PA MAGISTRATE CIVIL COURTS - CHANGE IN MONETARY FILING LEVELS

Stroudsburg - Effective January 22, 2011, the Pennsylvania magisterial courts raised the maximum amount to file against a defendant in a civil complaint from $8,000 to $12,000. This change encompasses magisterial courts throughout Pennsylvania.

On November 23, 2010 the Harrisburg legislature passed the law to enable magistrate courts to increase these amounts.

The filing fees will remain the same. Fees are available by requesting them from the individual magisterial court in your district.

Written by Marilyn R. Lesoine, Administrative Assistant with NEPA Management Associates located at 304 Park Avenue, Stroudsburg. NEPA is one of the largest property management companies in Northeast Pennsylvania and is under the direction of Thomas R. Wilkins, CEO. NEPA handles approximately 20 associations, which include Property Owners Associations, condominium complexes and town-home communities. The NEPA Management office is open 7 days a week. Learn more about them at www.nepamgmt.com.

RESALE CERTIFICATES...WHAT ARE THEY?

Stroudsburg - At NEPA Management Associates, my Property Management company located at 304 Park Avenue in Stroudsburg, one of my core responsibilities is to process Resale Certificates for homes that the Pocono Realtors sell. These are homes located in developments such as The Estates at Great Bear, The Woodlands, Pocono Hemlock, Villas at Pine Hill or Victoria Heights. A Resale Certificate is a part of the Pennsylvania Agreement of Sale and I'm typically called after the property goes under contract and after the inspections are done, but well before the closing.

A Resale Certificate is in essence a “snap shot” of a specific Community or Association. The Pennsylvania Uniform Planned Community Act (#180) commenced into law on February 2, 1997. Shortly thereafter the Pa. Uniform Condominium Act (#180 Subpart) commenced into law on July 2, 1980. The Resale Certificate states the proper name of the Community or Association, and its location within the Pocono Mountains. It will also state the name of the Seller, the Section, Lot # and Unit # if applicable to the subject property.

The listing of dues and/or assessments is also stated along with the time frame either being paid monthly, quarterly or yearly. There is also a section listing special assessments (if any) that would apply to this particular Community or Association. The Resale Certificate will also state what type of water and sewer are available—whether well and septic are provided by a municipality or private entity. It will include a section listing what types of roads are present (public, private, paved, gravel) and whether there are road fees in existence. When the property is sold it will state whether a transfer/conveyance fee is applicable to that specific property.

A Resale Certificate is customized by my office to the Community or Association listing the specific recorded By-laws, the Declarations, a map of the Community, the Rules & Regulations, an Insurance Declaration page and other pertinent information for the new Owner. It is also made up of (17) seventeen specific items or points that is unique to each Community or Association. Whether the property has a Right of First Refusal, the charges that may be associated with the property—common expense charges, unpaid assessments, charges, dues, credits and a total due upon closing. It will also list whether the Community or Association will or will not be proposing Capital expenditures within a given time frame. A numerical figure will be presented listing the amount of money held in a separate capital reserve account. A current copy of the balance sheet and budget sheet will be provided for review.

Several items will address what the Board of Directors has knowledge of: alterations, improvements, lease hold interests, etc. A listing of lawsuits or judgments which the Community or Association may be a party to is also clearly spelled out along with docket numbers. Cumulative or class voting is covered and a listing of times shares if applicable. Master Association and the original sub-divider are also allotted space if warranted.

A Resale Certificate is a vital part of a Real Estate transaction. Again—it may just be a “snap shot” but it portrays a complete, vivid picture of a specific Community or Association.

Well, that's what a Resale Certificate is all about.

In addition to the Resale Certificates being a part of my job at NEPA Management Associates, I also handle the Right of First Refusal for Penn Estates, Timber Hill, Paradise Pointe and Stillwater. The Right of First Refusal is different than a Resale Certificate but it still is a responsibility that I handle.

If you live in a community and you are selling your home…I'm pretty sure we are going to meet!


