Metro Rental Housing Journal November 2014

By Cliff Hockley, President, Bluestone & Hockley Real Estate Services.

Recently our maintenance team replaced about 40 single pane windows with new vinyl

double pane windows at a 10-plex we own in Portland. Fortunately, two programs exist to help us fund the project. The first is a state-run program through the Oregon Department of Energy, and the other is a program available through the nonprofit organization Energy Trust of Oregon. Since this simple process saved us money, I thought I would share the information.

Oregon Department of Energy Program

The Oregon Legislature realigned the energy tax credits (with the dis-solution of the BETC, see ORS 469 B.30) in 2013 to include the Small Premium Projects (SPP), which ben-efits landlords of smaller properties. Funded at a level of $1,000,000, this tax credit program is geared to proj-ects costing less than $20,000. Administered by the Oregon Department of Energy:

WWW.RENTALHOUSINGJOURNAL.COM • PROFESSIONAL PUBLISHING, INC PORTLAND/VANCOUVERPublished in association with: METRO Multifamily Housing Association; Rental Housing Association of Oregon; IREM & Clark County Rental Association

November 2014Rental Housing Journal Metro

Professional Publishing Inc.PO Box 6244Beaverton, OR 97007

PRSRT STD US Postage PAID Portland, OR Permit #5460

Current Resident or

2. The 3 Major Sins of Sales Management3. How to Lose an Eviction Case4. Partnering With Suppliers and Contractors6. RHOA President’s Message: November Already, Where Has the Year Gone!7. ORHA in the News8. Lead In Review

9. Mind Your Business By Tia Politi12. Dear Maintenance Men14. A Proper Capital Plan and Budget May Save Thousands of Dollars Each Year16. Shoptalk17. 5 Strategies to Ensure Family Business Success

Advertise in Rental Housing Journal MetroCirculated to over 6,000 Apartment owners, On-site, and

Maintenance personnel monthly.

Call 503-221-1260 for more info.

We all ask ourselves the same desperate question from time to time:

How am I going to make this work?!

“No matter how well we’ve done laying the groundwork for every-thing to run smoothly – becoming educated, choosing the right spouse, treating others well -- we all face sit-

uations that challenge us,” says Dr. Robert J. Cerfolio, a world-renowned cardiothoracic surgeon known as “the Michael Jordan of lung sur-gery.”

“If we can keep our cool and adhere to some basic principles, we can not only meet any challenge – we can perform with excellence.”

A high-performance athlete in

high school and college, Dr. Cerfolio parlayed his talents and focus into pursuing his medical career and cre-ating a happy family with his cher-ished wife, Lorraine, and their three sons.

But after battling breast cancer, Lorraine recently passed away. Cerfolio, author of “Super

...continued on page 10...continued on page 11

Industry Review: The Home Depot & ARPOLA Discount Program

Our industry is changing, and technology is one of the drivers of this change. That

is why I was interested to read the press release on the new partnership between ARPOLA and The Home Depot. The benefits of this partner-ship directly affect Rental Housing Journal readers. Specifically, The Home Depot now has a way to treat you – the rental property owner, property manager and service pro-viders on rental property – differ-ently based on how you do business.

The program has three major components:

• Savings specific to three primary times work is being done on rental property – maintenance and repair, rent turns and property improvement/updating. It includes exclusive

pricing discounts, special product offers, volume pricing, coupons and even a time and cost saving delivery option.

• Information and education on the right solution to your problem the first time – knowing what to buy and saving when you do. While this may be more important to less sophisticated owners and operators of rental property, the information may prove to help even the most advanced operator.

• Advanced management tools to simplify and control your purchases.Will you save? There’s no doubt

that you will. The everyday exclu-sive pricing discounts up to 5% are clearly posted right on ARPOLA’s website. The discount is based on

product category. You will receive 5% on plumbing and hardware, 4% on appliances, electrical and light-ing, and lesser amounts in other cat-egories. The current Special Product Offer is 15% off on smoke detectors. This is significantly better than The Home Depot’s current retail promo-tion during Fire Prevention month. It is also important to you, as many local laws and building codes have been updated to require the new 10 year battery life. If you have a larger purchase of $200 or more, you receive a coupon for $20 off when you regis-ter for the program, potentially a 10% savings. How much you save depends on your needs and how well you use the different aspects of the program.

Not every aspect of the program is ideal, as you may have to change

4 Principles for Staying Cool Under Pressure – and Succeeding

Athlete & World-Renowned Surgeon Shares Tips for Becoming a ‘Super Performer’

...continued on page 15

Get Oregon Tax Credits, Help the Environment, and

Reduce Your Energy Bills on Your Small Rental Properties

Replace Those Windows!

2 Rental Housing Journal Metro • November 2014

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It’s a simple fact of business: With-out sales, no one else downstream can do their jobs, says veteran

sales manager and business speaker Jack Daly. Because of how vital sales are to a company, CEOs frequently tend to misuse their best people, he says.

“There are three sins that mini-mize the sales management role, which ultimately holds the company back from achieving its growth,” says Daly, author of “Hyper Sales Growth,” (www.jackdaly.net).

“When they misallocate key play-ers, small to medium-sized business-

es tend to go into one of two direc-tions. They either stay small to medi-um, or they go out of business. When you ask why, it most often comes down to a violation of one or more of these three sins of sales manage-ment. Having the right people in important spots is absolutely the secret to success.”

To ensure continued growth, Daly says the people at the top must avoid the following:

Sin No. 1 … is committed when the CEO or owner wears the hat of the sales manager. If you are doing that, you’re essentially relegating

both the CEO job and the sales man-ager job to part-time status. In effect, you’re saying, “I’m going to grow my business part time.” If you want your business to grow, you must grow your sales force, and you need someone doing that full time.

Sin No. 2 … is to make the best salesperson the sales manager. It can work, but seldom does. The usual scenario, however, is you lose your best salesperson and get a mediocre sales manager. The role and the responsibilities are entirely different. A salesperson’s role is to win new customers and nurture the ones you have, thereby differentiating you from your competitors. The sales manager’s job involves recruiting, training, coaching, building and developing. Being effective at one of those jobs is not an indicator that a person will be equally effective in the other. Salespeople are used to immediate gratification, involving a deal-to-deal routine. Sales managers, by contrast, must take their time to recruit, train and coach. A salesper-son might easily become disenchant-ed with the pace of the new role and look for another sales job, perhaps with your competitor.

Sin No. 3 … is probably the most grievous of all. The best salesperson is made a sales manager, but he or

she is also required to continue book-ing business. It’s absolutely ruinous. The person’s focus will remain fixed on the customer, as that is how their compensation is driven. Accordingly, the sales team will be underserved, missing the opportunity for lever-aged growth.

The key to growth is to put the right people in the right places, Daly says.

“Since sales drive business, it’s essential to match skills and person-ality types to the jobs, and to ensure the people can focus on their roles,z” Daly says.

