Property Manager · Brecksville, OH · Member since 2014 · 486 posts · 464 votes
Hi All
A few weeks ago, the owner of a property I manage received a "ticket" from the city of Cleveland because the tenant did not properly place the trash basket out in front of the house. The city sent a "ticket" for $100. The owner was quite upset, insisting on knowing who was going to pay the ticket. The tenants had already moved out, so my first thought was to tell the owner that of course, the owner would have to pay the ticket. Since this was not a sophisticated owner, I decided to simply pay the ticket out of my own pocket rather that go round and round.
Now today, I get a "complaint and Affidvit" from the city of Garfield Heights. The city issued a ticket for $150 for failure to bring the empty trash bin back in, within 12 hours. I called the city of Garfield Heights, and they told me that the fine is waiverable by paying $180. Upon further investigation, the city advised me that there have been three similar complaints on three separate occasions, resulting in three separate fines of $180 each. Understand that the violation is failure to bring an empty trash bin in from the tree lawn within 12 hours.
I spoke with our Councilman at Garfield Heights and he explained that they are not allowed to issue a citation to the resident, so they go after the owner for housing violations which is criminal court.
On another subject, the city of Cleveland is on the verge of passing an ordinance that would pass the burden of proof to the owner, to prove that their house is lead free. So first, you would be required to hire a lead specialist to test and certify... then if they find lead, your would be required to hire a certified lead mitigation specialist to remove all the lead.
My point here is simply to let investors know that there is more to investing in Cleveland area real estate than meets the eye.
Rental Property Investor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2016 · 227 posts · 287 votes
7y
Bob, I have a few thoughts on this.
First, yes, I own an older home in Cleveland - my own. Do you think I’m going to stand by and let my kids get lead poisoning? If I’m watching out for my own kids, why is it okay to endanger other people’s children?
The investor who has a $20k repair to make on a $40k home they bought a year ago is responsible for it because they bought a home for someone else to live in. No one NEEDS to buy rental real estate. This type of investment is a luxury, and it’s a luxury with obvious moral implications. If you buy a rental, you have a responsibility to make the tenants safe. You wouldn’t rent the home out with a gas leak, no smoke detectors, or a wiring issue. The only reason landlords are trying to convince themselves that lead is different is that the bill is higher. Which is reprehensible.
In Cleveland, my understanding (and yes, I’ve been keeping up with the reports on this issue) is that the vast majority of the problem is from lead paint in older homes and lead in the soil of former commercial properties. Not so much the city water infrastructure. If the city tries to fine you for something that’s in their control not yours, take them to court, great. If the city starts fining you for a safety issue they were ignoring before... well, the only reason it’s taken this long is city officials trying to please landlords, and frankly I don’t want this issue to be ignored in my name.
Out of interest, do you live in Cleveland or have investments here? From your profile, it doesn't look like you do.
Regarding your "food for thought":
First, there are a lot of properties available at absolute rock bottom prices here from tax liens. The city and county both have land banks. They do no repairs, but leave such a margin that if you're a decent flipper you'll be able to make a healthy profit. Even if you have to do lead work. That's how they're adding value. If you want the city/county to hand you a great flip property at a cheap price, and take care of some of the work on it for you first without increasing the price, I guess you'll have to go elsewhere.
Second, the city actually is offering a lot of tax benefits for big investors. Google Cleveland opportunity zones.
Third, this line actually cracked me up: "NO, but they continued to tax the asset and collect revenue." Isaac, I live in a house that is almost 4,000 square feet, sitting on a quarter acre, walking distance to nice bars and museums in the city of Cleveland. I'm even talking to the county land bank you're maligning about doubling the size of my lot for free through their homeowner side yard program. My property taxes this year? $642.62.
That's for the year, not the month. Gosh, I feel the yoke of government oppression weighing heavily on me, don't you?
Being objective, the property taxes in northeast Ohio are pretty high compared to the value of the properties. Your post is misleading. Your property taxes are so low because you live in a low cost home in what I assume is a somewhat distressed neighborhood. This is evidenced by the fact that the vacant lot next door to your home has a net value of zero, hence why the city is "giving" it to you. Folks in Westlake or Pepper Pike are regularly paying $10,000-$15,000+ per year in taxes on their homes. So while I am obviously in favor of investment in Cleveland let's not pretend that the local government is giving anything away to investors out here.
Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 30k+ posts · 20k+ votes
7y
@Bob Collett Biggest thing is to do preventative work. The certifications needed to do preventative work are much more common than those that are needed to do lead work on a property where a child is already sick. This of course means that the price tag on preventative work is going to be much smaller than the work on homes where a child is already sick. The two biggest things investors can do on a preventative basis is to install vinyl siding on any stick frame home that doesn't have it and replace the windows on any home that's still go the old school wooden windows. Those two things right there are is where 90% of the problems come from.
Out of interest, do you live in Cleveland or have investments here? From your profile, it doesn't look like you do.
Regarding your "food for thought":
First, there are a lot of properties available at absolute rock bottom prices here from tax liens. The city and county both have land banks. They do no repairs, but leave such a margin that if you're a decent flipper you'll be able to make a healthy profit. Even if you have to do lead work. That's how they're adding value. If you want the city/county to hand you a great flip property at a cheap price, and take care of some of the work on it for you first without increasing the price, I guess you'll have to go elsewhere.
Second, the city actually is offering a lot of tax benefits for big investors. Google Cleveland opportunity zones.
Third, this line actually cracked me up: "NO, but they continued to tax the asset and collect revenue." Isaac, I live in a house that is almost 4,000 square feet, sitting on a quarter acre, walking distance to nice bars and museums in the city of Cleveland. I'm even talking to the county land bank you're maligning about doubling the size of my lot for free through their homeowner side yard program. My property taxes this year? $642.62.
That's for the year, not the month. Gosh, I feel the yoke of government oppression weighing heavily on me, don't you?
Being objective, the property taxes in northeast Ohio are pretty high compared to the value of the properties. Your post is misleading. Your property taxes are so low because you live in a low cost home in what I assume is a somewhat distressed neighborhood. This is evidenced by the fact that the vacant lot next door to your home has a net value of zero, hence why the city is "giving" it to you. Folks in Westlake or Pepper Pike are regularly paying $10,000-$15,000+ per year in taxes on their homes. So while I am obviously in favor of investment in Cleveland let's not pretend that the local government is giving anything away to investors out here
Sure. There are areas around Cleveland that have comparatively high taxes. I have zero interest in living in Shaker Heights for that reason, for example. (Although there’s a chicken and egg question there - are the taxes high relative to the values or are the values going down because the taxes are so high?) But everything I’ve been discussing re: lead legislation and Isaac’s land bank properties has been about the actual city of Cleveland, not the various suburbs.
Property Manager · Brecksville, OH · Member since 2014 · 486 posts · 464 votes
7y
The tax rate in Cleveland is 1.97% of appraised value... so a house with a $600 annual property tax is valued at $30,000. And the services from the city on the east side are lacking. Make a call to the police in that area for a property crime, plan to wait 3 hours to never for a car to come.
Of course, the blight was so bad in Fairfax and some similar areas, that tax abatement may have been offered to encourage investment by owner occupants and investors. Cleveland Clinic offered some huge credits for medical professionals to buy in the neighborhood.
Otherwise the $600 annual tax is an error... unless that 4000 square foot house is a $30,000 home.
I would like to hear more details if you are willing to share.
The property tax rate in Garfield Heights us about 4% of value. Outrageous!
I'm trying to wrap my head about how not taking your garbage can in within 12 hours is a criminal case. What happens if someone works 12 hour shifts and it doesn't coincide with garbage collection? Seems like the city would have better things to do with their time.
Out of interest, do you live in Cleveland or have investments here? From your profile, it doesn't look like you do.
Regarding your "food for thought":
First, there are a lot of properties available at absolute rock bottom prices here from tax liens. The city and county both have land banks. They do no repairs, but leave such a margin that if you're a decent flipper you'll be able to make a healthy profit. Even if you have to do lead work. That's how they're adding value. If you want the city/county to hand you a great flip property at a cheap price, and take care of some of the work on it for you first without increasing the price, I guess you'll have to go elsewhere.
Second, the city actually is offering a lot of tax benefits for big investors. Google Cleveland opportunity zones.
Third, this line actually cracked me up: "NO, but they continued to tax the asset and collect revenue." Isaac, I live in a house that is almost 4,000 square feet, sitting on a quarter acre, walking distance to nice bars and museums in the city of Cleveland. I'm even talking to the county land bank you're maligning about doubling the size of my lot for free through their homeowner side yard program. My property taxes this year? $642.62.
That's for the year, not the month. Gosh, I feel the yoke of government oppression weighing heavily on me, don't you?
