...continued on page 5 Advertise in Rental Housing Journal - Utah Circulated to over 6,000 Apartment owners, On-site, and Maintenance personnel monthly. Call 503-221-1260 for more info. December 2014 - Vol. 6 Issue 12 Rental Housing Journal Utah WWW.RENTALHOUSINGJOURNAL.COM • PROFESSIONAL PUBLISHING, INC OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE UTAH APARTMENT ASSOCIATION UTAH' S LEADING ADVOCATE FOR THE RENTAL HOUSING I NDUSTRY – 888-244-0401 – WWW. UAAHQ. ORG 2. Ask The Director: Where Did the Buy-Out Option Go? 5. The Coach – Property Management Reference Checks… Are They Really Necessary? 6. Board Chair’s Message: Apartment All-Stars Training a Valuable Experience 6. Innovators Beware: Dangerous Intersection Ahead 7. Director's Message: Take Advantage of the UAA in 2015 8. Insurers Win Case Against Disparate Impact UAA Receives National Award for 27% Membership Growth in 2014 Average Rents by Bedroom Released R entometer.com, a rent com- parison website has released average rent data by bed- rooms for 37 areas along the northern Wasatch front. Each area had at least 50 comps and were collected from a variety of sources including bulk syndicated data, a proprietary rental survey and user generated listing and rental data. ...continued on page 4 Association Presents Pillar of the Industry Awards pt.2 By L. Paul Smith, Utah Apartment Association K irk A. Cullimore got into landlord law almost by acci- dent. As a lawyer practicing collection law and setting up corpo- rate entities and tax shelters, Kirk had a conversation with a friend about doing collections and evictions for apartment communities. Con- gress had just changed the laws on tax shelters so he had to pivot any- way. He decided he’s give represent- ing landlords a try – and the rest is History. “Kirk Cullimore has built the larg- est landlord representation in the state of Utah,” says Steve Randall, 2014 UAA President. Kirk’s prac- tice does close to 300 evictions and month, and has hundreds of prop- erty management companies who pay him an annual fee to do all their representation, including collections. He has also expanded into Arizona. “Kirk Cullimore has saved my company tens of thousands of dol- lars a year now for almost 20 years,” says Keith Nielson, with Pentalon Management, which owns and man- ages multiple apartment communi- ties totaling almost 2,000 units. “Be- fore Kirk came to us we paid by the hour, or per eviction for legal fees,” says Keith. “That’s how attorneys traditionally charge. But Kirk is an entrepreneur first and an attorney second and he figured out a way he could make money from tenants and debtors and not have to charge the landlords as much. He singlehand- edly changed the business model for the large apartments and now rep- resents about 90% of the large com- plexes and management groups in Utah,” says Keith. “Those who know Kirk know him as a delightful down to earth fun person. Your image of an attorney is someone in a suit and pretty intense but here comes Kirk usually in Levi’s and a Disneyland bomber jacket. He’s just so refreshing.” Gloria says those who know Kirk and have worked with him are just amazed at how fun and personable ...continued on page 4 UPCOMING EVENTS: General Membership Meetings All meetings 7 pm – for addresses go to www.uaageneralmembershipmeetings.com Ogden .......................................................... Jan.. 27th Orem ..................................................Jan. 28 & 29th Salt Lake....................................................... Jan. 29th Events 80th Annual Gala ................................... Nov. 19th Apartment All-Stars ............................. Jan. 29th Tribute Awards...........................................Feb. 6th Day At The Hill ........................................... Feb. 13th Legislative Update..................................Mar. 19th UAA Trade Show.................................... Apr. 29th Professional Publishing, Inc PO Box 30327 Portland, OR 97294-3327 PRSRT STD US Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit #71 T he Utah Apartment Asso- ciation was recognized as the fastest growing affiliate of the National Apartment Association in the last half of 2014, growing an as- tonishing 27% in 2014. “The National Apartment Associ- ation (NAA) would like to congratu- late the Utah Apartment Association (UAA) on its unbelievable growth in 2014, growing over 20,000 units! UAA was recognized for this amaz- ing accomplishment at the NAA Assembly of Delegates (AOD) in Boston. Congratulations to the UAA Family for their hard work and sup- port in growing the UAA member- ship!” Kirk A. Cullimor, Landlord Attorney A series about the UAA Pillar of the Industry Award Winners. See the November Issue of the Rental Housing Journal for pt. 1.