Jack Daly, author of “Hyper Sales Growth,” (www.jackdaly.net), is an experienced and inspirational sales

trainer and sales coaching expert who, as a sought-after speaker, motivates

audiences to take action in the areas of sales planning and training, and cus-tomer loyalty. Daly draws upon more than 20 years of business experience,

with several successful stints as the CEO of fast-growing companies. He has

a Bachelor’s in Science degree in accounting, a Master of Business

Administration degree, was a Captain in U.S. Army and is an accomplished

author with audio and DVD programs.

The 3 Major Sins of Sales Management

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Landlords, from time to time, have to file with the appropri-ate court to evict their tenants.

This procedure is called an Eviction Action, also known as a Special or Forcible Detainer Action. Evictions are filed for nonpayment of rent, vio-lation of the lease, or failure to move after written Notice. While most of these cases are routine in nature, a landlord should be aware of follow-ing the proper procedures. Failure to do so can result in the case being dismissed and, if the tenant is rep-resented by an attorney, paying the tenant’s attorney’s fees.

Some of the more common ways to lose your case are the following. First, and foremost, is not complying with the Notice requirements of the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Before a landlord can even file an eviction action through the courts, the tenants must be given proper written Notice. Also, the Notice must be properly served or delivered to the tenant.

Service of a NoticeThere are only two ways to legal-

ly serve a tenant a Notice. One is personally handing the Notice to the

tenant or an occupant of suitable age at the tenant’s residence. The other method is sending the Notice certi-fied or registered mail, but you can-not start the running of your Notice period until either five days after mailing or after the tenants sign for the mailing, whichever occurs first. Posting of Notices on doors is not legal serve of Notices. Failure to legally serve the Notice will result in dismissal of the eviction.

Proper Wording of a NoticeThe language of the Notice must

also be properly worded. For instance, a five-day Notice to pay or move must identify the tenant, address of property, amount of rent past due, late charges due under the lease, and if rent is not paid, legal action will be taken to evict them. Simply writing “your rent is late, please pay” or something similar would not be adequate to inform the tenant of the allegations against them. Also, if the tenant is given a Noncompliance Notice to correct behavior or violations (e.g. unau-thorized pets or occupants, not main-taining the rental, etc.), the Notice

How to Lose an Eviction Case

continued on page 5



16083 SW Upper Boones Ferry Road, Suite 105, Tigard, OR 97224 503-213-1281, 503-213-1288 Fax www.multifamilynw.org

Partnering With Suppliers and Contractors

By Pam McKenna

As I walked through the booths at the Spectrum Trade Show, I was struck by the

vast amount of knowledge and ex-perience that these industry partners bring to our business. It underscored how crucial this partnership compo-nent is to our success. The challenge can be in choosing the right supplier, understanding how to manage the process and defining the scope of work. This can often be overwhelm-ing but with a few simple steps and procedures in place you can set a standard for your community that will help you alleviate a lot of the stress.

Step one – set up your approved vendor list ahead of time. Don’t wait until something goes wrong to engage your suppliers. Create a list of the categories of supplies and ser-vices you will eventually need to order, including emergency services.

Once you have created this list you can start the process of locating the right supplier or contractor.

Step two – do your research. Multifamily NW offers a great solu-tion called MUM (members using members) Being a member with Multifamily NW gives you access to a list of industry supplier members that are in good standing with the association and the members. Being a member you also have access to other members in the industry that can provide references or feedback on suppliers. Through word of mouth you can discover the best companies for customer service and quality work.

Step three – protect your property from liability. Set minimum insur-ance requirements to protect the property owner from potential liabil-ity resulting from labor, deliveries, and other exposures related to hav-ing contractors on site. Consider using a compliance organization that will track your vendor list ensuring every participating vendor is up to date on their insurance coverage and their credentials meet your stan-

dards. Step four – define your scope of

work. A recommended way to do this for larger projects is to engage an construction project manager that can determine the extent of the work required and help to write the scope of work. If it is smaller projects, for instance exterior building window cleaning, sit down with your mainte-nance team to properly define the project to include how many stories the building is, how many exterior

windows, do you expect them to clean the exterior of the balconies while completing the job, etc. Make sure to include details that may be important to note for instance if you are running a “green” building you may have requirements for products that can be used at your community.

Step five – take it out to bid, with a standard written scope of work, providing all suppliers the written scope. This allows for a more precise

Pam McKennaMultifamily NW President

November 3, 2014 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM NALP: Telephone Presentations (Portland, OR)

November 4, 2014 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM Oregon Landlord/Tenant Law Class Part I (Portland, OR)

November 5, 2014 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Bed Bugs: What to Do? (Portland, OR)

November 6, 2014 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM Forms and Notices 101 (Portland, OR)

November 10, 2014 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM CAM: Risk Management (Portland, OR)

November 12, 2014 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM Fair Housing Reasonable Accommodations (Portland, OR)

November 13, 2014 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM Reverse Trade Show (Portland, OR)

6:30 PM - 8:00 PM Landlord Study Hall - Fair Housing (Portland, OR)

November 14, 2014 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM It's the Law Lunch Time Series: Waivers - When Rights Turn Wrong (Portland, OR)

November 18, 2014 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM Oregon Landlord/Tenant Law Class Part II (Portland, OR)

November 19, 2014 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM PDX Monthly Luncheon: Legislative Preview - Salem & Olympia (Portland, OR)

November 20, 2014 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM Fair Housing for Maintenance (Portland, OR)

Multifamily NW

Events Calendar

The Rental Agreement is the most important document representing the tenancy and preserving all the rights and protections afforded to the property owner under the Oregon Landlord/Tenant Law statutes. Multifamily NW has tailored the Rental Agreement for non-apartment dwellings, specifically single family homes, condos and multiplexes. Don’t settle for less, this is your investment!

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continued on page 5



Partnering...continued from page 4

and fair bidding process relying on an “apples to apples” comparison of price based on an identical scope. Be clear on your change order process in the event that the job requires additional work.

Step six – create a bid comparison sheet. Compare the bids side by side with your property owner, your supervisor or your team. This is an efficient way to get approvals pro-cessed and documented, especially for larger projects.

Step seven – execute a contract. This is an important document so be sure to review the contract before signing it. Have your project man-ager or legal department review the

contract if necessary. Are you the right person to sign it based on your Property Management Agreement? What are the specific terms of the contract? Does it have an auto renew-al written into the contract? Often we get in a rush to push work through and can overlook unfavorable terms. Take the time to ensure what you are putting into place is the best for your property owner.

Step eight – clarify the payment process. What are the terms of pay-ment for your property? Communicate this to your contractor or supplier so they understand the process. If you are processing a draw request for capital improvements

this can often delay the timing of payment. Being transparent up front is always a benefit to both parties.

Step nine – inspect what you expect. Follow up and inspect the work before signing off on the work. If you are not satisfied with the work, allow the contractor to come back and make it right. One of my biggest pet peeves is managers that want to fire a vendor for not meeting their expectations before they make them aware they aren’t happy with the work performed. Give your industry suppliers the same respect we would want to receive.

