THE

APARTMENT NEWS

Apartment Association Of Northwestern Pennsylvania, Inc.

1127 West 38th St. Erie, PA 16508 · (814)866-7414 · Open Mon-Fri 9:30 am to 5:00 pm

Fax: (814)866-2732 · office@aptassoc.com · www.aptassoc.com

September 2013 WE’RE 1,600 STRONG, REPRESENTING 14,800 RENTAL UNITS

Inside The Newsletter

Page 2 & 3….....Avoiding The

Appearance Of Discrimination

Page 5……....Landlording 101

Class Offered

Page 7…….For Sale By Owner

Page 8 & 10 …....Is Partner a

Four Letter Word

Page 11… Pre-Winter Roof In-

spection

Page 12…….Bad News For

Landlords About Hoarding

Page 13…...New Members

Page 14…...Landlord Robbed By

Man And Woman

Page 15…....Eviction Schedule,

Clauses, Procedures & Notices

Back Cover...Reservation Form

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE By Joel Miller

The Association has become aware that the City of Erie is working on a way to handle

the all-too-frequent situations where a landlord has been informed that they must make impractical or costly alterations to a unit in order for that unit to remain in compliance with a building code. This would be a case where a BIU inspector has refused to approve an apartment, for example, because of certain structural issues such as ceiling height or stairwell width which do not pose an imminent threat to health or safety.

The city's objective is to alleviate an undue burden on the landlord, unclog the backlog on the inspection appeals board and to still meet its obligations under the inspection ordinance. When we find out what they have come up with, we will certainly get that information out to our membership. So, in the meantime, please be patient with this process and remember to treat the BIU inspectors with respect and don't engage them in any unnecessary confrontation. You should understand that they are just doing their job they themselves can not actually make you do anything. All they can do is take down information (on the inspection report forms) and pass that on to the code enforcement office. What the office does with it after that is up to them.

Don't forget about posting your vacant rentals for FREE on our website. It's so EASY, and it will pay off.

Also, when a new member signs up as the result of your referral, you will get a $10 credit at the Association office to be used for any of our products or services.

UPCOMING

MEETINGS

October 24th

November 21st

Christmas Party

December 10th

Annual Board Meeting and Elections

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Nunzi’s Place 2330 East 38th Street, Erie, PA

Networking begins at 6:30pm/Dinner 7:00pm $15 per person

This is our annual Business Meeting and Election of Directors. There will be a

short financial review and the President will give his “State of the Association’

address. Included will be updates on The Law Suit with the City of Erie,

The City Inspection Program, Our Membership in National REIA, The

Credentialing of Members to Run Credit Reports, and more…. Make

your reservation today! We encourage all members to attend this meeting &

exercise your right to vote in the election of the Board of Directors.

Reservation deadline is September 23, 2013

Reservations are required and that form is on the back cover

The Office Will Be

Closed On

Sept 2nd

for the

Labor Day

Holiday

Page 2

AVOIDING THE APPEARANCE OF

DISCRIMINATION

By: Brendan O'Brien, creator of Property Master Software and landlord

You know the feeling of embarrassment you get when you say the wrong thing at a party or other social event? When

you're talking to tenants or prospective tenants, the potential damage from saying the wrong thing is much higher - it

could cost you thousands in legal fees and damages, as well as the loss of your reputation.

I believe landlords and property managers are far more likely now to get in trouble for the accidental appearance of

discrimination than for the real thing. Most of us know better than to knowingly discriminate based on gender, skin

color, religion or other protected distinctions. It's not just that we're good people - actual discrimination is also bad

business. If we discriminated, say, against people from a different background, we'd be turning away money from

potential tenants who might turn out to be great. If we only rented to people who "looked like us," we'd quickly find

that some of those folks are simply awful.

There's no doubt that actual discrimination in rental housing does exist, however. There are also people who

aggressively hunt down rental housing discrimination even when it doesn't exist. Some of these people are tenant

lawyers. Others work for HUD or your local or state housing agency. If they start looking at your business, they'll do

so with very keen eyes.