Marilyn R. Lesoine, Administrative Assistant, is a senior associate with NEPA Management Associates located at 304 Park Avenue, Stroudsburg. NEPA is one of the largest property management companies in Northeast Pennsylvania and is under the direction of Thomas R. Wilkins, CEO. NEPA handles approximately 20 associations, which include Property Owners Associations, condominium complexes and town-home communities. The office is open 7 days a week. If you'd like more information, visit them at http://www.nepamgmt.com/

THE LAW AND YOU - LANDLORD AND TENANTS

THE LAW AND YOU - LANDLORD AND TENANTS
Part 3 of 3

Landlord Filing Against Tenant

In my last blog I told you how a tenant can file against a landlord. This blog will discuss how a landlord can file. As with this entire series, this is not legal advice, simply an overview of what happens at the magistrate courts through our experience as a property management company.

As a landlord, there are three specific items that you need to be aware of. The first is that you must give the tenant a Notice to Pay Rent or Quit. This can be served either in person, by posting or by regular or certified mail. It "sets the stage" for the rest of your filing. In that Pay Rent or Quit (there are a number of forms that you can find online which will show you a sample Pay Rent or Quit) it must state the number of days you give the tenant to make good on the rent. At NEPA Management Associates, we typically, we use five (5) days. Beware of leases in which the landlord claims that the tenant waives the right to notice; they do not holdup in the Pocono magistrate system.

The second piece of mail that is then delivered to the tenant is a 10-day Notice. That notice is (1) sent via certified mail; (2) sent by regular mail; (3) and posted or hand-delivered to the tenant. While some courts require all three of these delivery methods, you're safest to do all three as opposed to doing only two or one of the three methods. Pocono magistrate courts like to see ample delivery.

If you do not do this, you run the risk that the filing may be thrown out and you need to start over again.

You will then receive a hearing date from the magistrate court. You must attend that hearing. If the tenant pays in full prior to the hearing date, you can dismiss the case. If they pay a partial rent, do not discontinue the filing; simply adjust the amounts due when you get to court. Since it is a landlord/tenant action, you must attend; you cannot simply file and let the court do all the work, like when you file a judgment.

At NEPA Management Associates, we like to add one month's rent to the filing assuming that the case maybe continued or not promptly heard by the court. That way, you're not going in and filing simply on past rent, but it should make you current with the rent that is due. That's an office policy and I am not sure that it is something that we would advise people outside of our office to do.

At the hearing you need to show the judge (1) of the fully executed lease; (2) copies of the tenants' ledger which show what payments have and have not been made and (3) any and all documents that you have sent to the tenant regarding the non-payment of rent. Don't try to skip any of these steps; it's essential that you prove your case.

If you have all of this information, then you should be successful at court. The judge will give the tenant two options on which they may appeal. They can appeal the court's decision for possession within 10 days or for the monetary decision within 30 days. Nothing can be done during the appeal time period.

After the appeal period, then you can "re-file" at the magisterial court for possession of the unit in the event they have not done that. That will require additional funds to be paid and it will have the sheriff go out and physically evict the tenant from the property. Hopefully, the tenant will have left prior to that and you don't need to go through the final act of the eviction.

On the Web
There are a number of sites available that give you more information and copies of the various forms to notify a tenant of a delinquency. The actual filing form you can get from the magisterial court. Remember, court is in that district that's closest to where the unit is located. Any of the sites will give you the documentation that you'll need.

You can use a Management company to perform this service for you; at NEPA Management Associates we handle such cases whether we represent you in collecting your rent or not. You must simply have to provide us the proper documentation that we need to be successful at court. Our track record is probably close to 90%+. We pride ourselves on being good at what we do.

Well, that's how you file against a tenant who doesn't pay rent. One thing to remember, the key to having a good tenant comes really in the very beginning. If you have a tenant that has good credit, good housekeeping, and good references, has been at their job for 2 years or longer, the risk that you run of them becoming delinquent is drastically reduced. It's all in the application.

I've been a landlord for close to 40 years now and absolutely love it. Once real estate investing and income properties get into your blood… it's hard to get out.

