Beloit Property Management

Treasury report was followed by President Gary Fields. Be advised that in November everyone should be receiving by mail a request for next years dues. Those fees are due by the end of December.

Dick Adams gave a summary of his visit to the Wisconsin Apartment Associations annual convention. He attended several seminars that specified personal safety. He mentioned that a Milwaukee group that gives courses on Lead safe practices could possibly form a Lead Refresher course at a cost of $100 per attendee. The Refresher course would validate my Lead Safe Renovator certification up to 2018.

Mr Adams mentioned that WAA has contracted with WI Legal Blanks and most rental forms will now be made available thru them.

November's meeting on 11/20 has been moved to December. In its place, a course is being given at the Rock Co Job Center. From 6PM to 8PM, instructors will go over Fair Housing practices. If you cannot make 6PM, the same course is being given earlier in the day, from Noon to 2PM, same location. More information about the course can be found at this link, Fair Housing Council

Happy Holidays

News You Might Use

I made the unfortunate discovery that three local Beloit lenders are no longer issuing new loans for new investors for rental properties. One lender is no longer making me new loans though I have been a client for nearly 10 years. The banking industry has essentially stalled my business and I have to proceed with new purchases on a cash basis only. Interests rates are low for the sake of encouraged lending, at least that is what I thought. Comments are welcomed.

Manuel

Beloit Property Management

Ten BPMA members were present at tonights meeting. We had guest speakers Beth Schmidt and Chad Lee. Both individuals are running for political offices. Beth Schmidt is running for the 45th Assembly and Chad Lee is the republican candidate running for Congress in the 2nd district. We enjoyed their presentations and if you missed tonights meeting, you missed a lot. It turns out Chad Lee is also a landlord!
You may obtain more information from the following website: www.ChadLeeForCongress.com

Following tonights guest speakers, more local matters were discussed. The city council approved a chicken ordinance that BPMA was against. If you are a landlord, your tenant may obtain up to 4 female chickens but they must follow specific guidelines. There are rules for housing them, minimum lot sizes, and an application for a permit with the city. From what I understand, permits may be issued if the tenant has a notarized sighned permission slip from the landlord. More details to come.

Beloit Property Management

President G Fields gave the floor to guests Terry Downing and Steve Givhan, city code enforcement officials. Question and answer session followed; this was an opportunity for you to get your questions answered.

Another topic of interest was brought up. The issue of bed bugs is becoming a nation-wide issue. There are some informative videos on you-tube. Solutions to ridding bedbugs include a professional exterminator. Other ideas floated around include mattress bags and insecticides specifically aimed at bedbugs.

A committee is necessary to develop a new BPMA brochure.

Beloit Property Management

Sheila DeForest presented minutes to the summit meeting she and landlords attended together with the city of Beloit, 5/24/12.

• It was agreed that BPMA will produce a brochure of itself which will become available to walk-ins at the city and perhaps as enclosures accompanying violation notices sent out by the city.
• Enclosed with the rental permit renewals for 2013, the city will inform landlords of upcoming WAA Workshop Series.
• Newer water meter reading devices will be phased in which will perhaps make checking meter readings possible by electronic means, via internet. The newer meters is something the city had already planned for. The ability to check on utility bills and make payment by credit card is available at this site: Utility Bills
• A possibility exists of reducing renter permit fees for landlords who complete specific training such as the Workshop series. The city manager will explore that possibility and get back to us.
• Minimum criteria will be followed for sellers entering into land contracts. The city will notify such sellers in the future of the those criteria.
• Electronic renter permit applications and issuance was discussed. Options are on the table and they will be reviewed.

A snapshot of Beloit:

• There were about 1300 landlords in Beloit for 2011, less than in previous years
• 6021 rental units in the city, about 500 more than 6 years ago
• there are less landlords owning more units
• the city is possibly missing rental unit registration when one compares the number of rental units with rental permits issued
• out of 2899 rental buildings, about 55% are duplex or single residence
• most landlords, 72%, own 2 or less units
• 64% of landlords live in Beloit, 81% in the Beloit area

There was also brought forward discussion on the city creating a new ordinance that would allow a resident to keep up to 4 female chickens on a residential zoned lot within the city limits. The proposed ordinance is still in the discussion phase. Stay tooned.

Beloit Property Management

Guest speaker Dale Hicks gave a lengthy presentation on changes to the Wisconsin Landlord Tenant Law which took effect April 1, 2012; Act 143. There are 9 important points.

• abandonment
• security deposit
• criminal activity disclosure
• disclosure of building code violations
• check-in sheet
• holdover rent
• partial rent payments and evictions
• no city moratorium on evictions

More detailed information is available Here :>

Sheila DeForest will be returning June to give us a review of her summit session with the city of Beloit.

Beloit Property Management

Tonight we had guest speaker Matt Roegner give members a one hour presentation on a Referendum coming for a vote April 3, 2012. The Referendum is meant to allow the school district of Beloit new funds for several school improvements totaling around 70 million dollars. Real estate taxes meanwhile would only slightly nudge higher. A great part of the funds would be supplied by the state. Most of the schools in the Beloit area would receive structural improvements, remodifications and/or additions. For example, a new pool at the Memorial High. More detailed information is available here: Beloit School.

May 8 is the date Sheila DeForest will be available for a brainstorming session where bright ideas can be exchanged. New ideas include giving landlords a rental permit discount should they be members of BPMA -- I like that idea.

Leaflan now charges residents for yard waste. A member mentioned that Bedrock off townline accepts all yard waste and currently at no charge.

Next month we should know more about having a meeting at a Marling Lumber facility. There was mention they would host BPMA with food and a tour of their facility.

All landlords are welcomed to attend our next meeting, April 17, 2012, 7PM.

BPMA meeting for February

Tonight was packed; there were new visitors and two guest speakers. Dick Adams began by giving a legislative update and the treasurer gave us a treasury report. Our first guest speaker was Steve Miller, a representative of Marling. He offered information on the services rendered by Marling including kitchen cabinetry, measuring and ordering. They also handle windows, lights, and much more. They also offer tool repair with warranty on most brand name tools.

The president then gave the room to guest Sheila DeForest who is with the city of Beloit. She wants our participation in a summit meeting with city staff, tentatively for May. There, we can bring our ideas for improving landlord interactions, code standards, inspection concerns, water/sewer concerns, and any other topic. Some suggested putting the ceiling height minimum that was grandfathered into writing. Some suggested decreasing inspection frequency. Some suggested having the city do walk-bys. Many ideas were shared and we expect to get an update from Sheila soon.

No guest speaker scheduled yet for March.

BPMA of Beloit

Beloit area landlords are invited to attend our next BPMA meeting, February 21, 2012, 7PM. Location: Domenico's of Beloit.

We will have guest speaker Sheila DeForest who is with the Beloit Community Development Authority. She is a valuable resource on issues affecting residents and landlords of Beloit. Bring your questions and get informed!

January BPMA Meeting:
No Guest speaker. We recapped issues affecting us such as increased rental permit fees and the retirement of some valuable Beloit staff. Treasurer and President gave their monthly reports.