They don't expect landlords to say things like "we don't rent to people like you" or "no (white, black, male, female,

whatever) people allowed." Even the actual bigots are far too smart to use those lines. Instead, the tenant lawyers look

for subtle patterns, subtle messages, and inconsistent treatment.

With that in mind, here are a few pointers for avoiding the appearance of discrimination. Even if you apply these rules,

you may still be investigated (and possibly even sued!) but you will be far more likely to win.

First, document your tenant background checking process as well as the rules you would use to determine if someone

qualified. Unfortunately, this takes away some of your flexibility, but your rules don't have to be absolutely hard and

fast. You can create a scoring system that lets you assess all of each prospect's qualifications fairly and combine the

results. Give each prospect a copy of the scoring system and criteria at the start of the process. Make sure they know

you will not make any exceptions.

For example, you might say that a qualified prospect needs a score of at least 25. They get seven points if they have at

least three years in the current job, four points if they have one year in the current job. They must have at least one

year in the current job OR a qualified cosigner OR at least $12,000 in cash assets.

This kind of system is complicated to create, but easy to use. It is also completely transparent and fair. Don't include

any subjective criteria - e.g. was the person well-dressed? And don't ever make an exception for somebody who scores

lower than your minimum.

One problem you will have is that your system must evolve over time. If you find that your tenants with limited work

experience are working out as well as those with lengthy experience, change the system. Document the change and

don't look back.

Second, when advertising rental housing, don't describe it in a way that makes it more attractive to certain groups than

to others. The California Craigslist lawsuit makes a very good example for this. An Orange County landlord wrote in

his ad that an apartment would be "well-suited for one or two professional adults." This is not the same as saying "no

kids," but it could be (and was) taken that way.

Don't suggest who the unit would be suitable for. Saying that it would be good for a certain type of person (a young

single, for example) is as dangerous as saying whom it would not suit.

Continued on page 3

Page 3

Continued from page 2

Suppose you have a prospect who, in a phone interview, describes herself and asks if the unit is suitable. You're on

dangerous ground here! I had this happen with a physically disabled prospect. I answered literally and honestly - the

apartment was on the second floor, and could only be reached by climbing about 20 stairs. I left the decision up to her.

Third, when you reject prospective tenants, give them, in writing, one or more clear reasons for the rejection that are

a) not discriminatory and b) consistent with your rules for qualifying tenants.

Fourth, if you get a name off a tenant watch list, confirm and document the reasons why that prospect was placed on

the watch list. If someone with legal authority asks why you rejected a prospect, "he's on the watch list" is almost the

worst possible answer you can give.

A special circumstance arises when you have two or three prospects who are all interested in the vacancy, and are all,

by your objective criteria, qualified. How are you going to decide? You have to come up with a good reason and be

able to explain it. The first tiebreaker is the score (if you use the scoring system as described above). In the earlier

example, I set a minimum score of 25. Suppose one prospect scores a 28 and one scores a 30 - it's perfectly reasonable

to rent to the person who scored 30. The second tiebreaker is the date and time the qualified application was received.

The person who got back to you earliest wins.

In the bad old days when there was much more real housing discrimination, landlords would often tell a prospect they

didn't want that there was no unit available. This could be easily proven to be a lie. However, you might give the

appearance of this sort of discrimination by accident. Suppose you have a qualified prospect who has told you, "I'll be

in at 3 p.m. to sign the lease and give you my check." Then, another prospect asks about the unit - and you say "it's no

longer available." Then, you get a call from the first hot prospect - they can't take the unit after all.

At this point, you're in trouble, because you told a prospect that a unit wasn't available, but it is! If that prospect

suspects you rejected him because of his ethnic background, you'll be hearing from the local fair housing group soon.

Page 4

Print all our forms at no cost

Read current and past newsletters

Print or read Reference Material

List your property for rent or

for sale

Listing guidelines

Useful links to Rent-o-Meter,

PROA, Legal Encyclopedia for

Landlord Tenant Disputes,

National Registered Sex Offenders,

Lead Paint Websites, and more…..

www.aptassoc.com

VIDEO RECORDING AND PICTURES CAN REDUCE DISPUTES

Pictures speak a thousand words!

