The City of Worcester has an extensive array of programs available to grant or loan funds for variety of rental housing purposes. This will be a quick run-down of all the programs you should know about if you invest or may invest in Worcester.
The Worcester Housing Now program combines resources from a variety of programs targeting owners and managers of residential rental real estate: Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funding, Lead Abatement Funding, Affordable Housing Now Loan Fund, Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation Funding, Monthly Sanitary/Building Code classes, the Multifamily Rehabilitation and Maintenance Guide, the Housing Development Advisory Committee, and monthly housing topic videos on the City website and YouTube channel.
This part of the presentation will be given by Jim Brooks, Director of Housing Development and Healthy Homes, Executive Office of Economic Development – Housing Development Division, City of Worcester.
Part II: Qualified Opportunity Zones
The Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 granted states the power to define Qualified Opportunity Zones, which offer tax-deferred or tax-free investment opportunities to landlords and businesses alike. Massachusetts created opportunity zones everywhere!
We’ll review the opportunity zone process, show areas in your neck of the woods that will qualify, and discuss how to plan and execute a fund. Attendees, especially those interested in additions, remodels, and new construction will leave with valuable practical knowledge about this new tax incentive.
This part of the presentation is MassLandlords repertoire. It will be given by Steve Thebodo of O’Connor, Maloney & Company, P.C. Steve started with them in 2001 and became a shareholder of the firm in 2016. He provides clients with tax advice and preparation services, financial statement preparation, accounting, auditing and consulting services. He graduated from Assumption College in 2000 with a Bachelor’s Degree in accounting. Steve is past president of the Worcester Young Businessman’s Association and Spencer Exchange Club. He is the treasurer of Girl’s, Inc. of Worcester and continues to serve as a board member of the Spencer Exchange Club. Steve was named to Worcester Business Journal’s 40 Under Forty in 2013.
Worcester Grants for Deleading, RehabMap of qualified opportunity zones in Worcester.
Have you seen our Leave Stuff, Take Stuff Table?
Market your business, pick up handouts, give away an old doorknob. Everything goes on our first-come, first-served display table at all our events. Please bring business cards, brochures, coupons. And feel free to pick up your own uncollected marketing materials at the end. Everything not claimed end-of-event may be chucked.
“No Sales Pitch” Guarantee
MassLandlords offers attendees of directly managed events a “No Sales Pitch” guarantee. If a guest speaker offers services, their presentation will not discuss pricing, promotions, or reasons why you should hire them. We do not permit speakers to pay for or sponsor events. Guest speakers are chosen for their expertise and willingness to present helpful educational content. Your purchase of an event ticket sustains our nonprofit model.
Wednesday, January 8th
Meeting Agenda
5:30pm Sign-in/Networking
Networking draws from Worcester, Shrewsbury, Millbury, Auburn, Leicester, Paxton, Holden, West Boylston, Boylston, Grafton, Upton, Northbridge, Sutton, Oxford, Charlton, Spencer, Oakham, Rutland, Princeton, Clinton, and Sterling.
6:15pm Buffet Dinner by The Vintage Grille
6:40pm MassLandlords Business Update and Member Minutes
Member Minutes – Any member can have the mic for 60 seconds (introduce yourself, ask a question, share words of wisdom, etc.)
There is ample free parking in the first lot you see, in the covered garage to your left, on top of the garage (entrance further down road), and around the back of the school
Food
Cheese and crackers, sodas, water, coffee, decaf
Hot buffet dinner, incl. salad, rolls
Cookies, brownies, and/or blondies
*Dietary restrictions: purchase an early-bird ticket and email hello@masslandlords.net, we will accommodate you.
Pricing
Open to the public. Membership is not required!
Door:
Public: $24
Members: $19
Early-bird, reserve seven days prior by 12pm:
Public: $22
Members: $14
Premium Members: No charge and no need to register
Extra Credit
First time attendees: Join as a member before leaving the event, your public ticket will be credited toward membership.
Members: Bring a first-time attendee who joins at the event, your membership will be extended by one month free. No limit.
This event is operated by MassLandlords staff. Check in with your MassLandlords ID card.
We’ll be having a round table (really, whole room) discussion about any rental real estate topics. This meeting is a great opportunity for attendees to learn from each other’s experiences. Bring your questions about tenant issues, lease agreements and addenda, or best practices.
Attendees are welcome to share their own experiences, warnings, pearls of wisdom, and more. Participation is not required, you’re welcome to come and just listen.
This event will be moderated by volunteers and/or staff with significant and compliant rental experience.
