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[JimV]

http://www.sharonherald.com/local/local_story_006214953.html
 
Uh, earth to Councilman Heutsche...If a landlord would go so far as to abandon a property over a very modest inspection fee, then he/she already IS a "bottom feeder."

[Lifetime]

SECTION 8? Hard to locate? Try the numbered streets in Sharon, no... if you have the time and door locks that work..... try the south side of the Viaduct. I don't know if you can get an accurate count.... maybe something about it being the business of landlords. Oh.... did I forget the streets off west State Street?? LOL At one time there was a school owned by a Sharon Fireman and if I am correct...EVERY apt was Sec. 8 Qualified. You either have Section 8 Landlords who specialize in housing in less desired areas of Sharon or you have SLEAZES who specialize in multi purchases of abandoned and repairable (?) property in which they store house those who want to say below the system radar..... Drugs and illegal activities. Where you won't find much Sec. 8 is areas east of Buhl Farm and maybe North east sections.
 
Inspections.... hmmmm well your house has to be inspected before you can buy it and before it is sold. When you rent...it is suppose to meet city code and spouting CAN be a violation..... as in where it drains or if it is rusted or damaged beyond usefulness. Would you want to have a family member renting a home with an electrical or heating problem? Do you think that they may know what to look for? Or if the problem doesn't occur until the first shot of wet, cold, or windy weather?. It is a bad time to holler RENTER BEWARE...when it is winter and/or the consequence may be even worse. Like so many... I have seen the "put up or move out" given to more than a few who have rented near my home. And we won't even mention Landlords who CAN"T seem to pay sewer fees and the city needs to spend money to file legal actions.
 
I am not making excuses for Sharon.... What I see is situations long implimented that we are now paying dearly for. Anyone who knows me, knows my feeling about Absentee Landlords and Multi unit owners who take money out but put NOTHING back. My neighborhood is full of empty lots where they were.
 
So.... HAPPY NEW YEAR... we now have Home Rule and New Rules. It is called the cost of doing business. Hmmmm maybe we can get them to move into the NEW digs on Valley View when they are built... Oh wait..... Hermitage doesn't want them to live there    .... They don't want any poor people.... just ask Mrs. Madura.
 
So, what is confusing you? We are at a 40%+ rental in Sharon. On the street I live on... there may be 6 families who ACTUALLY LIVE in the home they own. Repeat that many more times here on the East Hill. If it isn't owner/occupied...it is... rental ( sec 8 90%), abandoned, empty, or either burned out or demolished. So, now you can see how that is working for Sharon.
 
 
 
 
 

Maybe I am confused...but why does the city do inspections on rentals... ...what he stated is more of a look see not an inspection anyway (not sure what Gutters have to do with renting)...which it should only take one person about 30 minutes or less...still is it not the person(s) that are looking to rent responsibility to check what they are looking to rent...Also I would like to know how many of these rentals are section eight... ...Just curious...Confused...

[NightmarePatrol]

So what happens if it doesn't pass inspection for a prospective tenent? Who pays the inspector? I sure would not want to have to pay to have an apartment inspected only to have it fail and be told that I can't live there. The tenants pretty much lose in that scenario.

[Jayhawk]

my only observations about the article: If the fee doesn't come close to the cost of administer the service, yeah, that's something worth looking into.

at the same time, the city is NOT hiring or paying employees specifically for this purpose. The code people are gone, and existing firefighters are doing the extra duty during shifts when they'd otherwise be doing nothing but waiting for fire calls.

I commend the firefighters for doing the extra work, but at the same time the city can't claim that inspections cost $26 an hour when a firefighter sitting in the fire station also costs the same $26.

[precisionpest]

NP, the reason we (hermitage) charge is #1 find out if there any potential "problems in the home or apartment. #2 since we are a written report, that is a legal document, we dot all the I's and cross the T's. that is done to protect us from being sued for any problems we may have missed. i do free inspections   for everyone, but only if you call about say carpenter ants, i go to look & give an estimate for that problem. of course i look for other potential problems as well. as a salesman i will always look for any other problem, so as to increase revenue. can all of you tell i am bored??

[NightmarePatrol]

I understand why home inspections are done. I paid to have my home inspected before I bought it. The key word is bought in that sentence. If I were renting a place I would be agitated if I had to pay to have a place inspected prior to moving in. Part of renting a place is knowing everything works and is up to code. I paid close to $300 to have my house inspected prior to purchase. If I were renting a house and had to cough up that kind of cash only to find out it didn't pass I would not be happy. Let's say a house didn't pass. Would I be required to forward the results to the property owner? Why should I because they would have a paid-for fix-it list at my expense.

That being said, are the part time firefighters being used actually certified to perform a home inspection?  What kind of inspection are they actually performing? They can look for leaky pipes, etc, but I doubt they will be taking out the IR thermometer and checking the output temperatures of my ducts. So I would guess they are performing a safety inspection with a few extra items on the side. If this becomes a concrete mandate then an ambitious person could probably do rather well for themself contracting for the city if they stated their case properly.

