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Apartment Owner Ordered To Pay $1.6 Million In Bed Bug Lawsuit

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By The Editors
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A jury has awarded a California family $1.6 million in one of the largest single bed bug lawsuit case awards ever reported against an apartment owner, according to a release.

Liliana Martinez told NBC in Los Angles her family suffered for months with bed bugs at the Kahala Islander Apartments in Inglewood, California in 2010. She said her child, a baby at the time, was covered in bites.

“Just seeing how he would scratch all the time and nothing would heal because it would start bleeding again. It was very emotional, very stressful,” she told the television station.

The family says they complained to apartment management and were told to throw out all of their furniture and sleep on the floor. But it took months to eradicate the bugs. The lawyer who represents the apartment building declined to comment on the case.

The defendant in the case, Amusement Six Apartments LLC owns an apartment complex in Inglewood and simply didn’t respond appropriately to the Plaintiffs complaints about bedbugs, according to Yahoo news.  According to the suit, it took management 9 days to initially schedule bedbug treatment, and when they did, the pest control operator left handfuls of chemical all over their belongings and carpet.  When the plaintiffs complained about the chemical, the management told them there was nothing they could do, and they should vacuum a square area in their living room to sleep on with their 2 young children.  Although they then agreed to change the carpet, it took them 3 months to do so, and all the while, the bed bugs were feeding and breeding in the carpet until it was changed.  The family continued to receive bedbug bites the entire time.

Bed bug lawsuit verdict the largest in U.S.

Brian Virag, attorney from the law firm of mybedbuglawyer.com, obtained the $1.6 million verdict for the family and said in a release it was the largest verdict for a single family for bed bugs in the U.S.  He represented the family of four including a 3-year old boy and a 3-month old baby girl who were all bitten by bed bugs.  His clients were all exposed to bedbugs between July and October of 2012.

The case was Liliana Martinez Et. Al. v. Amusement Six Apartments LLC.

The young boy, Jorge Maravilla Jr., who was 3 years old at the time of the bedbug exposure was covered in bed bug bites.  He has significant residual scarring to the day.  The jury awarded Jorge Jr. $880,000.

This is the fifth landmark verdict obtained by Virag in the last 12 months that included a 3.5-million-dollar verdict against PLB Management, and a $546,000 verdict in October against the Hilton Garden Inn in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, whose clients were exposed to bed bugs for a one-night hotel stay.

Sixteen former and current residents of one of Los Angeles’ largest apartment complexes  won a $3.5-million verdict over an infestation of bed bugs in their units last year, Virag told the Los Angeles Times.

Park La Brea Apartments, a sprawling complex with more than 4,000 units in the Miracle Mile District, was found liable by a jury in Los Angeles Superior Court late Friday afternoon, said attorney Brian Virag, who represented the plaintiffs.

Colorado Governor Signs New Bed Bug Law For Landlords And Tenants

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Seattle City Council Halts Online Rent Bidding Apps

By
the-editors
-

The Seattle City Council in an 8-0 vote has put a moratorium on the use of rent bidding apps such as Rentberry for rental housing in Seattle until the council can study the impact of the technology, according to a release.

Startups like Rentberry allow landlords to list rental units so that would-be tenants can offer higher or lower prices, based on what they would be willing to pay. The sites take a percentage of the difference. Operators of these rental auction sites claim supply and demand already affect rent prices and that their services just make the process more transparent, according to reports.

“Innovation in technology has been a key component of what makes Seattle such a great city, adding to our economic diversity. At the same time, we must have the opportunity to learn about new platforms, such as these ‘rent bidding’ platforms, and ensure that they live up to the equity and housing access values of our city,” Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda said in the release.

The Rentberry site says, “Rentberry is a transparent home rental service and a price negotiation platform uniting tenants and landlords. It automates all the standard rental tasks from submitting your personal information, credit reports and custom offers, to e-signing rental agreements and online rental payments.”

Rentberry lists a number of major cities, with the exception of Seattle, on its site including New York, Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Atlanta.

Rent bidding apps will be studied

Mosqueda’s legislation puts a one-year moratorium on the technology’s operation in Seattle while the City’s Office of Housing, in conjunction with Office of Civil Rights and Department of Construction and Inspections, evaluates the potential impacts of the rent auctioning applications, specifically how they abide by equitable access to housing laws.