Step ten – build partnerships. Long term partnership will work in

your favor. When you have built solid relationship with an industry supplier they will better understand your expectations for future work. You will spend less time explaining what you expect the next time around. Long term partnerships build dependability, trust and confi-dence.

These steps will help in building industry partnerships resulting in better solutions and costs savings. This valuable partnership is well worth your time and energy, allow-ing you to tap into the vast knowl-edge and experiences of our great industry suppliers and contractors.

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Lose an Eviction...continued from page 3

must be very specific as to what the alleged violation is, when it occurred and any other information to inform the resident of the violation.

Non-compliance by the Landlord

Another possible way to lose your eviction case is to not do necessary or needed repairs to the premises when requested by the tenant. Landlords have a duty to make all necessary repairs and many courts may not

evict a tenant if the landlord deliber-ately or negligently does not do these repairs. Tenants can claim retaliation by the landlord for failure to make repairs and the remedy is a defense to the eviction, plus two month’s rent or actual damages, whichever is greater.

Suing After Regaining Possession

Other possible defenses are the tenant has moved and no longer

occupies the rental. An eviction is only to regain possession of the rent-al property and if the tenant has moved and returned keys, there is no issue of who is entitled to possession for the court to determine.

Be Professional, Be Prompt, Be Prepared

An unwritten defense is not being prepared when you come to court, not having witnesses who have per-sonal knowledge of the violation,

being rude or argumentative to the judge. The golden rule applies – “be professional, be prompt, and be pre-pared”.

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President Elizabeth Carpenter • President Elect John Sage • Past President Phil Owen • Vice President Robin Lashbaugh • Secretary Lynne Whitney • Treasurer Elaine Elsea • Office Manager Cari Pierce

10520 NE Weidler Portland, OR 97220 (503) 254-4723 • fax (503) 254-4821 [email protected] • www.rhaoregon.org.

Liz Carpenter RHAOregon PresidentPresident’s Message:

November is the voting month, so get out there and let your voice be heard. My

17 year old daughter is already regis-tered to vote; even though she can’t vote until next year. I love the fact that the younger generation is in-volved much more than back in the 1970’s. Maybe I should leave the last part out, it sure dates me! Just re-member it is your right and respon-sibility to vote. Alan Carpenter, my husband (1st Dude as we call him) says,” If you don’t take the time to vote, then you don’t have the right to complain about the outcome later”.

RHA Oregon has sent a letter to the Portland City Council, stating our opinion against the Portland street tax as it stands now. In short RHA Oregon feels this tax will affect low income families via rent increas-es. The street tax in most cases will be passed down to the renter/lessee through increased rents. Lower income families may even be double taxed. The city of Portland will not only tax each household, but they will tax multifamily properties as a

business. It is not yet clear as to how individuals, multifamily and com-mercial properties will be taxed or how much. See the letter we sent in the Rental Alliance Update Newsletter. I am personally dis-turbed that the citizens of Portland will not get to vote on this street tax as it is before the city council for vote.

If you haven’t already phoned in your reservations for our November dinner party, please do so now. This is one of the most important dinner meetings of the year and includes pivotal decisions like seating our new board of directors. For the first time in several years we have more nominees than positions available. Your vote is important! Jill Smith from Home Forward (Section 8) will be the speaker. This is the time to get some of those questions answered about Home Forward. Please see more information in the RHA Oregon Update.

We will also raffle the red ticket cash from the last 11 months, this cash is half of the red ticket sales

from each meeting. I would like to mention the annu-

al Holiday Party will be held at the Riverside Country Club this year. This is a great time to have that Holiday Party for your employees or family members. Each year we col-lect toys and teenage gifts for our soldiers’ families. For many years our Community Relations Chair, Tony Kavanagh, has taken the trip to Salem to deliver the gifts you bring for these kids. We ask each year for you to remember the teenagers. There is always an abundance of toys for those 12 and under, but not for the teenagers. I know teenagers

are so much harder to buy for, (2 in my household). May we suggest gift cards from stores located throughout Oregon? Because our soldiers are not able to be with their families, we give these gifts in hopes that they will bring some joy to the families.

Elizabeth CarpenterSince 1927, the Rental Housing

Alliance Oregon has set the standard for community participation by land-lords providing affordable and quality

housing.

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ORHA Legislative Update for Fall 2014

The Landlord Tenant Coalition has just started its negotiating pro-cess and I have nothing to report just yet. In the meantime, the following Insurance Division Consumer Advisory is very pertinent especially as AirBnB websites become more and more common, and people (read your tenants) are increasingly using them to generate extra income. The advisory describes the insurance coverage risks for people who par-ticipate in what is being called the “sharing economy,” such as car shar-ing or networking services like Uber and informal/internet apartment or home rental services like AirBnB - the part of the advisory regarding rental sharing is the most relevant to us. It warns that those who rent out rooms or homes on a regular basis via services like AirBnB are probably not covered by their homeowners insurance policies, which generally don’t include business uses. AirBnB is becoming a huge problem for landlords in the Portland area, and it’s just a matter of time until it trick-les down to the rest of us. Happy Landlording.

Jim Straub, ORHA Legislative Director

http://www.oregon.gov/DCBS/insurance/news/Pages/2014/

sept192014.aspx

Consumer Advisory: Think about insurance be-fore participating in sharing economy

The Department of Consumer and Business Services, Insurance Division advises Oregonians to con-sider their insurance needs when engaging in new apps and websites that facilitate car rides, vacation rent-als, and other services – known as the “sharing economy.”

“When a new industry emerges, it often creates unique insurance situa-tions,” said Insurance Commissioner Laura Cali. “Consumers should be aware that traditional insurance pol-icies may not apply when participat-ing in a new kind of business.”

Examples include transportation networking companies (TNCs), such as Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar, that offer smartphone apps to help connect drivers and passengers as an alterna-tive to taxis. Drivers who participate use their personal vehicles to trans-port passengers for a fee. Other com-panies, such as Airbnb, allow people to list and book properties for rent through its website.

Here is what you need to consider before participating in these new endeavors:

Drivers of TNCsPersonal insurance policies will

not provide you with coverage if you drive for a TNC. Because you would be collecting a fee for driving anoth-er person, your personal insurance policy would not cover any damage or losses that occur. Before signing up to become a driver:

• Find out if the company has an insurance program. Make sure the commercial automobile

insurance policy held by the TNC includes coverage for bodily injury and property damage to you and others before and during the time you are designated to drive passengers for payment.

• Review any agreement involving car-sharing or ridesharing. Seek legal counsel if needed.

• •Call your insurance company or agent to discuss your options and whether you might want to consider a commercial insurance policy.

Passengers of TNCsNeither your personal auto policy

nor the personal auto policy of the driver will protect you when you are riding in another vehicle for a fee. Before using a ride-sharing service:

• Ask the transportation company if it has coverage that will pay for your expenses in the event of an injury.