Reduce disputes with tenants by video recording or

photographing the unit’s condition before move-in

and after move-out. If you do this when the unit is

vacant, the tenant cannot claim his or her privacy

was invaded. When move-out is completed, repeat

the process again and obtain evidence of any

damage that occurred during the occupancy of the

affected tenant.

HAVE YOU ATTENDED A

DINNER MEETING LATELY?

Come early—Stay late!

It is your best chance to network with other landlords.

Everyone has questions…

...this is where you get them

answered!!

Attention Landlords

As fellow landlords we know the

landlord business is all about

cash-flow. Now you can not only

save money on your energy cost

but you can earn extra money

while helping your tenants save

money on their energy cost.

Ron Irwin, Consultant

814-425-8340

http://Landlord.ambitenergy.biz

Page 5

‘INTRODUCTION TO LANDLORDING’ A Beginners Guide

Being Offered By the Apartment Association

As summer is winding down it is time to consider signing up for our next landlording class. The Apprentice Level Training course will consist of four morning sessions each lasting about three hours.

WHERE: The Apartment Association Office 1127 West 38th Street Erie, PA 16508 WHEN: October 26, 2013 November 9, 2013 November 23, 2013 December 7, 2013 TIME: 9:00am—12:00pm COST: $40 per person for all sessions Must be prepaid

The goal of this apprentice training course is to educate the NEW rental property owner and instruct them how to properly manage their property. The course is structured along a timeline that begins with the owner’s initial purchase, preparing the rental, advertising, administration, renting, managing their property and finally to the move out of the tenant. Similar real estate courses in weekend formats held at hotels will cost you upwards to $1000. The low cost of this course is due largely to the volunteer instructors who want to see our newest members succeed in the real estate industry.

Attendees are expected to attend all sessions to receive their certificate. Additional classes may be made available depending on membership feedback and demand for this course. Contact the office for details and to sign up.

Other training sessions at the Journeyman and Master level are also being considered by the education committee. Contact the office with a hot topic that you would like to see covered.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————

NAME (S) _____________________________________________________________ ADDRESS _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________

AMOUNT ENCLOSED $ _________________________________________

TELEPHONE NUMBER _______________________________

EMAIL ______________________________________________________

Space is limited

to the first twelve

members who sign up.

Page 6

Coldwell Banker Select, Realtors Commercial Division 814-833-3331

448 Erie Street—18 total units, 16 residential and 2 commercial spaces.

Overlooks Edinboro Lake. Great CAP rate. 30963. $525,000.

Bill Bucceri, CCIM, SIOR, 882-6781

REDUCED– 261 West 21st Street — Impressive 4 unit with good rental history

near the St. Vincent Campus. New roof in 2012. 33677. $115, 000.

Thomas NeCastro, 881-1186

243 West 29th Street—2 fully occupied units in southwest Erie generating good

rental income. Off street parking and laundry area for both tenants. Updated

electrical and a fenced yard. 28115. $82,500. Trevor Thompson, 566-7738

3321 Zuck Road - Outstanding, fully renovated Millcreek duplex. Appliances

included. Also includes additional building parcel. 32972. $220,000

Thomas Jones, 440-4664 or Lori Hess, 881-8737

3431 Pine Avenue—Great investment property located near Mercyhurst

Universtiy. Single family home with 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, hardwood floors, freshly

painted interior, and new roof on house and garage. 34342. $69,900.

