Minutes of Headwaters Landlord Association Quarterly General Meeting

Date: January 24, 2013

Call to order: A quarterly general meeting of the Headwaters Landlord Association was held at Beltrami County Electric, Bemidji, Minnesota on January 24, 2013. The meeting convened at 7:03 pm, President Duane Sea, presiding, and Jessica Sarauer, note taker.
Board Members in attendance: Andrew Erholtz, Terry Duy, Kathy Guess, Duane Sea
Board Members not in attendance: Jeff Janiksela, Lorrie Richardson (excused), Harry Aylesworth (excused), Jeff Grabowski (excused)
Welcome: Duane welcomed all members to the meeting, thanked them for coming, and handed out an agenda.
Approval of Minutes: Duane mentioned that last meetings minutes were posted on the website.
Treasurer report: Duane gave an update on the treasurer’s report. There is a balance of $1637.00. He also told the members that the Board voted to not use a banner ad to advertise for this general meeting.
Membership Report Update: Terry gave an update on the membership. The Association has taken in a few new members, one even joined online using the website. Most previous members have renewed their membership, but some are no longer interested. As of this meeting there are 54 paid members. Duane mentioned that membership can be difficult to maintain, but he thought the HLA was doing well. He said that a way to get more potential members would be by asking the city of Bemidji for an updated list of landlords and property managers.
Panel discussion: What I learned from, How to be the Smartest Tenant on your Block
Duane and Harry went to the Evergreen Conference and received a book that informed them about a lot of issues landlords should be aware of. Duane, Kathy, and Andrew all presented things that they learned from the meeting (Duane) and from reading the book (Kathy and Andrew).
Duane talked about month-to-month leases and there was a discussion on what others in the crowd did and why. His next topic was also about leases, he informed the group that you must return a copy of the lease to the tenant and if you do not, no part of the lease is valid (he also emphasized having the tenants sign off that they got the lease). He next talked about repairs and that the landlord has 14 days from the time the landlord is notified of the problem to respond and Kathy informed everyone that if you don’t respond, the tenants can escrow the rent. The last thing Duane mentioned was pertaining to snow removal and lawn care. If a landlord requires a tenant to do snow removal and lawn care they must compensate the tenant at fair market value and it is recommended that the landlord have a worker’s compensation policy if the tenant were injured while doing snow removal and lawn care activities.
Andrew made a disclaimer that anything said here is not legal advice and Kathy added that we all have expertise and flaws.
Kathy spoke next and informed everyone of what she includes for clauses addendums on her lease. She handed out a copy of the list, a copy of the Crime Free/Drug Free Addendum, and a lead-based paint disclosure form. The addendums she puts on her leases are the lead-based paint disclosure form (she also hands out the colored booklet), the Crime Free/Drug Free Addendum, a copy of the city of Bemidji rental permit, and a move-out cleaning list. The Crime Free/Drug Free Addendum is required by the City of Bemidji, and the Lead-based paint disclosure and booklet are required by the state for rentals built before 1978. The move-out cleaning list sparked discussion into what you can take out of a security deposit and about fee schedules for cleaning. It was determined that is best to have a set fee. To give yourself enough time to clean up after a tenant who did not do the best job cleaning, Andrew mentioned having an 11 am checkout time and a 3 pm move in time the next day, so you have an entire day to clean things up. Kathy also mentioned the clauses she puts on her lease – she has a 3 day notice to evict that she has the landlord and tenant sign, she has a $50 deduction from deposit if rental permit is missing (the cost of obtaining a new permit), and a clause saying that tenants must comply with all regulations of the City of Bemidji Rental Housing Ordinance.
Andrew talked about an experience with noise trouble. He has his tenants sign that they will be quiet after a certain time and won’t have parties. Other neighbors complained about noise levels (twice), so Andrew had them fill out a complaint form and Andrew took that over to the noisy neighbors. He was able to evict them within days. He stated that it is best to sign a mutual contract of breaking the lease instead of eviction and Kathy added to try to settle without going to court. Andrew’s next topic was carpet cleaning and what you can charge for. You can’t charge for cleaning if the damage is normal wear and tear. Kathy added that you can’t have a pre-determined fee from a security deposit. Duane emphasized on stating things as fees because deposit means that some money will go back to the tenant.
Duane mentioned that you can never profit from penalizing your tenants. If you have a bounced check, you cannot charge over $30.00 and if your rental permit is missing, you can only charge $50.00. Andrew also stated at when charging late rent fees, Minnesota statute allows only up to 8% of what is unpaid of the rent (for one month). Terry asked if there was a quick eviction for pet infractions and Kathy mentioned the best way is to take action right away and give a written notice. Duane said it is harder to prove for unauthorized people living in the house. The last thing mentioned in the panel was shared meters for electricity and gas. Duane says that if you charge the tenant, you have to have in the lease how you are going to apportion the charges and you have to provide history of the charges. He also mentioned that if you have tenant pay for gas and electric, and there is someone else on the meter (not paying), the landlord can face a penalty of $500 and three times the amount the tenant paid.
The book discussed in the panel can be purchased for $20.00.