I hope you make a lot of money with your investments.


Thomas R. Wilkins is CEO of NEPA Management Associates, Inc. a full service management company located in the Poconos. NEPA Management Associates has a number of residential and commercial income producing properties that they manage for third party owners and/or lenders. NEPA Management has been in business for the past 20 years. During that time they have represented numerous owners and tenants in magisterial court.

THE LAW AND YOU - LANDLORD AND TENANTS

Part 1 of 3

Stroudsburg - This is the first of a 3 part series that gives and overview to the rights of Landlords and Tenants with regard to non-payment of rent, the inability to inhabit a unit because of condition, how a Landlord files against a tenant in magisterial court and how a Tenant and file charges against a landlord in magisterial court.

This Blog and/or the successive blogs in this series are not meant to be legal advice, but instead offer a simple overview of the process.

Overview

While landlords and tenants should always live in harmony, sometime that doesn't happen. It can be because the tenant doesn't pay his rent and the landlord, after following the requirements of the law, files action against the tenant at the magisterial level. Or it may be that the landlord doesn't comply with what the tenant needs are. Typically this is in regard to the condition of the unit and the tenant files against the landlord to provide certain services.

In either case, that court that hears those type landlord/tenant complaints is the magisterial court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Typically, you file in the town where the house or condo is located, or at least at the court that hears that geographic area where the unit is. There are a number of them in Monroe, Pike and all other counties in Pennsylvania. Either party can obtain the necessary paperwork to do a filing at any of the magisterial courts. The courts are listed in the yellow-pages and can be searched online as well.

The time it takes for the courts to act on Landlord/Tenant complaints is very clear. You can search the time requirements online, and the number of days that it takes for the court to make a decision on a particular case is also very clear. The Pocono Mountains are no different than other areas of the state when it comes to the policies and procedures of the magisterial court.

Why would either party file at magisterial court? The answer is that if you are not able to negotiate something with the landlord or the landlord is not able to collect rent from the tenant, the only way to remedy the situation is to go to court. Those are the 2 most popular reasons for filing complaints on either party's part.

For the landlord, they must first notify the tenant with a Notice to Pay Rent or Quit form. The form is typically sent via the U.S. mail and simply states that the rent has not been received and the tenant needs to pay it. At NEPA Management Associates, this is typically done on the 6th of each month, because in the vast majority of our leases, the rent is due on the 1st. In all cases, if you have a lease with a tenant, it's easier to keep the rent due on the 1st.

After that, a 10-Day Notice is sent to the tenant, which needs to be sent by regular mail, certified mail and/or posted on the residence. At NEPA Management Associates we do all three. We want to insure delivery. The judge at the magistrate court level will ask how the tenant was notified. While the amount a time that you give a tenant to pay is negotiable per the terms of the lease, we have found in our experience that a 10-Day Notice is applicable or accepted by the magistrate courts in the Pocono Mountains. If you give the tenant less than 10 days, the Judges tend not to be quite as receptive for property notification.

If the owner uses a lease that makes the tenant waive all of those rights (which is not something that we do), it typically is not accepted by the court. The Pocono magistrates require that proper notification be given to the tenant. You cannot simply waive their rights per the terms of the lease.

In the next blog, I'll go through what happens at the filing.


Thomas R. Wilkins is CEO of NEPA Management Associates, Inc. a full service management company located in the Poconos. NEPA Management Associates has a number of residential and commercial income producing properties that they manage for third party owners and/or lenders. NEPA Management has been in business for the past 20 years. During that time they have represented numerous owners and tenants in magisterial court.

What you want to look for in a Property Management Company

Stroudsburg - Property Management can be one of the best investments that you ever make for your income producing property and picking the right property manager is one of the most important tasks that you will have once you purchase your rental property. Real estate is your best investment in the world, so why leave it to someone who isn't experienced or doesn't know how to maximize your return.

