2013 TuscREIA Officers:President: Chris HopkinsVice President: John McCreeryTreasurer: Patty McCreerySecretary: Jack Jones2013 Advisory Board:Jack Lewis, Bryan Mitchell, Tommy Cannon,Wendell Wendling, Bill Walsh & Janet Stear

Tuscarawas County Real Estate Investors Assoc. Volume 2, Issue 3

May 2013

CERTIFIED PROPERTY MANAGER(CPM)

BUSINESS BACKGROUND:- Licensed in real estate sales 1968

Licensed as real estate broker 1978Vice President and GM of United Re-alty and Investment Co. from 1969 to1979. Started with 225 residential unitsand left managing 3,200 residentialrental units and over 700,000 squarefeet of commercial and office space.

PERSONAL HANDS-ON MANAGE-MENT EXPERIENCE- Lawn maint. & landscaping, 1 year

Painting interior walls /ceilings, 2 yrsCarpet cleaning (steam clean), 6 mosRepairs - plumbing, electrical, heatingand general maintenance, 2 yearsCommissioned Rental Agent, 4 yearsProperty mgt. accounting, 2 yearsProperty manager, 3 yearsExecutive Property manager, 14 yearsCURRENT CREDENTIALS

- Broker of John F Niebel Realty

- Continuing Education Instructor forOhio Division of Real Estate Con-tinuing Education

- Ethics instructor for National Asso-ciation of Realtors® continuing edu-cationNational Association of Realtors® –Instructor for designation courses:SRES®, Seniors Real Estate Spe-cialist; ABR®, Accredited BuyerRepresentative; Foreclosure andShort Sale®; Green in Real Estate®;Green Residential®Ethics instructor for Wheeling, WVAssociation of Realtors®Owner and Instructor for TUXEDO

TRAINING Real estatecontinuing ed. faculty.

We will be discussing Deferred mainte-

nance, Curable Obsolescence and Incura-

ble Obsolescence. I will give ideas on

painting, carpet buying and landscaping.

There will be time for Q & A at the end. I

encourage questions and ideas.

May General Meeting: Scheduled: Thursday, 05/09/2013 @ 7pm

Meeting Location: Geib Family Center, East High Ave, New Phila

May 9th General Meeting:

Speaker: John Neibel of Tuxedo Training

Inside this issue:

Secretaries minutes 2

Credit Checks—costs

1ʑɦ � �,ʛ ʠUʝɃHɍ

2

2013 Presidents note 3

FREE Ads:Unit’s 4 Rent

3

Fair Housing Chgs. 3

Cont.’ Fair Housing 4

Thank you!

Bryan Nellie Mitchell pro-vided delicious refresh-

ments at our March Gen.Meeting.

***************The Geib Family Centerfor the wonderful warm

place we meet 5 months ayear.

May Refreshments willbe provided by:

2013 Advisory Board:Wendell Wendling

“Unit’s” of News

Secretary notes. From: March General Meeting/April Advisory Board Meeting

TuscREIA’s March general meeting was a wealth of information if you had any questions about insurance for rental

properties. Many of the questions revolved around landlord’s responsibility regarding tenants’ pets, visitors and family

members. Our speaker provided a life time of information about the insurance industry and some of the new issues com-

ing with the changes with insurance and taxes coming from the Obama administration. We would like to send a special

thanks to Bill Weisgarber of Tuscarawas Insurance Agency. If you have questions about any type of insurance please give

Bill a call, make sure to tell him you’re a TuscREIA member.

Respectfully submitted: 2013 Secretary, Jack Jones

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The officers and board met at the Dover Bob Evan’s Restaurant on April 18 2013 to discuss our upcoming

May program. Also discussed was should some of the TuscREIA forms be re-visited and dated. Reminded

officer & board members that Akron/Canton REIA’s have an upcoming vendor show and asked who would

be going.

TuscREIA’s May meeting will be a do not miss meeting as our speaker, John Neibel, is a person who helped

write Ohio landlord / tenant law. Our speaker is also one of the best teachers in the state for realtor/ apprais-

er education. Refreshments will be provided by Wendell Wendling.

Respectfully submitted: 2013 Secretary, Jack Jones

Page 2 2013 TuscREIA Officers:

Are you running CREDIT CHECKS on the perspective tenants?

SCAN & EMAIL YOUR COMPLETED 2012 APPLICATION TO RENT to

taej_tdsone@yahoo.com TuscREIA no longer has a fax number.>>For $15.00/person you can run a Limited Report. This report gives you acredit score, credit history, court proceedings, creditors.>>For $25.00/person you can run a Full Report. This report gives you allof the items listed above from the Limited Report as well as Nationwidesearch on the following: Evictions, Criminal Background check, CourtJudgments, Address Search, etc. This report is a wealth of knowledge forpeople who are coming in from out of our area/state.

It never ceases to amaze me how many people I talk to who own rental properties, but they don’t use a lease agree-

ment. It seems like they’re always having tenant problems. At this point, I hand them a TuscREIA business card and tell themthey really need to join our organization.

The TuscREIA lease agreement you use should be at the very core of your business and shouldIt never ceases to amaze me howmany people I talk to who own rental properties, but they don’t use a lease agreement. It seems like they’re always having tenantproblems. At this point, I hand them a TuscREIA business card and tell them they really needto join our organization.

