Here you will find news stories and postings affecting or related to our industry and local market.
The Fall CILA General Members meeting will be held from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM on Tuesday, OCTOBER 7, 2008 in the Community Room of the Bloomington Public Library. There was a minor email glitch that prevented the postcards from getting mailed-out. All info in the post below is correct, EXCEPT for the date. We look forward to seeing you there!
The Fall CILA General Members meeting will be held from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 in the Community Room of the Bloomington Public Library. The Library is located at 209 E. Olive Street, and you may contact them at 309-828-6091 if you need directions. This meeting is open for ALL local landlords and property managers to attend. Among other things, we will be discussing advertising costs, collection practices, tenant screening (including how to obtain credit reports), possible changes within the City of Bloomington Rental Inspection Program, as well as the imminent possibility of a local Tenants Association and how it might affect local landlords and property managers. We look forward to seeing you there!
The September 2008 CILA board meeting will be held from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at Panera Bread in Bloomington (by T.G.I.Friday's). This meeting is only for board members. Among other things, we will be discussing collection practices and vendor companies for this service, as well as companies providing credit report and criminal background information. As most of you already know, we are seeking "local" companies that will grant some type of "group discount" to our members. Keep your eyes peeled for the info!
The August 2008 CILA board meeting will be held from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM on Tuesday, August 12, 2008 at Panera Bread in Bloomington (by T.G.I.Friday's). This meeting is only for board members.
The July 2008 CILA board meeting will be held from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM on Tuesday, July 8, 2008 at Panera Bread in Bloomington (by T.G.I.Friday's). This meeting is only for board members.
The June 2008 CILA board meeting will be held from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM on Tuesday, June 10, 2008 at Panera Bread in Bloomington (by T.G.I.Friday's). This meeting is only for board members. Among other things, we will be discussing collection practices and vendor companies for this service, as well as companies providing credit report and criminal background information. As most of you already know, we are seeking "local" companies that will grant some type of "group discount" to our members. Keep your eyes peeled for the info!
The May 2008 CILA board meeting will be held from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 at Panera Bread in Bloomington (by T.G.I.Friday's). This meeting is only for board members. Among other things, we will be discussing general membership dues and "Commercial/Vendor" memberships. Keep your eyes peeled for the info!
The April 2008 CILA board meeting will be held from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM on Tuesday, April 14, 2008 at Panera Bread in Bloomington (by T.G.I.Friday's). This meeting is only for board members. Among other things, we will be discussing the date/time/location of the next general members meeting. Keep your eyes peeled for the info!
The March 2008 CILA board meeting will be held from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM on Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at Panera Bread in Bloomington (by T.G.I.Friday's). This meeting is only for board members. Among other things, we will be discussing the date/time/location of the next general members meeting. Keep your eyes peeled for the info!
The CILA would like to announce the election of two new board members. Diane Sullivan and Clint Endress were elected to the board of directors at our March 2008 meeting. The bio for each should be added to their respective profiles soon (see About Us page). We look forward to working with Diane and Clint!
The March 2008 CILA meeting will be held from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 in the Community Room of the Coldwell Banker Real Estate Office at 405 N. Hershey Rd. in Bloomington. This meeting is open for all area Landlords and Property Managers to attend, free of charge. We look forward to seeing you there!
The CILA would like to announce the election of two new board members. Christa Doud and Shirlee Bottomley were elected to the board of directors at our January 2008 meeting. The bio for each should be added to their respective profiles soon (see About Us page). We look forward to working with Christa and Shirlee!
The January 2008 CILA meeting will be held from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM on Tuesday, January 29, 2008 in the Community Room of the Coldwell Banker Real Estate Office at 405 N. Hershey Rd. in Bloomington. This meeting is open for all area Landlords and Property Managers to attend, free of charge. We look forward to seeing you there!
The News Page is back up and running... Keep checking back for updates! Shortly, we will have more information regarding the City of Bloomington's new "Rental Housing Committee" (this is what we are calling it until it has an officeial name).