Mike Lorei, 397-7952 or Bill Buceri, CCIM, SIOR, 882-6781

Page 7

ERIE— 115-117 West 24th Street. Two unit unfurnished flat. Each unit has 2 BD, BA, LR, DR, and KIT with refrig and gas stove. W&D hookups. Off street parking. 2nd floor has deck and 2 addl rooms on 3rd floor. Newer roof, windows, siding (2007) $82,500. Call 814.825.8506

ERIE— 74 Orchard Street. Two unit unfurnished flat. Each flat has 2 BD, BA, LR, DR, and Kitchen with refrig and gas stove. W&D hookups. Second floor porch. 1 car garage and off street parking. $87,500. Call 814.825.8506

ERIE—Income Property. 4 unit, 1 BD/unit. 100% occupied. 2127 Chestnut St. $75,000. Call 814.873.2150 or 727.392.1848

ERIE—Single family 3BR, 1BA, appl, A/C, New Roof 2012, Off Street Parking. 917 West 26th Street, Long term tenants $45,900. Call Nick 814.864.8509

ERIE—Single family house 1320sf. 3BD, 1BA, new roof, soffit, fascia, gutter, vinyl windows, plumbing, carpet, and paint. Updated elec & inspected. Good Eastside location. Move-in ready. $47,500. Call Tom 814.836.5999

ERIE—2 Unit Flat, each unit has 2 BD, LR, DR, KIT. Rent is $425 for each apt and both currently are rented. $34,900 751 East 7th Street. Call 814.450.9991

FRONTIER PARK AREA—1 story single family house, 1300sf, 2 BD, 1.5 Bath, LR, DR, Eat-in KIT, Attached 1 car garage, Private back yard, large dry basement. Tenant occupied. Rents for $850/month. 636 Connecticut Drive $119,000. Call Anne 973.769.6262

MILLCREEK—Single Family Home, 3BD, 1.5 BA, LR, DR, Den, fenced yard, 2 car garage, new eat in KIT w/oak cab , newer roof, dry semi-finished BSMT, landscaped yard. Lease until 7/13 @ $1,100/month. On E Gore b/t Koehler & McClelland . $143,500 Call 814.397.8368 or email Druzak@aol.com

NW ERIE—819-821 Cherry Street. Brick 2 unit. Three BD each, LR, DR, ornamental fireplaces, HDWD Floors, newer carpet, kitchen w/appliances, 1 1/2 car attached garage, addl parking pad, updated 100amp services, several new windows, divided basement with W&D hookups. Realtor owned. $86,900. Call Tina Rupp 724.766.9069

ERIE— 848 East 28th Street. 2 Unit flat. Each unit has 2 BR, BA, LR, DR, KIT, Sun porch. Second floor has refrig, gas stove, new furnace, W & D hook up, off street parking. $62,900. Call Rita 814.456.7444

Page 8

Is Partner a Four Letter Word for

Real Estate Investors? By Bradley S. Dornish, Esquire

Just this week, as I have many times before, I had an initial consultation with an experienced real estate investor who had found a partner to help him to expand his real estate investing business a year or two ago, and is now in a costly and time consuming dispute over separation of his and his partner’s interests. In my practice as a real estate lawyer working with investors, I have seen many partnerships last a long time and be mutually beneficial for the partners, and others come apart with explosive force leaving both financial and emotional damage. In my own investing, I have partnered with family members and business partners, with varying degrees of success and cooperation.

From all of these activities, I have developed some advice for those who want to team up with others for their real estate investing. First, though, let me clarify that I use the word partner in its generic, layman’s sense, not its legal sense. I don’t advocate anyone doing business in real estate, or any other type of business for that matter, as a general partner in a general partnership. General partners, at least in Pennsylvania, are jointly and severally personally liable for claims against the partnership, each can bind the other, and unless their agreement limits their fiduciary duties to each other, they can end up with an equitable interest in each other’s separate similar business activities. This means if you and I are general partners investing in rental building A, and I buy rental building B thereafter on my own, you may have an equitable right to an ownership interest in building B.

I am talking about “partners” being two or more people who get together, and who determine how they want to structure an entity which they will own together as shareholders, members, limited partners or joint venturers to buy or otherwise invest in real estate.