Old Business:
Associate Membership

When Associate members join, their membership will go through June 30, 2014. This needs to be changed on the forms. Terry will make the changes on the forms.

Next Meeting
The next general meeting will be April 18, 2013 at Beltrami Electric at 7 pm. The next Board of Directors meeting will be February 21, 2013.

New Business:
CRP Forms

The CRP forms need to be out by the 31st of January.

Minnesota Energy Resources 4U2 Program

Kathy introduced the Minnesota Energy Resources 4U2 Program and explained the program. It is a tenant’s income-based program that will give up to $5000.00 for improvements (there might be a $150 copay). All they have to have to apply is a copy of a recent energy bill, verification of income, and a permission letter from the landlord. Kathy has received a new water heater and an insulated attic in some of her rentals and one of Andrew’s rentals got a new boiler.
Kathy also mentioned a new program for buildings with 5 units or more. In this program the landlord can volunteer to have an audit and the company will do the audit, give you $150.00, and also give recommendations of what you can do to make your building more energy efficient. Andrew will email the Minnesota Energy Resources 4U2 Program application, the lead booklet, and info for getting the panel discussion book to all members.

County Survey

Duane handed out a letter from the County Assessor’s Office that he received. The letter inquired about rental units and rental levels. Duane said there is no obligation for landlords to fill this survey out and send back.

Fire in the Home

Duane saw this program on KARE and requested a DVD. From this program Duane learned that grease fires have a higher rate of incidence in apartments and rentals in general. This program also gave a lot of tips on fire prevention. He mentioned a product called Stove Top Fire Stop, which consists of two little canisters on the stove vent that automatically go off when there is a fire. Each costs $25 dollars, but the HLA could work with the Fire Department and get a grant to get these for members (could possibly get Stove Top Fire Stop for all people who want them as well). HLA is going to work with the Fire Department to find a grant to give the Stove Top Fire Stops.

Number of Tenants Limit

John Peterson spoke with the city inspectors (Mike Miller, Jerry Linke, and Joe Swenson) about increasing the number of tenants allowed to live in one house because of rising utility cost. As of right now, only 4 unrelated people can live in a house, even if there are more bedrooms and room in general to fit more people. The city inspectors agreed with John that suggested that the HLA could come up with something to present to the City Council, maybe the rule could be changed. John said he could get tenants to come to the meeting in support and Kathy mentioned getting realtors involved. Duane said the Board of Directors will take up John’s request.

Announcements:
Next BOD meeting: February 21, 2013, Cabin Coffeehouse and Café, 3:00 pm
Next general meeting: April 18, 2013, Beltrami Electric, 7:00 pm
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:44 pm. Motion: Moved by Terry to adjourn. Seconded by Kathy. Motion carried.

Minutes submitted by Jessica Sarauer.