The November 2006 CILA meeting will be held from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM on Tuesday, November 7, 2006 in the Community Room of the Coldwell Banker Real Estate Office at 405 N. Hershey Rd. in Bloomington. This meeting is open for all area Landlords and Property Managers to attend, free of charge. We look forward to seeing you there!
The September 2006 CILA meeting will be held from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM on Tuesday, September 5, 2006 in the Community Room of the Coldwell Banker Real Estate Office at 405 N. Hershey Rd. in Bloomington. This meeting is open for all area Landlords and Property Managers to attend, free of charge. We look forward to seeing you there!
The August 2006 CILA meeting will be held from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM on Tuesday, August 8, 2006 in the Community Room of the Coldwell Banker Real Estate Office at 405 N. Hershey Rd. in Bloomington. This meeting is open for all area Landlords and Property Managers to attend, free of charge. We look forward to seeing you there!
The City of Bloomington will be holding two public meetings to announce the proposed changes to Bloomington City Code Chapter 45 (Rental Housing Inspection Program) and gain public input. The meeting times and locations are as follows:
· 9:00 AM on Friday, July 21, 2006 at the Miller Park Pavilion, 1st floor
· 6:30 PM on Wednesday, August 9, 2006 at the Miller Park Pavilion, 1st floor
More information should be available at our (CILA) meeting on Wednesday, July 12, 2006 (see below). We look forward to seeing you there!
The July 2006 CILA meeting will be held from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM on Wednesday, July 12, 2006 in the Community Room of the Coldwell Banker Real Estate Office at 405 N. Hershey Rd. in Bloomington. This meeting is open for all area Landlords and Property Managers to attend, free of charge. We look forward to seeing you there!
The Second Chance Renters Program, sponsored by the Baby Fold, will hold a Landlord Open House from 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM on Wednesday, May 3, 2006 in the Baby Fold Training Center at 612 Oglesby in Normal. This meeting is open for all area Landlords and Property Managers to attend, free of charge. For more information, click here to view the flyer. If you are having difficulty viewing the flyer by clicking on the link, enter “http://cila.rentallane.com/downloads/baby_fold_open_house.pdf” into your browser.
Please note that this file is in PDF format. You will need Adobe Reader, or a similar program, to open it. If you do not have Adobe Reader, click here or go to http://www.adobe.com to download it, free of charge.
The June 2006 CILA meeting will be held from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM on Monday, June 12, 2006 in the Community Room of the Coldwell Banker Real Estate Office at 405 N. Hershey Rd. in Bloomington. This meeting is open for all area Landlords and Property Managers to attend, free of charge. We look forward to seeing you there!
The May 2006 CILA meeting will be held from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM on Monday, May 8, 2006 in the Community Room of the Coldwell Banker Real Estate Office at 405 N. Hershey Rd. in Bloomington. This meeting is open for all area Landlords and Property Managers to attend, free of charge. We look forward to seeing you there!
The City of Bloomington's response to our 11-23-2005 letter was received today! In a few days, we will open a new topic for this in the CILA Forum (bulletin board) for members to express their comments and concerns. To view the response, click here. If you are having difficulty viewing the response by clicking on the link, enter “http://cila.rentallane.com/downloads/COB_Letter_to_CILA_02-21-2006.pdf” into your browser. To view the letter that we sent to the City on 11-23-2005, click here. If you are having difficulty viewing the letter by clicking on the link, enter “http://cila.rentallane.com/downloads/CILA_Letter_to_COB_11-23-2005.pdf” into your browser.
Please note that these files are in PDF format. You will need Adobe Reader, or a similar program, to open them. If you do not have Adobe Reader, click here or go to http://www.adobe.com to download it, free of charge.