During the moratorium, the city will evaluate how the bidding platforms comply with the city’s fair access housing laws, including the “First in Time” law, which requires that landlords accept the first qualified applicant.

Mosqueda developed the legislation after the Associated Students of the University of Washington (ASUW) approached her with concerns about access and equity, and asked that the City evaluate the potential impacts of rent bidding apps, and compliance with city laws.

Sorana Nance, ASUW Senate Speaker, said in a release, “I’m glad that students have had an impact on the Seattle that we will be living in, especially at a time when our city is experiencing rapid change. My hope is that this legislation will help ensure equitable housing practices for Seattle residents now and in the future.”

Councilmember Mosqueda added, “I’m thankful to the ASUW students for approaching me, and appreciate Puget Sound Sage for illustrating the importance of pausing and evaluating the technology before we have unintended consequences.”

Rentberry said in a release that, “One of the revolutionary blockchain technologies the team is working on this year is the Rentberry Auctioning Technology. The Auctioning Technology’s core purpose is to ensure that landlords price their properties optimally in both hot and slow markets, while potential tenants are afforded complete visibility on competing offers and offered the ability to seamlessly negotiate rental terms online. It acts as a pricing oracle that allows tenants to bid, sign legal rental documents, and settle payments using BERRY tokens, all in one place,” according to investinblockchain.com.

Tenants can also crowdsource their rent deposits in the community.

Resources:

Seattle bans rent bidding in latest attempt to keep disruptive tech from compounding housing crisis

Seattle bans apartment auction apps to avoid online bidding wars

Why rent bidding apps will make the rental market even more unaffordable

Rentberry Roadmap: Will 2018 Be the Year of the Rental Market Revolution?

 

Seattle, Phoenix, Denver Top Hot Spots For Apartment Jobs

By
the-editors
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Apartment jobs listings jumped up 18 percent in February over January, according to the apartment jobs report from the National Apartment Association Education Institute.

The increase in the number of apartment job listings in February certainly involves some seasonality factors as 2018 hiring plans took firmer hold, according to Paula Munger, Director, Industry Research and Analysis, for the National Apartment Association (NAA).

Denver, Phoenix and Seattle maintained spots in the top three metro areas for apartment jobs as a percent of the entire real estate sector, signaling increasingly competitive job markets where qualified candidates have plenty of choices, she said.

Construction manager positions took the longest to fill, at 44 days, as the construction sector overall has experienced a long-term labor shortage. By contrast, owners and operators looking for administrative positions can typically fill these jobs in less than a month.

 Leasing consultant apartment jobs pay mean of $39,235

Seattle, Phoenix, Denver Top Hot Spots For Apartment Jobs

This month’s snapshot focused on the leasing consultant position, with job postings across the country showing a mean salary of $39,235.

In addition to leasing experience, these positions require strong communication and writing skills, as well as customer service skills.

Experience in property management was also a strongly desired. Markets with the highest concentration of demand for leasing consultants are unsurprisingly in areas which have had a spate of new apartment construction: Detroit, Raleigh and Washington, DC. Although all types of apartment jobs will be needed for new communities, these markets are currently experiencing a shortage of qualified leasing professionals, Munger reported.

Jobs in property management, maintenance and leasing will continue to grow and “we’re not seeing that change any time soon,” Munger said last month. ”Construction has leveled off a bit and I’m sure you’ve heard that starts are down. But I see that as more of a normalizing thing than anything. More and more people are making a choice to live in apartments,” she said in an interview with Rental Housing Journal.

“Our education institute is a credentialing body for the apartment industry. They hear often that one of the biggest problems keeping our industry leaders up at night is the difficulty in finding talent, attracting talent and retaining talent,” Munger said last month at the time the first report was released.  “Labor-market issues are happening in a lot of industries, certainly with the tight labor market we have.”

For the monthly on-going reports, the NAA decided to partner with Burning Glass Technologies. “They have a labor-job posting database that is proprietary,” she said, and they can “layer on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). We looked at that and thought we could do something that is really going to help the industry and help benchmark job titles and trends as we go forward.”

About the National Apartment Association Education Institute

The NAA Education Institute provides broad-based education, training and recruitment programs that attract, nurture and retain high-quality professionals and develop tomorrow’s Residential Property Management industry leaders.