We’ll be having a whole-room discussion
Have you seen our Charles River volunteer website? Market data available on rent levels for Waltham and surrounding areas. We encourage you to also take the poll on your current views of the rental market. Use the “Contact Us” form to request a login at crrha.org
MassLandlords offers attendees of directly managed events a “No Sales Pitch” guarantee. If a guest speaker offers services, their presentation will not discuss pricing, promotions, or reasons why you should hire them. We do not permit speakers to pay for or sponsor events. Guest speakers are chosen for their expertise and willingness to present helpful educational content. Your purchase of an event ticket sustains our nonprofit model.
Wednesday, January 8th
Charles River Meeting Agenda
6:00pm Sign-in/Networking
Networking draws from Waltham, Newton, Weston, Watertown, Wellesley, Wellesley Hills, Lincoln, Dover, Arlington, Belmont, and the western ends of Cambridge and Boston.
6:10pm Pizza and sodas provided
6:40pm Executive Director Doug Quattrochi with the MassLandlords Business Update
Member Minutes – Any member can have the mic for 60 seconds (introduce yourself, ask a question, share words of wisdom, etc.)
Lots of parking available at this hour. For your ease of access, do not use the Beaver St entrance. Enter at the Main Entrance on Forest Street and park in Lot 1 or Lot 2. The Conference Center is signed on the north corner of the main quadrangle. Refer to the image below for lot locations and correct entrance into building.
Food
Pizza, salad
Soda, Water
Cookies
Please feel free to bring a dinner that meets your dietary goals/restrictions
Pricing
Open to the public. Membership is not required! This event is being subsidized by earmarked member donations.
Door:
Public: $34 $24
Members: $29 $19
Early-bird, reserve seven days prior by 12pm:
Public: $32 $22
Members: $24 $14
Premium Members: No charge and no need to register
Rental subsidies like the Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8) can be great programs to participate in. But they can be tough on the unprepared landlord! Come learn about how Section 8 and programs like it operate. Learn why in Massachusetts (unlike in other states), landlords cannot refuse to participate in the program.
We’ll be covering the Section 8 process, the legal background on how the program came to be, and how to screen Section 8 applicants without discrimination and without handing the keys to a mystery. We’ll also cover inspections, allude to project-based vouchers, and explain what happens if your insurance says, “No Section 8” (hint: your insurance gets in trouble).
This part of the presentation will be given by MassLandlords staff in cooperation with John Fisher, author of the Property Management Manual (the one we sell at the desk) and trainer at Wayfinders, and Melvin Arocho, Compliance Officer at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. We will also talk about a new program designed to help families attain self-sufficiency and eventually graduate from programs like Section 8.
Part II: Member Choice TBA
We’re holding this slot for educational content requested by members. What questions have you had lately? Know someone who would make a great speaker without a sales pitch? Email us at hello@masslandlords.net. Tell us which location you want to attend (if it’s not already clear from your ticket purchase history.)
Topic will be decided and announced shortly based on your suggestions.
MassLandlords offers attendees of directly managed events a “No Sales Pitch” guarantee. If a guest speaker offers services, their presentation will not discuss pricing, promotions, or reasons why you should hire them. We do not permit speakers to pay for or sponsor events. Guest speakers are chosen for their expertise and willingness to present helpful educational content. Your purchase of an event ticket sustains our nonprofit model.
Thursday, January 9th
RHAGS Meeting Agenda
5:30pm Sign-in and Networking
Cash bar
Networking draws from Springfield, West Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee, Ludlow, Wilbraham, East Longmeadow, Longmeadow, Agawam, Southwick, Southampton, Easthampton, Northampton, Westhampton, Hadley, South Hadley, Granby, Amherst, Belchertown, Ware, Palmer, Warren, Monson, and Hampden.
6:00pm Buffet dinner
6:40pm State-wide Business Update and Member Minutes
January’s guest speaker will be Saving Money on Multi-Family Insurance with special guest Wayne Tolley from the Hasdel Insurance Agency.
Come down on Thursday evening to find out what to look for in an effective insurance policy! Learn some of the tactics you can initiate to protect your property, and the rest of the residents that live there.
Thursday, January 9th
NWCLA Meeting Agenda
Visit nwcla.com for any last-minute updates or changes.
6:45pm Dinner and Networking
Networking draws from 25 towns including Fitchburg, Gardner, Leominster, Athol, Holden, Ayer, Orange, Ashburnham, Spencer, Ashby, Lunenburg, Townsend, Westminster, Princeton, Sterling, Lancaster, Shirley, Groton, Pepperell, Winchedon, Templeton, and Hubbardston.
There is ample free parking beside the school. Do not park along the fence where the busses park. Do not park in any of the handicap spots unless you have the proper handicap parking sticker.
Food
Dinner by Happy Jack’s Cantina Grille from N. Main St. in Leominster.
