All Forum Posts by: Rob Beeman

Motive of the Post......just to educate those who are not aware of the law, that the law exists. We are continually surprised to discover that there are many investors, property managers & contractors that have yet to even hear of the law. Obviously it does not apply to everyone, but for those who it does apply to, they should at least be made aware of it.

As for our site, we DO NOT SELL SUPPLIES, we are an accredited RRP Training Provider. Hope that helps.

I agree, an excellent product for quick testing, however lately we have noticed about 20% of the container to be defective. Guess QC isn't what it used to be.

Mitch, perhaps looking at the FAQ's from the EPA's website might be of help. (Best to get it from the horse's mouth). Here is a link to their FAQ's: http://epa.gov/lead/pubs/rrp-faq.pdf

As an Accredited EPA RRP Training Provider, we receive updates from the EPA on the ruling. I believe the most recent fines were issued in Maine, somewhere around the $150k range. Also have info on this one:
Enforcement Action

Window World of St. Louis, Inc. has agreed to pay $39,577 in fines & replacement penalties. A $19,529 EPA fine, plus $20,048 to cover the cost of replacing the old windows with lead.

Locally, we were told last week about a pending matter for exterior paint removal without proper certification or safety measures.

Here is the link for the EPA published guide explaining the rule: http://epa.gov/lead/pubs/sbcomplianceguide.pdf

Our understanding is that the EPA has spent the last year just catching up, and we are scheduled to be at a conference where the EPA will outline their plans to enforce compliance & educate the consumer to more adequately ensure compliance. According to them, they intend to make certain that the law is complied with, or penalties will apply.

Hey Curtis, the link to the Small Entity Compliance Guide is a nice touch.

The EPA is trying to educate the public about the new law (both those who need to comply & the consumer). So hopefully awareness to the law & safe practices will lower the risk of affects from non-compliance.

We typically do what we call "Value on a Napkin". We take the Monthly Gross Rent x 70% (allowing 30% for expenses & vacancy credit)= Monthly Net Income (before debt service) x 12 (months)x 10 (assuming a 10% cap rate)= approx. value. Example: Gross Monthly Rents of $3,600 x 70% = $2,520 x 12 = $30,240 x 10 = $302, 400 Approx Value.

The example was a real life property for us. We used the formula when buying to help guesstimate value, and we had it professionally appraised by a commercial appraiser, and the value came in at $300,000.

It seems to work for us, hope it helps you.

According to the EPA (the agency that enforces the new RRP Lead Safe Law), any Firm or Individual who disturbs 6 Square Feet of interior space of a property built before 1978 for PAY, must be trained & certified.

By the way, they define rents and profits as PAY. So, if you do your own repairs & maintenance, or hire Day Labor to get them done, then you must be certified. The penalty for non-compliance:
$37,500 Civil Fine per day
POTENTIAL $37,500 Criminal Fine per day
POTENTIAL Jail Time
POTENTIAL Civil Law Suit from tenants or neighbors
Our last class was 50% landlords covering their butts & protecting their business, as well as complying with the law. Mostly because they have begun to realize that the fines have started to be issued.

If you have doubts, visit www.epa/gov/lead , they have a VERY LONG list of FAQ's at the site. You can also visit [LINK REMOVED]

Just an FYI to those investors that either hire contractors for the repairs, renovations, painting, etc. OR Do It Themselves - the Federal RRP Lead Safe Certification Law that was passed a little over a year ago, is now strongly being enforced by the EPA. It is wise for investors & contractors of every type to educate themselves as to whether they need certification before the visit or call from the EPA. If in doubt, you can check out www.epa.gov or [LINK REMOVED] .

I was trained & certified last year, then went through the rigorous task of becoming accredited from the EPA to offer the training & certification. We are offering the classes in PA, NJ & DE.

Many contractors & investors have questions about the law, so here is the EPA FAQ's website link:http://epa.gov/lead/pubs/rrp-faq.pdf . There are a zillion questions, however some of the most interesting ones are how the EPA defines being PAID. They define PAID as also collection of rents & profits, when it come to real estate investors. Check out the link for questions that may apply to you.

There are without question some who disagree with the law, just as there are some who have received lead poisoning and applaud the law & safe practices as a result. Bottom line - it is a law, and just like any other law, it carries penalties to those who discard or break it. I can think of some laws in several industries that I do not like, or agree with, but I respect them & conform to them because I dislike the penalty fees even more.