About The National Apartment Association

The National Apartment Association is the leading voice for the apartment housing industry. As a trusted partner, a valued connector and a powerful advocate, the NAA is committed to serving 160 affiliates, more than 75,000 members and the 9.25 million apartment units operate globally.

 

Portland Landlords Will Have To Pay Tenant Moving As City Makes Policy Permanent

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By The Editors
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Portland landlords now face a permanent policy that forces them to pay tenant moving costs if they want to increase rent by 10 percent or do no-cause evictions to move tenants out to rehab old apartment buildings to upgrade them, according to reports.

Landlords see the ordinance as disguised rent control.

The permanent renter protection policy requires landlords to pay tenant moving costs ranging from $2,900 to $4,500 to tenants subject to no-cause evictions or who choose to move if their rents are raised more than 10 percent a year.

The council revoked an exemption for landlords who own just one rental unit, except in limited circumstances. The revised policy is effective immediately, according to reports.

“I’m pleased that we’ve been able to work through some complex issues and arrive at a consensus policy that will, after today, become permanent City law,” Commissioner Nick Fish said in a release.

“There’s no shortage of anxiety and uncertainty in the world and in our community right now. Portland tenants shouldn’t have to worry whether they’re going to come home to notice of a 20 percent rent increase. Or whether their child is going to have to change schools and start over somewhere new mid-year. Whether they’ll have to choose between groceries or medicine. Or whether they’ll be able to keep a roof over their family’s head. The market forces at work here are too big for any local government to contain, but we have an obligation to step up and lead in ways that we can,” Fish said in the release.

Mayor Ted Wheeler who had earlier said he wanted more study on the issue, changed his mind and voted to remove the exemption for small landlords who own only one property and require them to comply with the moving ordinance.

Removing the small landlord exemption came after a research study

Chariot Wheel Research Consultants authored the study which says, “This single-unit exemption not only undermines the spirit of the law, it leaves nearly 20% of renter households vulnerable to the same double-digit rent increases and no-cause evictions which precipitated the housing state of emergency to begin with, thus perpetuating and exacerbating the very hardships the RELO ordinance seeks to mitigate.”

Landlords continue fight against the relocation ordinance

Last year, John DiLorenzo, attorney for two landlords challenging the ordinance in court said, “Though we appreciate the time and effort the court expended on this case, we still strongly believe the ordinance will only aggravate Portland’s housing crisis. The court failed to see it for what it is – disguised rent control, which violates state statutes and the Oregon Constitution,” DiLorenzo said.

Summary of changes to Portland tenant moving ordinance

Attorney Leah Sykes with Greenspoon Marder LP wrote that in addition to making the ordinance permanent, the City made numerous other changes. The exemption for owners of a single rental dwelling within the City was removed and the following 12 highly specific exemptions from the relocation fee requirements were implemented:

 

  • Rental Agreements for week-to-week tenancies;
  • Tenants that occupy the same Dwelling Unit as the Landlord;
  • Tenants that occupy one Dwelling Unit in a Duplex where the Landlord’s principal residence is the second Dwelling Unit in the same Duplex;
  • Tenants that occupy an Accessory Dwelling Unit that is subject to the Act in the City of Portland so long as the owner of the Accessory Dwelling Unit lives on the site;
  • A Landlord that temporarily rents out the Landlord’s principal residence during the Landlord’s absence of not more than 3 years;
  • A Landlord that temporarily rents out the Landlord’s principal residence during the Landlord’s absence due to active duty military service;
  • A Dwelling Unit where the Landlord is terminating the Rental Agreement in order for an immediate family member to occupy the Dwelling Unit;
  • A Dwelling Unit regulated as affordable housing by a federal, state or local government for a period of at least 60 years.
  • A Dwelling Unit that is subject to and in compliance with the federal Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970;
  • A Dwelling Unit rendered uninhabitable not due to the action or inaction of a Landlord orTenant;
  • A Dwelling Unit rented for less than 6 months with appropriate verification of the submission of a demolition permit prior to the Tenant renting the Dwelling Unit;
  • A Dwelling Unit where the Landlord has provided a fixed term tenancy and notified the Tenant prior to occupancy, of the Landlord’s intent to sell or permanently convert the Dwelling Unit to a use other than as a Dwelling Unit subject to the Act.