Before you buy real estate together, before you even start to form entities with others, you should know what your prospective partners expect to put into and get out of the relationship, and what you expect, and whether those expectations match. Next, you need to analyze what time, money and credit each of you is willing and able to put into your shared venture, what skills each of you has to contribute, what credit score each brings to any transaction involving credit, and if the others are married or in a long term relationship, how their significant other feels about them, about you, and about the business you and their other half are getting into.

If those exercises haven’t dispelled the idea that working together on your real estate toward shared profit is a good idea, next you need to review the big issues likely to end your shared efforts, which I like to call the four D’s: Death, Disability, Divorce and Departure. Okay, departure is just a fancy name for someone wanting to leave, but the other three really are Ds, and departure makes it fit.

Death and disability end the person’s ability to continue to contribute active services, labor, and even credit to your shared investing business, and can cause the survivor to have one or more new, unintended partners or owners in the business. If all the hard work is done, and the business now consists of continuing to hold and rent out properties, this might not be a huge problem. However, if your shared business is in a phase requiring all oars in the water, requiring daily personal effort from all owners to keep things going, and one of you is not able to do that, the burdens fall heavily on the remaining owner or owners, while the ownership interests remain unchanged and disproportionate to current efforts.

In a similar way, divorce can take away an owner’s drive to put time into the shared business, harm their credit worthiness, and force the transfer of all or part of their ownership interest to their ex, through the power of equitable distribution in divorce courts. I have seen that the only thing worse than a dead or disabled co-owner, is being forced to have the co-owner’s disgruntled ex as a third owner in your real estate business, especially if the ex still has unresolved issues over the divorce.

The final D, being that of departure, can be just as difficult as the others. If a co-owner has committed to a long term strategy for your shared real estate investing business, and just wants to bail on it half way to the goals, it forces substantial and often costly changes to the plan, which you don’t ask for but are stuck with just the same.

Continued on page 11

Page 9

Page 10

Help Prevent Fraud

Request to see the applicant's social security card

and drivers license for positive identification.

Take a picture of both with your smart phone

and email them to yourself for your files.

The “GARBAGE CAN” Man

We do COMPLETE CLEANOUTS of Residential and Commercial Properties including Houses,

Estates, Basements, Garages, Attics, Barns, etc. Remove all

your unwanted materials/rubbish/scrap/appliances & all other junk.

Fast Affordable-Reliable Insured

(814) 504-7080

Treasures Galore 4960 Iroquois Avenue

Erie, PA 16511

This publication is designed to provide informative

material of interest to its readers. It is distributed

with the understanding that it does not constitute

legal, accounting, or other professional advice.

Although the published material is intended to be

accurate, neither we nor any other party will

assume liability for loss or damage as a result of

reliance on this material. Appropriate legal or

accounting advice or other expert assistance should

be sought from a competent professional.

SIGN UP A

NEW MEMBER

TODAY

AND RECEIVE

A $10 CREDIT

ON YOUR

ACCOUNT!

Page 11

First Day

Of Autumn

September

22nd

Continued from page 8

If your co-owner in your real estate investing business is your spouse, then estate planning, long term care planning, and the property settlement rules and procedures in divorce court all help to address the problems. If your co-owner is a close family member other than a spouse, you can hope that these events can be dealt with informally through the family, and not with legal documentation.

However, in all other circumstances, and I believe often even with family co-owners other than a spouse, signed legal documents created before the event occurs combined with the purchase of insurance where practical are the best ways to deal with these events smoothly. We use shareholders’ agreements for corporations, members’ agreements for LLCs, and buy-sell agreements for limited partnerships to address the four D’s. We use key man life insurance when available and affordable to fund the buyout of the deceased owner’s interest by the surviving owners or the entity. We have entities which can afford to purchase long term disability insurance on the owners to help ease the financial burdens of disability.

To lessen the burdens of future divorce on the business and remaining owners, we have each owner’s spouse execute the agreement waiving not the value of their spouse’s interest in the business, but their right to receive any part of the business as part of equitable distribution. This means it is more likely the spouse will get the house, cars or bank accounts to help to guarantee that your formerly married co-owner of the business gets to keep their interest in the business. Of course, this provision doesn’t prevent the burdens of child support and spousal support, changed living arrangements, and overall changes in day to day life from affecting the divorcing owner’s finances, time or attitude toward the business.