The February 2006 CILA meeting will be held from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM on Wednesday, February 8, 2006 in the Community Room of the Coldwell Banker Real Estate Office at 405 N. Hershey Rd. in Bloomington. This meeting is open for all area Landlords and Property Managers to attend, free of charge. We look forward to seeing you there!
The CILA letter to the City of Bloomington was delivered to the City Clerk's office today, and it is now available to view from this site! To view the letter, click here. Considering the busy holiday weekend, we do not anticipate a response to be available by the City Council’s meeting on Monday, November 28, 2005. However, as always, we encourage our members to attend the Council meeting. If you are having difficulty viewing the letter by clicking on the link, enter “http://cila.rentallane.com/downloads/CILA_Letter_to_COB_11-23-2005.pdf” into your browser. Please note that the letter is in PDF format. You will need Adobe Reader, or a similar program, to open it. If you do not have Adobe Reader, click here or go to http://www.adobe.com to download it, free of charge.
At the Bloomington City Council meetings on October 24 and November 14, CILA members effectively presented our position regarding the proposed changes to Bloomington City Code Chapter 45. The City will not be requiring the registration of single-family properties that are not available for rent. During the November 14 meeting, Nick Butzirus, CILA Vice-President, advised the Council that CILA members had several other pressing issues that they would like to have addressed. Mr. Butzirus also pointed out that the CILA was willing to help correct the problems with the Rental Inspection Program, and had several suggestions that should be considered. The Council requested that these issues be presented in the form of a letter to the City. The letter will be drafted shortly, and it will be available to view from this site, after it has been delivered to the City Clerk’s office. A news posting will appear when the letter is available for viewing.
The CILA is requesting the presence of ALL members at the Bloomington City Council meeting on November 14, 2005!!! The meeting will begin at 7:30 PM in the Council Chambers of Bloomington City Hall (109 E. Olive St.). Come out, and show your support! We look forward to seeing you there!
The December 2005 CILA meeting will be held from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Tuesday, December 13, 2005 in the Community Room (lower level) at the Brady/Weaver GMAC Real Estate office (2203 Eastland Dr. Suite 1). For directions, click here. This meeting is open for all area Landlords and Property Managers to attend, free of charge. We look forward to seeing you there!
The November 2005 CILA meeting will be held from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Tuesday, November 8, 2005 in the Community Room (lower level) of the Normal Public Library (206 W. College Ave.). For parking information, click here. This meeting is open for all area landlords and property managers to attend, free of charge. We look forward to seeing you there!
The Central Illinois Landlord Association will be meeting with the Planning and Code Enforcement (PACE) Department of the City of Bloomington 4:00 PM on Thursday, November 3, 2005 in the Council Chambers at City Hall (109 E. Olive St.). We look forward to seeing you there!
The CILA will hold an urgent meeting at 6:00 PM in the Community Room of the Coldwell Banker Real Estate Office at 405 N. Hershey Rd. in Bloomington. The purpose of this Meeting is to discuss the pending ordinance proposals for Bloomington City Code Chapter 45 (Rental Property). We want to hear from all landlords before we meet with the PACE department. For more information about the ordinance proposals, scroll down and read the article "Proposed Changes to Bloomington City Code Chapter 45" that was posted on October 25, 2005. This meeting is open for all area Landlords and Property Managers to attend, free of charge. We look forward to seeing you there! We will still be holding our meeting at the Normal Public Library on November 8, 2005 (see below).
The November 2005 CILA meeting will be held from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Tuesday, November 8, 2005 in the Community Room (lower level) of the Normal Public Library (206 W. College Ave.). For parking information, click here. This meeting is open for all area landlords and property managers to attend, free of charge. We look forward to seeing you there!
City of Bloomington staff members presented, to the City Council, two ordinances amending Bloomington City Code Chapter 45. The ordinances were items "AB" and "AC" on the Council's Consent Agenda for October 24, 2005.