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
...continued on page 5
Advertise in Rental Housing Journal - Utah Circulated to over 6,000 Apartment owners, On-site, and
Maintenance personnel monthly.
Call 503-221-1260 for more info.
December 2014 - Vol. 6 Issue 12Rental Housing Journal Utah
WWW.RENTALHOUSINGJOURNAL.COM • PROFESSIONAL PUBLISHING, INC
Official PublicatiOn Of the utah aPartment assOciatiOn utah's leading advOcate fOr the rental hOusing industry – 888-244-0401 – www.uaahq.Org
2. Ask The Director: Where Did the Buy-Out Option Go?5. The Coach – Property Management Reference Checks… Are They Really Necessary?6. Board Chair’s Message: Apartment All-Stars Training a Valuable Experience
6. Innovators Beware: Dangerous Intersection Ahead7. Director's Message: Take Advantage of the UAA in 20158. Insurers Win Case Against Disparate Impact
UAA Receives National Award for 27% Membership Growth in 2014
Average Rents by Bedroom
ReleasedRentometer.com, a rent com-
parison website has released average rent data by bed-
rooms for 37 areas along the northern Wasatch front. Each area had at least 50 comps and were collected from a variety of sources including bulk syndicated data, a proprietary rental survey and user generated listing and rental data.
...continued on page 4
Association Presents Pillar of the Industry Awards pt.2
By L. Paul Smith, Utah Apartment Association
Kirk A. Cullimore got into landlord law almost by acci-dent. As a lawyer practicing
collection law and setting up corpo-rate entities and tax shelters, Kirk had a conversation with a friend about doing collections and evictions for apartment communities. Con-gress had just changed the laws on tax shelters so he had to pivot any-way. He decided he’s give represent-ing landlords a try – and the rest is History.
“Kirk Cullimore has built the larg-est landlord representation in the state of Utah,” says Steve Randall,
2014 UAA President. Kirk’s prac-tice does close to 300 evictions and month, and has hundreds of prop-erty management companies who pay him an annual fee to do all their representation, including collections. He has also expanded into Arizona.
“Kirk Cullimore has saved my company tens of thousands of dol-lars a year now for almost 20 years,” says Keith Nielson, with Pentalon Management, which owns and man-ages multiple apartment communi-ties totaling almost 2,000 units. “Be-fore Kirk came to us we paid by the hour, or per eviction for legal fees,” says Keith. “That’s how attorneys traditionally charge. But Kirk is an entrepreneur first and an attorney
second and he figured out a way he could make money from tenants and debtors and not have to charge the landlords as much. He singlehand-edly changed the business model for the large apartments and now rep-resents about 90% of the large com-plexes and management groups in Utah,” says Keith.
“Those who know Kirk know him as a delightful down to earth fun person. Your image of an attorney is someone in a suit and pretty intense but here comes Kirk usually in Levi’s and a Disneyland bomber jacket. He’s just so refreshing.”
