1. Welcome to SIROA South-central Independent Rental Owners Association

2. March 24 th, 2015 Bi-Monthly Meeting  The South-Central Independent Rental Owners Association was founded in 2007 by a group of local property owners. SIROA is a membership organization dedicated to Simplifying the Property Rental Business.  SIROA was developed to foster communication between them in order to provide a better housing experience for residents.  We emphasize education of the members to ensure compliance with state, local and federal housing laws. We also promote communication community and government agencies to help reduce crime and ensure property compliance.

3. Maintenance Issues vs. Property Owners  In managing Rental Property, one of the most cost consuming things Property Owners have to deal with is Maintenance issues. We have tenants that don’t report problems to us that result in 1 problem turning into 5 or 6 problems!!  In gathering information from the members of this group, I have come up with a series of issues or questions that I am going to propose to the group and let us discuss and get different ideas on how to deal with these problems, since there is not one specific answer to any of these questions. I will then post all suggestions when I post this on the website for your reference.

4. What is required to be done as a Property Owner as far as Maintenance and what is a tenant responsible for?  Re: Clogged drains: some Property owners feel this a responsibility of the tenant solely. However, Other Property owners bring up the point that they practice such things as if after 30 days, the plumbing problems are charged back to the tenant. Or if it is things such as roots in the pipe lines, they take that expense as their own responsibility because that is a problem that has happened over time and not a responsibility of the tenant’s. They also have a policy where they say that anything less than $500 is the tenants responsibility and anything over $500 is the Property Owner’s responsibility. This would have to be in the lease, remember! As pointed out by one of the members, by the time you wait, go through eviction proceedings, etc.., it will ruin your dwelling. Then you have to re-rent it. It’s better to go ahead and just fix the problem.  Re: Smoke Detectors: most feel this is the tenants responsibility however the Property Owners should backup and check to see because the tenants do not do this.

5. What are some suggestions to get your tenants to communicate with you on maintenance stuff? Would a maintenance kit help?  Re: The Maintenance Kit: Most Property Owners agreed they would not want their tenants doing any maintenance on their properties.  Re: Communication:  A suggestion was made to tell the tenants that they go in every 3 months to do a thorough inspection of the unit.  Another suggestion was made that once a month you put water in a pump bottle sprayer and write Pesticide on it ( or you can actually use bug spray ) and give them a 24 hour notice that spraying would be done. Go spray mist each apartment and as you do it, look around and check the unit to see what kind of shape it is in. This way you know who you have to watch and who you don’t. Then you become creative on fixing doors, windows, etc.. In that unit. I found the best time to do this little Preventive Maintenance deal was around the 5 th of the month. I usually was able to collect late payments or see who was moving out quicker.

6. Do Landlords Supply electric garage Door Openers for Tenants?  The answers I received on this were that it depends on the tenant and it depends on the value of the home.

7. When do Landlords consider to paint or repaint a unit?  One Property Manager suggests not repainting for 6-7 years on an occupied unit.  Others say it depends on if they smoke or not.  One said that if a tenant asks for them to paint their unit they require them to clean their walls first.  One idea was- if they had been there a year spend $50 on an upgrade they wished to have, if 2 years, spend $100, and so on. That is cheaper than having them move out.  Repainting an occupied unit also depends on if there is such things as pets or small children in that unit, as well.

8. Do Landlords charge for nail holes and if so how much is fair?  One Landlord Charges $5 Per nail hole – after 3 or 4 pictures.  Another Landlord has included in their lease what you need to do in order to get your deposit back and concerning nail holes- the tenants are to fix them themselves.  If the tenants hang a reasonable amount of pictures with the correct hangers, its okay.

9. How do we prevent nastiness in our units?  One suggestion was that when we do preventive maintenance, if we see dirt real bad, go buy, or give the tenant the correct cleaners and assist or show them how to clean what is filthy—tub, stove, refrigerator, etc.. Or tell them to do it in a reasonable time and come back and check.  Another suggestion was to actually check you references on previous places lived for nastiness!!  Go look inside their Car.  Keep checking on their unit once you find out they have that problem.

10. What are others Pet Policies and Animal Control Issues?  Here is the various Policies from the various Property Owners:  Do Not Allow Pets  Nothing over 20 Pounds  ½ Month Additional Deposit for Pets  Nothing Larger than a cat+ $300 Pet Deposit  Service Animals-Documentation must be provided and verified  Snakes—NO!!  Bootlegging in Pets—Catch during Maintenance Inspection – Give 7 day notice—Need to make sure its in the that you do not allow “Pet Setting”

11. What type of Preventive Maintenance do other Landlords do?  Pest Control- Monthly/ Quarterly  Furnace Filters- 2-3 Months  Smoke Detector Batteries- It is advised to do this when the time changes  Gutter Cleaning- Spring/ Fall  Snow Removal-

12. How do we prevent Tear up of our units when someone is moving out?  Go over and sit and watch them  Go in and take pictures of everything before the moveout and have them sign them.

13. What do other Landlords do concerning changing locks if a tenant is put in jail for more than just a few days?  Go to the jail and ask to have tenant sign an okay to change the locks.  Have an office be there while you change them to assure you have properly secured their place. Then send a certified letter to the jail to the tenant notifying them that their locks have been changed to secure their belongings and they can pick up their keys when they are released.

14. Summary  Our next scheduled meeting will be May 14 th at 6:00pm here at Mallard’s.  Thank you for attending!!!