When you look for a Manager, you'll want to do your best in understanding what the services are that they have to offer. At NEPA Management we are the best in property management. Whether your investment is a single family home or an apartment complex, we'd like to talk to you.

Management companies generally charge a percentage of the rent that they receive. This is called a management fee. Without rental income, the property management company does not make any money and, therefore, it's in both parties' best interests to always keep the property rented and at (preferably) the highest price that the market is bringing.

Repairs and maintenance are necessary with any investment property, and typically, the property manager would want to take good care of your investment. There are three types of maintenance: preventive, on-going and deferred maintenance.

While maintenance comes in three different forms, you want to make sure that you don't have a lot of deferred maintenance when either you purchase your income producing property or while you own the investment. Deferred maintenance may limit your income and certainly will affect the value of your investment. On-going maintenance will ensure that you are keeping up with your investment. If you intend to hold the investment long term, then you'll want to consider preventive maintenance.

Some companies have their own maintenance crew or others will contract out to third parties. Either way, the cost of those services are typically cost plus some sort of an add-on or administrative fee. Don't be worried about this, because, the property management company will make sure to use insured vendors and they have and know the best purveyors in any given market place.

You'll probably want to set a maximum amount of money that the management company can spend without contacting you. That number is typically the cost of buying and installing a hot water heater or about $750. Whatever that cost is for your area, would usually be the maximum amount of money that a management company can spend without having to call you for authorization.

Monthly reporting is also a very big part of the management company's responsibilities. The management company should send you monthly statements. This income and expense statement should be easy to read and in a format that's accepted by general accounting principles. At NEPA Management, our reports are very user-friendly.

Because (sometimes) tenants do not pay, you should understand how the management company will handle an eviction and what the costs are to evict a tenant. It's important for you to know, because evictions cause vacancy and that is something that neither the management company nor you want. However, always remember there's one thing worse than a vacancy…and that's having a rental with someone who isn't paying still inside your unit.

You should ask the company what their policy is and what their guidelines are before they start an eviction process. It should be aggressive while staying within the limits of the law.

When will the management company send your check to you; the beginning of the month or the end of the month? At NEPA Management Associates, we typically send out money during the third week of the month. This enables you to be assured that the money that was received by the management company is in fact good. All the checks have cleared or the rent, if paid by credit card, has been received and the monies are able to be disbursed. It's always good to stay 1 month ahead with your mortgage payment, so in the event your mortgage payment is on the 1st, you'll never feel like you are behind.

Marketing or advertising for your property is essential and it can be done in a variety of ways. Your property can be advertised through the Multiple Listing Service system, through the real estate company themselves, Craig's List or other websites that get the maximum exposure for your property. But, advertising isn't as important as interviewing perspective tenants and understanding that although people see your unit, qualifying them is really a key responsibility of the management company. You want to make sure that the management company you hire does a (1) residency verification, (2) employment verification and (3) a credit report.

Section 8 is a very good way to rent your investment. At NEPA we pride ourselves in having been approved vendors of Section 8 tenants for the past 21 years.

Well, that's what you need to look for in a Management company, and at NEPA Management Associates you can be assured that all of the questions asked above are easily answered by any of our property managers, administrative assistants or realtors who specialize in renting our homes.

NEPA's website can be visited at www.nepamgmt.com.

NEPA Management Assocs Speak Out

Stroudsburg- Community associations, Property Owners Associations, condo complexes, town-home communities and investors throughout Northeast PA are discovering a better way to maintain and manage their properties and communities. They let NEPA Management, Inc. handle everything from collecting rents and dues to snow plowing, lawn care and administering all of the day to day business.

A wholly owned company of WARE Inc., NEPA Management, Inc. oversees the daily management of over 28 communities and individual investment properties in Monroe and Pike counties. It is one of the largest full-service property management companies in the Poconos and has their sites set in the Lehigh Valley and Scranton areas and NEPA continues to expand. The company is now focusing on spending time on commercial projects as well as fiscal and bookkeeping services, and their newest venture, collections.