1. I am not from Cleveland, I do not mean to insult the great City of Cleveland, I apologize if I have insulted you or hurt your feelings, it is not my intention. I am not interested in investing Cleveland as much as the posters original statement/assertion about hostility towards investors via city policy and then your comment, that so passionately defended these policies, got my attention. Again, I did not mean to offend, harass or insult you, merely offer an opposing opinion/view. Also, if I am not from Cleveland, should I not have an opinion on the topic?
2. I am glad to hear that Cleveland is so actively pursuing business development(since it has been on an economic decline for decades, and is only the 28th economy in the US) with large business such as google, and that they are allowing you to do what you want with your personal property, etc. Thanks for enlightening me to the great economic strides the city of Cleveland is taking. Again, I was previously speaking more generally and not directing any personal or specific attack "maligning" you or your good friends in Cleveland Government, just trying to point out that all governments are meant to serve us, the citizens, as opposed to us serving them or us being liable for things they are not liable for. Again, this was more in line with the general concepts of the discussion that was originally posted.
3. $642.62 is so low because your property values are among the lowest in the country, but the actual tax rate percentage are some of the highest in the country. The reason for this inverse relationship, is because the ratio of home owners(including investors) to government spending/debt is disproportionate, so they must tax the property owners at higher rates(some places as high as 5.5%) to make the budgetary commitments. Also, you pay that annually and lead building products have been illegal since 1978, so, theoretically your property has generated $642 x 40 years of tax revenue, that's closer to $26,000, of course this should be inflation adjusted, but the point is still the same. Furthermore, the city will be taxing the improvements you make and will continue taxing that parcel, every year, forever. Of course, I realize that money pays for schools, infrastructure, and government employee payrolls and pensions, so, carving out some of it for lead/asbestos abatement is not very realistic, hence, my reason for posing an alternative solution in the form of tax incentives for small investors to take on properties with those issues, but, good to hear that Cleveland is already doing something like that.
4. Lastly, there is no need to be sarcastic or hostile towards me. I did not mean to imply that all government is bad, merely pointing out the hypocrisy of holding investors liable today for something that the city/county could have been working on for the last 40 years, but they did not take any action or accountability for the problem, they just let it fester. Its my impression that the federal government, local governments and large corporations have done very little to help mitigate these problems, despite government and class action attorneys taking large monetary settlements from offending corporations. Again, this is not necessarily directed at Cleveland specifically, lead and asbestos is a problem in any city that has buildings that are built before 1978.
You are absolutely correct, forcing new investors to mitigate any and all environmental issue in an asset is one possible solution, especially if the bottom line makes a profit. Apparently, I was unaware of the generous incentives/policies and opportunities that Cleveland has for RE investors of lead contaminated properties, thank you for enlightening me.
If you are satisfied with the service you are getting from your local government, good for you. It's very refreshing to hear that and thanks for sharing your experience.
Best of luck with your investments and with your future and thanks again for your time and careful consideration.
Property Manager · Brecksville, OH · Member since 2014 · 486 posts · 464 votes
7y
@Theresa Harris I agree. When the Garfield Heights prosecutor sent me a complaint signed by a judge, I called them. The law office said, the Mayor decided to begin with the fines in October 2018.
I advised that such policies often have unforeseen consequences. In my opinion, it is a shakedown intended to get landlords to fix the cities’ problem... in addition to being a bit of a money grab.
The city says they are unable to force tenants to take in the trash bins. They assume that by fining the landlords, the landlords will lash out against their tenants, The city knows that beteeen landlord and it is a civil matter.
I was told that they are getting pushback from landlords.
This is only a criminal offense, because all housing court violations are criminal complaints.
I am told that the prosecutor will likely waive two of the offenses if I go to court. Part of my irritation is that the city has no problem dragging me or the rental owner into court to waste my time because a tenant violated city ordinance.
The city is frustrated by the lack of respect for property and neighborhood exhibited by the class of tenant that that their city attracts, and they want to blame the landlord for this condition.
Out of interest, do you live in Cleveland or have investments here? From your profile, it doesn't look like you do.
Regarding your "food for thought":
First, there are a lot of properties available at absolute rock bottom prices here from tax liens. The city and county both have land banks. They do no repairs, but leave such a margin that if you're a decent flipper you'll be able to make a healthy profit. Even if you have to do lead work. That's how they're adding value. If you want the city/county to hand you a great flip property at a cheap price, and take care of some of the work on it for you first without increasing the price, I guess you'll have to go elsewhere.