In addition Sykes wrote, “It is extremely important to note that these exemptions are only available to landlords AFTER the landlord completes and submits the required exemption reporting forms to the Portland Housing Bureau. As revised, these narrow exemptions appear to extend to companies managing such properties on behalf of an exempt owner.”

Divided Oregon Supreme Court Upholds Portland Relocation Payment Ordinance

Fair Housing Discrimination Against Someone You’ve Never Talked To?

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By The Editors
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The Grace Hill training tip of the week focuses on the issue of potential fair housing discrimination against someone you have never talked to.

By Ellen Clark

When you think about upholding Fair Housing Act laws, you probably think about treating people fairly and equally when they come in for a tour, or as you interact with them as potential tenants.

But did you ever think if you fail to answer an email, you end up on the wrong side of a fair housing claim without ever interacting with a person?

Fair housing laws protect people from discrimination throughout all stages of your interactions, not just after they become your tenant or residents of your apartment community.

From the first contact, whether by phone call, email, text, or in-person, you are responsible for upholding fair housing laws and treating all people in a non-discriminatory manner.

In fact, it is possible for you to discriminate against someone without ever having direct contact with that person.

That may seem unlikely, but let’s explore how that could happen.

If an employee fails to respond to an email due to an assumption about the sender’s race, that behavior could be considered discrimination.

How discrimination could happen against someone you’ve never talked to

Here are a couple of examples to consider:

    • A maintenance technician skips over a service ticket for a devout Christian family with a reputation for talking openly about their religion because he anticipates feeling uncomfortable. The maintenance technician’s behavior could be considered discrimination based on religion, even though the maintenance technician never directly interacted with the resident.
    • A leasing agent gets an email from a prospective resident with a name that she assumes is Asian. The agent does not respond to the email because the community’s residents are mostly African American and she feels the prospective resident probably wouldn’t fit in. This behavior could be considered discrimination based on race, even though the leasing agent never directly interacted with the prospective resident.

Consistency and training are key to ensuring that your teams are upholding fair housing laws and treating people in a non-discriminatory manner.

 How can you guard against discrimination happening?

Consistency and training are good places to start.

Consistency is key in dealing with fair housing issues.

It is best to behave consistently with everyone you assist, and everyone who is seeking assistance from you even if you haven’t interacted with them yet. This means phone messages, emails, web inquiries, and service requests. If you make an exception to any policy or procedure, make sure you provide the same information and options to all prospects and residents who are in the same situation.

All staff members who interact with residents and prospective residents, or who handle requests or inquiries of any kind, should be trained on fair housing laws.

It is recommended that newly hired staff receive fair housing training before they work with customers. Vendors and contractors who could possibly interact with your residents should be informed of your company’s fair housing policy and asked to abide by fair housing laws. All personnel should refresh their fair housing knowledge at least annually.

It never hurts to run through scenarios with your employees, including those like the ones above, to ensure that they understand that it is important to think about upholding fair housing laws at all times, not just when they are face-to-face or otherwise directly interacting with prospective or current residents.

About the author:

Ellen Clark is the Director of Assessment at Grace Hill.  Her work has spanned the entire learner lifecycle, from elementary school through professional education. She spent over 10 years working with K12 Inc.’s network of online charter schools – measuring learning, developing learning improvement plans using evidence-based strategies, and conducting learning studies. Later, at Kaplan Inc., she worked in the vocational education and job training divisions, improving online, blended and face-to-face training programs, and working directly with business leadership and trainers to improve learner outcomes and job performance. Ellen lives and works in Maryland, where she was born and raised.

 

Can Enforcing Nuisance Ordinances Lead To Fair Housing Violation?

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By The Editors
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The Grace Hill training tip of the week focuses on the issue of nuisance ordinances and whether they could lead to Fair Housing Act violations.

By Ellen Clark

Nuisance ordinances aim to keep communities crime free, increase property values, and encourage economic development but many nuisance ordinances include domestic violence incidents in the definition of a “nuisance.”

This can have an adverse impact on victims of domestic violence.

Assess your nuisance policies and procedures to ensure they do not unfairly discriminate against women, who are more likely to be victims of domestic abuse and are a protected class.

Victims of domestic violence calling law enforcement is a nuisance?

