NOW IS THE
TIME TO ACT!! |

Vacancy is at
an all time high, leasing is grinding to a halt, foreclosures
are at a record high, taxes and insurance “reform” never seemed
to happen, skips are at a record high, tenants are demanding
lower rent, your phone is not ringing, and someone just
complained about bedbugs. Will the bad news ever end? It will.
Everything runs in cycles. Now is the time to take more
education classes, examine your policies and procedures,
evaluate your business, and make it a finely tuned, well oiled
machine. Tap into the resources available to you. Apartment
Management? Join your local
Apartment Association. Single family home
management? Join
FARPM and your local
NARPM Chapter. It is that simple. Make a small
investment in yourself and your business, join, get involved,
and succeed.
Click here
for your resource links.
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AAGO OFFERS NEW MEMBER SERVICE |

Looking for a new employee or a career change? Overwhelmed by
the costs and hassle of advertising for a job that produces so
many unqualified applicants? The Apartment Association of
Greater Orlando is now providing
"The Apartment Industry Career Center" for its members, a
one stop online resource for multi-family industry jobs.
Maintenance, leasing, housekeeping, management, it is all there.
Get hooked up today and
CLICK HERE.
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HOLIDAY
EVICTION SLOWDOWNS - BUT WHY? |
Every
year many Courts seem to come to a grinding halt between
Thanksgiving and New Years. Is it the fault of your attorney?
No. Don’t worry, up to 21 of us are all here every weekday
except for the major holidays. Between the vacations the Court
employees take during this time period, the back up they
experience when the Courts are closed for even one day, and the
general sympathy that some judges feel at this time of year for
the tenant, the evictions will slow down. The sheriff’s
departments in many counties will not serve writs of possession
for a time period, and to compound it all, there are record
numbers of foreclosures that are being filed that are
overwhelming the court system. All you can do is understand the
situation and have patience.
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BAD SECURITY
DEPOSIT HABITS - PART 2 |

Still think there’s nothing to learn about security deposits?
Nothing new to learn? If only that were so! Security deposit
complaints plague property managers. Last month’s issue
described some common mistakes. Unfortunately, there are more.
Click here
for Part 2
of attorney Cathy Lucrezi's article on Bad Security Deposit
Habits.
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PROMISSORY
NOTE MISTAKES |

Due to market
conditions, many landlords are trying their best to “work with
the tenant”. There has been a large increase in the use of
promissory notes for this purpose. The promissory note is NOT to
be used when the tenant is in possession. Incorrectly using a
form is often worse than not using a form at all.
Click here
for some
tips on the Promissory Note.
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METHAMPHETAMINE IS HERE |

While Florida has so far been spared the methamphetamine scourge
to a large extent, meth is here and is being manufactured in
apartments, trailers and houses. Strong enforcement in other
states is causing the manufacturers to relocate to our fine
state. Besides the illegality of the drug and the social costs,
the manufacture process can result in contamination of your
unit, requiring costly decontamination measures. Do you know the
telltale signs of methamphetamine manufacturing?
Click here
to
see how you
can spot a meth lab in your rental.
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CORPORATE HOUSING SCAMS - BEWARE |

Taking advantage of the slow market, a number of scams are on
the rise. One is the newly formed corporate housing company that
wants to rent 5 units from you. They do so in the company name,
put tenants in, and then stop paying you the rent. Possibly its
first rent check even bounces. Others are working with a local
business that needs housing for its employees. The corporate
housing company leases the units, and either a deal falls
through with the local business and the corporate housing
company never gets paid by the business, or it never remit
payment to you. Whenever dealing with corporate housing, make
sure it is a well established company with a clean track record,
and check all current and past references.
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SOLDIERS,
SAILORS, AND TENANTS |

Military
personnel enjoy certain benefits, perhaps to compensate them for
the tremendous sacrifices they make for the rest of us. Some of
those benefits fall into the housing area and affect the
tenancies you manage. Are you “at attention” to get some
marching orders?
Click here
to
see how to
handle the military tenant.
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QUICK TIP: MAINTENANCE AND KEYS |

Your maintenance person goes out to a unit, opens up the unit,
fixes a maintenance issue and leaves. Only problem is, he forgot
something. The key. The key is still in the lock. Your tenant
comes home from work and sees the key in the door, and the
tenant is livid. Now accusations fly that items are missing and
that you are incompetent. A quick mistake avoidance technique?
Make sure the keys are attached to the belt of maintenance
person at all times with a retractable key holding gadget.
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SELFSTORAGELEGAL.COM - The Occupant's Change of Address |

Occupants of
self-storage units commonly change their address. Many times
your tenants are renting a self-storage unit because they are
moving, or they are between addresses due to the loss of a job,
an eviction, or a transfer. There will come a time when you will
not receive the rent payment on the self-storage unit, and by
law are required to give the tenant notice prior to taking
further action, which may include the lien, auction and sale
procedures. This makes receiving and acknowledging a change of
address one of the most critical operations you may have at your
self-storage facility. Will the tenant claim they gave you the
new address? Can you refute this claim? Is there now potential
huge liability?
Click here
to read Self
Storage Law expert attorney Jeffrey Greenberger’s article “The
Occupant's Change of Address”.
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COMMERCIAL
LAW AND YOU
- Continuing Ongoing Maintenance,
Repairs and Expenses |

The commercial landlord never
should be having a dispute over who bears the responsibility for
continuing maintenance and repair issues. This is an area that
is often a negotiated aspect of lease obligations and which
should be specifically identified by the Landlord. Is this a
common area item which is the landlord’s responsibility? All the
remaining areas of maintenance, repairs and replacements should
be specifically identified, allocating to whether the Landlord
or the Tenant is responsible for maintenance repairs or
replacements to the structure.
Click here
for info on
how to deal with Continuing Ongoing Maintenance, Repairs and
Expenses by attorney Kevin Jursinski.
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THE FAIR HOUSING CORNER -
“PARK IT
RIGHT HERE”
By Cathy L. Lucrezi, Attorney at Law |
Imagine
this: A tenant enters the office and requests a reserved,
accessible parking space. The tenant explains her child uses a
wheelchair, and the parking space is needed to allow better
access to the apartment. Although you don’t show it, your mind
races in panic, thinking of all the other tenants who will be
demanding reserved spaces, and how can you handle it all?
Click here
for some
info on Parking and Fair Housing.
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