Archive for category Miscellaneous

Happy Belated 2nd Birthday to Tristan’s Landlord-Tenant Law Blog

Jun 1

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Miscellaneous | 3 Comments

I apologize for the recent scarcity of blog posts.  I plan on changing that in the near future.  Things have been a bit hectic lately – so hectic in fact that I failed to notice that this blog that you are reading has now turned two years old.  I have a toddler on my hands — look out terrible twos.

I made a big to-do with my post last year celebrating the blog’s 1st birthday.  No time this year for such a ”wordy” post, but I still wanted to let everyone know of the progress over the last year and most importantly to thank you all for your continued support of this blog.

Last year at this time I had 80 subscribers to this blog.  This year the subscriber count is up to 187.  That means 187 of you get each new blog post delivered directly to your email inbox rather than having to check back periodically to see if a new post is up.  If you are interested in subscribing but have not yet done so, just click on the blue tab entitled “subscribe” located under the header/skyline photo, enter your email and click “subscribe.”

Last year at this time there were 111 posts.  This year there are over 187.  Last year there were 233 comments by readers (and my responses); this year we are up to 611 comments.

During the 1st year there were over 17,000 visits to my blog and 42,375 page views.  As of today’s date we have had over 61,000 visits with over 128,598 pageviews.

Over the last year we had one month with over 4,775 visits.  Last year the most visits in a month that we saw wasaround 2,221,

Over the last year I have also made the jump to include video in my blog posts.  As much as I hate seeing pictures of myself – yet alone video – my IT vendor says that you must be on uTube these days.  Well, I am now officially on uTube . . . but does my voice really sound that nasal?  It doesn’t sound that way when I hear myself talk : ).  If my voice really sounds that bad then a sincere thank you must go out to those of you who have sat through one of my seminars — I remind myself of those Canadians from the Great White North from when I was a kid.

The top 5 most read blog posts over the past 2 years are:

1.  Late Fees, Part 1: What Amount Can You Charge?

2.  Lead Based Paint Disclosure Forms

3.  What Is The LIfe Expectancy of Your Carpet, Refrigerator . . .

4.  Security Deposit Trasmittal Letters: How To Draft a Legal 21 Day Letter.

As I mentioned last year, when I first started this blog I didn’t know what to expect.  The results have been more than I could have imagined at the outset.  Thank you once again for your support.   Please feel free to let me know of any other topics you would like me to address over the forthcoming year.

Take care

T

Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions for Wisconsin Landlords

Dec 30

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Miscellaneous | 1 Comment

About 75% of my law practice involves representing landlords and management companies on issues that they confront on a daily basis (the other 25% involves business and general civil litigation).  Devoting such a large segment of my law practice to representing landlords, I have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with many of you, talk to you, learn from you, and sometimes even notice a few things that if they had been done differently, could’ve saved you some money and headaches. 

Knowledge is power and I firmly believe that with more knowledge, landlords can make changes that will make their landlording or property management business prosper.  I thought that some of my observations this past year would make for a pretty decent New Year’s resolution list for Wisconsin landlords.

ASIDE:  When applicable, I have linked each specific resolution to one of my blog posts that addresses that specific subject or provided a link to the law on that topic.  It should be noted that sometimes the link is to a longer post that addresses more than one issue, so the direct reference may be a bit farther down in the post — i.e. Resolution #3′s link – the reference is way at the bottom of the post). 

Tristan’s Top Ten New Year’s Resolutions for Wisconsin Landlords

1.   I will review my current rental agreement and other rental documents to make sure that they do not include any of the seven prohibited provisions as set forth in ATCP 134.08.  If you are using a rental agreement from ezLandlordForms.com, Office Depot, or OfficeMax – get rid of them, before a court throws them out for you.

2.   If my rental property is owned by an LLC (even if I am the sole member of the LLC) and I need to file an eviction action (in Milwaukee County), I will ensure that I bring proof that I am a full-time employee of the LLC or I will hire an attorney to represent the LLC in court.