• Call your insurance company or agent to discuss your options.

Homeowners listing their home for rent

Some insurance companies may provide coverage if you occasionally rent out a room, but making all or part of your home available for regu-lar rental likely would be considered business use. Homeowner policies generally do not provide coverage for business use. If you are consider-ing renting out your home through a service such as Airbnb:

• Check with your agent or insurance company if you're considering making all or part of your home available for rental on a regular basis. Your agent or customer service representative can explain how your current policy does or does not apply and any options available to you.

• Find out whether you can add to your coverage, or whether you have to buy a policy specifically designed for a landlord.

Consumers renting a room or home

If you rent through a mobile app or website and there is damage to your belongings during your stay, your own homeowner or renter poli-cy would apply similar to when you rent a hotel room.

If you have questions, the Insurance Division can help. You can reach the

division’s Consumer Advocacy Unit by calling 1-888-877-4894 (toll-free),

emailing [email protected], or visiting www.insurance.oregon.gov.

The Insurance Division is part of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, Oregon's largest business reg-ulatory and consumer protection agen-cy. Visit http://www.dcbs.oregon.gov.

For more information: Lisa Morawski, [email protected].

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By Jo Becker, Education/Outreach Specialist, Fair Housing Council of Oregon

History of Lead Regulation

The evolution of regula-tory changes regarding lead hazards in housing has been interesting to observe. Initially, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) required housing providers – sales agents, landlords, etc. – to disclose to poten-tial buyers and occupants that resi-dences built prior to 1978 may con-tain lead-based paint before the con-sumer was obligated by contract. This put housing providers in the role of consumer advocate and I per-sonally spent years as a sales agent, like you, distributing the required “Protect Your Family from Lead In Your Home” brochures ; explaining the mandated disclosure form , and then retaining the completed forms for three years.

This was, essentially, the only requirement of housing providers for nearly two decades – there was, and is, no requirement to test for the presence of lead nor to remediate (remove) it.

In 2008, the EPA passed the Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) regulation that impacts resi-dences, layering on top of the ’96 law. It required those doing work

that disturbs at least six square feet of painted surfaces inside pre-’78 homes (or 20 square feet on the exte-rior) provide residents with the “Renovate Right” brochure and complete another accompanying dis-closure form.

Building on the ’08 regulation, two years later the EPA went on to stipulate that those doing such work must be certified (or hire someone who is) and follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamina-tion. The following work methods are specifically prohibited because they have been proven to create sig-nificant levels of lead dust: dry sand-ing or scraping, removing paint by torching or burning, the use of heat guns over 1100°F, and machine-sanding or grinding without HEPA equipment. Specialized paint strip-pers are available instead; some even render lead non-hazardous further decreasing risk to workers and resi-dents. Safe work practice require-ments include, among other things, posting of signage during the proj-ect; the use of plastic sheeting to seal and prevent contamination outside the work area; and proper disposal of lead-based paint waste.

The Pre-HistoryWe’ve all heard the “before 1978”

line, but it turns out the year a resi-dence was constructed offers a fairly

precise likelihood of whether or not lead is present in its layers of paint.

According to HUD’s Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control, homes built:

• before 1940 have a 87% chance of containing at least some lead paint,

• between 1940 and 1960 have a 69% chance of containing leaded paint,

• between 1960 and 1978 have a 24% chance of containing lead paint, and those

• after 1978 are unlikely to have lead-based paint.The reason being is that lead com-

pounds were historically added to paint as pigments, or used to improve opacity and durability. These pig-ments were implicated in child poi-sonings as early as 1904, when lead toxicity in several Australian chil-dren was traced to their porch paint. Within a few years, several nations in Europe and elsewhere began ban-ning lead in certain household paints. Here in the U.S., a voluntary standard limited lead in interior paints in 1955, but we didn’t ban it until 1977 and even then certain lev-els of lead were allowed. In 2009, the legally allowable concentration was reduced

While we were slow to enact pro-

tective legal measures, some coun-tries aboard are still manufacturing and selling leaded paint. In many developing nations paint with stag-gering levels of lead are, or have until recently been, sold freely in their marketplaces. Inertia is largely to blame according to Jack Weinberg of International POPs Elimination Network, a coalition of environmen-tal and health groups working to ban lead-based paint. “Lead-based pig-ments are marginally cheaper… and some argue they are more durable, more protective, or have better col-ors, but these claims are highly debatable and, I think, don’t hold up,” Weinberg says. “In the absence of a legal requirement, a lot of com-panies just do it.”

As a result, we’ve seen foreign-made painted products reach our shores. In 2007, news broke that imported Asian toys were coated with lead paint, sparking public ire. We are, in fact, exposed to lead in many ways – through the air, water, food, contaminated soil, dust and, yes, deteriorative paints used on products such as those Asian toys. The Secretary of Health and Human Services labeled lead the "number one environmental threat to the health of children in the U.S." back in 1991 and, of all the possible sources, old lead-based paint is the most sig-

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By Tia Politi, Rental Owner, ROA Board Member, Eviction Specialist, Lead Property Manager for Acorn Property Management

I often say that my experience as a mom has helped me in my career as a property manager. I some-

times feel as though I am responsible for parenting more than 800 unruly teenagers, and in my experience, ed-ucating residents about being good tenants and neighbors regularly be-comes part of my job as a landlord, and likely yours as well.

Many of the calls received on the ROA Helpline have to do with ten-ants violating the terms of their rent-al agreement. Offenses range from loud parties, to unpaid rent or late fees, to hoarding, unauthorized ani-mals or occupants, or lack of care of the property in some fashion. Unfortunately, some rental owners turn a blind eye to their tenants’ behavior in order to avoid confronta-tion, or over concerns related to an unplanned vacancy. If you cannot deal calmly, directly, and firmly with your tenants and set clear boundar-ies for accepted behavior, they will often run roughshod over you and your rental unit. Not only will your property suffer, but so will your self-

esteem as you realize they have the upper hand and you are too soft-hearted to deal with the problem. This in turn can lead to issues of waiver if you have been aware of a violation but have chosen to turn a blind eye for three consecutive rental periods or longer. Now that the city of Eugene has the Social Host Ordinance to work with, you could also suffer financial penalties by ignoring your tenants’ bad behavior.

When we discover a tenant non-compliance issue at Acorn, we have a four-step process for bringing our errant tenants back into compliance or getting them to move on. First, is the friendly phone call, “Hi, this is Tia from Acorn calling to let you know that I received a report from the Eugene Police that they had responded to a neighbor complaint regarding a loud, obnoxious party at your residence last night. I would like to remind you that while you are entitled to have friends over and cel-ebrate, you are not allowed to dis-turb the peaceful enjoyment of your neighbors. Should this behavior con-tinue, I will take progressive action up to and including termination of your tenancy. I’m hoping that won’t be necessary, but I want you to know the risks involved should you choose

to continue this behavior.” In most cases, and with reasonable, consider-ate tenants, that is the only action I ever have to take. I do make a note in the tenants’ file that I made the call.