Second, the city actually is offering a lot of tax benefits for big investors. Google Cleveland opportunity zones.
Third, this line actually cracked me up: "NO, but they continued to tax the asset and collect revenue." Isaac, I live in a house that is almost 4,000 square feet, sitting on a quarter acre, walking distance to nice bars and museums in the city of Cleveland. I'm even talking to the county land bank you're maligning about doubling the size of my lot for free through their homeowner side yard program. My property taxes this year? $642.62.
That's for the year, not the month. Gosh, I feel the yoke of government oppression weighing heavily on me, don't you?
Being objective, the property taxes in northeast Ohio are pretty high compared to the value of the properties. Your post is misleading. Your property taxes are so low because you live in a low cost home in what I assume is a somewhat distressed neighborhood. This is evidenced by the fact that the vacant lot next door to your home has a net value of zero, hence why the city is "giving" it to you. Folks in Westlake or Pepper Pike are regularly paying $10,000-$15,000+ per year in taxes on their homes. So while I am obviously in favor of investment in Cleveland let's not pretend that the local government is giving anything away to investors out here
Sure. There are areas around Cleveland that have comparatively high taxes. I have zero interest in living in Shaker Heights for that reason, for example. (Although there’s a chicken and egg question there - are the taxes high relative to the values or are the values going down because the taxes are so high?) But everything I’ve been discussing re: lead legislation and Isaac’s land bank properties has been about the actual city of Cleveland, not the various suburbs.
Yes you are correct Cleveland itself is going to have way lower annual taxes & values then the suburbs, 100% accurate. The point remains though that objectively comparing the tax rates across the nation, the taxes in the Cleveland market are not low. You just happen to have an extremely low valued home on your hands. I run over 1,000 properties in & around Cleveland & probably 99% of them have much higher taxes than that & we all know that my portfolio isn't in the fancy outer ring suburbs, it's right there in the trenches of Cleveland. It is just very important to me that we paint an accurate picture for those looking to invest in Cleveland. For example the homes that I sold for you & your partners last year had annual taxes of $1,834.62 & $7,602.44. I believe you are in agreement that investors cannot reasonably expect to come to the Cleveland market & purchase reasonably profitable rental investments that have annual taxes of $642.62 per year. It is very much an outlier.
@James Wise Property taxes of $7600, can I ask how much the home was worth? I thought my taxes on my home were high, but they are nothing compared to that.
@Theresa Harris I agree. When the Garfield Heights prosecutor sent me a complaint signed by a judge, I called them. The law office said, the Mayor decided to begin with the fines in October 2018.
I advised that such policies often have unforeseen consequences. In my opinion, it is a shakedown intended to get landlords to fix the cities’ problem... in addition to being a bit of a money grab.
The city says they are unable to force tenants to take in the trash bins. They assume that by fining the landlords, the landlords will lash out against their tenants, The city knows that beteeen landlord and it is a civil matter.
I was told that they are getting pushback from landlords.
This is only a criminal offense, because all housing court violations are criminal complaints.
I am told that the prosecutor will likely waive two of the offenses if I go to court. Part of my irritation is that the city has no problem dragging me or the rental owner into court to waste my time because a tenant violated city ordinance.
The city is frustrated by the lack of respect for property and neighborhood exhibited by the class of tenant that that their city attracts, and they want to blame the landlord for this condition.
Unfortunately this is gonna come with the territory Bob. You can't run a PM business as a side venture, it just ain't worth it man it's too damn savage & low margin to do as a one or two man operation. You've got to be all in & scale that sucker to at least 300+ units for it to be worth the hassle of the tenants, owners & city treating you like their personal punching bag. Many of the suburbs require a "registered agent" who lives in Cuyahoga county, this is often the PM as the owners are typically on the west coast or other high cost markets like New York or something of that nature. So this won't be the last time this happens to you. My team is in court on a monthly basis. Hell sometimes writers like to dig up these ridiculous property violation cases in an attempt to slander us. Had some goober from City Lab write an article about me where he made it look like the city of Euclid was in this major lawsuit with us. (See article here) Lol wasn't anything of the sort. I think we had to file rental registrations on like 50 or 60 Euclid houses that year & we missed one& sent it in like a week late. By the time They charged us with a misdemeanor & a $150 fine or something of that nature. This kind of crap happens all the time. Case & point you gotta go big on the payday side to make it worth your time. Otherwise you're better off just selling homes in the burbs. More money less people treating you like a friggin punching bag.