For example, according to some nuisance ordinances, victims of domestic violence who call law enforcement a certain number of times may be subject to eviction.

As a result, victims are less likely to report crimes and may continue to suffer abuse. Because domestic violence victims are overwhelmingly female, such laws could cause a disparate impact based on gender, which is a protected class under the Fair Housing Act (FHA).

In September 2016, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued guidance addressing the impact of nuisance ordinances on victims of domestic violence. HUD’s guidance primarily focuses on the sources of nuisance ordinances – local governments. However, HUD has taken the position that a multifamily housing provider may violate the FHA by selectively or generally applying nuisance ordinances in ways that discriminate against residents of a protected class.

Nuisance ordinances can cause housing discrimination

HUD writes in the guidance that, “A growing number of local governments are enacting a variety of nuisance ordinances that can affect housing in potentially discriminatory ways.

“Nuisance includes what is characterized by the ordinance as an “excessive” number of calls for emergency police or ambulance services, typically defined as just a few calls within a specified period of time by a tenant, neighbor, or other third party, whether or not directly associated with the property.

“The ordinances generally require housing providers either to abate the alleged nuisance or risk penalties, such as fines, loss of their rental permits, condemnation of their properties and, in some extreme instances, incarceration. Some ordinances may require the housing provider to evict the resident and his or her household after a specified number of alleged nuisance violations—often quite low—within a specific timeframe.

“For example, in at least one jurisdiction, three calls for emergency police or medical help within a 30-day period is considered to be a nuisance, and in another jurisdiction, two calls for such services within one year qualify as a nuisance. Even when nuisance ordinances do not explicitly require evictions, a number of landlords resort to evicting the household to avoid penalties,” HUD writes.

 What does this mean for multifamily housing providers?

Although the law in this area is actively developing from state to state, the key takeaway point is that multifamily housing providers often may be caught in a “Catch-22,” balancing their compliance with local nuisance ordinances against compliance with the FHA.

    • Multifamily housing providers should assess their policies and procedures for dealing with nuisances and evaluate whether they are compliant with the FHA.
    • Second, they should take care to consistently, and not selectively, apply nuisance ordinances to all residents.

It is important to note that even if multifamily housing providers consistently apply local nuisance ordinances to their residents, it is not an absolute defense to an FHA violation claim.

HUD still could hold the provider liable for an FHA violation if the local nuisance ordinance itself violates the FHA. In practice, however, HUD typically pursues action against the local government that enacted the ordinance, demanding that the local government amend, repeal or otherwise correct the ordinance to comply with the FHA.

While it is not your job to create or repeal nuisance ordinances, it is your job to know the rules and know how they relate to the FHA.

If you find yourself unsure about how to behave in a certain situation, make sure you are not in violation of the FHA and consult your legal counsel for advice.

Read Ellen’s full blog here.

In related news, Oregon Governor Kate Brown is expected to sign HB 4145 which passed the Oregon Senate and House of Representatives in February which closes the “Intimate Partner Loophole” by preventing convicted stalkers and domestic violence offenders from buying guns and keeping guns.

Recent training tips you may have missed

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Do You Know How To Respond To a Sexual Harassment Complaint?

Have You Reviewed Your Criminal Background Checks Policy Lately?

Multifamily Managers And Marijuana: Caught In A Pot Crossfire

Read Ellen’s full blog post here.

About the author:

Ellen Clark is the Director of Assessment at Grace Hill.  Her work has spanned the entire learner lifecycle, from elementary school through professional education. She spent over 10 years working with K12 Inc.’s network of online charter schools – measuring learning, developing learning improvement plans using evidence-based strategies, and conducting learning studies. Later, at Kaplan Inc., she worked in the vocational education and job training divisions, improving online, blended and face-to-face training.

Can Enforcing Nuisance Ordinances Lead To Fair Housing Violation?

Photo credit Highwaystarz-Photography via istockphoto.com

 

5 Questions House Flippers Must Ask A Potential Real Estate Agent

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the-editors
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Sponsored Blog

While there are many ways to purchase a potential flip property, Fixters almost always recommends that beginning flippers work with a real estate agent. It is typically the fastest way to get your hands on a good property and something you can act on now.

With a real estate agent, you can learn from their expertise and work with someone who is familiar with your desired property location and market. Additionally, you add to your house flipping business team and develop a relationship that can bring big rewards in the future.

