advertise your business in the program and attend the event.
Sometimes I wish I was 23 again because I knew everything then. Today as I was putting some rose trimmings in the yard waste dumpster, I wanted to know why people cannot differentiate between yard waste and no yard waste.
We have a really good system to separate household trash and potential mulch. And it is so easy! But the people with whom I share dumpsters have got it all mixed up. We have two yard waste dumpsters at the end of the alley. The first was full of household remains, fast food containers, plastic bags, papers, etc. The second had yard waste, plus some concrete and bricks to make it more interesting. I removed the concrete and bricks I could see, but I did not have time to take the household stuff to the proper dumpster.
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Why do I not see the same problem in Holly Hills? If anyone has a suggestion for educating our citizenry about these differences, please let us all know.
THE EVICTION PROCESS SEEMS EASIER NOW - Don Schmidt
There are several reasons we include the accompanying letter to Mr. Favaza in our newsletter. First of all, the eviction process is a valuable tool for landlords to get rid of bad and/or non-paying tenants. No landlord should wait more than 10 days for non-payment of rent before starting the eviction process. It is not difficult to go through the eviction process and now it seems even easier. To file, it costs $122.00 plus a notary fee. One should make sure the offending tenant is aware that you are going to go to court and if they want to stay (assuming you would want them to) they have to pay the rent now or pay the rent plus the filing charges later.
Many members have requested that we keep a list of tenants that our membership has had problems with and would be considered a bad risk. Keeping such a list would expose the association to possible legal exposure and is not worth the risk. Now, thanks to the new Circuit Clerk, we have a phone number, 622-4405, to call to see if a perspective tenant has ever been evicted. At the absolute minimum screening, all landlords should call this number before renting to anyone. This ability also points out the need to go through the eviction process in a timely manner. This is one way that we can stop these professional non-paying tenants from going from landlord to landlord. They can get 12 months rent for the price of 4 months or less. The Landlord becomes their own personal welfare fund, because in most cases they do not qualify for government welfare. And as many of us have experienced, they usually leave your property in less than satisfactory condition and they have a negative impact on the neighborhood.
The eviction process is basically a three step process. You as a landlord can represent yourself or you can hire a lawyer. The association has the names of lawyers that specialize in these matters. However, if you have the time, it is not difficult to file. The first step is filling and it takes less than 30 minutes at the Civil Courts building to accomplish. The second step is to go to court. Plan to be there from 9:30 AM until noon. Most of this time is waiting for your case to be called. The third step is the execution step which also takes less than 30 minutes. You do this step 10 days after the court ruling. Then you will be able to schedule the sheriff to witness removing the tenants' belongings. It has been my experience that the tenant usually is out before this happens. (They know the rules better than most Landlords). The sheriff's phone number is 622-4851.
There are people at the Civil Courts building readily available to help you throughout the above process. The C/HHLA can also help you if needed.
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HOW TO INCREASE THE CHANCES FOR SUCCESS IN COURT
- Tom Moorhead
Other than lawyers being paid (which I am), I do not know anyone who really likes going to court. Some landlords get very stressed out when they have to appear in Court. Some landlords even pay tenants to move out just to avoid going to court. Here are a few tips to make your chances of success higher in court by winning the favor of the judge.
1.) Have all of your paperwork up to date and with you. This means that you are able to hand your payment history to the Judge and the judge will understand it. Even if you to have to "re-create" your payment history, do it BEFORE you go before the Judge.
2.) Always be respectful to the Judge. Remember, the Judge can rule for you or against you. Even if you believe that the Judge is incorrect, don't argue but state your case and give examples of how a similar situation was handled by the court in the past.
3.) If the Judge asks you to meet with the tenant prior to having a Hearing, then do it even if you know that nothing will be settled because this takes only a few minutes.
4.) Do not (I say again DO NOT) interrupt the Judge. You will have the opportunity to speak. NEVER interrupt the Judge when he or she is giving their Ruling.
5.) I always stand when addressing the Judge. This is a good rule to follow even though you may see attorneys and parties address the Judge while they are seated.
Follow these simple rules to increase your odds in court.