”We are always looking at opportunities in the Scranton and ABE (Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton) area,” says Thomas R. Wilkins, CEO. He chuckled, “You know our name came about because even in the beginning we knew the value of Northeast PA, thus our name NEPA.”

He likens property management to operating a resort such as the Caesars honeymoon resorts, developed by his father, Morris B. Wilkins, founder of the heart-shaped bath. Guests checking into a hotel want the accommodations to be up to date and in good repair. “That’s the same thing in property management,” he remarks. “People live in a community until they sell and then we get new guests or owners.”

NEPA Management, headquartered at 304 Park Avenue, Stroudsburg, handles all types of properties: commercial accounts, communities with property owners’ associations, townhouses, condominiums and rental properties.

Among the services they offer on a short-term or long term-basis are:

• Collecting rents and homeowner fees

• Accounting and budgeting

• Housekeeping

• Maintenance of roads and common areas

• Operation of swimming pools

• Maintaining community water systems and billings for water and sewer companies

• Handling correspondence and accounts receivable and payable

“The challenges are unbelievable, but we have fun.” says Christina Serpico, Senior Property Manager, who has been with NEPA for 8 years. The board of directors of a community or individual property owners can use a few specialized services like financial management or a full package of maintenance and administration. The chief advantage is that while most of the community board members are volunteers, “It’s our profession,” she says. Often the cost of the services is offset by increased profits. “You would be surprised how competitive our fees are.”

“Our collection rate is good,” says Property Manager Lindsay Rivera, who has been in property management with NEPA for the past 3 years. By using computerized systems and real estate databases, they specialize in making sure no unit falls through the cracks when it comes to paying dues or notifying the community when a property is sold.

Each community or property owner is actually getting about 15 people working directly for them. Multi levels of staffing include four property managers, administrative assistants and a fully staffed accounting department led by Rosemarie Lobe-Waller, Vice President/Controller for Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates and NEPA Management, Inc.

Qualified independent contractors, who specialize in landscaping, plumbing, electrical, housekeeping and other property maintenance, bid on the jobs to give our clients expertise at the best price. Another advantage Wilkins adds: “By representing a number of clients, we can get a better rate on loans or investments for reserve funds,” including CDs with higher yields.

Individual property owners also benefit from NEPA Management’s menu of services. “When the stock market went south, people got scared,” Wilkins notes. “They put their money into real estate as an investment.” Many are from out of state and found it difficult to maintain their properties. “It’s a business to own rentals,” Wilkins points out. They soon realized that professional management would enhance their profit. Now, the Wilkins company also handles vacation home rentals for weekends, weekly and seasonally.

NEPA Management finds qualified tenants and uses a computerized system to collect rents. The tenants receive prompt response to any maintenance concerns and the property owners are mailed a monthly check plus a year-end accounting for taxes. Property owners are sold on a new program of inspections and preventive maintenance done on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis. “That’s a great asset for the homeowner,” remarks Christina Serpico, because minor repairs often can be made before they become major problems.

”It’s a matter of being able to let them know we are here,” she says and invites property owners to contact NEPA Management at 570-421-5409 or visit www.nepamgmt.com.

Wilkins laughs and says, “We opened the doors June 15, 1988 and the real estate market went south June 16th.” Wilkins & Associates Real Estate had a prosperous real estate market to work in for less than 12 hours. About a year later, Wilkins recalls, two gentlemen representing the Villas at Pine Hill came into the Mount Pocono office and asked if the company would collect the dues for the association. “We were struggling,” Wilkins says, and they gladly accepted payment of $100 per month to collect dues. “That was our first account for NEPA Management”, and he’s proud to say, “We still have that account today.”

Better Homes and Gardens Wilkins & Assocs buys Liberty Real Estate

Pocono Summit - Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Assoc announced the purchase of Liberty Real Estate located in Poc Summit. Liberty Real Estate was one of the first brokers in the Mt. Poc area. Roxanne Lewis, Broker/Owner, operated the business since 1985. Originally from Wilkes-Barre, Lewis moved to the Poconos specifically to open up Liberty Real Estate. She has been a Realtor since 1974. "It was a hard decision. My Agents are like family, but the timing is right." said Lewis.