Upon a second confirmed inci-dent – that is the same or substan-tially the same – my next step is to send an official Warning Notice. This becomes part of the tenants’ rental record. This is also the step required before you are legally permitted to charge a tenant a non-compliance fee

for certain lease violations including failure to clean up pet waste or trash; parking violations or improper use of a vehicle; late payments of utility bills or other service charges; smok-ing in a non-smoking area; and unauthorized pets.

If there is a third similar violation, I assess the appropriate fee (if allowed by law) and send a 30/14, or Notice of Termination with Cause. This is still a curable notice, but if not

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Performing at Work and at Home: The Athleticism of Surgery and Life,” (www.superperforming.com), shares the principles that helped him through that greatest of all challeng-es and lesser ones along the way.

“Apply these principles in work, sports and life in general, and you can become a super performer,” he says.

Pressure equals opportunity. It’s when something matters that

the pressure starts to build; this is where the rubber meets the road for sports-to-life analogies.

“In sports as in life, remember your training; follow through just like you did during practice; visual-ize success; believe it will happen,” Dr. Cerfolio says. “With friends, for example, high-pressure moments can be those times when they need you. The best way to have great friends is to be a great friend.”

Strive to hit .400 every yearKeep your eye on the prize; write

it down. “My high school gave out

an award each year to the best stu-dent athlete in each grade,” he says. “I wrote down that I wanted to win the Klein Award in the ninth, 10th and 11th grades, and to win the most prestigious award at the senior grad-uation, the Deetjen Award.

He accomplished most of those goals, and a key to those achieve-ments was writing them down and placing the paper where, for four years, he could see it every night.

“By writing them down, I had made my goals clear and objective.”

Lean toward a “we-centered” ego rather than a “me-centered”

one. “When I traded in my baseball uniform for surgical scrubs, I noticed the importance of stripping the many layers of the ego I once had,” Dr. Cerfolio says. “This is really impor-tant: Your ego doesn’t need to be visible to everyone -- or even anyone but yourself.”

Being a top performer requires ego – it helps fuel self-confidence and provides some of the motiva-tion necessary to achieve. But it

should not hinder the performance of your team: your coworkers, friends and family. Over time, by keeping your ego to yourself, it becomes easier to enact a team-ori-ented ego, rather than a “me-orient-ed” one.

Time to quit? Rub some dirt on it.

In life, work is unavoidable, so embrace it, go big, and appreciate the rewards. No matter how difficult the challenge you face or how much it may hurt to meet that challenge, push through and give it your all.

“Yes, there’s a chance you won’t succeed, or won’t succeed to the degree you’d like. But you stand zero chance of success if you don’t meet that challenge and give it everything you’ve got,” Dr. Cerfolio says. “You owe it to yourself and your team, whether that’s your ball team, your family team or your work team. When you sign up for any team, by definition you promise

your time, effort and 100 percent commitment. You have to be at every game and every practice on time and ready to go.”

Robert J. Cerfolio, MD, MBA, is the James H. Estes Family Endowed Chair

of Lung Cancer Research and Full Professor Chief of Thoracic Surgery at

the University of Alabama in Birmingham. He received his medical

degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine, surgical training at

the Mayo Clinic and at Cornell-Sloan Kettering hospital, and has been in

practice for more than 26 years. The author of “Super Performing at Work

and at Home,” (www.superperforming.com), Cerfolio, who was a First Team

Academic All-American baseball player in college, is a world-renowned chest surgeon and recognized as one of the busiest and best thoracic surgeons in

the world.

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(www.oregon.gov/energy/BUSINESS/Incentives/docs/EIP_SPP.pdf)

The SPP has been funded to oper-ate for at least the next 12 months, commencing on 1 July 2014. In order to be eligible for these tax credits you must:

1. Be a trade, business, or rental property owner with a business site in Oregon or be an Oregon non-profit organization, tribe or public entity that partners with an Oregon business or resident,

2. Own or be the contract buyer of the project, and

3. Use the equipment or lease it to another person or Business in Oregon

In other words, rental homes, small rental properties, and busi-nesses are eligible to receive these credits.

Some of the energy efficient cate-gories that are included for residen-tial landlords are:

• LED Outdoor Lighting

• Building Envelope Thermal Improvement ( i.e. Windows)

• Solar Thermal Water Heating

• Adjustable Flow Irrigation Pumping

• Energy Improvements to Commercial Greenhouses

• Heat Pump Service/Hot Water Heating

• Agricultural Irrigation System Improvement

• Compressed Air Systems Components

• High Performance Homebuilding

• Boiler-vent Dampers

• Premium Efficiency Electric AC Equipment

• Industrial Piping Insulation

• Direct-fired Radiant Heating in High Volume Spaces

• Ductless Heat Pumps with Variable Refrigerant Flow This program is also available to

homebuilders. They are allowed a $12,000 credit for new home con-struction if they include these energy conservation methods:

• The building shell must meet specified heat loss requirements

• The house must be verified by ENERGY STAR ® Homes Northwest program

• The HVAC system must be high performance

• A renewable energy system must be installed

Homebuilders must apply for the tax credit (not the new homeowner).

Typically you will want to prequalify your property upgrades

through the SPP desk before you

start.

Energy Trust of Oregon A number of cash incentives are

offered through Energy Trust of Oregon. Go to (energytrust.org) to investigate further.LED Lights:

For a limited time during 2014, Energy Trust of Oregon can help landlords save

energy and money with LED light bulbs and light fixtures. When you purchase from a distributor partici-pating in the Lighten Up with LEDs promotion, you can apply at order time to have your distributor instant-ly reduce the purchase price of qual-ifying LED lamps by the Energy Trust incentive amount.

Promotion incentives are avail-able for business customers with an eligible commercial, industrial or multifamily (2+ units and for com-mon area lamp installs only) sites in Oregon that receives electrical ser-vice from Portland General Electric or Pacific Power.

For more Energy Trust Multifamily incentives log into this

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forms/BE_MF_Incentive_Booklet.pdfThere are many ways that you can save money as you modernize and

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Dear Maintenance Men,It won’t be long before we need to

change our clocks for Daylight Saving. I’m a bit concerned about the lights at my apartment building. I have various fixtures, sensors and timers, not one of which turns on the lights at the same time. Some don’t turn off or on at all. Any suggestions?

Burt

Dear Burt:There are two ways to effectively

control exterior lighting: 1. A timer clock.2. A photocell for detecting light

and darkBoth time clocks and photocells

have been around forever. We prefer to activate landscape lighting with a photocell as it is virtually mainte-nance free. A photocell will ensure the property has light only when it is needed and turn off automatically with the approach of daylight. Be sure the photocell located where it can “see” ambient light and not near an artificial light source.