Typically, if a co-owner wants to leave the business voluntarily, we structure into the agreements a reduced value for their respective interest, covering some of the costs to remaining owners of having to separate asset values early. Their interest can also be bought out over time, preventing the other owners from bearing losses caused by the early liquidation of assets.

Of course the other important documents to deal with death or disability are on the personal side. Each co-owner owes it to the others to have a will to deal with death, and a power of attorney to deal with disability which prevents the handling of personal business matters.

Now that we have been through the foregoing discussion of the complications partners bring to your business, you

can see why I often recommend to those who have knowledge, experience, time, and cash or credit that they may

want to move forward in their real estate investing without partners. Often it is far simpler and more efficient to

invest in real estate without partners. Not only do you get to make every choice, you get all the benefit of your

successes, and the ability to change the course of your investing any time you feel the need. Sometimes, having a

whole smaller pie is better than having part of a larger pie, any way you cut it.

Pre-Winter Roof

Inspection

It is very important to have your roof inspected before the

cold weather hits. A pre-winter roof inspection can give

you peace of mind and save you from costly repairs.

If you think roof problems are rare, you’re wrong. “Roof deficiencies are the most

common problem reported by home inspection associations,” says the National

Roof Certification and Inspection Association. “Thirty percent of real estate

inspection claims are due to roof leaks and water penetration,” the group says.

“Thirty nine percent of homeowner’s insurance claims are because of roof

problems.”

There are a few key places you should focus on when caring for your roof. Make

sure your shingles are all intact and firmly attached. Be on the lookout for shin-

gles that could be cracked or damaged. Look for any holes, cracks or tears in met-

al flashing – that is, the strips of metal on your roof that help protect it. You

should also make sure your roof vents are in good condition.

Do what you can to avoid problems with your own roof. Have it inspected before

the winter begins.

Page 12

LANDLORDS, BE DISCREET

Landlords, remember, the information that you

receive from our office is for your eyes only, and is

not to be passed along to the tenant. If a tenant

doesn’t meet your criteria because of the credit report

that you received from our office, you CANNOT give

them the credit report, but you can give them the 800

number at the end of the report. They can call that

number and get a free copy of their report because

they were rejected as a result of their credit. Please do

not tell them that the Apartment Association won’t let

you rent to them or to call our office.

QUALIFING

APPLICANTS

When qualifying prospective tenants

here are some tips to consider.

After you ask a question, BE SILENT! If they don’t

answer, don’t help them to say something. They may

hate the silence and tell you something

they had not intended to tell you.

Ask open ended questions. The key words are ‘who,

what, where, why, and how’. No question with these

words included in it can be answered yes or no.

BAD NEWS FOR LANDLORDS

Hoarding Is Now Recognized As A Mental Disorder

By Stephen White rentprep.com

So as I read the morning news I noticed a story about how on May 1, 2013 hoarding will become officially recognized by the American Psychiatric Association as a mental disorder. I’ve already read several stories about how it relates to the rental industry in terms of dealing with this newly protected class, and even I sat through last year’s presentation about hoarding at the NAA Education Conference in Boston.

The stories always address the situation with the tenant already living in the unit, but the one perspective I hadn’t given much thought to was how this newly protected class would impact the tenant screening process.

Obviously there is no hoarding database. At least not yet. But a renter’s housekeeping habits are certainly considered during the screening process and often asked about during a call to the current and previous landlord.

So is it discriminating against a protected class if you deny tenancy after the previous landlord tells you the tenant was a hoarder?

What the Law Already Says

According to the Federal Fair Housing Act, equal housing must be given to persons that are members of a protected class. Those classes are defined as race/color, religion, national origin, gender, disability, and families with children.

