Archive for category Seminars

Top 10 Pitfalls That Landlords Should Avoid

Apr 25

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in AASEW, CCAP, Notices, Property Management, Rejecting Rental Applicants, Rental Agreements, Rental Documents, Screening Tenants, Seminars | No Comments

Those of you that missed the last AASEW membership meeting on Monday, April 15, 2013, missed a great meeting and a great presentation.  The featured presenter was John “Dr. Rent” Fischer, a Wausau-area landlord and rental property manager, who spoke to a packed house that Monday.  John’s presentation was dynamic, educational and at times pretty darn funny.

With John’s permission, I am providing you with a link to John’s handout from the meeting which was entitled “Top Ten Pitfalls That Landlords Should Avoid.”

Like any good Top 10 list (a la David Letterman), John presented these pitfalls in reverse oreder based on importance.  The pitfalls to avoid included:

10.  Mailing the 5 Day Notice

9.  Digging The Hole Too Deep

8.  Incomplete Applications

7.  Not Asking The Right People (about your rental applicant)

6.  Auto-Renewing A Lease

5.  14 Day Notice (or NOT)

4.  “Do-It-Yourself” Leases or Rental Forms

3.  Misuse of CCAP

2.  Carpet Cleaning

1.  That Lease is HOW LONG?

As John stated during his presentation, there are a lot of things that are beyond our control that make life as a landlord very difficult at times.  As such, we certainly do not want to make life more difficult for ourselves based on a lack of knowledge of landlord-tenant laws . . . unless we are masochists, that is.

The AASEW has another great meeting scheduled for May 20, 2013 at 7 pm at the Best Western Midway in Brookfield about “How To Finance Real Estate Transactions In The Current Economy.”

 

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Next AASEW Meeting: Dr. Rent’s Top Ten Landlording Pitfalls To Avoid – April 15th

Apr 2

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in AASEW, Evictions, Miscellaneous, Property Management, Seminars | 4 Comments

The AASEW’s next meeting will feature Dr. Rent’s TOP TEN Landlording Pitfalls to Avoid

When: Monday April 15th, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.

Where: The Best Western, 1005 S. Moorland Road, Brookfield 53005

Who: John “Dr. Rent” Fisher

Cost: This meeting is free for current AASEW members, $25 for guests or expired members

Bad things happen to good people.  When a good landlord falls victim to a bad tenant, we all know the results. Dealing with bad tenants is already hard enough, but too often good landlords fall victim to their own mistakes as well.  Dr. Rent will discuss the 10 most common mistakes that he has seen in over two decades as a landlord in Wisconsin. One of the best things that we can all do is learn from our mistakes, but Dr. Rent has found it wiser to learn from others.

About our speaker: John H. Fischer is a Wausau, Wisconsin area landlord.  He started working part-time with Emmerich & Associates, Inc. in 1993 and since then has worked in nearly every aspect of the real estate investment field.  He has been involved with residential, commercial and industrial rental properties as well as vacant land sales and condominium development.

Observing a number of old and new landlords going to court and having a hard time because of their not understanding Wisconsin’s complicated laws and procedures, Mr. Fischer has been making an effort to educate Landlords on the proper way to do things for over a decade, and has taught classes on everything from accounting, to proper management procedures to Landlord-Tenant law. He has provided training sessions through Lorman and Sterling educational services.  He has also presented seminars to a number of local apartment associations as well as the Wisconsin Apartment Association.  He offers a series of courses in real estate investing through the University of Wisconsin Continuing Education program.

Mr. Fischer holds a real estate Broker license and is past president of the Wausau Area Apartment Association and Wisconsin Apartment Association.  He is a member of Wausau’s Housing Code Task Force.  He has degrees in International Business Management (with Honors) as well as Human Resources Management (with Honors) from the University of Wisconsin – Madison School of Business. He is also a graduate of the Bryce Harlow Institute for Business and Government Affairs, Georgetown University, Washington, DC.

 

You will not want to miss this meeting!!

Hope to see everyone there.

T

 

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East Side Landlord “Think Small” Seminar Event on March 13th

Feb 27

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Act 143 (Landlord's Omnibus Law), Screening Tenants, Seminars | No Comments

Make plans to attend the fourth East Side Landlord Think Small event hosted by UWM!

This event is free and open to all interested landlords, with a special focus on Milwaukee’s East Side.

This spring’s event promises to be very engaging with featured presenter Attorney Tristan Pettit, who focuses his practice on representing landlords and management companies in landlord-tenant law matters.

Topics will include screening potential tenants and recent updates to landlord-tenant laws in Wisconsin.

As always, there will be networking time to share ideas with fellow attendees, Q&A time with the presenter, and light refreshments will be served.