Gloria says those who know Kirk and have worked with him are just amazed at how fun and personable
...continued on page 4
UPCOMING EVENTS:General Membership Meetings All meetings 7 pm – for addresses go to www.uaageneralmembershipmeetings.comOgden ..........................................................Jan.. 27thOrem ..................................................Jan. 28 & 29thSalt Lake .......................................................Jan. 29th
Events80th Annual Gala ...................................Nov. 19thApartment All-Stars .............................Jan. 29thTribute Awards ...........................................Feb. 6thDay At The Hill ...........................................Feb. 13thLegislative Update ..................................Mar. 19thUAA Trade Show ....................................Apr. 29th
Professional Publishing, IncPO Box 30327Portland, OR 97294-3327
PRSRT STDUS Postage
PAIDKent, WA
Permit #71
The Utah Apartment Asso-ciation was recognized as the fastest growing affiliate of the
National Apartment Association in the last half of 2014, growing an as-tonishing 27% in 2014.
“The National Apartment Associ-ation (NAA) would like to congratu-late the Utah Apartment Association (UAA) on its unbelievable growth in 2014, growing over 20,000 units! UAA was recognized for this amaz-ing accomplishment at the NAA Assembly of Delegates (AOD) in Boston. Congratulations to the UAA Family for their hard work and sup-port in growing the UAA member-ship!”
Kirk A. Cullimor, Landlord Attorney
A series about the UAA Pillar of the Industry Award Winners. See the November Issue of the Rental Housing Journal for pt. 1.
2 Rental Housing Journal Utah • December 2014
RENTAL HOUSING JOURNAL UTAH
www.uaahq.org Office: 801-487-5619 Toll Free: 888-244-0401 448 E. Winchester (6400 S.), Suite 460 Salt Lake City, UT 84107
UAA Landlord Guide Provides essential information for understanding basic landlord/tenant law and best practices all in one place. Free with association membership. UPDATED 2014
General Membership Meetings www.uaaGeneralMembershipMeetings.com
Ogden @ Northern Wasatch Board of Realtors January 27, 7:00 PM Orem @ Century 21/Harmon Building January 28, 7:00 PM Salt Lake City @ UAA Office January 29, 7:00 PM Events
Apartment All-Stars Jan. 29 Tribute Awards Feb. 6 Day at the Hill Feb. 13 Legislative Update Mar. 19 UAA Trade Show Apr. 29
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October 2014
Did you know that as a member of the Utah Apartment Association, you are also a member of the National Apartment Association?
UAAPAC Protect your business and make your voice heard. The UAAPAC is scaling back overzealous regulations, limiting fees and taxes, and protecting your property rights. Be proactive, donate today!!!
“I donate to UAAPAC because the only way to protect our industry from over reaching govern-ment regulation is to be proactive in building relationships with all levels of government.” Kirk Cullimore Landlord Attorney
“I donate to the PAC because it’s critical we have a strong voice on capitol hill and our PAC helps us build relationships with and help keep in office those supportive of our industry.” Gloria Froerer Century 21 Property Management
Utah Apartment Association Political Action Committee
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Ask The Director: Where Did the Buy-Out Option Go?
Dear Paul,I noticed that the newer version of the
UAA lease don’t have a “buy-out” op-tion in the lease. I used to include this on my leases, though I only once had a tenant come to me and use it. Is there a reason why you don’t have that clause in there anymore?
Brittany A.
Dear Brittany,You ask an excellent question.
First, let me say that if you want to include a lease buy out option in your UAA lease, you can still do so
in blank lines provided at the back of the lease that say “Other Obliga-tions/Conditions”
However, the Association chose to remove the clause from the lease because it often cause problems than it solved. If you choose to set a Buy-Out price the amount you set becomes a settlement that a tenant can pay to get out of any future rent obligations, regardless of what they are. Basically, both you and the ten-ant are gambling that you will come out ahead in the deal. Take, for exam-ple, a tenant paying $1,000 a month
needing to move out with six more months on the lease with a buy-out option for $2,000. If you are unable to rent the property for the next six months the tenant comes out ahead. However, if they choose to pay the $2,000 buy-out and you are able to rent it the next day, you come out ahead.
Also, if you have a set amount (usually between 1-3 months’ rent or are based upon the actual calcu-lated costs of damages that would be caused by the breach) you have to be careful about possible legal prob-lems. You should get legal advice in setting your buy-out amount be-cause there are some guidelines laid out by court precedents with which you should be familiar.