Pricing
Membership not required! Open to the public.
Early-bird ends seven days prior @ 12pm:
Public and Members other than NWCLA: $15
MassLandlords.net/NWCLA members: pay annual dues, then free
After Early bird or at the door:
Public and Members other than NWCLA: $20
MassLandlords.net/NWCLA members: pay annual dues, then free
Security deposits are one of the primary liabilities for Massachusetts landlords. If you make a paperwork mistake, you might owe your renter three times the amount of the deposit plus attorney’s fees. And what a lot of paperwork there is! First receipt, second receipt, annual receipt, conditions statement, withholding receipt, signed under the pains and penalties of perjury… Should you even bother?
Well yes, you can successfully take a security deposit. The point of this webinar is to show you how!
We’ll be reviewing the law, the forms you need, and some concrete examples where landlords have made mistakes and paid for renter damage themselves.
This presentation will be given by Attorney Peter Vickery, MassLandlords Legislative Affairs Counsel and partner at Bobrowski and Vickery, LLC.
You’ll be ready to take a fully compliant security deposit after this webinarThis security deposit statement cost the landlord loads. We’ll show you why.
Friday, January 10th
12:00pm Webinar Begins
1:00pm Webinar Ends
Registration
Open to the public. Membership is not required!
Public: $6
Members: $3
Upon purchasing, you will be registered. A password for the webinar will be sent day-of. Registrants will also have full access to the recording to watch or rewatch any time after the webinar is completed.
Thanks to our Property Rights Supporters, our early warning system has notified us of a major upcoming hearing:
Tuesday, January 14, 10:30a to 3p State House, Gardner Auditorium
Bill text does not remain constant during the legislative process, but it is critical that owners, managers, brokers, and others in the real estate industry speak in favor of or in opposition to the various bills being heard.
Do you think rent control is a bad idea? Then come speak against rent control.
Do you want the option to put your real estate into an LLC, or will it to your children? Then speak against right of first refusal.
See all bills and RSVP your attendance by clicking below.
We’ll be having a round table (really, whole room) discussion about any rental real estate topics. This meeting is a great opportunity for attendees to learn from each other’s experiences. Bring your questions about tenant issues, lease agreements and addenda, or best practices.
Attendees are welcome to share their own experiences, warnings, pearls of wisdom, and more. Participation is not required, you’re welcome to come and just listen.
This event will be moderated by volunteers and/or staff with significant and compliant rental experience.
We’ll be having a whole-room discussion
Tuesday, January 14th
MetroWest Property Owners Association Meeting Agenda
Housing Court staff including judges and clerks will give important procedural updates including a brief review of the case of Davis v Comerford and a review of housing court expansion (with many new hires). Attendees will also be trained on the new eFiling system for summary process (eviction) and small claims cases. eFiling in the Housing Court will be mandatory for attorneys effective January 27, 2020 and recommended for pro se landlords. Finally, attendees will have the option to give feedback on any issues that concern them. This event is open to all (renters, landlords, and attorneys welcome).
This event will be a joint public service by MassLandlords and Housing Court staff (no charge).
This is the building, kitty-cornered diagonally across from the court (Image Google Street View; building is not falling over)Not in the court, turn around (Image Google Street View)This hidden gem of a meeting room worked great at our last court event in 2018, shown here
Attendees will not be getting legal advice. We’ll be having a generic discussion in layperson’s terms and covering procedural guidance and software training.
The event room has capacity for 104. If you can travel, it will be worth the effort. If traveling is not feasible, you can watch live from your home or office. See below for streaming details.
This special event is a great opportunity to learn from Housing Court staff, ask procedural questions in a safe space about how you run your business, and amend your practice before it becomes an issue. Reminder: we will not be giving out legal advice. Questions must be framed in a generic way, and must pertain to court procedure only.
This event will be live streamed free. Due to the cost of video storage and hosting, recordings after the fact will be made available only to members.
Panelists:
Jorge Ghazal – Administrative Attorney
Keith Tan – Field Coordinator
Caroline Quan – Performance analyst
Ben Adeyinka, Administrative Attorney
James Sharpe –eCourts Project Coordinator
Have you seen our Leave Stuff, Take Stuff Table?
Market your business, pick up handouts, give away an old doorknob. Everything goes on our first-come, first-served display table at all our events. Please bring business cards, brochures, coupons. And feel free to pick up your own uncollected marketing materials at the end. Everything not claimed end-of-event may be chucked.
Friday, January 17th (snow date Friday, January 24)
Meeting Agenda
12:00pm Sign-in/Networking
This event will draw from Springfield to Boston, Attleboro to Lowell. It is not necessary to register in advance.
