I owner occupy a duplex in Kamm's Corner. My certification is due this quarter. The house is in good shape with various updates so I'm not too worried about it, but curious if anyone else has gone through the process yet and if there were any surprising headaches?
My PM agency is also charging $450 for this. Anyone here with a better idea ? Thanks
This is what everyone charges. I paid $450/unit directly to the lead inspection company. FYI, each landlord is eligible for $500/unit reimbursement from the Lead Safe Resource Center up to 3 units per landlord. Here's the text from the email I got from the LSRC...
Environmental Health Watch Incentive Program
What is the incentive? The incentive is a reimbursement of $500 per certification for potential costs associated with achieving a Lead Safe Certification.
How do I receive the incentive? A landlord must receive a Lead Safe Certification from the City of Cleveland Building & Housing and submit the certification letter to the Lead Safe Resource Center via, to tracie dot washington at ehw dotorg
How long does the process take? Upon verification of the Lead Safe Certification letter, the incentive should be processed and available within ten weeks.
Are the incentives unlimited? The incentives are divided over the entire city of Cleveland and are available for up to three units at $500 each per landlord.
I have had 4 single families lead certified and paid $315 each with a multi property discount. All passed without any major issue. Note that all have vinyl replacement windows and doors & I made sure there was no peeling paint anywhere prior to the testing. I also cleaned all the windows and doors just before tester came to property. That required some effort ( did it myself). I actually wound up taking care of a bunch of other minor things while preparing the property for lead testing (e g junk removal) so it turned into an opportunity to take care of punch-list items I’d been putting off.
Overall the process was much easier than I expected.
@Dave Stokley do you know anyone who has applied for and received the $500 incentive in the last 6 months or so? I had heard about that in an investor group meeting last year in the Spring but understood that there were limited funds available which were almost gone (expected to be used before the first set of zip code deadlines)
I have had 4 single families lead certified and paid $315 each with a multi property discount. All passed without any major issue. Note that all have vinyl replacement windows and doors & I made sure there was no peeling paint anywhere prior to the testing. I also cleaned all the windows and doors just before tester came to property. That required some effort ( did it myself). I actually wound up taking care of a bunch of other minor things while preparing the property for lead testing (e g junk removal) so it turned into an opportunity to take care of punch-list items I’d been putting off.
Overall the process was much easier than I expected.
@Dave Stokley do you know anyone who has applied for and received the $500 incentive in the last 6 months or so? I had heard about that in an investor group meeting last year in the Spring but understood that there were limited funds available which were almost gone (expected to be used before the first set of zip code deadlines)
I do not. I sent in my paperwork about 3 weeks ago and haven't heard back (instructions say it could take 10 weeks). My understanding is that there is significant support from the non-profit community for the lead-safe effort, so I'd be surprised if what you said was true. Sounds more like worry-wart landlords to me. And if they were truly worried, there's nothing that says you can't have the certification done BEFORE your due date. So if someone is worried about $ running out just get it done now and get the reimbursement.
If anyone has more questions about this they should really contact the Lead Safe Resource Center https://leadsafecle.org/
I own one SFH in 44135. My property manager just provided an estimate for repairs necessary to make it "lead safe". The estimate came in at ~7k. I called the lead safe coalition (833-601-5323) to find out about financial assistance and they are going to send me some information.
Not happy about this. It is unlikely I will ever invest in the Cleveland market again. This one of many reasons why real estate is so cheap in Cleveland. There are better cash flow markets that are more landlord friendly. Invest your dollars there.
Where are your preferred cash flow markets? Looking to diversify out of Cleveland.