[Lifetime]

Well methinks you should make a call....
 
1) If your gutters are not serviceable...it is a code violation...How do I know this... I was cited for holes rusted in the rim of my old Galvanized spouting and HAD to have it repaired or replaced...and I have lived in this home since 1971 and this occurred in the 90s
 
2) If your gutters drain OVER the ground and not under the walk to the street.... it is a code violation.... How do I know this... My other house ( I do not rent it, kind of a spare storage building ) had one downspout that drained on a cement block to divert the water into MY yard. I got cited and redirected it to the street under my walk. Look.... I have lived in this neighborhood for over 60 years.... grew up at the other house..a stones throw from where I live now.
 
Blame? ? No ...it is history as to why Sharon is now looking for it's pennies.
 
Maybe you can set the inspection fee to this...if it passes... charge the renter....if it fails, charge the landlord and disallow rental of the property until it is fixed. When you buy a car here in PA, you at least expect it to pass the annual vehicle/emmission inspection and I would hope the same would go for any rental you contract.
 
Maybe being a Certified Home Inspector is a qualification but.... we have homes here that keep the homes warm.... in summer... and dry when the sun is up.... And the breakers are OK until you plug your frig, TV, and micro in. Again.... we have scumlords who could care less if you complain to them.... your choice is given..... "Move then". There is always a transient willing to refill the house. Some of the Landlords wouldn't even care if some never pay their share of Sec 8 rent...the State slides a check into the Scumlord's bank account same time, every month that the house is occupied.
 
Plus...I can picture the havoc created if EVERY renter of these units took the time to report this to the city... How do I know.... I have talked to 3 families renting the same home near me who found that the second floor( where the children slept) seemed to get NO or LITTLE heat in the winter. I asked them to contact the city and they wouldn't,, even when they move they wouldn't.."not their problem anymore" and BOOM...another family moves in, in a few days with kids. If they all filed a complaint, I doubt that Sharon could investigate them all, let alone do anything. We are also straddled by bad laws. The city can't touch many of these abandoned properties to do much more than legally tear the structures down at the cities expence. They are handtied with the inability to actually sell these lots because of Bankruptcy/Lawsuits that prevent the city from even collecting taxes on it. My history on this aspect has been many years of inquirey and stone walls. (won't go into that here).
 
You can say what you want .... fact is.... you left Sharon and live elsewhere. Maybe you have gotten to the point in your life that actually LIVING in Sharon is but a bitter, faded memory. I , on the other hand have lived here all my life, went to school, raised a family, worked and retired here. My family .... meaning my parents had lived here since the 30's.... remembering my father donating a portion of his paycheck to Buhl Hospital in order to be able to keep it in our community. My family is invested in this city. I see what I see and am not running on tangents. This all has to do with the livability of Sharon ..Home inspection, too many scumlords and drugs/crimes and anything else detrimental.. big and small.
 
You are right though.... if anyone thinks this stays in Sharon and won't spread....  to a neighborhood near you ( Mrs. Madura) methinks you are a fool. Our problem is, we don't seem to realize that we are ALL..Sharon, Farrell, Hermitage,  Sharpsville, South Py, Wheatland, West Middlesex, Patagonia ...in the same boat and if just one part of it has holes in the hull...we ALL sink. We can't/refuse to consolidate..... anything.... schools/admin, Safety Forces/Admin, hell even some municipal Admin...from Tax offices to Grant writers. We have allowed ourselves to get a small share of funds that are first given to the Youngstown/Cleveland area first and we get treated, in the Shenango Valley, like we are the crazy uncle in the basement and get a bone thrown to us AFTER those other communities get their share. So.... our OWN Communities can't get their crap together and we also get put down by a region not even in our own state... Bitter... no...it is always a choice....Preception or Reality.
 

Lifetime...I could not find any code or law that requires and house/home to have gutters... ...now there may be a local code that requires gutters but I have never heard of one...

[precisionpest]

i can see everyones point. my biggest far is that they pass this law without the "fine print". say i pass a home inspection, yeah!! 6 months down the road, i keep popping the breaker on my microwave cause i am cooking a potato(?), 3-4 x's then the  wiring gets hot, starts a fire, & i lose everything, i dont have insurance & lose everything, i would sue the city for passing my inspection! the lagal question is where they had better have their ducks in a row so to speak. say they lose one of these suits a year, i lose all my family heirlooms, never to be replaced. how much can asuit like that cost? even low at $1000000 per year(ass the slumlord would want to get in on ANY cash out). can they afford this?? better get the legal jargon into the inspection report! attached is the legal form i use & we still get sued over it! i myself have never been sued in 18yrs!!

