Read exactly what was emailed

In This Issue:

• Letter from the Executive Director
• Have you Heard of the Mortgage
• Connect your Thermostat to the Internet
• $23,000 Fine for Failure to Give Adverse Action Letters
• Do you need six satellite dishes on a building this size?
• New Premium Content on MassLandlords.net
• A Glimmer of Legislative Success?
• Blog Articles You May Have Missed
• Subscribe to the State-Wide Forum
• Announcing the new Member Directory!
• Remember to Register for our Summer BBQ

Letter from the Executive Director

First off, I'd like to apologize if you have been a newsletter subscriber for more than a month and this is your first newsletter. We recently corrected an issue with our mailing list. You can view past newsletters here:

• June
• May

Let me recap our two goals:

1. High quality services
2. Legislatively effective size

We've been making great progress on both fronts.

As far as our services go, we've focused on our rental forms and online videos. The forms page is in excellent shape. There are one or two more forms to add, but what's there already represents everything you need to protect yourself during a normal tenancy.

We're also very excited to be piloting two cost-saving initiatives at the Worcester Home Depot and Lowes stores. If you're a paid member, you can get 20% off paint and access to other pro services that aren't generally available to the public. Members of the Worcester Property Owners Association have in their power the ability to influence whether these programs go state-wide. So if you're a member of the WPOA, stop at the pro desk at either Worcester store to find out what they can do for you.

Beside services, our other goal is growth. Growth can come from helping landlords who have never been a part of any group before, as well as from offering services to existing landlord groups. We're happy to talk with anyone interested in learning more. Please forward this email to introduce us!

I'm delighted to say that we're planning a really pleasant barbecue at the Worcester Art Museum on Wednesday, August 13, from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm. This event is open to the public. It's a great opportunity to meet the folks behind the website, and they're a fun group. Plus if we get enough interest, not only will we have the museum courtyard and café at our disposal, but also the fascinating Knights! exhibit from the former Higgins Armory, including never-before-displayed pieces. Register online so we know you're coming.

We'll be working through the summer, so feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions or comments. My cell: 617-285-7255.

Doug Quattrochi
Executive Director
MassLandlords.net

Have you Heard of the Mortgage Professor?

Wharton professor emeritus Jack Guttentag runs a comprehensive and very trustworthy website, mtgprofessor.com.

If you're thinking about refinancing, taking out a home equity line of credit, learning more about reverse mortgages, getting out of your ARM, or really anything having to do with a mortgage, you want to check out his website.

He has calculators and articles for all situations.

Connect your Thermostat to the Internet

Did you know that more and private residences are making use of control systems connected to the Internet? The most well known example of this is a company recently acquired by Google, called "Nest".

The Nest thermostat pays attention to the settings you like. During the course of a few weeks of your manually adjusting heating and cooling, Nest learns to operate your HVAC without you.

Similar automation products will unlock a deadbolt when you stand in front of the door, turn off your lights by voice command, or close a valve when your pipes burst.

If you're interested in any of these technologies, take a look, they're fascinating:

• Life with a Nest thermostat
• Unlock your door with your phone
• Instantly close a valve when your pipes burst
• Activate lights by voice 

$23,000 Fine for Failure to Give Adverse Action Letters

In February Attorney General Martha Coakley issued a $12,500 fine to landlords in Watertown, then in May she fined a Boston-area business $23,000 for not deleading and then turning away children, and now in June landlords in Gill have been fined $23,000 (her favorite number?) for discriminatory and non-compliant screening practices.

These landlords in western Massachusetts are alleged to have turned away a mentally handicapped man, and also, to have failed to give tenants adverse action letters after rejecting them for credit reasons.

It is much easier to screen and reject "by the book" than it is to come up with another $23,000 of operating profit. Don't get fined!

Do you need six satellite dishes on a building this size?

No! One dish can typically handle up to four accounts.

Our tenancy at will and lease form require tenants to get your permission before installing wired service additions, like satellite dishes. This lets you step between your house and the dish company.

We're not sure, but technicians may get paid more for installing a dish than for merely connecting to an existing dish. That would explain why you get six on a building this small. Make sure you get word to the technician that you won't allow another one on your building, and that the tenants must connect to the existing dish.

A Glimmer of Legislative Success?

We initially believed that House Bill 1662 was voted favorably out of committee. You may have seen a Facebook post about it. We were excited because it required either rent escrow or an affidavit that withholding rent was justified. The affidavit provision weakened the bill, but it doesn't matter. As it turns out, the bill was not voted out of committee at all. It was sent to study along with many other unsuccessful bills this session.

Like a few others recently, this bill was a good effort, and we appreciate everyone who contributed to it. But without greater unity of purpose among landlords in the state, it's also a good example of the limit of our ability. Representative Alan Silvia put his finger on it when he recently said that landlords in Massachusetts are not well organized. We can do better.

Well, now that MassLandlords.net as a platform is up and running, we may be able to get involved in throwing support behind a bill next session. We'll keep you posted.

Blog Articles You May Have Missed

Real Estate Investing through Crowdfunding

You can invest in big real estate projects as a co-investor: MassLandlords.net/blog

Excerpt: Suppose you have $500,000 and you’d like to start building a commercial portfolio. Rather than investing all of that in a single building, you could make ten investments of $50,000 each.

Invasive Vine “Oriental Bittersweet” Leads to Overgrown Property

Available at MassLandlords.net/blog.

Excerpt: Landlords sometimes get beaten up behind their back for letting their properties get overgrown. Well, they could be excused for not defending against the “oriental bittersweet,” an extremely invasive vine that can quickly lead to an overgrown property.

Subscribe to the State-Wide Forum

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4. If you don't have a green check mark, click the blue "Subscribe to Forum" link.

Announcing the new Member Directory!

New this month, paid members can search for other paid members at

http://masslandlords.net/directory

Log in and search for a connection by name or trade. Looking to buy or sell a property? Try typing "realtor". Need an electrician? We have one of those, too. We have providers of legal services, debris removal, smoke restoration, mold remediation, extermination, property management, and others.

If we're successful in pulling in more groups, this directory will grow quickly.

Remember to Register for our Summer BBQ

Details and online registration at http://masslandlords.net/event-list/

A Note About Legal, Tax, or Other Advice:

Although we strive to provide information that is accurate, MassLandlords.net is neither an attorney nor a tax professional. You should always seek the advice of a properly licensed and qualified attorney or tax professional before taking action as a result of anything you read here.