The Landlords Association of Tompkins County Page

NFA evaluates existing insurance policies in order to determine what coverage may be applicable to a claim as well as business interuption losses and extra expense claims for businesses. Determine values for setting covered damages and much more, I think we can agree that insurance as much as we hate to pay the premiums is a must have in any business. This is an important presentation that can save you thousands if you have a loss.

The LATC Sponsorship Committee is proud to announce Sean Iddings as a new Premium Sponsor, Sean's company the Immersionfactory is a local based internet marketing firm he will talk about how to get your listings to stand out, save time in showings and improve occupancy rates.

,Jay Franklin the Director of Tompkins County Department of Assessment recently received the Harry Dunks Memorial Award, his department is responsible for assessing all real property within Tompkins County at a uniform percentage of fair market value. I'm sure this is of much importance to all of us because it ultimately affects our bottom line since property taxes are about 20% of our gross rental income. At this meeting you can learn how you can insure that your rental property assessment records are accurate and if they are not how you can appeal to the assessment department to potentialy save money on your tax burden. The Tompkins County Department of Assessment is highly respected throughout New York State which we should be respectful of so if you have specific concerns please contact them directly they are always available to meet and address any questions in a private setting at the Assessment office located at 128 East Buffalo St.. As always it is requested that questions are held to the end of the presentation.

Brian Mclroy is our LATC President and an accomplished professional Accountant, he has offered as a courtesy to our members to give a forty five minute workshop regarding Bookkeeping tips and how to report various other types of income other than wages, salaries and tips using the IRS form 1099. Brian works for multiple municipalities throughout the twin tiers so his experience and know how can be of great value to all of us because no one wants the IRS knocking on there door. 

Come and join us for another great and informative meeting, sign in early and get a good seat mingle a little with other members, grab a complimentary beverage at the table to the right as you walk in to the meeting room where you'll find ice water, hot tea and coffee.

Sherwin Williams always has some great products to show us that can help  keep our properties looking good for quicker turnovers. They have been a premium sponser for a number of years and are always available to answer any questions or give advice.  Sherwin Williams also offers great discounts to all our members.

Taking someone too court or being involved in a small claims litigation is not a fun situation it is time consuming and stressful no matter if you think you are in the right, if your lease agreement is not properly written or you have violated someone's rights you could lose the case. Rick Wallace one of two City Court Judges will have suggestions on how to stay out of Small Claims Court in the first place. There will also be discussion on the new Landlord/Tenant Law there has'nt been much precedence set for this law since it is still fairly new so this will be an interesting discussion from a judges prospective who will be the ultimate interpreter of this law. 

Another headache involving rental property is pets, even with a no pet policy in your lease you may be required by law too allow one. Service animal or Companion animal how do we know the difference? What kind of documentation can we ask for? Can we as landlords deny either one and under what circumstances? Very confusing, but get it wrong and you could end up in a possible lawsuit. Jim Boudreau the Executive Director of our local SPCA will offer some perspective.

County Legislative matters discussed by Rich John there will be questions and answers on the current County legislation.

STATEMENT FROM THE LANDLORDS ASSOCIATION OF TOMPKINS COUNTY REGARDING THE COVID-19 ECONOMIC DOWNTURN
 
www.landlordsassociation.com
 
April 1, 2020
The Landlords Association of Tompkins County (LATC) expresses its support of our neighbors, friends and lawmakers as we work our way through the economic calamity caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.  
The LATC has been a member of the community since before many of our tenants were born. We are an organization of more than 500 members, most of whom are very small and who depend on our rental income to pay for our mortgages, our taxes, our utilities, our insurance, our groceries, and to educate our children. Any situation that hurts our tenants economically will, by extension, inevitably hurt us. By the same token, any situation that reduces the income upon which we rely will have a negative impact on the institutions that keep our community functional, including our schools, our banks, and our local governments.
A recent article in the New York Times estimates that anywhere between 39% and 50% of tenants in the city will be unable to make their April 2020 payments. Since our finances are so closely tied to the educational institutions in Tompkins County, we have little question that our economic impact will meet or exceed those in New York City. 
We have been urging our membership to be flexible with our tenants’ payment schedules. We are urging our tenants to communicate with us candidly about their situations. Some of our members have been approaching institutional lenders.  We are finding that some lenders are being flexible with their loan repayment terms, while others are not. We have yet to hear much information about what flexibility our local governments will be providing to us when our tax bills become due.  
In addressing the economic downturn, consideration to all affected parties is a necessary and important step. Any measure that fails to adequately consider all affected parties will have a devastating impact on the people and institutions who rely on us. We may be unable to make our mortgage payments. We may be unable to pay our tax bills that will become due in a few short months, and we have many other expenses including utility bills, insurance, and sidewalk fees. Our local governments will be impacted. We ask that our local governments defer to the state legislature; and that the state legislature forbear from enacting any legislation that does not consider the following issues: 

1. Legislation relating to rent payments should focus narrowly on tenants who will have lost income as a result of the COVID-19 economic downturn.  