In addition to Lewis, two sales agents have joined the organization as full-time Realtors, Vincent B. Szykman from Wilkes-Barre and Christina M. Scavone. Szykman owned and operated his own engineering company for 25 years. After retiring, Szykman entered the real estate business. He will handle residential and commercial real estate for Wilkes-Barre.

Scavone, will be assigned to the West End office. Scavone has been with Liberty RE since 2004. Originally from the Ft. Lauderdale area, Scavone lives in Lehighton and will be part of the expanding of the Wilkins organization to the Jim Thorpe area. "Christina Scavone is very close to getting her Broker's license." "She has taken all the courses and only needs to take the required testing. Wilkins will sponsor her for that." "We're always looking for Assoc Brokers to train for managerial positions as they start to expand again with the changing economy." said Wilkins.

Four other agents are part-time Realtors who will also join the Wilkins organization.

Dominick Sacci, V.P./Gen Mgr. stated "The acquisition of Liberty RE does two things for us. It opens us to the Wilkes-Barre market (several of the Agents are located in the Back Mt. area of Wilkes-Barre) and we picked up a potential manager in Scavone." "We're pleased that Lewis has agreed to stay on until next year. The cultural mix between the two offices fit like a glove." said Sacci.

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate earlier in 2009 merged the Coldwell Banker Realtors into the company making them the number 1 real estate company in listings and sales. The Coldwell Banker/Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate deal was one of the largest real estate transactions in the Poc Mts. To date, in addition to the Blue Team being a part of the organization, BHG has recruited over 20 Realtors in 2009. Said Sacci, "If you are going to get into real estate, now is definitely the time to do it and Better Homes and Gardens is the place to do it." "If anyone wants to learn more about what it is we do, take the Simulator Test to find out if the real estate field is good for you, then they should give me a call." said Sacci. You can find the Simulator Test on the career page of bhgrealestate.com.

The Wilkins organization started in Mt. Pocono with 3 people in 1988. Since that time, they have expanded the company to over 100 Realtors and cover all northeast Pennsylvania. Over the past 2 years, due to economic conditions, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate has merged several of their offices with existing ones. Thomas R. Wilkins, CEO stated, "We hope we've hit the bottom at this point. We are in the business of opening offices, not merging them." "We have several new markets that we are looking at and after the Liberty RE purchase, the Wilkes-Barre market might be an easy one to target." said Heather D'Adamo, Exec VP-Partner. The company just recently announced the launching of a Vacation Rental Dept.

WARE, Inc. also owns NEPA Management Assoc a full-service management company that handles bookkeeping, fiscal and property management for a number of town-home communities, condominium complexes and property owner associations throughout northeast Pennsylvania. Both companies are at the 304 Park Ave office in Stroudsburg.

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Assoc can be visited at www.wilkins1.com.

Poconos Management Company announces Promotion

CORDERO PROMOTED TO PROPERTY MANAGER

August 31, 2009

Stroudsburg – NEPA Management Associates, Inc. announced that Blanca Cordero has been promoted to the position of Property Manager. Cordero has been with the company since March of 2009. Prior to joining the Wilkins organization, Cordero was a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Phyllis Rubin Real Estate.

Said Thomas R. Wilkins, CEO “Blanca came to us with the purchase of the Coldwell Banker business and was a rental manager for them. Since the time she has been with us, she’s advanced herself and is being promoted to the position of Property Manager.” NEPA Management Assoc handles a number of individual rentals, commercial properties, homeowners associations, condo communities and town-home projects throughout Northeast Pennsylvania.

Cordero will be responsible for her own portfolio of rental and income producing properties, work as an admin asst with the homeowner associations, be the primary property manager for Knob Hill Property Owners Assoc and take over the processing of “Get Connected”, an affordable utility hook-up service developed by the Wilkins organization.

NEPA Management Associates is located at 304 Park Avenue in Stroudsburg and is open 7 days a week.