The TuscREIA lease agreement you use should be at the very core of your business andshould adapt to your business practices while continuing to meet changes in the law at boththe national and state levels. As a landlord, you need to be comfortable with your lease agree-ment and make sure it is as legal as it can be while still covering everything you want it tocover.

You should read your lease carefully and understand what it says. How can you answer tenant questions about the lease if youhaven’t read it? Your lease should include all the terms and conditions of the rental to which the parties have agreed and shouldset forth everyone's responsibilities and rights. Along with the TuscREIA lease, you need to check out the security deposit, condi-tion of premises, and co-signer agreements. These exhibits are all on the TuscREIA website under the member info tab.

It pays to be on the constant look out for ideas wherever you are day in and day out or in your business readings. One thing forsure, if the need arises and your lease agreement and accompanying documents help you win a court case, you’ll be glad you weresmart enough to be a savvy landlord and use a solid lease.

2013 President, Chris Hopkins

STRUCTURED THOUGHTS….A note from our President.

Volume 2, Issue 3 Page 3

Along with the TuscREIAlease, you need to check outthe security deposit, condi-tion of premises, and co-signer agreements.

Special for members,FREE ’UNIT’SFOR RENT ADS:

Your ads arestill needed.Typically, mem-bers have beenrenting theirunit’s out withinthe week the adis posted to ourweb site.

Send your ad (with op-

tional up to 5 photos) to

Terri.

taej_tdsone@yahoo.com

04/12/2013: Special Report: Fair Housing Changes. By, Jessica Fiur

New York—Are you up to date on the Fair Housing requirements? In a recentwebinar cohosted by Grace Hill and AppFolio Property Manager called “FairHousing: What’s New for 2012,” speaker Nadeen Green, senior counsel, ForRent Media Solutions, provided an overview on some of the new Fair Housingrequirements that property managers should be aware of.One of the newest changes involves the LGBT community. “There are nowsome very specific housing rules for those in the LGBT community that are inplace for those tied to HUD properties,” Green said.

For example, now people cannot be discriminated against or denied housingbecause of sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status. Additionally,owners cannot ask about sexual orientation.

Currently, the rules regarding sexual orientation only apply to HUD housing;however, Green cautioned that this is likely to move to other property typesin the near future.

But, said Green, this should be a “non issue” when it comes to finding resi-dents. What should be an issue? Green said there are only three importantquestions to ask when finding a qualified resident for a community: Is theperson’s income appropriate for the housing? Will the person be able to takecare of the apartment? And, will the person abide by your community rules?(Green noted that this last question does not necessarily apply to personswith disabilities—PWDs—who do not have to take care of the apartmentthemselves and can instead arrange for others to do so.)

**CONTINUED PAGE 4**

TuscREIA is a NOT FOR PROFIT educational based organization. Investors should consult an

attorney and/or accountant before making any investment or legal decisions. All members

and guests assume the risk of making their own investment decisions.

TuscREIA does not endorse any person or organization or the advertisers appearing in this

newsletter. Its programs are designed to be educational, motivational and enjoyable.

P. O. Box 483New Philadelphia OH 44663

Tuscarawas County Real

Estate Investors Assoc.

Phone: 330/243-2147Fax: 330/308-5303

E-mail:taej_tdsone@yahoo.com

Through education & experience we

can attain our goals!

Unit’s of News

2013 TuscREIA Officers

2013 Advisory Board

Left front /Left rear

Jack Lewis

Wendell Wendling

Tommy Cannon

Bryan Mitchell

Janet Stear

Missing: Bill Walsh

Left to Right:

Patty McCreery

John McCreery

Jack Jones

Chris Hopkins

**CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3** Another new issue in Fair Housing is domestic violence. Because, statisticallyspeaking, domestic violence victims are usually women, there could be a gender bias when, for example, victims ofdomestic violence need to be evicted.

According to the new legislation, property managers now have to allow victims of domestic violence to change thelocks, allow them to terminate their lease and allow them to remain in the apartment despite a domestic violenceincident that would have otherwise been a lease violation.

There have also been Fair Housing updates concerning service animals. According to Green, the ADA passed a rul-ing that specified guide dogs would only be permitted; however, this ruling only refers to public spaces. When itcomes to residential areas, many other service animals are permitted. Some examples include miniature horses,which could help guide the blind; iguanas, which could assist with depression; and monkeys, which could assistthose with physical disabilities.

“The good news is that the residents have to pick up the waste,” Green said.

One surprising change to Fair Housing is the evolving view of the criminal background check on lease agreements.Though typically standard in the multifamily industry to include this on all applications, Green said this might bechanging because of disparate impact. Green explained that disparate impact is the adverse effect of a practice thatis non-discriminatory in intention, but that disproportionately affects individuals in a group protected by law.

“[The criminal background question] disproportionally affects Hispanics and African Americans, so we as an indus-try might not be able to do criminal background checks,” Green said.

Emails to potential residents could also lead to unfair practices.

“Some believe we are using emails and the names attached [to the email addresses] to discriminate,” Green said.She suggested responding to all emails promptly and keeping the messages to everyone professional.

A hot topic in the industry that isn’t part of Fair Housing—yet—is hoarding. “This isn’t a Fair Housing issue, but it’san issue,” Green said. If a property manager finds that a resident is a hoarder, the property manager should attemptto reasonably accommodate the resident and give specific timelines and instructions.