Thanks to all of you who have referred new members to our organization.  Since January 2002, we’ve grown by nearly 100 memberships, and we now represent approximately 1,000 individual rental property owners in Lane County.  To help keep membership fees low, we don’t pay to advertise, so all of our new members have learned of us through word-of-mouth.  It says so much about the quality of our organization that so many of you have recommended us to your friends and colleagues.   Don’t be afraid to tell others about the ROA, and be sure to take advantage of our New Member Referral Program to receive a free dinner at our next General Meeting.  Check out 
the New Member Referral Card on this inside of the back cover for more information!

     We’ll continue to provide you with updates regarding the 2003 Oregon Legislature.  At this 
point, we believe that the Legislature will approve the Governor’s budget as submitted.  Although state and court services will ostensibly return to “normal operations” on July 1st, the Governor’s budget does little to plug the holes created by budget cuts during the current biennium.  Therefore, we simply cannot say at this time whether services will be fully reinstated on July 1st and whether they will be cut again immediately or later in the year.  We do know that with regard to FED (eviction) court services, there is a proposal that would return services to full operations after 
July 1st in exchange for a 30% increase in filing fees.  There seems to be broad consensus that this proposal is better than the alternative of leaving court services severely restricted during the next biennium.  Look for future Bulletin editions to address pending changes.  Truly, the old adage that “only time will tell” applies in this case.

        - Jon Tronrud

DEVELOP A POINT SYSTEM FOR SELECTING RESIDENTS
By Jeffrey E. Taylor, Mr. Landlord
June 27th, 2003 Speaker at the 2003 ORHA Convention in Portland

Do you have a list of “written” criteria for selecting residents? It is something that can save you literally thousands - possibly hundreds of thousands - of DOLLARS! A poll was taken at a rental owner’s association dinner meeting on how many members had their “criteria” written down. Out of 40 present, only three said they did! This is a shocker! Most landlords know better. We’ve been repeatedly advised of the benefits.

Are you negligent in this area of your rental management? Don’t ignore such a crucial aspect of your rental operation. Everything starts with the resident you select. And the wrong resident can cost you dearly. In addition, if you are not consistent in your selection process (which can easily occur if you don’t have WRITTEN criteria you always refer to) you can end up losing a fair housing lawsuit that may cost tens of thousand of dollars. Some landlords have been fined millions for turning down applicants for the wrong criteria. And please don’t be naïve to think it cannot happen to you.

In case there is any question, written criteria means: 
IT MUST BE IN WRITING – IN YOUR FILE – and DATED! Should you change your criteria, write it down, date it, sign it, and file it. The list of your criteria should include everything you rely on to determine allowable residents and a list of your objectives and legally acceptable reasons for denial. 

Treat all applicants alike, per your criteria and you’ll be going a long way toward evading a lawsuit.
I like using a point system with my written criteria. Applicants receive one point each time they meet one of the criteria. Once applicants get so many points, they qualify. This system allows me to be consistent in how I evaluate every resident.

This point-system approach is similar to what banks or loan companies do determining whether to extend credit to an applicant. Banks and loan companies also give “added” value, weight, or points to those who have demonstrated long term stability. Likewise, I give added points to those who have a longer track in their rental history and source of income. In practical terms, on rental applications, I ask all prospective residents to give their last two addresses and DATES of residency. I also ask for source of income, and for how long. Then I give the prospective resident 1, 2, or 3 points for residency or source of income corresponding to the number of verifiable years with the same (i.e., 2 years equals two points). Residing less than 1 full year ears 0 points. For example, if the applicant lived somewhere, but was not responsible for payment at the former address (i.e., living with relatives), that earns a 0 mark. This can be offset if the responsible person at the address (i.e., parent) is willing to serve as a cosigner.