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with my friend and Colorado-based real estate agent, Jennifer Morrissette with HomeSmart Realty Group. I got her insight on the top questions house flippers need to ask a real estate agent BEFORE working with them.”

Let’s break down the questions you should ask a potential real estate agent below.

    • What to do you know about my target area? Ask this question to get to the heart of a potential agent’s knowledge for your market. Ensure that they can tell you about the area, trends and pros and cons for buyers.
    • In this area, who is my target buyer? Get demographic details on the target buyers in your desired area. Does this real estate agent know who they are, what qualities in a home and location are most desireable to them?
    • How will they market to your target buyer? Ask your potential partner how they will reach your target buyer and attract them to buy your property? Make sure they have a variety of tactics to try and ask them to get specific in how they message to those buyers.
    • What similar properties have you found and sold in this area? Get specific examples of properties that the agent has helped buy and sell around your desired location. Request information on timing from listing to close and examples of the marketing they did to make the sale.
    • Have you ever done a flip yourself or are you an investor? Look for a real estate agent who knows the house flipping process and how to analyze a property’s Average Repair Value (ARV) and resell price. Find a partner that can walk you through the end-to-end process, identify red flags during inspection and ensure you are not missing major issues.

Overall, ask a lot of questions. If you need help, we are here for you! Attend our upcoming Free Webinar, Removing the Fear From Flipping Houses to learn more about getting started with your house flipping business.

By  Sonya Hansen- VP Marketing, Fixters

5 questions house flippers must ask a potential real estate agent

 

Being An Ethical Landlord And Running A Profitable Business Are Not Mutually Exclusive

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By The Editors
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In this opinion piece, Heather Buch, owner of Preferred Northwest Property Management in Eugene, writes a guest blog this week saying that being an ethical landlord and running a profitable business are not mutually exclusive.

By Heather Buch

Many people have a preconceived notion that you must be ruthless and heartless to be a landlord these days.

With reports of landlords jacking up tenants’ rents 100 percent, that perception is easy to validate, especially when it contributes to the displacement of up to 10 percent of students in some elementary school districts. That’s a lot of kids losing their best friends and educational stability to greedy owners who are uprooting their communities.

But such owners don’t represent all landlords.

In fact, many of those imposing these massive rent increases don’t even reside in the neighborhoods where they own rentals, have kids that attend school with the children who live in the affected homes or even work in the same communities. They live out of state, while doing big business in communities such as our own.

An ethical landlord must ensure ethical standards

    • Ethical landlords don’t give 100 percent rent increases or raise rents every three months.
    • They don’t send you a “no-cause” notice to vacate because you had a baby or changed jobs.
    • Ethical landlords don’t immediately file eviction paperwork when a tenant pays a millisecond after midnight on the fourth of the month.

You can be a decent human being and a good landlord

You can be a decent human being and still be a good landlord. Ethical landlording and running a profitable business are not mutually exclusive activities. You can still enforce the rules, provide quality housing and make a profit while managing with a conscience.

Landlording comes with a great deal of power over people’s housing. Yes, there is a massive housing shortage that has tipped the supply-and-demand scale heavily in favor of landlords. However, sending out large rent increases — or no-cause eviction notices to an entire low-income apartment complex so you can rent the units on Airbnb for $100 a night or more — for the purpose of reaping exorbitant profits is a breach of integrity and an abuse of power. It may be legal, but it is also morally indefensible.

Landlord association representatives and hired lobbyists who are unwilling to discuss how to curb the unethical and extreme practices of the industry purport to be defending landlord rights. Yet they ultimately are doing an extreme disservice to the constituents they serve by risking the passing of legislation without their input and effectively dissolving Oregon’s long standing and successful Landlord Tenant Coalition.

The coalition was created for the purpose of landlords and tenants coming together and mutually contributing to the improvement of housing laws and regulations in Oregon. When the landlord representatives refused to discuss key issues raised by tenants at a coalition meeting last year, they instantly created a void of ethical landlord representation. That, in turn, prompted tenants to bypass the coalition entirely and to go directly to their state representatives, many of whom don’t want to see their communities fractured and gentrified through the extortion of tenants.

Ethical landlords don’t want to see that, either.

Landlords need to resume full participation in the coalition or risk the passage of legislation without their representation.