 3.   If my tenant and I make any modifications to the rental agreement, or if my tenant and I decide to modify an agreement that we signed in eviction court, I will make sure that those modifications are in writing and signed.

4.   If I have an automatic renewal provision in my rental agreement, I will not attempt to enforce it unless I have sent my tenant a separate written reminder, at least 15 days but no more than 30 days — in addition to any other notice period required — prior to the beginning of the renewal period as required in ATCP 134. 09(3) and sec. 704.15, Wis. Stats.   For example, if my tenant signed a lease for a specific term (as opposed to a month to month or some other periodic tenancy) I will remind myself over and over and over, that I cannot hold a tenant responsible for the next month’s rent after the lease term ended, just becasue the tenant failed to give me written notice that they would be vacting at the end of the lease term.  To do so would be a violation of the automatic renewal law.

 5.   If I am a relatively new landlord– or if I haven’t attended any landlord-tenant law refresher courses recently — I will sign up and attend the AASEW’s Landlord Boot Camp, so that I will be better able to avoid costly mistakes while managing my rental properties.

 6.   If I do not already have a set of written screening criteria, which sets forth the minimum requirements that a rental applicant must meet in order to rent one of my rental units, I will spend the time and energy to draft such criteria and begin using it.

 7.   I will always remember to either: (a) return a tenant’s security deposit to them within 21 days of the date that they vacated, or (b) send a clear and understandable accounting of how the tenant’s security deposit was applied within 21 days of the tenant vacating.  I will not attempt to make deductions from my tenant’s security deposit for things that I am not legally entitled to deduct from it.  Simply put, I will NOT play games with my tenant’s security deposit.

8.   I promise that despite whatever sad story a prospective renter provides me, I will still take the time to conduct a thorough background check, including running the applicant’s name on CCAP, vetting their current landlord, prior landlord and employer, obtaining a credit report, and require that the applicant supply me with the necessary documentation to substantiate that they can afford to consistently pay rent.

 9.   If I learn of any legislation that negatively affects me as a landlord, I promise to write and/or call my congressman, senator etc. etc., and clearly explain why I think they should vote against the proposed legislation.  Landlords are one of the most regulated preofessions out there – I need to make my voice heard to try and mitigate this.

10.  I will treat the management of my rental properties as a business.   The government and court system treat the management of rental property as a business, so you need to do the same!

If you have any resolutions that you would like to add to this list please be sure to post a comment and include your resolution — I’m sure there are more that I forgot to mention.

Here’s to a healthy and prosperous 2011.

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New Report States What Landlords Already Know – That Milwaukee’s Regulations Hurt Businesses

Nov 5

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in City of Milwaukee, Investing In Rental Property, Miscellaneous | No Comments

This past weekend I read a very interesting report which was drafted by the Institute for Justice as part of its City Study Series entitled Unhappy Days for Milwaukee Entrepeneurs: Brew City Regulations Make It Hard For Businesses To Achieve the High Life.

The report is 40 pages long (excluding footnotes) but I encourage everyone to read it.  The report touches on the following issues:

- How the city rigidly restricts the ability of entrepeneurs to operate businesses from their homes

- How the city abuses the custom of aldermanic privilege in order to deny businesses licenses and permits thus preventing businesses from opening and operating

-  How the city imposes restrictions on food-related businesses that make it next to impossible to get a business started

- How the city overburdens successful businesses with so many rules and fees that many businesspersons are contemplating moving out of the city

- How the city arbitrarily enforces building codes and historic preservation provisions making it too costly to rehabilitate old buildings

- How the city severely limits a businesses ability to place signage on its storefront

- How the city requires an expensive license in order to go out of business.

While landlording is not specifically discussed in the report several of the topics addressed clearly affect landlords.  One that comes to mind is the arbitrary enforcement of certain building code provisions – what landlord has not dealt with that?  Additionally I believe many landlords would agree that the city overburdens them with so many rules and fees that many are contemplating leaving the city.  I know of several landlords that have sold off all of their Milwaukee rental properties and now only own and manage rental units outside of the city.  I know of even more landlords that would love to do that very same thing if only they wouldn’t lose their shirt (and their pants, belt, socks and underwear) by selling their rentals in this poor climate.