Most Utah landlords are finding that it is easier to simply charge the tenant the actual costs of re-renting the property if they need to default on the lease. These costs include unpaid rent until the property is re-rented, marketing and labor costs and any cleaning or damages to the unit necessary for re-renting, and are calculated on a case by case basis.
By the way, it is never okay to let a tenant move out and then intention-ally let the property sit idle while continuing to charge them rent. Landlords have an affirmative duty to mitigate damages by attempting to re-rent the place.
It may be more messy to use this process, but in the long run the pro-tections offered by not using a set buy-out option usually prove very valuable if a tenant needs to end a lease early.
I hope that helps!
L. Paul SmithExecutive Director, Utah Apartment
Association
If you have a question for the director to be answered here in the Rental Hous-ing Journal, please send them by e-mail
448 E Winchester Street, Suite 460Salt Lake City, UT 84107
UTAH
Check us out On-linewww.rentalhousingjournal.com
3Rental Housing Journal Utah • December 2014
RENTAL HOUSING JOURNAL UTAH
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4 Rental Housing Journal Utah • December 2014
RENTAL HOUSING JOURNAL UTAH
this “lawyer” is. “My favorite story about kirk,” she says, “is one time we were headed to a National Apart-ment Association event in Las Vegas and Kirk had just died his hair the night before and it had kind of gone south on him. We were walking off the airplane and Janae Jarvis looked up at one of the monitors in the air-port and said, “hey look – there’s Kirk.” It was a video of Wayne New-ton and I swear kirk, that day with his jet black hair was a dead ringer for Wayne Newton and we have nev-er let him live that down.”
Government Affairs Advocate“There is no one in the rental hous-
ing industry that has done more to support the government affairs and advocacy efforts of the rental hous-ing industry than kirk Cullimore,”
says Mike Ostermiller, UAA lobby-ist. “I mean the guy has pretty much written or re-written almost all the laws related to rentals and collec-tions there are. Its pretty amazing.
While legislators present bills at the legislator, what most people don’t understand is that the legisal-tors usually aren’t experts in all the areas they run bills. They really on experts in that particular industry to help write the bills, and Kirk has really been that guy now for over 12 years.” Mike points to the follow-ing as just some of the bills Kirk has helped write or re-write in that time:
• He was principle author of the unlawful detainer (eviction) law changes that have reduced evic-tion times from 45 days average to
about 25
• He was the chief architect of the new fit premises act (state stan-dard landlord tenant act)
• He has helped write the laws on renewals of judgments, landguage allowing landlords to charge a 40% fee to tenants (if in their con-tract) if a balance I turned over to collection attorneys and has helped write language on serving legal notices that has made that part of the process quicker and less expensive
• Kirk is one of the primary archi-tects of the good landlord pro-gram, a defensive program that has saved landlords millions of dollars in business license fees over the last 10 years.
• Kirk also contributed to the new abandoned property statute, the
new deposit refund law and man, many others
“There is really no one in our in-dustry that has been as aggressive and successful in saving owners money and reducing hassle over the past couple of decades than Kirk Cul-limore, says Janae Jarvis, Regional Vice president of Wasatch Properties, which develops and operates 16,344 units across five western states and is headquartered in Utah. “We are so lucky to have had him on our side, and on a personal note, those of us who call him friends feel very privi-leged to know and be able to work with Kirk Cullimore.”
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Pillar of the Industry ..continued from front page
National Award ..continued from front page
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RENTAL HOUSING JOURNAL UTAH
Rents by Bedroom ..continued from front page
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According to the Society of Human Resource Manage-ment {SHRM} over 50 per-
cent of the information presented on a resume by a job candidate may be false or misleading. These are alarm-ing statistics, and as the executive of your property management compa-ny, it continues to be increasingly im-portant to understand the mindset of the job candidates that are applying for positions within your company. This article will help you and your company strengthen your reference checking process and eliminate those who will not be a perfect fit, long be-fore a position is ever offered.