I pledge to operate as an ethical landlord and am willing to pull up a chair to the table.

I hope other landlords choose to do the same.

Photo copyright Kzenon via canva.

About the author:

Heather Buch is the owner/principal broker of Preferred Northwest Property Management in Eugene, Oregon.In 1999, Heather started managing her family’s rentals. She loved working in this industry and decided to spend the next six years developing her own property portfolio. In 2006 she became a full time property manager and real estate broker. Visit her website here. Her opinion piece also ran in the Eugene Register-Guard here.

Seattle Landlords Lose As Judge Says Move-In Fees Are Not Rent

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Pets A Big Consideration In Rental Housing And Home Buying

By
the-editors
-

Pets are a major consideration for both home buyers and renters with a new survey showing 81 percent of respondents say animal-related considerations play a major role when deciding on their next housing situation.

According to the survey, 99 percent of pet owners said they consider their animal part of the family, and this becomes apparent in the sacrifices pet owners are willing to make when it comes to buying, selling and renting homes or apartments, according to a release from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Many also find it difficult to find rental housing for themselves and their animals.

Some of the findings:

    • 61% of U.S. households have an animal or plan to get one in the future.
    • 99% of owners feel that their animal is part of the family.
    • 89% of those surveyed said they would not give up their animal because of housing restrictions or limitations
    • When finding a home, 95% of animal owners believe it is important that a housing community allows animals.
    • 81% of U.S. households say that animal-related considerations will play a role in deciding on their next living situation.
    • 61% who own animals say it’s very difficult or difficult to find a rental property or a home owner association that accommodates animals.
    • 12% of pet owners have moved to accommodate their animal
    • 19% said that they would consider moving to accommodate their animal in the future.

“In 2016, 61 percent of U.S. households either have a pet or plan to get one in the future, so it is important to understand the unique needs and wants of animal owners when it comes to homeownership,” NAR President William E. Brown said in the release about the study Animal House: Remodeling Impact.

Brown, a Realtor from Alamo, California and founder of Investment Properties, said in the release, “Realtors understand that when someone buys a home, they are buying it with the needs of their whole family in mind; ask pet owners, and they will enthusiastically agree that their animals are part of their family.”

Renters And Buyers Find It Difficult To Find Rental Properties For Pets

Pets are a major consideration in choosing a home to buy or rent according to a new survey.

 

Realtors who were surveyed indicated that one-third of their pet-owning clients often or very often will refuse to make an offer on a home because it is not ideal for their animal. And 61 percent of buyers find it difficult or very difficult to locate a rental property or a homeowners association that accommodates animals.

When it comes to selling, 67 percent of Realtors say animals have a moderate to major effect on selling a home. Approximately two-thirds of Realtors say that they advise animal owning sellers to always replace things in the home damaged by an animal, have the home cleaned to remove any animal scents and to take animals out of the home during an open house or showing.

Nearly half of all survey respondents, 52 percent, indicated that they had completed a home renovation project specifically to accommodate their animal. Of those who undertook projects:

    • 23 percent built a fence around their yard
    • 12 percent added a dog door
    • 10 percent installed laminate flooring.

When it comes to the enjoyment homeowners gain from these projects, fencing in a yard and installing laminated floors rated highest, both receiving Joy Scores of 9.4; Joy Scores range between 1 and 10, and higher figures indicate greater joy from the project. Adding a dog door came in a close second with a Joy Score of 9.2.

A majority of surveyed animal owners, 83 percent, indicated that they own a dog, which helps explain the overwhelming popularity of dog-related renovation projects. Forty-three percent of those surveyed said they own a cat, 9 percent own a bird, reptile, amphibian, arthropod, small mammal, or miniature horse, 8 percent a fish and 5 percent own a farm animal.

NAR members were also surveyed about their relationships with animals, with 80 percent of Realtors consider themselves animal lovers and 68 percent indicating that they have pets of their own. Twelve percent of Realtors® surveyed volunteer for an organization that helps animals, and 21 percent plan to volunteer in the future.

About NAR:

For more home improvement ideas and solutions, visit www.Houselogic.com or join the pet-friendly conversation on social media using the hashtag #realtorpets.