A time clock needs constant atten-

tion in order to keep up with the changing seasons and adjustments for longer or shorter nights. There is nothing more frustrating than seeing the property all lit up at 5pm and it only gets dark at 7pm or even worse; the lights turn on at 7pm and it has been dark since 5pm. Remember: the safety of your residents is at its great-est risk when it is dark and the lights are out.

Dear Maintenance Men:I’m getting ready to have one of my

rental units painted and the painter typically sprays the walls and ceiling as opposed to rolling on the paint. I’m a bit worried about my smoke and CO Detectors. I’m I being overly cautious?

George

Dear George:Overly cautious? No! We think

you are right to worry. The paint and construction dust can contaminate the smoke/CO detectors and lessen their sensitivity. It is important to either cover the detectors in a protec-tive plastic bag or remove them dur-ing the painting and construction work. While you are there, check the batteries and dates of installation. If you remove the detectors during painting, don’t forget to reinstall

them before the next resident moves in.

Dear Maintenance Men:Garbage deposals are getting me

down! I am forever getting calls to unblock them or replace rusted ones. They seem to be a source of constant problems. Are there any alternatives?

John

Dear John:The first issue may be education.

When a new resident moves into a unit; explain how to use the garbage disposal, what should and should not be put through the unit. Show them what to do if the disposal jams and where and how to use the un-jam key. (The un-jam key should be attached to the side of the disposer.) The same information should be dis-tributed to all existing residents as well.

To answer your question about an alternative to a garbage disposal: We recently met with a small Southern California company that makes an item to eliminate the garbage dis-posal unit altogether. The product is called SemperScreen and it looks just like a standard sink drain strainer. The difference is in the strainer itself. The strainer is a fine stainless steel

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cured will result in termination of the tenancy. If cured within the time frame specified, or the notice expires with no further violations of that same nature, then the notice hangs out in limbo for six months. If the tenants repeat the same or substan-tially the same behavior within six months of the origination date of the 30/14, I can then issue a 10-day Repeat Violation Notice, for which there is no cure allowed.

When I send a 30/14, I include a letter that informs the tenants of the permanent consequences of a repeat performance and include the follow-ing statement, “It is my sincere hope that you will not make me take this final step resulting in termination of your tenancy.” It is a reminder that this situation is completely within their control, not mine, and also clearly communicates that this is truly their final chance to stop. When I have tenants in a fixed-term lease, I also remind them that termination under this notice does not relieve them (or their co-signers) from liabil-ity for either a lease-break fee or actual damages under the terms of their lease. With college students in particular, this really seems to get their attention as they suddenly real-ize that they could be without hous-ing AND still have their parents be on the hook for their current lease.

One other thing to remember

when evicting or assessing fines against problem residents, is that we all live in the United States of America. When you are taking legal action against another party, (and notices are legal documents that could eventually be presented as evi-dence in a court proceeding) you had better have evidence of your claim in case you end up in a courtroom with a tenant who is denying the viola-tion. So, where’s your proof? I have had issues with some people on cam-pus who like to complain about any noise at all and seem to have a ven-detta against college students. Just because the police are called, does not mean there was a violation. If in doubt, call the police and ask for the details or a copy of the police report. Many times, police arrive to respond to a complaint and find no violation.

I had a hostile neighbor once come storming across the street when I was inspecting a campus-area home that we were listing. She loudly told me that she didn’t want any college students living in her neighborhood and that she would be watching. I thanked her and told her that we were a Fair Housing compa-ny and could not legally discrimi-nate against college students, but that we took our responsibility seri-ously to ensure that whoever rented the home would be good neighbors. We did rent to a very nice group of

UO track team members who were then relentlessly harassed by this woman who filed numerous unsub-stantiated noise complaints to the point where even the Eugene police got tired of hearing from her. In all of her more than 12 reports, there was only one substantiated incident. So keep in mind the source of the com-plaint and remember that unsub-stantiated claims are not evidence of a violation. Compilation of evidence can include police reports, citations or arrests, witness testimony, photo-graphs, etc. If you have a neighbor who has been complaining about truly problematic behaviors ask them to document their concerns and ask if they are willing to testify to what they saw in court. If the answer is no, then you may have a problem of evidence. In my experi-ence many folks like to complain, but don’t want to get personally involved.

While you can’t always fix what’s wrong with your tenants, most of the time you can have the desired impact. You get to set the tone of the relationship, so maintain a friendly yet business-like demeanor and keep the ball in their court. And remem-ber, once you start down the slippery slope of non-compliance, it’s almost impossible to get back up that hill, so don’t let it happen. You don’t have to be nasty or rude, but don’t allow

even minor violations to slide.

This column offers general sugges-tions only and is no substitute for pro-

fessional legal assistance. Please consult an attorney for advice related to your

specific situation.

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In 2013, Energy Trust of Oregon incentive programs saved over $1,000,000 for multifamily prop-

erty managers and owners.Successful property management

requires developing a capital plan and budget that will sustain the building structure, support its func-tion for years and enhance the bot-

tom line for all shareholders. Having a structured and consistent approach is critical.

Budgets typically include a rea-sonable estimate of known operating expenses, as well as a plan for future capital purchases. The operating expenses portion of the budget may include varying degrees of manage-ment and maintenance of the prop-

erty including; but not limited to, utility and equipment expenses. The goal of many multifamily property owners and managers is to reduce their community expenditures while seeking alternatives that may assist them with reaching their budgetary goals.

Additionally, savvy condomini-um/townhome owners look for ways to decrease their monthly util-ity expenses, and understand the importance of being financially pre-pared when the unexpected happens and a faulty appliance, or water heater, needs to be replaced.

Energy Trust understands these budgetary challenges, and we have developed tools and programs that may help reduce operating costs and monthly expenses. We provide and install no cost high-performance lighting, showerheads and faucet aerators to simply help reduce ener-gy consumption and to realize imme-diate savings for your managed communities.

Proper capital planning requires the time-consuming collection of detailed data on a building’s condi-tion and its deficiencies. Our energy advisors collect this data for you by

providing a no-cost walkthrough survey and site evaluation to identi-fy building efficiency opportunities within common areas, and within owner-units, to determine where the largest savings potential exist for the complex and the owner. The benefit of engaging Energy Trust resources, services and cash incentives is through delivering substantial cost savings and efficiency gains, reduc-ing financial and operational costs, and providing long-term benefits to all shareholders.

Energy-efficient buildings pro-duce real savings, which fall directly to the owner’s bottom line. Improving buildings’ energy effi-ciency also enhances property value and significantly reduces operating costs, sometimes by as much as hun-dreds of thousands of dollars a year.

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the way you purchase to reap some of the benefits. This is true for receiv-ing the exclusive price discounts in the program. When you join ARPOLA and register for the Home Depot Program you are given access to ARPOLA’s exclusive purchasing portal with The Home Depot. You buy directly through this portal on-line then pick up your purchase in the store, or have it delivered. While not completely intuitive, the portal works very well and has several tools to assist in making the buying process easy. It is expected to save you a lot of time, as well. For some of you, this way of purchasing will be easier and more time efficient. For others, the change could prove to be cumbersome. As a society, we are ordering more and more of what we buy on-line. In the future, this may prove to be the primary purchasing process for your rental properties, too. It all seems headed that way.