2. What consideration has the legislature given to the inevitable economic effect on institutions downstream from tenants and property owners, including local governments, banks, and suppliers? 
 
3. The public needs to be educated about what a "rent freeze" is, and what it is not. An across-the-board cessation of rent is not feasible (and we understand that proposed State Senate legislation, in its current form, does not propose rent cessation for all tenants). Some members of the public seem to think that “rent freeze” means “free rent.” It does not, or it should not. People forget that it is more than just a mortgage that property owners have to pay. If there is not a freeze on all of the property owners’ payments downstream, we cannot afford it. The biggest misconception at this time is that mortgage payments will be deferred for a certain period of time; and while that may be an option for some landlords it is not for all. Regardless, our expenses are not stopping so we cannot simply stop requiring people to pay rent across the board. Likewise, we reiterate that we need to be hearing from our local governments – now – about what they propose to do when many of us are unable to pay our taxes in full.  Providing accurate and concise information is essential for any proposed measures. 
 
4.  Running residential real estate is as much of a “Main Street” business as any other.  At this point – early into the crisis – we all must try to look to the longer term.  If landlords lose income, they too have to lay off workers and consider bankruptcy.  Such bankruptcies could well impact our local communities with poor maintenance at properties, tax foreclosures and bankruptcy sales which would lead, in a year or so, to sales of properties or foreclosures and lower assessed values and lower tax revenues. Landlords must – like all of us – bear some of the pain.  Most landlords are willing to work through re-arranging payments and foregoing some income – but they are no more in a position to bear the brunt of this crisis than any other small business owner in our community.
All of us are in this together.  We stand by our tenants, our members and our governments to find equitable solutions as we work through this difficult time.  All of us on the LATC Board welcome comments. 
The LATC’s officers are: 
 
President- Brian McIlroy

Vice President- Brian Grout

Treasurer- Ron Schmitt

Secretary- Kayla Lane

Corresponding Secretary- Brian McIlroy

The LATC’s directors are: 
Carol Schmitt

Mark Goldfarb

Brian Grout

Russ Maines 

David Gersh

Gini Vidal

Jim Lane

Rick Huber
 
Thank you to Ithaca attorneys Michael C. Perehinec, Jeffrey D. Walker, Liam G.B. Murphy,  and Christina DuBouchet for their input -- Russ Maines, (607) 279-1775; russ@ithaca.legal 

Premium sponser Warehouse Carpet offers discounts to all our members on great flooring products, find out what's new in the industry and let them answer any questions you might have on there products and availability. Let them show you how they can help at the very important turnover time both with flooring products and installation.

Insurance, we all hate too pay it and it's such a big part of our expenses but you can't do without it let's discuss insurance and see if there's way's too make it work better for our rentals.

We have all seen the number of new buildings constructed or in the process of being constructed, is this just the beginning or is there more to come find out from the Tompkins County Planning Department as they will review past and future developments. Development affects our community and our businesses so let's find out what's going on.

We have reserved the Large Pavilion at Stewart Park for our 30th Annual Picnic. This is always a well attended and enjoyable social event and great chance too meet fellow landlords and there families. Bring children, family members and guest all are welcome. Snacks and drinks will be provided by LATC, The main dishes will be catered.

Please bring your own place settings and a dish to pass.

This is a rain or shine event so there's no reason to miss out on good food and conversation.

We are looking forward to seeing everyone at the picnic!

Sean Iddings one of our premium sponsors will give a brief overview of his business called Immersion Factory and how it can help landlords improve there listings to stand out from others.

Jay Franklin the Director of Tompkins County Department of Assessment, his department is responsible for assessing all real property within Tompkins County at a uniform percentage of fair market value. This is of much importance to all of us because it ultimately affects our bottom line since property taxes are about 20% of our gross rental income. At this meeting you can learn how to insure that your rental property assessment records are accurate and if they are not how you can appeal to the Assessment Department to potentially save money on your tax burden. The Tompkins County Department of Assessment is highly respected throughout New York State which we should be respectful of. The Assessment office is located at 128 East Buffalo Street for specific concerns please make an appointment.

Jamie Cain from Under One Roof will be presenting about the mission of the Under One Roof organization, what they are currently working on and Jamie can answer any questions about landlording, evictions etc., there will be a power point presentation as well.