Landlording is one of the most regulated areas that I am aware of, if you don’t believe me just take a look at this memo that was published by the AASEW board of directors on the topic.

The city’s new Residential Rental Inspection ordinance is another example of the city making it difficult for landlords to survive.

The Journal Sentinel’s Patrick McIlheran wrote about how difficult the environment in Milwaukee is for landlords not too long ago, which I blogged about.

According to the Institute for Justice’s report, landlords are not the only businesses that Milwaukee is making life, success, and survival, difficult for.

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A Short Hiatus

May 12

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Miscellaneous | 5 Comments

As many of you know, I am about to get married at the ripe old age of 40 this Friday.  My fiancee, Nancy, and I will be getting married in Maui and then spending some additional time honeymooning on the islands.

While I initially thought about bringing my netbook with me and posting a blog or two while vacationing, upon deeper reflection I have decided against this — somehow I don’t think that would be a good way to start out my marriage.

As such, I will be taking a short hiatus through the Memorial Day holiday.

Assuming I am not buried beneath a desk of work, voicemails, emails and mail upon my return — I have never been out of the office for more than 5 days, yet alone 2 weeks as will be the case this time — it is my plan to resume blogging during the first week of June. 

I hope that you all will understand and not forget about this blog during my absence and I look forward to resuming my blogging upon my return as a married man.

Happy Blogiversary

May 11

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Miscellaneous | 4 Comments

May 15, 2010 will be the one year anniversary of Tristan’s Landlord-Tenant Law Blog.  I thought I would use this occassion to post some interesting data that I have learned about my blog over the past year – thank you Google Analytics.

When I first began this project I did not know what to expect.  I have been overwhelmed by the blog’s popularity and the support of its readers over the last 12 months.  My initial hope was to create a site that landlords and property managers could go to to learn more about landlord-tenant law in Wisconsin.  It was also my hope that this blog would allow for those of us who own rental properties to discuss best practices and to learn from each other.  I think these two goals have been achieved, and then some.

As I write this post, there are currently 111 posts that viewers can read covering all aspects of landlord tenant law including: new legislation affecting the rental housing industry, new case law that has changed Wisconisn landlord tenant law, discussions about best management practices including how to legally serve a 5 day notice and how to draft a 21 day letter (statement of how security deposit was applied), fair housing/discrimination law, upcoming seminars on topics of interest to landlords and much much more.

There have been over 233 comments posted about the 111 blog posts.  With an average of over 2 comments per post it seems as though there has been at least some discussion about the topics that are important to the readers.

Since going live, there have been over 17,000 visits to Tristan’s Landlord-Tenant Law Blog.  During those 17,000 + visits over 42,375 pages have been viewed.  When visiting my blog people spend an average of 2 minutes and 38 seconds on the site and view an average of 2.47 posts.

Of those 17,000 + visits, over 16,400 of them came from visitors within the United States.  The site has also received visits from readers in England, Canada, India, Austrailia, the Philippines, Ireland, and Mexico.

Over the past 12 months, the most popular blog posts have been:

1.   Late Fees-Part 1: What Amount Can You Legally Charge?

2.   Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Form: You Must Use This Document

3.   How To Legally Serve A 5-Day Notice To Pay Rent or Vacate

4.   Suing An Ex-Tenant For Past Due Rent: What Factors To Consider

5.   SSN Validator: Free Website That Allows You To Verify A Social Security Number.

Just this past month I have started to receive several “pingbacks.”  I had to call my IT guru to efind out what the heck a pingback is, but I learned that they are a good thing.  Essentially a pingback is someone linking to your blog – a sign that you have some useful content.

To give you an idea of how the blog has grown since its debut, during its first full month only 28 people visited the site.  The next month that number jumped to 731.  Last month there were over 2,221 visits to the blog. 

I realized the value of this blog one day when I was sitting in Eviction Court in Milwaukee County and overheard one landlord talking to another and telling him about my landlord-tenant law blog that he needed to check out because it contained some helpful information.  A few days later, I was approached by a Legal Action attorney said that she appreciated the information on the blog because she felt that it was important to get the correct information out to the public.