Event Details

Date: Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Location: Chapman Hall on the UWM Campus, 2310 E Hartford Ave, Regents Room (2nd Floor)

Time: 4:30pm-6:00pm

Please RSVP to Heather Harbach at harbach@uwm.edu.  Your registration helps us in our planning for this event. Please feel free to share this with other landlords that might find this session interesting! If you have further questions, please contact Heather Harbach, UWM Neighborhood Relations Liaison by e-mail at harbach@uwm.edu or by calling 414-229-4451.

Hope To See You There!

 

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5th Annual Landlord Boot Camp Is Just Around the Corner – February 23, 2013 – Register now.

Jan 25

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

 

Landlording can be pretty complex, with a seemingly never ending myriad of paperwork, rules, landlord-tenant laws and simple mistakes that can cost you thousands.

The Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin’s Fifth “Landlord Boot Camp” can help you navigate these treacherous waters and learn how to run your properties with greater profit and less hassles.

Who:  Taught by Attorney Tristan Pettit, who drafts the landlord tenant forms for Wisconsin Legal Blank.

Attorney Tristan Pettit has given similar landlord-tenant law seminars to fellow attorneys, landlords, and property manager organizations that charge their members $300-$400.    This is your opportunity to learn all of the same information at a huge discount through the Apartment Association .

When: Saturday, February 23rd 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM —- Registration opens at 7:00 AM

Where: Clarion Hotel 5311 S. Howell Avenue, Milwaukee [Map]

Included: 100 plus page manual to help you put what you learn into practice.

Price:

Early Bird  – Sign up before Feb. 13th, 2013 and save

  • Members           $159
  • Non-Members   $249

Regular Registration after Feb. 13, 2013 but before Feb. 20th, 2013

  • Members           $259
  • Non-Members   $349

Sorry, no registrations accepted after 5 PM Feb. 20th, 2013

Specials: Not a member?  Pay just $1 more and enjoy a full 10 months of AASEW membership.

Wisconsin landlord-tenant laws are constantly changing.  To help keep you up to date we offer prior attendees a $50 discount.

Read prior attendees’ testimonials.

What you will learn at the Apartment Association’s 2013 Landlord Boot camp

Landlord Boot Camp covers everything that you need to know about residential Landlord Tenant law in Wisconsin, as amended by Act 143, including:

  1. How to properly screen prospective tenants.
  2. How to draft written screening criteria to assist you in the selection process.
  3. How to comply with both federal and state Fair Housing laws including how to comply with “reasonable modifications”  and “reasonable accommodations” requests.
  4. How to legally reject an applicant.
  5. What rental documents you should be using and why.
  6. When you should be using a 5-day notice versus a 14-day notice, 28-day notice, or 30-day notice and how to properly serve the notice on your tenant.
  7. Everything you wanted to know (and probably even more than you wanted to know) about the Residential Rental Practices (ATCP 134) and how to avoid having to pay double damages to your tenant for breaching ATCP 134.
  8. When you are legally allowed to enter your tenant’s apartment.
  9. How to properly draft an eviction summons and complaint.
  10. What to do to keep the commissioner from dismissing your eviction suit.
  11. What you can legally deduct from a security deposit.
  12. How to properly draft a security deposit transmittal / 21 day letter.
  13. How to handle pet damage.
  14. What to do with a tenant’s abandoned property and how this may affect whether or not you file an eviction suit.
  15. How to pursue your ex-tenant for damages to your rental property and past due rent (and whether it is even worth it to do so).
  16. An ample question and answer period.  This alone is worth the admission.
    . . .  and much more.

You get all this for less than you would pay for an hour of an attorney’s time.

Last year’s AASEW Landlord Boot Camp was filled to capacity.  So much so we even had to turn a few people away.

You can sign up online at here or call the Association at (414) 276-7378 or email us at  membership@apartmentassoc.org today to reserve your spot.

Remember that “landlording” is a business — so take the time to educate yourself on how to better manage your business and avoid costly errors!

 

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Attend AASEW’s Landlord Boot Camp on October 20th and Learn All About Wisconsin Residential Landlord-Tenant Law

Oct 3

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

Due to popular demand, the Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin will be holding a second Landlord Boot Camp this year on Saturday October 20, 2012.  Our last Boot Camp in February had more than 80 attendees and it was necessary to turn a few away.  Additionally with the passage of the new Landlord Omnibus Law (Act 143), which took effect on March 31, 2012, we felt it was necessary to offer another Boot Camp this year so everyone can stay up to date.

Landlord Boot Camp is the most comprehensive seminar that I teach on residential landlord tenant law in Wisconsin.  If you have not attended a Landlord Boot Camp before I would encourage you to sign up — I do not think you will be disappointed.  If you have previously attended, please be aware that there have been several updates to both my presentation and the outline as a result of the passage of Act 143.

Here are the details for this Fall’s Landlord Boot Camp:

WHEN:  Saturday, October 20, 2012 from 8:30 am – 5:30 pm (registration will start at 7:30 am)

WHERE:  Clarion Hotel, 5311 S. Howell Ave. in Milwaukee

WHO:  Taught by yours truly – Attorney Tristan R. Pettit

COST:  $159 for current members of the AASEW and $259 for non-AASEW members.