One other note: I am always concerned when a landlord tells me how good they are in Court. Because, you should not be in Court so much that you are good at it. One of the best ways to stay out of Court is to motivate your residents to cooperate fully with your rental terms.
Tom Moorhead is an attorney specializing in tenant screening and fair housing issues. Attorney Tom, president of Real Chek America, along with a couple of his associates serve as moderators in the discussion forums on the mrlandlord.com website.
RENT IT FAST - SET THE RIGHT MOOD
Here's a tip from a Realtor.
Atmosphere is an important tool for helping buyers or renters develop an emotional attachment to a house. When they first walk in, prospects should get a good feeling. They should be able to want to visualize themselves and their children living in the home. To set or create the right mood, be sure the home is well-lit, with candles burring, soft music playing, maybe even have the lingering smell of cookies or bread baking. All these things make the house feel like a home to the buyer or renter, enticing people to say, "YES, I LIKE THIS."
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OUR WEB SITE: www.stlouislandlord.com - PH
The primary reason for belonging to a landlord association, in addition to educating ourselves, is to promote business. As president I often get calls from people looking for apartments. Formerly, all I could do was to start telephoning members until I found someone with a vacancy. Now with our own website "stlouislandlord.com" we can post the information right away.
In the meantime here's a recent item: Kevin O'Herne, Executive Director of Vincent House (241-2602) is looking for a spacious, well-kept, one or two bedroom apartment with air conditioning in the Carondelet or Holly Hills areas. He does have a small dog. I would be happy to be a personal reference for Kevin, but he does expect to comply with a credit check and any other requirements potential landlords may have.
The object of using to website is to save everyone's time. If you think you have a suitable vacancy, telephone Kevin and leave a message describing the unit and your criteria for renting We also want to hear from other people interested in renting from or renting to.
So if you have property for sale or rent, or if you know someone looking go to "stlouislandlord.com" and check it out. There's also an option on each page that will notify you by e-mail when additions/alterations are made. Keep in touch
et cetera, et cetera . . .
The Carondelet/Holly Hills Landlord Association will be part of the Neighborhood Associations' Flea Market presented by The St Louis Ambassadors Saturday, May 15, 1999 at Gateway Mall Park, 10th & Market. We will sell pretzels and give balloons to children to advertise our association. Your help is needed. Could you do a two hour shift on a nice spring day for the good of the Carondelet/Holly Hills Landlords? Please call Patty (352-9140) to volunteer.
Rendevous Carondelet is a two day festival in Bellerive Park, on May 22 and 23, which commemorates the founding of the town of Carondelet. There will be music, entertainment, food, booths, blanket trading and exhibits. Call 481-8454 for information.
A very thoughtful person sent the association an "I'm moving, please note my new address" postcard. Unfortunately the reverse side of the card was not completed, so we do not know who moved or what the new address is. Hopefully your newsletter is being forwarded.
Grocery Carts: We have been informed that the St Louis Metropolitan Police Department will be enforcing the Missouri Statute the makes removing carts from the stores' designated parking area unlawful. Please report abandoned carts on the streets and alleys to one of two Cart Hot Line Numbers: (314) 994-4146 or from any pay phone, call toll free 1-888-678-0421.
New Lead Warning Disclosure Form: We must have signed disclosure statements for each unit we rent. The new form, included in this newsletter, has space for the property address and unit. Make as many copies as you need. Please make sure all your residents have signed a form for you. It is so easy to comply and such a hassle to be cited, but the property owner makes that choice.
National Neighborhood Night Out will be Tuesday, August 3rd this year. You might want to work with the block captains at each of your properties to plan some sort of celebration. If your property is on a block that does not have a captain encourage your residents to take that leadership position or become the block captain yourself. You have your investment to protect and knowing the neighbors is worth quite a bit toward being informed about what goes on at the property when you cannot be there
NEXT MEETING
Place: Southern Commercial Bank - 5515 S. Grand
Date: Monday, May 15, 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 "Computers, the internet and our web site"
8:00 - 8:30 Jim Magnus
8:30 - 8:55 Discussion of Members Concerns
8:55 - 9:00 Raffle
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