Hoarding falls under the definition of a disability already in fair housing laws. Fair housing laws say “Hoarders, as persons with disabilities, have the right to request a reasonable accommodation. A reasonable accommodation is a request for a waiver or change in policies, practices, procedures and services to provide equal access and opportunity in housing for persons with disabilities. There must be a direct connection between the person’s disability and the reasonable accommodation request.”

Remedies According to Fair Housing

In the Housing Opportunities Made Equal’s Hoarding Fact Sheet, they provide an example of a reasonable accommodation by creating a remedy plan to preserve the tenancy. Included in the plan are support services and an individualized schedule for cleanup and inspections.

I’ve said before with regard to tenant screening, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The proactive rem-edy is always the best. To avoid having to perform routine site inspections and help “council” your tenants through their disabilities (at the expense of your investment) you NEED to know who you are renting to.

Hoarding and Tenant Screening

Fair housing laws allow the landlord to consider all relevant information when screening a families behavior and suitability for tenancy. That includes a “record of disturbance of neighbors, destruction of property, or living or housekeeping habits at prior residences which may adversely affect the health, safety or welfare of other tenants”.

So my interpretation is that if the previous landlord states that the tenant was a hoarder, without expanding on the record of damage, destruction or health and safety issues, then it’s potentially discrimination against a protected class. However, if the landlord expresses that the property was damaged or the condition of the unit was a health and safety concern, then the decision could be made to deny tenancy based on an adverse recommendation.

Page 13

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS WELCOME

Corey Detore * Joseph Wernicki * Jason Loucks * Nea Motzer * Lhotshampas Rental LLC

Marcie Soltesz * Dave Spiegel * Abby & Bryon Wellman * Joseph Williams * Robert Frick *

Mark Stilwell * Elaine Gentile & William Zboyovski * Mark Wear * Angela Meyer * Norman Martin

Mark DePoty * PJ Albrecht * Heather Barnett * Daniel Craciun * Dennis Barrick

Sandeep & Mukti Banga * Barbara Reese & William Schaal * Joe & Kelly Groner

Moore Space Program * Joyce Lansberry * Bradford Gerald * Terry Sapp

We look forward to seeing each of you at our meetings and hope

you will make many new friends. Please take advantage of the

networking opportunities before & after the meetings.

You may learn something or teach something to someone.

Page 14

An association is only as good as its members’ desire. If the members desire an involved association, then the members must get involved. Don’t

sit back and let someone else do the job. It is a proven fact that when “everyone” waits for “someone else” to do the job, “nobody” gets it done.

LANDLORD ROBBED BY

MAN AND WOMAN Stan Finger, The Wichita Eagle

A landlord thought he was meeting two prospective tenants for a duplex in west Wichita late Monday afternoon, police said.

But the man and woman who met him at the duplex on South Edwards had something else in mind: a robbery.

The incident unfolded shortly after 5 p.m. Monday in the 500 block of South Edwards, Lt. Joe Schroeder said. That’s just north of Kellogg near Friends University.

The 42-year-old landlord received a call on his cellphone from a man asking if he could look at a duplex for rent, Schroeder said. When the landlord arrived at the property on Edwards, he was met by a man and woman in their late 20s.

When they went inside the duplex to look around, Schroeder said, the man pulled out a small black handgun and took the landlord’s cellphone and cash. They then tied his hands behind his back with a zip tie before leaving.

Page 15

ATTENTION MEMBERS You may want to add some of these clauses to your lease.

Municipal Rental Fees Clause: Tenant shall reimburse Landlord for any municipal service

fee, special assessment, inspection fee, license fee, rental

permit fee, or special tax levied upon the rental unit which

must be paid to permit its use as a residential rental. Tenant

shall be responsible for such fees and taxes whether they are

in effect at the start of this lease, or if they become effective

during the Lease term. The amount due shall be considered

as additional rent, and must be paid within 10 days of billing

by the Landlord.

Inflation Clause: Any fees, taxes, or other charges enacted, assessed or

increased by any agency, business or utility that do not

exist at the signing of this lease shall be passed onto the

tenant as additional rent and due on demand.