@James Wise Property taxes of $7600, can I ask how much the home was worth? I thought my taxes on my home were high, but they are nothing compared to that.
@James Wise Property taxes of $7600, can I ask how much the home was worth? I thought my taxes on my home were high, but they are nothing compared to that.
$250k range. It was a quad.
Wow. Both on $250K for a 4plex and taxes being that high on a property worth $250K. Where I am that might buy you a small starter home, where my rentals are that would buy a small, older 1 or 2 bedroom apartment.
Theresa,Each city in Ohio has it’s own rate. Thus using 2.97 percent for @James Wise $250k house makes perfect sense that the property tax bill would be $7500. Unfortunately the state used to give a 12% credit on the property tax, but I understand that they no longer apply the credit to new property tax issues.
Ironically, the property tax rates in more desirable Cuyahoga County suburbs with great school systems and outstanding services (Independence) tend to be lower, while the tax rates in cities with a low level of services (Garfield Heights) tend to be much higher up to 4%. Many of these same high property tax rate communities tend to charge more fees and penalties.
Property Manager · Brecksville, OH · Member since 2014 · 486 posts · 464 votes
7y
@James Wise I agree about running PM as a side business. Once I started my property management business, I found that I had to focus exclusively on that business to be effective and keep the number of PM clients I serve to a manageable number.
@Theresa Harris I agree. When the Garfield Heights prosecutor sent me a complaint signed by a judge, I called them. The law office said, the Mayor decided to begin with the fines in October 2018.
I advised that such policies often have unforeseen consequences. In my opinion, it is a shakedown intended to get landlords to fix the cities’ problem... in addition to being a bit of a money grab.
The city says they are unable to force tenants to take in the trash bins. They assume that by fining the landlords, the landlords will lash out against their tenants, The city knows that beteeen landlord and it is a civil matter.
I was told that they are getting pushback from landlords.
This is only a criminal offense, because all housing court violations are criminal complaints.
I am told that the prosecutor will likely waive two of the offenses if I go to court. Part of my irritation is that the city has no problem dragging me or the rental owner into court to waste my time because a tenant violated city ordinance.
The city is frustrated by the lack of respect for property and neighborhood exhibited by the class of tenant that that their city attracts, and they want to blame the landlord for this condition.
Unfortunately this is gonna come with the territory Bob. You can't run a PM business as a side venture, it just ain't worth it man it's too damn savage & low margin to do as a one or two man operation. You've got to be all in & scale that sucker to at least 300+ units for it to be worth the hassle of the tenants, owners & city treating you like their personal punching bag. Many of the suburbs require a "registered agent" who lives in Cuyahoga county, this is often the PM as the owners are typically on the west coast or other high cost markets like New York or something of that nature. So this won't be the last time this happens to you. My team is in court on a monthly basis. Hell sometimes writers like to dig up these ridiculous property violation cases in an attempt to slander us. Had some goober from City Lab write an article about me where he made it look like the city of Euclid was in this major lawsuit with us. (See article here) Lol wasn't anything of the sort. I think we had to file rental registrations on like 50 or 60 Euclid houses that year & we missed one& sent it in like a week late. By the time They charged us with a misdemeanor & a $150 fine or something of that nature. This kind of crap happens all the time. Case & point you gotta go big on the payday side to make it worth your time. Otherwise you're better off just selling homes in the burbs. More money less people treating you like a friggin punching bag.
If you can't use hard data such as crime rates, income levels, homeownership rate, education level, school quality, etc. to fairly decide to what extent an area will be desirable for tenants (and therefore what its grade will be for the property owners), what data can you use then?!?! At least the pic they used for that CityLab article has a cat in it. #Caturday
@Theresa Harris I agree. When the Garfield Heights prosecutor sent me a complaint signed by a judge, I called them. The law office said, the Mayor decided to begin with the fines in October 2018.
I advised that such policies often have unforeseen consequences. In my opinion, it is a shakedown intended to get landlords to fix the cities’ problem... in addition to being a bit of a money grab.
The city says they are unable to force tenants to take in the trash bins. They assume that by fining the landlords, the landlords will lash out against their tenants, The city knows that beteeen landlord and it is a civil matter.
I was told that they are getting pushback from landlords.
This is only a criminal offense, because all housing court violations are criminal complaints.
I am told that the prosecutor will likely waive two of the offenses if I go to court. Part of my irritation is that the city has no problem dragging me or the rental owner into court to waste my time because a tenant violated city ordinance.