Some reference checking statis-tics: A recent SHRM survey at www.shrm.org was sent to 2,640 human re-source members regarding reference checking. The survey concluded that job candidates frequently present
misleading information about their length of stay with former organiza-tions, their past/current salary levels and their college credentials. More specifically, 53 percent of companies involved in this survey discovered falsified information about length of employment from job candidates and 51 percent discovered falsified information about past salaries. In addition, 61 percent of job candidates falsify their college credentials, a cre-dential that can be easily researched during the reference checking pro-cess.
Tip From The Coach: Based on the above survey information, conduct-ing thorough reference checks must continue to be an important step in the selection and interview process of hiring SuperStars for your prop-erty management company.
Ernest F. Oriente, The Coach {Article #224…since 1995}
...continued on page 10
6 Rental Housing Journal Utah • December 2014
RENTAL HOUSING JOURNAL UTAH
Apartment All-Stars Training a Valuable Experience
Board Chair’s Message:448 E Winchester (6400 S ) #460
Salt Lake City, UT 84107Ph: (801) 487-5619
Fax: (801) 484-8649www.uaahq.org
Utah apartment association
Cheri GossBoard ChairUtah Apartment Association
One of my favorite things to attend each year is the Apartment All-stars semi-
nar in January. This seminar is free to property managers and regional managers who work on apartment complexes and is a first look at
trends and sharp ideas for marketing our properties in 2015.
This year the event will be on Jan-uary 29th at the Salt Lake Board of Relators. Space is limited so register early for this phenomenal event. This year the speakers include:
• Kate Good, Industry Superstar and Guru
• Pete Regules, High Energy and Enthusiasm Guru
• Alex Jackiw, Former NAA Presi-dent and Multifamily Executive
The Apartment All-Stars will load you up with information on the fol-lowing topics:
• Making marketing work with the smartphone shopper
• Lease any apartment at any price
• Closing techniques for a competi-tive market
• Smart Facebook and Twitter tech-niques to build a resident audi-ence
• How to raise rents….again!
• Communicate with co-workers and residents at the highest level
• The ever popular idea factory with 20 tips in 22 minutes
NEW FOR 2015 – All attendees will receive a 40 page handout with ar-ticles from Lisa Trosien, Pete Reg-ules, Kate Good, Toni Blake, Don Sanders and Mindy Williams.
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By: Neal Thornberry, Ph.D.
Innovation is not for the faint of heart, as Galileo learned when he said that the Earth revolved
around the sun. He was scorned, threatened with death and eventu-
ally put under lifetime house arrest. Innovators are not always wel-
come guests even within their own organizations, and their challenges are heightened by a dangerous orga-nizational intersection: where Com-plexity meets Wackiness. The more complex an organization, the more
difficult it is for the innovator to fig-ure out where to go with a good idea and how to weave it through the or-ganization to implementation and eventually value creation.
Growing organizations cannot avoid complexity. They add pro-cesses and people, divisions and spe-
cialists. Since we can now measure almost everything, they often believe if one measurement captured in a re-port is good, then more are better.
One company, with whom I worked, learned that its sales people were losing a month of selling each
Innovators Beware: Dangerous Intersection Ahead
...continued on page 7
7Rental Housing Journal Utah • December 2014
RENTAL HOUSING JOURNAL UTAH
L. Paul SmithExecutive Director, Utah Apartment Association
In 2015 the Utah Apartment As-sociation has more benefits and programs scheduled for you than
ever before. As you plan out your year, be sure to set a goal to be more involved in the UAA and get more knowledge and support than ever before.