The informational and education-al component is just getting started,

so it is difficult to analyze the impact this will have for our readers. In speaking with Alan Langston, ARPOLA’s president, the informa-tion provided will be extensive over time. The objective is to take com-mon product needs for rental prop-erty and provide information on that product from the perspective of a rental property owner or operator. The outcome will be an informed purchasing decision based on crite-ria important to you and the class of rental property needing the work. This concept is different and address-es the basic need of buying the right solution for the issue you have. Example: What size motor does the garbage disposal need for your prop-erty? An informed decision may sig-nificantly lower the initial cost of acquisition and long term cost. Also, there is an informative article in their blog on smoke detectors. A timely addition considering the special product offer pricing available through the program.

What the catch? There is only one, and it isn’t much of a catch. You have to be a member of ARPOLA. With ARPOLA’s dues being only $35 a year, it isn’t much of an inhibitor. The dues for owners that manage their own properties, property man-agers and services provider are all the same - $35. During the launch of their partnership with The Home Depot you receive a $10 welcome gift card and a $20 Off Purchase of $200 coupon making the net cost to join ARPOLA only $5 if you can use the coupon.

ARPOLA has an aggressive vision to aggregate a large percentage of rental property owners, property managers, rental property owners associations and landlord associa-tions of single family and small multi-family rentals across the coun-try, says Langston. They believe pro-viding information to their members to help them make informed deci-sions specific to their needs will increase members’ effectiveness and

directly improve their profit. Negotiating special pricing for best of class services and products is a direct offshoot of that vision and saves their members directly in cost and indirectly in reducing risk and exposure. Time will tell on how well they deliver, but their latest partner-ship with The Home Depot confirms they are serious about executing on their vision.

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Whether you have several vacancies and upcoming notices to lease or you are

down to that last “net to rent,” you must still qualify your prospects in order to ultimately secure the rental. How you remember and record the needs and preferences of your callers and visitors, is just as important as obtaining the information in the first place. Following is a question that came up on the topic of guest cards:

Q: My property supervisor is

really pushing us to use guest cards. However this whole “qualifying thing” makes me feel uncomfortable, like I am invading someone’s priva-cy. I have a pretty good memory and

don’t really think it’s necessary to write down everything on a guest card. What’s the big deal anyway?

A: I commend you for being

respectful of the privacy of others. This demonstrates professionalism and consideration on your part. However, it is possible to note the preferences and personal informa-tion of your prospective renters without being intrusive. Remember the old adage: “The shortest pencil is longer than the longest memory.” No matter what your recall ability is, you will not be able to memorize all the needs and preferences of every client, along with their name and contact information.

Try asking each one of your pro-spective renters for “permission” to question them about their needs in order to provide them with the best possible service. It might sound something like this: “Is it okay if I ask you a few questions to find out what you’re looking for in your new home? - I want to help you pick out the apartment that will best meet your needs!” Then, at the end of the phone contact or visit, once you have established a rapport, it would be perfectly natural to ask for their email, phone number or mailing address so you can keep in touch with them.

Remember: You are in the “cus-tomer service” business. You can’t meet the needs of your customers if you don’t know what they are. (Neither can anyone else in your office if your phone callers show up and you are not there.) You can’t fol-low up on the interest of your clients either, if you don’t have their contact information. Think of a guest card as a “tool.” When used properly you

will find that it is a professional, organized method for learning everything you ever wanted to know about your prospects, but were afraid to ask!

If you have a question or concern that you would like to see addressed next month or if you would like to inquire about a shopping program and leasing training, please ASK THE SECRET SHOPPER by making contact via e-mail. Your questions, comments and suggestions are ALWAYS welcome!

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Non-family businesses can learn a lot from fam-ily businesses, says Henry

Hutcheson, a certified Family Busi-ness Advisor and founder of Family Business USA consultancy.

“Family businesses outperformed non-family businesses during the boom years leading up to the 2008 recession, and during the 2001 and 2008 recession years,” he says, citing a recent Harvard Business Review study.

Hutcheson, author of the new book, “Dirty Little Secrets of Family Business,” (http://dirtylittlesecret-soffamilybusiness.com), says family businesses were less likely to lay off workers during the lean times, and more likely to maintain their empha-sis on socially responsible programs.

But that’s just the businesses that survived.

“Many closed their doors,” he notes.

With 25 years of business man-agement and family business con-sulting experience, Hutcheson says he’s seen the patterns that can lead to major problems. And they’re almost always preventable.

“The factor that enables family businesses to rise to the top is trust: Family members can potentially trust one another far more than non-family members,” he says. “But trust can erode – when a family member

can’t or won’t perform at the neces-sary level; when there’s a sense of entitlement; drug abuse; laziness. And that can have serious, business-killing consequences.

“If the business is professional-ized, there will be a way to deal with those issues. But too often, safe-guards are not in place.”

Hutcheson offers five top success strategies for family businesses:

Keep the lines of communication open. Schedule regular family meet-ings to discuss issues of concern and topics such as business transition, business performance, and responsi-bilities. Include all of the family members, no matter where in the hierarchy their jobs fall – exclusion creates animosity. Create a family manual that lays out the ground rules for how the meetings will take place to ensure everyone gets a chance to be heard and impediments to communication are left at the door.

Assign clear roles and responsi-bilities. As a family member, it’s natural to feel that everything is “my” business. However, not every-thing is every family member’s responsibility. Job definitions pre-vent everyone from jumping in to tackle the same problem, and help ensure the business runs smoothly.

Keep good financial data. The downfall of many small businesses

and family businesses is not having solid data. Have a single point of contact to manage the finances. If you’re small enough, you can rely on a family member. Otherwise, you’ll need to bring in a qualified accoun-tant. You may cringe at the cost for this, but the difference between a good accountant and a bad one is the difference between knowing exactly where you are on the road and try-ing to drive with a mud-covered windshield.

Avoid overpaying family mem-bers. Market-based compensation is fundamental and essential. Parents in family businesses tend to overpay the next generation, or pay everyone equally despite differing levels of responsibility. Both are bad practic-es. The longer unfair compensation practices continue, the messier it will be to clean up when it blows up.

Don’t hire relatives if they’re unqualified. Competence is key. Family businesses are a conundrum: The family aspect generates unquali-fied love, while the business side cares about profits. Thus, family members will be hired to provide them with a job, even though they’re not qualified. The remedy is to get them trained, move them to a role that matches their skills, or have them leave.

“More than 70 percent of all busi-nesses are family businesses – they

account for a significant number of new jobs and a large portion of the GDP,” Hutcheson says. “But that’s not the only reason they’re so impor-tant.