One of the amendments, item "AB", would have amended the "Definitions" portion of Chapter 45 (Section 900.3) to define "Residential Rental Units" as "Any unit in an apartment house, duplex or a single-family home that is rented or available for rent located in the City of Bloomington." It would also have defined "Rent" as "The consideration, including any deposit, bonus, benefit or gratuity, demanded or received for or in connection with the use or occupancy of a residential rental unit." Additionally, the same ordinance would have amended the "Registration" portion of Chapter 45 (Section 900.4), by adding two paragraphs. The first paragraph would have read: "All owners of buildings containing residential rental units must register that building regardless of whether the building is vacant, for sale, or any other status other than being owner-occupied." The second paragraph would have read: "Once a building is registered as a rental, it must be registered every year unless occupied by the owner and a sworn statement is on file with the City of Bloomington attesting to its status as an owner-occupied building."
The second amendment, item "AC", would have amended Chapter 45 Section 900.17 by adding the following paragraph: "Any fees due and owing shall be added to the yearly registration fee and must be paid in fully at the time of registration. In addition to all fees owed a penalty of $100.00 may bee assessed for late payment of fees. Failure to pay fees may result in a revocation of the building's Certificate of Inspection."
Nick Butzirus, CILA Vice-President, pointed out to the Council that the first registration paragraph addition proposed in item "AB" would not actually apply to vacant houses that were for sale, because the paragraph required the registration of "Residential Rental Units", and such houses do not fit the proposed definition of "Residential Rental Units" if they are not rented or available for rent. In response, Todd Greenburg, City of Bloomington Corporation Counsel, stated that, regardless of the proposed definition of "Residential Rental Units", the registration provision would require all non-owner-occupied properties to be registered and inspected, even if they are vacant and/or for sale. Mr. Butzirus then pointed out that Mr. Greenburg's interpretation of the provision had just proven an earlier point made by Dan Moore, CILA President, that this would require every property for sale in the City of Bloomington to be registered with and inspected by the City's Rental Property Program. The Rental Property Program is a division of the Building Safety Department, which is a division of the Planning and Code Enforcement (P.A.C.E.) Department, directed by Mark Huber.
The second registration paragraph addition proposed in item "AB" would complicate the lives of home buyers, by requiring them to take additional steps after purchasing a home that was formerly registered as a rental property. Such home buyers would be required to obtain, sign and submit a sworn statement that they would actually be living in their new home, or risk letters from the City's Legal Department, as many local landlords have received for not registering properties that they have no intention of renting. This would create serious problems for the sellers, as they would now be stuck trying to sell a home that potential home buyers would now attempt to avoid.
The paragraph addition proposed in item "AC" would open up the potential for serious problems as well. There is no language to clarify when a charge is due and owing. Without specific clarification, the City could assess inspection fees in advance. Thus, billing landlords for inspections that may not even be performed during the year for which they were assessed. Mr. Huber clearly stated that, after two years in operation, the Rental Property Program has only inspected about 55% of the rental properties in the City of Bloomington.
Mr. Butzirus also pointed out several other deficiencies of the Rental Property Program. Buildings receiving an "A" rating at the time of inspection are only required to be inspected once every two years. Buildings receiving a "B" rating at the time of inspection are required to have a subsequent re-inspection, to verify the correction of any violations, and are required to be inspected every year, until an "A" rating is granted. Some landlords are frustrated because they have received notices that their "A" rated buildings have come due for inspections, again, at just over one year from their first inspection. Many buildings that received "B" ratings two years ago have never been re-inspected. Meanwhile, many landlords have faithfully paid their registration fees each year, even though their properties have never been inspected.