On your list of resources to take advantage of in 2015 should be:
• (For large apartment managers) The Apartment All-Stars *Free for members* January 29th
• UAA Day at the Hill (come learn what the issues are and how the process works) February 13th
• The largest rental housing Trade Show and Education Conference in Utah April 29th
• Sign up for our 32 Utah Profes-sional rental Operator (UPRO) Training
• Attend General Membership Meetings - Fourth week of every month Ogden, Orem Salt Lake
• Refer a new member for a chance to win a cabin for two on the UAA cruise and $1,000
UTAH
Take Advantage of the UAA in 2015Director's Message:
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year because of the time spent filling out reports required by the finance department. This example of com-plexity gone awry drove the organi-zation into Wackiness -- sacrificing revenues for reports.
There are many other examples of Wackiness getting in the way of in-
novation – and examples of stealth innovators circumnavigating them. One of my favorites is the tale of Jim Repp, head of Jeep design at the old Daimler Chrysler Corp.
Jim knew that many Jeep lovers spent thousands of dollars upgrad-ing their Wranglers for serious off-
roading. This gave him the great idea for a mass-produced Jeep with all the upgrades built in at half the cost. When he shared his idea with marketing, they said there was no market for that type of vehicle and besides, you’re an engineer, not a marketer.
Undeterred, Jim and a small band of innovators I call Innovation Judo masters built a secret prototype. They took it out on the Rubicon Trail in California for off-road tri-als and invited the senior executives to watch. Jim’s prototype outper-formed the other Wranglers and, as crowds gathered around it, the ex-ecutives saw their enthusiasm. They
immediately authorized production of what is now a best-selling icon, the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon.
Fortunately for Chrysler and other companies, there are a few passion-ate innovators like Jim who won’t let go of their idea no matter what. They’ve developed a special set of skills (I call them Innovation Judo) that allow them to bypass those blocks.
They are:
• Discipline
• Leverage
• Speed
Advertise in Rental Housing Journal Utah
Official PublicatiOn Of the utah aPartment assOciatiOn utah's leading advOcate fOr the rental hOusing industry
Call 503-221-1260 for more info.
...continued on page 9
Innovators Beware...continued from page 6
8 Rental Housing Journal Utah • December 2014
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A federal judge has ruled that HUD cannot bring fair hous-ing cases against businesses
by using only data to demonstrate discrimination. Specifically, a U.S. District Court judge in Washington, D.C., struck down a disparate im-pact case on Nov. 4 that was brought by the American Insurance Associa-tion and the National Association of Insurance Companies against HUD.
The U.S. Supreme Court will ulti-mately decide the issue after recently agreeing to hear the disparate impact case, Texas Department of Housing v. Inclusive Communities Project. In the case, the allocation of tax credits is being challenged as an allegedly discriminatory practice under the Fair Housing Act (FHA) based on its disparate impact on minority resi-dents. Two previous cases were ac-cepted by the Court, but the parties settled prior to review, leaving the issue unresolved.
Disparate impact liability has created much uncertainty in the apartment and real estate industry since HUD’s final disparate impact rule was released in February 2013. Apartment business practices such as criminal background screening and Section 8 voucher program par-ticipation and policies can be viewed as potential areas of liability under the HUD disparate impact analysis.
Although disparate impact claims are available under other anti-dis-crimination statutes, Congress did not provide for such claims in the FHA. Therefore, a ruling by the Court will provide much needed clarity for owners and operators of multifamily housing.
UTAH
Insurers Win Case Against Disparate Impact
9Rental Housing Journal Utah • December 2014
RENTAL HOUSING JOURNAL UTAH
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application of several of these prin-ciples. The discipline to plan for building a secret prototype; leverage in getting senior executives to sup-port his idea; utilizing the opening at the Rubicon Trail; and then using the surprise (a tactic of unbalancing) of a Jeep that looked like all the other jeeps on the trail but outperformed them.