“They’re motivated by profits, but also by other important consid-erations: pride in the family name, building something for future gen-erations, philanthropy. For those rea-sons, they contribute in tremendous ways to social stability. They make our communities better.”

Henry Hutcheson is president of Family Business USA and specializ-

es in helping family and privately held businesses successfully man-age transition, maintain harmony,

and improve operations. His newest book is “Dirty Little Secrets of

Family Business: How to Successfully Navigate Family

Business Conflict and Transition,” (http://dirtylittlesecretsoffamily-

business.com); he’s also quoted in “Kids, Wealth, and Consequences”

and “Sink or Swim: How Lessons from the Titanic Can Save Your

Family Business.” Hutcheson grew up working for his family’s busi-

ness, Olan Mills Portrait Studios. He studied psychology and has an MBA from Columbia Business

School, and is a popular speaker at professional, university and corpo-

rate-sponsored events.

5 Strategies to Ensure Family Business SuccessAdvisor Shares Tips for Avoiding Common Problems



Lead In Revue ...continued from page 8

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nificant source of lead exposure in the U.S.

The last drop of lead-based resi-dential paint was manufactured in the U.S. decades ago yet we are still strug-gling to overcome our historic use of these products. As of 2006, an esti-mated 22% of U.S. homes – 23.2 mil-lion of them – contained lead-based paint hazards. Calculations suggest that as many as 535,000 young chil-dren could have unsafe blood lead levels as a result.

Recent CasesThe issue of lead hazards is alive in

U.S. homes and in our courtrooms. Costly legal battles aimed, ultimately, at protecting our children through disclosure and proper work habits catch housing providers who do not comply with such requirements. There are, too, legal efforts at making U.S. companies that once sold lead-based paints accountable.

A couple recent and noteworthy examples:

• In December 2013, a California judge ordered three paint companies to pay $1.1 billion in a case that took 13 years to reach trial and alleged the manufacturers knew lead made their paint products harmful to children as early as the 1890s but still marketed and sold it to consumers without health warnings.

• In April 2014, Lowe’s settled with the EPA to the tune of $500,000 after an investigation found a handful of the big box store’s contractors were not complying with RRP requirements. The settlement also stipulates that Lowe’s will create a new compliance and training program at its 17000+ U.S. stores.

• There have also been numerous cases of housing providers being fined or sued when out of compliance with various aspects of lead-based paint in housing regulations, including here in Oregon.

The Lead-Fair Housing Nexus In an informal study of local hous-

ing providers a few years ago, the FHCO found that over a third still don’t realize it is illegal under the fed-eral Fair Housing Act to deny hous-ing simply because there are children in the household – even in pre-1978 properties. Neither the potential risk to occupants if they do not know how to live ‘lead safe’ nor the concern for liability should a child be poisoned is a justification for violating fair hous-ing laws.

We’ve seen a number of cases across the country like this. Many of them, like the non-compliance cases, have resulted in very expensive rul-




Lead In Revue ...continued from page 18

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ings or settlements that went beyond regulatory requirements and obli-gated those specific housing provid-ers to remediate the lead in their properties.

Why It MattersIt’s the law and shirking these

federal requirements can result in hefty fines, rulings or settlements. That is obvious, but the impetus for expanding U.S. regulation around lead-based paint, and the true moti-vation behind the obligations on the housing industry are two-fold:

1. Our kids are at considerable risk from lead hazards.

2. Household lead is a considerable contamination source.Lead is a harmful environmental

pollutant. Once airborne, lead par-ticles or microscopic dust settle around our homes; they get into our bodies as we breathe or swallow. The risk to children is compounded by the fact that they (and pets, too) are often on the floor where lead dust often settles and are inclined to put their hands and other objects that may be covered in unseen dust in their mouths.

Often, lead exposure has no observable symptoms and goes unrecognized but exposure, even at low concentrations and particularly in early childhood, can cause pro-found neurobehavioral problems

including life-long lowered intellec-tual performance and behavioral changes. Lead exposure is associat-ed with a multitude of conditions including Alzheimer’s and cardio-vascular disease.

If it’s your child or grandchild who is poisoned, the impact is tragi-cally powerful. But even if someone you love isn’t poisoned by lead, it truly affects us all. One estimate suggests the U.S. forfeits $50.9 bil-lion in economic activity annually because of IQ points lost to lead exposure. Globally, 49% of all chil-dren and 42% of adults have elevat-ed blood lead levels, contributing to 600,000 new cases of intellectual dis-abilities every year, according to the World Health Organization.

One study found that with each IQ point lost, a child who has been poisoned by lead loses an estimated 2% of their lifetime earning poten-tial. The population-wide loss of IQ points resulting from lead exposure costs low- and middle-income coun-tries $977 billion annually in decreased productivity. "That eco-nomic drag amounted to 1.2% of global gross domestic product in 2011, yet the cost is nearly invisible unless you crunch the numbers according to the lead author of the study, Leonardo Trasande, an associ-ate professor at New York University.

“If a child comes back with one IQ point loss, the parent doesn’t notice.

But if 100,000 kids come back with one less IQ point, the economy notic-es,” Trasande says, adding that for some countries, the average number of IQ points lost to lead exposure is much higher than 1. Clearly, the numbers justify devoting money and effort to the issue.

When you consider these person-al and economic factors along with the fact that lead-based paint is the most significant source of such expo-sure and the majority of our housing stock is covered in it, you can see the justification for evolving U.S. regula-tory emphasis on lead hazards in housing.

One also begins to appreciate the crucial role housing providers can (and are obligated to) play in pre-venting unnecessary risk and loss to household residents. What’s more, housing providers can (and are obli-gated to) keep themselves and those who work on their properties safe by assuring lead-safe work practices and proper protective gear are used, because adults, too, are at risk of lead poisoning.

Living Lead SafeOne can live (and work) lead-safe,

even in pre-’78 properties! Of the housing providers we surveyed, 83% wanted to learn more about the issue and educate consumers about it. To help facilitate these good intentions, we’d like to introduce you to a non-

profit partner of ours in Portland, Community Energy Project.

As a former Realtor®, I can tell you their “Living Lead Safe” work-shop is an excellent presentation for company meetings, as well as client or resident gatherings. It takes about an hour and I can tell you it is mind blowing! Visit www.communityen-ergyproject.org/services/lead-poi-soning-prevention-workshops to learn more.

This article brought to you by the Fair Housing Council; a civil rights organization. All rights reserved © 2014. Write [email protected] to

reprint articles or inquire about ongo-ing content for your own publication. To learn more… Learn more about fair housing and / or sign up for our

free, periodic newsletter at www.FHCO.org.

Qs about this article? ‘Interested in articles for your company or trade

association? Contact Jo Becker at [email protected] or 800/424-3247 Ext.

150Want to schedule an in-office

fair housing training program or speaker for corporate or association

functions? Visit www.FHCO.org/pdfs/classlist.pdf

Metro Rental Housing Journal November 2014

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