WHAT WILL I LEARN:  You will learn everything that you need to know about residential landlord-tenant law in Wisconsin.  Here is a detailed outline of the topics that will be covered.

WHAT IS INCLUDED:  (1)  A detailed manual containing Tristan’s outline of all of the topics discussed as well as sample forms, (2) Q & A session, (3) Lunch, (4)  Coffee, soda and other light refreshments throughout the day, (5) Certificate of Attendance/Completion, (6) and the opportunity to mix and mingle with other landlords and property managers.

WHAT HAVE OTHER ATTENDEES SAID ABOUT LANDLORD BOOT CAMP:  Here are some past attendees’ testimonials.

HOW TO REGISTER:  The easiest way to register is to go to www.LandlordBootCamp2012.com.  You may also call (414) 755-0852 to register.

I hope to see you all there!

Thanks

T

 

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AASEW Annual Landlord Trade Show – Wednesday September 19, 2012

Sep 13

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in AASEW, Legislation, Seminars | 3 Comments

It is that time of year again . . . time for the leaves to start falling and the Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin to host its Annual Trade Show.  The AASEW Trade Show is the place to be on Wednesday, September 19, 2012 from 11 am – 5 pm.  The Trade Show will be held at American Serb Hall at 5101 W. Oklahoma Avenue in Milwaukee, WI.

Entrance to the event is free with a donation of  3 non-perishable food items to the Hunger Task Force (or $4).  Collection bins will be on-site.

There is no need to pre-register just show up ready to learn and have some fun.  Oh, did I mention that there will be free food as well.

Come mix and mingle with landlords, property managers, and vendors that work with those is the rental industry.  The Exhibit Hall will have AASEW business members who will be exhibiting their products and services to make your life as a landlord or rental property manager easier.

We will also have educational seminars throughout the day that you will not want to miss.

Some of the speakers will include:

-  Margaret Bowitz of the Metropolitan Fair Housing Council will speak on the ever-important topic of fair housing (discrimination) law.

-  Wausau-area landlord (and fellow blogger) John “Dr. Rent” Fischer will talk about the To 5 Most Asked Landlord Questions.

-  Charles Harris of Credit Matters will provide attendees with Seven Steps To Better Credit.

-  Graig Goldman and Mark Kivley of Re/Max Lakeside will teach everyone how to effectively purchase foreclosure properties

-  Attorney Tristan Pettit will talk about Act 143: Wisconsin’s New Landlord Omnibus Law focusing on the new provisions and their potential pitfalls as well as how the courts have been ruling on the new law these last few month.

I hope that you all can attend this educational and fun event next Wednesday.  If you do please be sure and come up and say hello.

T

 

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Last Chance To Sign Up For AASEW’s Landlord Boot Camp 2012

Feb 7

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

Hi Everyone:

We have had a very good response to our ads for the AASEW’s 4th Annual Landlord Boot Camp.  So much so that seats are quickly running out . . . or we may need to consider adding a second seminar shortly after the first.

If you are interested in attending this year’s Boot Camp on Saturday, Feb, 25th, I would strongly suggest that you register here.

I will be presenting this all-day seminar (8:30 am – 5:30 pm) at the Clarion Hotel located at 5311 S. Howell Avenue.

I will be teaching you everything you need to know legally to be a residential landlord or property manager.

Here are what past attendees said about Landlord Boot Camp.

We will cover topics such as:

-       How to screen applicants

-       How to avoid discrimination issues and better understand fair housing laws

-       How to draft legal screening criteria

-       How to legally reject an applicant

-       How to spot an applicant that is “fronting” for another applicant that won’t qualify to rent from you

-       What rental documents you should be using and why

-       The Residential Rental Practices (Wisconsin Administrative Code ATCP 134) and what can happen to you if you violate any of these 21 regulations.

-       What are the “7 Deadly Sins” and why you cannot include them in your rental agreement

-       What is the best way to evict a tenant and how to accomplish this

-       What are the different choices a landlord has when deciding what type of notice to serve a tenant

-       How to serve a tenant a notice so that service cannot be attacked in court

-       How to navigate your way through the judicial eviction process

-       What evidence you must present at an eviction trial to prevail

-       What to do with a tenant’s abandoned property

-       How to draft a legal security deposit transmittal letter

-       How to collect for past due rent and damage from an ex-tenant (or should you even bother pursuing this)

. . .  and much more.

All attendees will also receive a 100 page + manual (with lots of sample forms) to refer to in your business when the seminar has faded from your memory : )

Attendees will also receive a free lunch on the day of the seminar.

Cost is $159 for members of the AASEW, $249 for non-AASEW members (you can join the AASEW for an additional $1), $199 for members of any landlord or apartment association.  Past attendees will receive a discount for attending again.

Register online or by calling the AASEW at 414-276-7378.

I hope to see all of you there!!!!

 

T

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