The city is frustrated by the lack of respect for property and neighborhood exhibited by the class of tenant that that their city attracts, and they want to blame the landlord for this condition.
Unfortunately this is gonna come with the territory Bob. You can't run a PM business as a side venture, it just ain't worth it man it's too damn savage & low margin to do as a one or two man operation. You've got to be all in & scale that sucker to at least 300+ units for it to be worth the hassle of the tenants, owners & city treating you like their personal punching bag. Many of the suburbs require a "registered agent" who lives in Cuyahoga county, this is often the PM as the owners are typically on the west coast or other high cost markets like New York or something of that nature. So this won't be the last time this happens to you. My team is in court on a monthly basis. Hell sometimes writers like to dig up these ridiculous property violation cases in an attempt to slander us. Had some goober from City Lab write an article about me where he made it look like the city of Euclid was in this major lawsuit with us. (See article here) Lol wasn't anything of the sort. I think we had to file rental registrations on like 50 or 60 Euclid houses that year & we missed one& sent it in like a week late. By the time They charged us with a misdemeanor & a $150 fine or something of that nature. This kind of crap happens all the time. Case & point you gotta go big on the payday side to make it worth your time. Otherwise you're better off just selling homes in the burbs. More money less people treating you like a friggin punching bag.
If you can't use hard data such as crime rates, income levels, homeownership rate, education level, school quality, etc. to fairly decide to what extent an area will be desirable for tenants (and therefore what its grade will be for the property owners), what data can you use then?!?! At least the pic they used for that CityLab article has a cat in it. #Caturday
Dunno man./...Lol I actually asked Brentin Mock (author of the article) a similar question. His response was something along the lines of "I don't know. I am not in the Real Estate business."
Third, this line actually cracked me up: "NO, but they continued to tax the asset and collect revenue." Isaac, I live in a house that is almost 4,000 square feet, sitting on a quarter acre, walking distance to nice bars and museums in the city of Cleveland. I'm even talking to the county land bank you're maligning about doubling the size of my lot for free through their homeowner side yard program. My property taxes this year? $642.62.
They will adjust your taxes, because you paid 130K for house valued 22K for unknown reasons.
Flipper/Rehabber · San Diego, CA · Member since 2015 · 133 posts · 63 votes
7y
Does anyone think personal liability insurance would cover this situation... a municipality passing new laws requiring landlords to completely remove lead from their properties?
Property Manager · Brecksville, OH · Member since 2014 · 486 posts · 464 votes
7y
@Ryan Zomorodi.. the plan is not to make landlords remove all lead... the plan is to make landlords hire a licensed lead specialist to certify that the property is “lead safe”. If not lead safe, then mitigate.
Liability insurance would never cover “a municipality passing new laws...”
Liability insurance might cover against harm you caused by unknowingly having an unsafe condition... but might reject the claim if it is deemed that you should have known. Perhaps an insurance expert will jump in here.
Rental Property Investor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2016 · 126 posts · 71 votes
7y
@Bob Collett Interesting post, I was in a similar situation a few weeks ago with the garbage can issue in Parma. I am out of the country at the moment, and the citation was sent to my families home, and not my PM. The duplex is currently rented and I believe the PM will collect from the tenants, hopefully.
What irks me is that the Parma maintenance dept is driving around the city looking to issue citations, and that the citations are 160 dollars! I'm all for keeping neighborhoods nice looking, but this seems a little extreme. Maybe if Parma knew how to manage their budgets better, they wouldn't have to resort to these tactics to try and raise money. Just a thought.
On a side note, this is the second time my property was issued a citation for the garbage can being left out a day after garbage day. The first time, I called my local council woman and she was a huge help in getting this resolved. There were other issues involved with the maintenance dept and my property which is why she stepped in. I was really grateful for that.
As for the lead issue, I agree with your line of thinking. No one wants a child to get lead poisoning (or anyone for that matter). I go to great lengths to keep the home in a safe, livable condition. I've spent a lot of money on upgrades that weren't necessarily needed, but the thought of someone even having a slight chance of getting injured on my property was worth doing the work. But no one is forcing someone to live in a home that has possible lead inside. When I managed the property, I always upfront and clear about the lead issue since the home was built in the 60s. There is even some paperwork we are required to hand out explaining lead issues for new tenants. For the city to say they're going to require this extreme measure will keep many investors out. Who would want to deal with this?