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing more than 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Download our guide to pets for landlords

Pet Resources:

When Home Buying, Selling and Renovating, it’s an Animal House

Remodeling Impact: Animals in Homes

National Association of Realtors

7 Questions Landlords Have About Pets And Pet-Friendly Apartments

Increasing Housing Options For Renters With Pets

Download our free guide to pets and pet-friendly apartments

 

Pets a major factor in housing considerations.

 

Property Management Cyber Attacks Risks Overlooked, Underestimated

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By The Editors
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The Grace Hill training tip of the week focuses on the issue of property management cyber attacks which are often overlooked and underestimated.

By Ellen Clark

Due to lack of federal oversight and regulation, property management companies’ cybersecurity programs may be relatively less developed and less sophisticated than in other industries.

This could make them a more attractive target for cybercriminals looking for an easy way to steal personal data.

We hear a lot in the news about data being exposed or stolen by cyberattacks in healthcare, banking and retail industries. But we tend to hear less about such attacks in the property management industry, even though they have happened before and will likely happen again.

As a result, the risk of cyberattacks in the property management industry may be overlooked and underestimated.

 Property management cyber attack risks overlooked, underestimated

The risk of property management cyber attack is just as real as in other areas.

Unlike for institutions like banks and hospitals, there is no federal law requiring real estate and property management companies to implement cybersecurity programs to protect information and systems.

Because of this general lack of oversight and regulation, property management companies’ cybersecurity programs may be relatively less developed and less sophisticated than in other industries, making them a more attractive target for cybercriminals looking for an easy way to steal personal data.

Why would a property management cyber attack happen at your apartments?

What could property management companies have that cybercriminals want?

Isn’t the most desired data credit card numbers and financial information? That turns out not to be the case. As Ryan Byrd, Vice President of Engineering for Entrata said, “There’s this myth that hackers are really interested in credit card numbers because you can buy stuff with them. The most commonly stolen information is not credit card numbers, but personally identifiable information (PII).”

If sensitive personal data falls into the wrong hands, it can lead to fraud and identity theft, which in 2016 was the most common reason for hackers to carry out a cyberattack.

Think of all the data you collect on any given day from a resident or prospective resident and the financial transactions you process—rent payments, deposits, and vendor payments. This is a treasure trove of personally identifiable information and a goldmine for cybercriminals who can use it to commit identity theft and fraud.

With its lack of sophisticated security measures and lots of valuable PII, the property management industry is the perfect target for cybercriminals. If sensitive data falls into the wrong hands, it can lead to fraud and identity theft, which in 2016 was the most common reason for hackers to carry out a cyberattack.

Think about cybersecurity risks

Given the cost of a security breach — losing your customers’ trust and perhaps even defending yourself against a lawsuit—safeguarding personal information is critical. That risk doesn’t just come as a hit to your brand or reputation, either. With the average legal and other associated costs of a data breach at around $150 per record, losing your residents’ data could have a significant impact on your bottom line as well.

As we rely more and more on digital data and interconnectivity, property management cyber attacks and security is an issue to think hard about as you plan policies, processes and training for the year.

    • It is crucial to have systems in place to prevent, prepare for and withstand cyberattacks.
    • Train employees and managers on the risk of data breaches, and what they can do to prevent them.

Just like wearing your seatbelt, or locking your car, good habits are the building blocks of cybersecurity and are the best way to keep your residents’ information safe.

Recent training tips you may have missed

Do You Know How To Respond To a Sexual Harassment Complaint?

 

Have You Reviewed Your Criminal Background Checks Policy Lately?

 

Multifamily Managers And Marijuana: Caught In A Pot Crossfire

 

Read Ellen’s full blog post here.

 

About the author:

Ellen Clark is the Director of Assessment at Grace Hill.  Her work has spanned the entire learner lifecycle, from elementary school through professional education. She spent over 10 years working with K12 Inc.’s network of online charter schools – measuring learning, developing learning improvement plans using evidence-based strategies, and conducting learning studies. Later, at Kaplan Inc., she worked in the vocational education and job training divisions, improving online, blended and face-to-face training programs, and working directly with business leadership and trainers to improve learner outcomes and job performance. Ellen lives and works in Maryland, where she was born and raised.

About Grace Hill

For nearly two decades, Grace Hill has been developing best-in-class online training courseware and administration solely for the Property Management Industry, designed to help people, teams and companies improve performance and reduce risk.

 

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