One unexpected bonus that has occurred as a result of this blog is that I have been able to use some of my posts to assist my current clients.  I have started providing clients with links to certain blog posts to emphasize a point that I made to them during a consultation.  Being able to provide a client with the basic law about a particular topic that we just discussed has been much appreciated.  They can then print out the post and refer back to it in the future.

Along with the good, there has some bad.  After one recent post dealing with the City of Milwaukee’s plan to enact a new ordinance requiring mandatory rental inspections, I was flamed by another blogger.  My skin is pretty thick so this didn’t bother me too much although I still have difficulty comprehending that the same person who will rant and rave to high heaven on the internet and call you every name under the sun and attack you personally, would never have the nerve to say things to your face.  Just read some of the comments that people post on the journal Sentinel blogs — WOW.  Hiding under an anonymous screen name seems to give some people carte blanche to act without consideration or foresight.

Even worse than being flamed myself, was the fact that a friend of mine was also flamed because he was attempting to assist me on a technical matter beyond my grasp.  My friend uploaded a flyer that had been distributed on the east side of Milwaukee and which contained some very outrageous rhetoric against the proposed ordinance.  Because I did not yet know how to upload a document and then link to it on my blog, I needed some assistance.  Unfortunately, it was spread across the blogosphere (OK just the Milwaukee blogosphere) that my friend was the author of the flyer – which was not the case – just because he was the person that uploaded the document. 

Over the past year however, that was the only sour moment related to my blog that comes to mind.  For the most part I have enjoyed publishing this blog and hope to continue doing so as long as it continues to be helpful to others. 

I have learned much about myself during this past year as a blogger.  First, I have learned that I am not as fast of a writer as I thought I was – my fiancee will testify to this as she has watched me sit in front of my computer for hours only to have a short blog post to show for all of my work.  She has often had to encourages me to turn off the #%@* computer and come to bed.  Second, I have learned that I actually do procrastinate (at least I do when it comes to writing a blog post).  Third, I have also learned that while I type fast for a guy with no training, I do not type accurately.  This sad fact dawns on me time and time again each morning as I sit with my bowl of Kashi cereal proofreading the post that I drafted the night before.   While I actually do proof read my posts multiple times – I still find many typos and grammatical errors.

While I have been pleasantly surprised with the success of this blog, I by no means plan to sit back on my laurels and stagnate.  If you have any suggestions of topics for future posts please let me know.  I would like to tell the reader who faxed me months ago and asked me to write a post about how a tenant’s bankruptcy filing affects the eviction process, that I have not forgotten about you.  While I often cannot post as frequently as I would like — that darn “work” thing seems to get in the way — I most certainly am willing to write about topics and issues that are of particular interest to you.

In closing, I would like to thank everyone that has visited my blog this past year, and especially the 80 of you that are currently subscribed to my blog.  Without your interest and readership, this blog would just be another lawyer spouting a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo.

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Judge Siefert to Rotate Out of Small Claims Division in August; Judge Carroll to Replace

Mar 29

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Evictions, Milwaukee County, Miscellaneous | No Comments

Walking into the courthouse today I ran into an acquaintance of mine who works within the court system.  During our chat I learned that Judge John Siefert, who is currently presiding over the Small Claims Division (which includes all eviction actions) in Milwaukee County, will be rotating to a different calandar come August 1st. 

Judge Jane Carroll will be replacing Judge Siefert as the Small Claims judge.  Judge Carroll is currently presiding at Children’s Court in Wauwatosa.  She is a former District Attorney and has not previously been a judge in the Small Claims Division.

AASEW Holiday Party Tonight

Dec 14

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in AASEW, Miscellaneous | No Comments

It is not too late to attend.  You can register at the door.

Cost is $25 per person.

Location: Clarion Hotel at 5311 S. Howell Ave.

Music and lots of Food.  Cash bar.

forget about all of the anti-landlord legislation being drafted and celebrate the holidays with us.

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