Plumbing Clause:

No, grease, coffee grounds, sanitary napkins, or smoking

materials in drains or toilets. Plumbing repairs

necessitated by resident carelessness or neglect shall be at

the expense of the resident.

Don’t forget that every property that was built prior to

1978 MUST disclose that it may contain lead paint.

Every new tenant must be given the lead paint booklet

and must sign the lead disclosure form. That’s the

law! You must keep your signed lead disclosure forms and leases for a minimum of 5 years. You can purchase these forms

at the office or download them from our web site.

Landlords of the Apartment Association will comply with

all provisions of the (Fair Credit Reporting Act). The

information that is requested is for the Landlord’s exclusive use.

The landlord certifies that inquiries will be made ONLY for

permissible purpose, namely: in connection with credit

transaction involving the extension of credit to, or review of

collection of an account of the consumer. The law prohibits

the landlord from providing a copy of the report to the

applicant. Landlords are FORBIDDEN to obtain reports on

themselves, associates, or any other person except in the

exercise of their official duties. Any person who knowingly

and willingly obtains information on a consumer from a

consumer reporting agency under false pretenses shall be fined

$5,000 or imprisoned not more than one year or both.

CREDIT REPORTING PROCEDURES

When obtaining a credit report on an individual, you must

have a signed Apartment Association Rental Application with

the following information:

First & Last Name

Current address; including street with number, city, state and

ZIP CODE

Previous address; if above address is less than 1 year

Social Security Number

Date of Birth

Signature giving permission to run their report

Our computer system holds all the Landlord/Tenant

complaints filed in the State of Pennsylvania for the past seven

years. When a credit report is run in our office, we will

automatically check our files to see if a Landlord/Tenant

complaint has been filed on that person at no additional costs to

you. If you prefer just a Landlord/Tenant Complaint check and

no credit report then there is a charge for the L/T check.

Funds may be placed on account in order for you to run

credit reports. This will allow you to fax or scan and email the

rental application to the office and it will be returned to you by

fax or email. The office fax number is 814-866-2732.

EVICTION SCHEDULE UNDER ACT 36

This schedule is for the best case scenario, if using the

Apartment Association Lease or a lease that allows a 5 day

notice

Day (1) Rental payment due

Day (2) For unpaid rent must give a 5 day notice

Day (8) File landlord/tenant complaint at District Justice

Office

Day (15) Scheduled hearing to take place and judgment given.

A decision must be given within 3 days of hearing

Day (26) Writ of Possession can be requested 11th day after

judgment. The Writ of Possession must be served within 48

hours

Day (39) The eviction takes place around the 11th day after

service of the Writ of Possession.

FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE…

Credit reports can be ordered by any member that has money

on account or wishes to use a credit card. Simply mail, fax or

email the signed rental application to the office. It will be

completed and returned per your request. Forms may also be

ordered by telephone, fax, or mail if the member has money on

account or wishes to use credit card. Postage will be added to

the cost for any mailings to a member.

HARD COPIES Warning: All credit reports on accepted and rejected

tenant applications should be saved for at least five

years. It is imperative that owners request hard copies of

credit reports. Credit reports can change daily, and there

will never be another report exactly the same as the one

the owner ran to determine acceptance of a tenant.

Without a hard copy, the owner cannot prove the

financial reasons for acceptance or rejection if

challenged in court.

LABOR DAY SEPT 2nd

1127 West 38th Street

Erie, PA 16508

Address Service Requested

APARTMENT ASSOCIATION DINNER MEETING

Annual Board Meeting, Elections & Association Updates

Thursday September 26, 2013

Nunzi’s Place 2330 East 38th Street

Erie, PA 16511

Cost: $15 per person

Networking at 6:30pm/Dinner at 7:00pm

Name _______________________________________________________________

Phone __________________ # Attending ________ Amount Enclosed ______________

Reservation deadline is September 23, 2013

Reservations are required. No refunds on cancellations after the reservation deadline date.

Members are responsible for the bill on all reservations made

and NOT cancelled prior to the reservation deadline date.