12:30pm Opening Remarks by MassLandlords Executive Director Doug Quattrochi
12:35pm Housing Court staff on Davis v Comerford, mandatory eFiling and usage of the software, questions and answers.
Downtown Worcester has numerous paid garages and paid on-street parking. The cheapest, most readily available parking is the Worcester Public Library at 3 Salem St, half a mile away ($3 for three hours, credit card accepted). The closest parking is Court Park at Main St. and Martin Luther King Jr Blvd.
This location is 0.7 miles from the MBTA commuter rail Worcester Union Station, Worcester/Framingham line.
Webinar Details
Due to technical difficulty (it looks like our networked video card was damaged in storage) the live stream is canceled. Recording of audio and video is still taking place, and the recording link will be posted here as soon as available.
This recently renovated public space is fully handicapped accessible.
Food
BYO sandwich or order in advance. Purchase of a meal ticket comes with sandwich, drink and cookie. No purchase necessary.
Pricing
Open to the public. Membership is not required!
Free without food. Registration is NOT required for in-person attendance. Previous event listings said registration was required, do not register. Just mark your calendar and come! You only need to register (and pay) if you want lunch.
$20 Lunch (from a different provider than last year)
This event is operated by MassLandlords staff. Check in with your MassLandlords ID card.
Unlike the building code, which is usually inspected only at time of permit completion, the state sanitary code applies in all rentals all the time, and can be inspected at any time. Are your units compliant?
Few units are fully compliant. We’ll review the code in easy-to-understand detail and help you get a sense of where you may need to make repairs or improvements.
This segment will be presentation-style with MassLandlords staff. We started this content in November, and due to great room engagement, we got only halfway through the code. Whether or not you attended in November, you will find this segment useful. We will review the second half of the code.
We will also review the proposed changes to the code, which is expected to be updated in 2020.
Your problem or theirs? The state sanitary code holds occupants responsible for some things, and landlords responsible for most everything else
Market your business, pick up handouts, give away an old doorknob. Everything goes on our first-come, first-served display table at all our events. Please bring business cards, brochures, coupons. And feel free to pick up your own uncollected marketing materials at the end. Everything not claimed end-of-night may be chucked.
“No Sales Pitch” Guarantee
MassLandlords offers attendees of directly managed events a “No Sales Pitch” guarantee. If a guest speaker offers services, their presentation will not discuss pricing, promotions, or reasons why you should hire them. We do not permit speakers to pay for or sponsor events. Guest speakers are chosen for their expertise and willingness to present helpful educational content. Your purchase of an event ticket sustains our nonprofit model.
Tuesday, January 21st
Cambridge Meeting Agenda
5:30pm Sign-in and Networking
Networking draws from Cambridge, Boston, Somerville, Arlington, Belmont, Watertown, and Malden.
6:00pm Buffet Dinner
6:40pm Executive Director Doug Quattrochi with the MassLandlords Business Update
Member Minutes – Any member can have the mic for 60 seconds (introduce yourself, ask a question, share words of wisdom, etc.)
Please note: CIC has several buildings in Kendall Square, two of them being adjacent to each other. The correct location for this event is the building with light colored concrete, vertical windows and a Dunkin Donuts on the ground level. You will NOT see a CIC sign. Refer to the image below.
ID required Upon entering One Broadway, you will need to check in with the lobby security. You’ll just need to show your ID and let them know you’re going to the MassLandlords event in the 5th floor Venture Cafe.
Accessing from the T
Exit the Kendall T stop on Main St.
Cross to the northeast side of Main St. with the Marriott and Chipotle and walk down the street away from Cambridge towards the Longfellow Bridge to Boston.
Cross through the plaza with the five-foot high metal globe; One Broadway is the building undergoing construction across the next street.
Cross over Broadway to arrive at One Broadway.
Parking
Just $10 at Pilgrim Parking, enter after 4pm, a two-minute walk from One Broadway, click here for details. Be careful, some garages are $30. Accessible by T (red line Kendall Square) and highway. For additional parking options see CIC Directions.
Food
Buffet, incl. salad and rolls
Water, sodas
Cookies
*Dietary restrictions: purchase an early-bird ticket and email hello@masslandlords.net, we will accommodate you.
Leftover food is donated to members and/or homeless shelters.
Pricing
Open to the public. Membership is not required!
Door:
Public: $24
Members: $19
Early-bird, reserve seven days prior by 12pm:
Public: $22
Members: $14
Nametags are printed for early-bird public, early-bird member, and premium members only.
Extra Credit
First time attendees: Join as a member before leaving the event, your public ticket will be credited toward membership.
Members: Bring a first-time attendee who joins at the event, your membership will be extended by one month free. No limit.