Additionally, landlords that have complied with the correction of any violations in their buildings, and passed any/all subsequent re-inspections, are still stuck with a "B" rating, even though their buildings are now in compliance with the provisions of "A" rated properties. Many landlords do not feel that this is much of an incentive to comply with the guidelines of the Rental Property Program. Further still, Rental Property Registration fees are not transferable. If a rental property owner pays the required Rental Property Registration fee and then sells the property three months later, the new owner must pay another Rental Property Registration fee and does not get the benefit of the remaining nine months covered by the first fee that was paid. To her credit, Alderman Karen Schmidt asked for clarification of this point, in an apparent attempt to make sure that the City was requiring the registration of properties, as opposed to the registration of landlords. In response, Mr. Huber claimed that the City is requiring the registration of property, and attempting only to keep track of landlords. However, the non-transferability of Rental Property Registration fees, requiring each new owner to pay them again, while denying the certification of registration and the right of occupancy if the fees are not paid, would seem to point toward an attempt to "License" landlords. Many landlords are very upset by these issues, but feel that their concerns have fallen on deaf ears.
After the testimonies of Mr. Butzirus and Mr. Moore, Alderman Schmidt moved (Alderman Steven Purcell seconded) that the issue be tabled until the Council's November 14 session. The Council agreed with a unanimous vote. This would allow time for the Central Illinois Landlord Association to meet with City staff members and officials to further discuss the general practices and procedures of the Rental Property Program, as well as the proposed changes to Bloomington City Code Chapter 45. The date, time and location of this meeting will be announced within the next few days.
The October CILA meeting was a success. Several new members joined at the meeting, and even more since. We would like to express a special thanks to Alderman Karen Schmidt and Alderman Steven Purcell, both from the City of Bloomington, for their time and consideration! The agenda for the November CILA meeting will be very much the same as the October meeting. The exact date, time and location will be announced soon. We look forward to seeing you there!
The October 2005 CILA meeting will be held from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 in the Community Room of the Bloomington Public Library (205 E. Olive St.). This meeting is open for all area landlords and property managers to attend, free of charge. We look forward to seeing you there!
The City of Bloomington will hold their second "Brown Bag Series" meeting on Wednesday, October 19, 2005. The meeting is titled "Nuisance Abatement - You Can't Just Close My Property". Carl Fever (Crime Data Analyst for the Bloomington Police Dept.) and Barb Adkins (Community Affairs Specialist for the City of Bloomington) will be explaining and discussing the City of Bloomington's Nuisance Abatement Program. The meeting will be held from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM in the Osborn Room at the Bloomington Police Department (305 S. East St.). All landlords and property managers are invited to attend and bring their own lunch. Refreshments will be provided. If you wish to attend, you must call the city to register (Phone: 309-434-2210 or TDD: 309-829-5115) by Monday, October 17, 2005.
The City of Bloomington is sponsoring a free training seminar for owners/managers of residential rental property, within the City of Bloomington, on Saturday, September 24, 2005. Various speakers will be addressing multiple issues of the rental property industry in the City of Bloomington. A continental breakfast will be offered from 8:00 AM to 8:30 PM. The seminar will begin promptly at 8:30 AM and will conclude at about 2:30 PM. Lunch will be provided. The seminar will be held at the First Christian Church in Bloomington (401 W. Jefferson St.). Free parking is available on the North side of the building, as well as in the Pantagraph lot and the lot on the Northwest corner of Jefferson and Lee Streets. All landlords and property managers are invited to attend. If you wish to attend, you must call the city to register (Phone: 309-434-2210 or TDD: 309-829-5115). Seating will be limited to the first 100 registrants.
The City of Bloomington will hold their first "Brown Bag Series" meeting on Wednesday, August 24, 2005. The meeting is titled "Talkin' Trash". Rick Clem (Supt. of Solid Waste) will be discussing waste removal rules and regulations. The meeting will be held from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM in the Osborn Room at the Bloomington Police Department (305 S. East St.). All landlords and property managers are invited to attend and bring their own lunch. If you wish to attend, you must call the city to register (Phone: 309-434-2210 or TDD: 309-829-5115) by Friday, August 19, 2005.
Please keep an eye on this page for the next few months. It will be undergoing serious changes as the site develops! Please e-mail us to let us know if there is a story that relates to our industry or local market that you would like to see added.
