It's Time We Stop Abusive Landlords!

The ATA supports the creation of Tenants’ Ombudsman offices in all fifty United States. The purpose of these offices will be to serve as a central point for residential renters to officially voice and register complaints about specific landlord and housing abuses leading to enforcement action.

The ATA recommends that the Office of Ombudsman be an administrative and quasi-judicial function of either the Governor’s Office or Attorney General’s Office of each state. Along with the creation of the Office of Ombudsman, the ATA recommends legislation and regulations that would allow the Ombudsman to bring civil or criminal action or sanctions, including fines, penalties or imprisonment against abusive landlords and landlords who fail to provide for safe, clean and habitable facilities.

All too often, landlords get away with actions contrary to existing law and regulations in their relationships with tenants. The ATA believes that effective enforcement at the state level is needed now to protect the well being of residential renters throughout the United States.

Apartment Crime Prevention Programs

Many apartment owners and law enforcement agencies in the U.S. are promoting a crime prevention program known as "Crime Free Multi Housing".

This program calls for the certification of rental properties by meeting certain physical condition and social standards designed to enhance a property's safety. These standards include security management, exterior lighting and door, window and lock guideline compliance.

We believe this program is generally in the best interest of residential renters. Where we differ with apartment owners, however, is in the "Crime Prevention Lease Addendum" that is considered an integral part of the program. In summary, the Lease Addendum puts all the responsibility for crime prevention on the tenant. We'd like to see the Lease Addendum upgraded to include the landlord's responsibilities as well. This would include legally binding assurances that the property's physical crime prevention standards are maintained and that reported crime occurances are communicated to tenants as they occur.

The ATA believes that it is the landlord's, and not the tenant's, primary responsibility to maintain an apartment community that is safe, habitable and secure.

You can view a copy of Arizona's Lease Addendum by following this link:
www.crimedoctor.com/crimefree2.htm

Time For A Winter Ban On Evictions?

Due to its suffering economy, France has adopted an annual winter ban on residential tenant evictions that runs from November 1 through March 15. This is a concept worthy of closer study here in the United States.

With the U.S. economy in recession, the official national unemployment rate at 10% and many states experiencing free-fall real unemployment rates of closer to 20%, this measure will protect millions of tenants during this time of economic crisis.

The ATA is working on an analysis of the best way to implement a version of the French plan in the U.S.

"Home Sweet Rental"

We came across this recent article by James Altucher in the New York Post. Right on, James!

Home ownership has often been considered a critical part of the American Dream -- an unwritten privilege of living in America bestowed on its financially secure citizens.

Owning a home was the ticket to financial security and, for several years earlier this decade with home values soaring, seemingly the best investment Americans would ever lay their hands on.

But in the wake of the housing crisis -- with home values down 35 percent or more and with little robust growth seen on the horizon -- it may be time to ask whether buying a home is still so vital to financial happiness.

The current economic environment is making a strong case that renting a home and smartly investing your savings can be just as rewarding.

When making the decision to buy vs. rent, people usually consider several factors -- the rent vs. mortgage payment being the primary question. But there are other financial factors to consider, including:

* Your insurance premium.

* Property taxes (which are usually higher than any tax deduction you get from your mortgage interest).

* Maintenance (pipes break, electricity problems, etc.).

* Utilities (utilities and maintenance for renters is often reflected in the rental price, but it's not reflected in a mortgage when you own).

* Yard work, pest control, remodeling, etc. (again, rents usually have this built into the price, but mortgages don't).

And let's not forget those initial costs that always seem to add up to more than you expect:

* A down payment of at least 15 percent, which is $90,000 on a $600,000 home.

* Closing costs, usually 5 percent of loan amount, or another $25,000.

* Initial remodeling costs.

Remember that you are completely out of that cash down payment you made because even if you sell, homeowners usually roll over that initial down payment into a new house for tax purposes. Cash is king and many prefer having cash in the bank.

Okay, so when you buy you definitely spend more per month and your initial costs mean that the house has to appreciate 10 percent-to-20 percent on Day 1 in order for you to break even. But that's supposed to be okay because you have the house as an investment, right?

Well, except for earlier this decade, it's been a so-so investment.

Between 1890 and 2004 (when housing prices began being tracked up until the peak of the housing boom, so I am giving zero credit to the decline in housing prices that have made these numbers a lot worse), housing went up a dismal 0.4 percent annually vs. 8 percent for the stock market, according to the Social Security Advisory Board.

Critics of renting point to real estate being an asset as opposed to throwing money away renting. But they forget about the massive amounts of money that it takes to get into the home ownership game.

Rather than spend $100,000-to-$200,000 on a home's initial cost -- and that has become completely illiquid as long as you own the house -- you can put that money in a portfolio of diversified real estate investment trusts, including residential investment trusts, if you truly believe in the housing market.

Renting in today's market and investing your savings will allow you:

* To diversify your savings, something buying a home prevents you from doing.

* To keep your assets liquid, a real security blanket, particularly in times of stress.

* To keep from becoming way too leveraged in housing for a significant chunk of your portfolio.

So while the banking industry, the White House and your Uncle Bob are all telling you to buy a house already, your portfolio may be better set if you rent a place to live.

And maybe you can get your landlord to shovel the snow.