Since it takes so long to correct the dangers at the Complexity/Wacki-ness intersection, identifying and supporting a few Innovation Judo Masters can go a long way in over-coming some of the most difficult barriers to innovation.
Neal Thornberry, Ph.D., is the founder and CEO of IMSTRAT, LLC
a consulting firm that specializes in helping private and public sector or-
ganizations develop innovation strate-gies. He serves as the faculty director
for innovation initiatives at the Center for Executive Education at the Naval
Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif. Thornberry, author of “Innova-
tion Judo:Disarming Roadblocks & Blockheads on the Path to Creativity” (www.NealThornberry.com), holds a
doctorate in organizational psychology and specializes in innovation, corporate entrepreneurship, leadership and orga-nizational transformation. A respected
thought leader in innovation, Thornber-ry is a highly sought-after international
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process: The first step is to determine how reference checks are going to be done in your property manage-ment company and to establish or strengthen your written policy for how reference checks fit into your interview process. With some of our property management clients, their human resource department handles this important step before a formal job offer is made. With other prop-erty management clients, all hiring executives handle their own refer-ence checks, based on the specific level of position being offered or the compensation range being present-ed. As for references, three or more business references should be sup-plied by a job candidate as early in the interview process as possible. We highly recommend asking for refer-ences early in the interview process because this will give your hiring executives additional time to contact each organization submitted by a job candidate. This also means that your hiring executives will not be rushed to do reference checks in the final hours before making a job offer. This makes for a more thorough and com-plete reference checking process.
Tip From The Coach: In addition to reference checks, many property management companies are now asking permission to do background checks, credit checks and criminal checks as part of their hiring process. Based on the SHRM survey statistics
above and your own professional ex-perience, have you recently reviewed your reference checking process? This process will help to link talented SuperStars to compatible positions within your property management company and will reduce the chanc-es of hiring low performers.
Questions to ask when calling a reference: It has been our experience that all of our property management clients want to create their own cus-tom reference checking form. Here are some sample questions to get you started with yours: How would you characterize his/her success with your company? How would you characterize his/her energy level? How was this person viewed by his/her peers? Describe the types of de-cisions this person made on a daily basis? How did this person manage their time? Tell me about a disagree-ment or a challenging situation and how this person handled it? Specifi-cally, how was this person paid? Why did this person leave your company? Based on what you shared today, would you hire this person back?
Tip From The Coach: We know that many companies are no longer giving references on past employees based on legal and liability concerns. Most of our property management clients now ask a job candidate to sign a reference authorization form giving permission to their previous employers for a full and candid refer-
ence while also waiving any legal lia-bility. In addition, we strongly advise our clients to call each reference giv-en by a job candidate and when the reference conversation is complete --- ask this person, “Is their someone else within your company who can give me an additional reference on this job candidate?” Speaking to a second person within the same com-pany is the secret to getting accurate and detailed references.
Want to hear more about this im-portant topic or ask some additional questions about how to build a cus-tom reference checking form or to see a sample reference authoriza-tion form? Send an E-mail to [email protected] and The Coach will E-mail you a free TeleForum invita-tion.
Author’s note: Ernest F. Oriente, a business coach/trainer since 1995
[33,000 hours], serving property man-agement industry professional since
1988--the author of SmartMatch Alli-ances™, the founder of PowerHour® [ www.powerhour.com ], the founder of
PowerHour SEO [ www.powerhourseo.com ], the live weekly PowerHour
Leadership Academy [ www.power-hourleadershipacademy.com/pm ] and
Power Insurance & Risk Management Group [ www.pirmg.com ], has a pas-sion for coaching his clients on execu-tive leadership, hiring and motivating
property management SuperStars,
traditional and Internet SEO/SEM marketing, competitive sales strategies, and high leverage alliances for property
management teams and their leaders. He provides private and group coaching
for property management companies around North America, executive re-
cruiting, investment banking, national utility bill auditing, national real estate
and apartment building insurance, SEO/SEM web strategies, national
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