[precisionpest]

forgot how to upload  it, i will try. got it!

[IC2ITUC]

(ass the slumlord would want to get in on ANY cash out)   Is that the slumlord"s name?           Take care Pest and keep healing up!

[precisionpest]

you know these drugs are playing hell with hand/eye cdoordination!!!!(see what i mean!?). LOL!

[Jayhawk]

OK...Why not let the renter pay for the inspection...

Why not?  Because it makes no sense. When you're BUYING a house, it's good protection for the buyer.

But renting?

"Hi, i'd like to rent your apartment. "

"Sure. That'll be $xxx up front for the deposit, and you'll have to pay the city $xx to see if it's livable. If it isn't, you won't want the place, i'll have no incentive to fix it, and you'll be out the inspection fee (and might end up waiting for and paying paying for several more as you hunt for an apartment)."

[CindyLouWho]

I would never rent a place I had to have inspected.  It should be the landlords job to make sure it is livable.  Period.

[Lifetime]

Again folks.... unless I am buying the car from a private owner... I kinda get my "guarantees" up front/on paper ...before my cash leaves my stash. So this might not need the most thorough of an inspection. I put my money on a PA inspection and from whom it was inspected... part of the deal from any lot. So..in that sense a home can be risky but.... even as an electrical problem in a car can be in the furthest, hardest spot on a car... so can the house and in a much more disastrous manner at times. I think the smell of burning flesh has something to do with it. All we can expect is a walk through and code check to look at a potential fault.  But..if the owner is snagged with the fee...he/she can slid it into any price structure he/she has. Same thing with the Sewer Fees. So.... in essence.... the conversation is moot if they are smart enough to do that. Overhead has always been a part of the price.
 
People can be warned about many things but at 50% ...maybe we need Pre Marital Inspectors too. So... it is still a basic "Caveat Emptor" or "Caveat Venditor". Dissatisfaction can bring about payback and it works both ways.
 
If you do get caught in a bad house or apt. it is your right to hold the rent in escrow until the problem is corrected. But 2 things... have proof of the problem as well as proof the money is being held in an account. Ya just can't say it is.    This is why Small Claims is so interesting.
 
I don't know if Sec. 8 requires the Home Owner to pay for the inspection, but if it didn't, at least the owner is guaranteed a check should they allow the people in the structure. I sense there would be a problem if you required already money strapped families to pay out any additional fees.
 
We have Sec 8 housing in my area that goes for $450+ and the weird thing.... the house originally cost say 10K and maybe 2K worth of repair and paint. How long before it pays for itself as well as upkeep and taxes? 2 years of continuous occupancy? And it is these homes here that kinda get abandoned after 4 or 5 years and if burned... left to rot or untill the city forks over the thousands to have a safety hazard removed. Yes, there are GOOD landlords but... if bad ones buy say 10 properties in an area and then lets them go.... guess what gets the front page above the fold... yup... NOT the good landlords.
 
I think Sharon has a set up or are working on it... Rental properties have to be insured, and as such... before any monies go to the owner, it has to make whole any fees due the city FIRST. That would be for anything from safety violations corrected by the city to actual demolition of an owned hulk. I am sure there are some checks and balances in the proposal.
 
Please be assured.... I hate Bad Landlords. I have only rented twice in my life and I was a single soldier. I have seen what bad housing can do to a family...to include children with rat bites.... no...not in New York City but in.... Hawaii. Ahhh Paradise LOL.
 
My point is...don't start a business to make money unless YOU mave a modicum of honesty in you. 
 
 

[Lifetime]

   You scare me....
 
 

Again folks.... unless I am buying the car from a private owner... I kinda get my "guarantees" up front/on paper ...before my cash leaves my stash. So this might not need the most thorough of an inspection. I put my money on a PA inspection and from whom it was inspected... part of the deal from any lot.

 
OK I do not know of any other state that requires a car inspection except for Emissions then PA...but there may be some out there...What guarantees do you get on paper... ...you may get a warrenty and who do you think pays for that...have you ever tried to take a car dealer to small claims court before...I have sold automobiles at Mercer and Butler auto actions and also the auto action down in Mars many many years ago...believe me check out the automobile no matter who you purchase it from... ...
 

People can be warned about many things but at 50% ...maybe we need Pre Marital Inspectors too.

 
Again you come up with another great Idea...
 

If you do get caught in a bad house or apt. it is your right to hold the rent in escrow until the problem is corrected. But 2 things... have proof of the problem as well as proof the money is being held in an account. Ya just can't say it is.    This is why Small Claims is so interesting.

 
Your are right again...but I would suggest to get Legal advice and Legal backing before you try this...We used to rent for many years at different places and have had to get legal advice against the one owner...you would not believe how much rights you have as a renter...but small claims court is not like you see it on TV...
 

I think Sharon has a set up or are working on it... Rental properties have to be insured, and as such... before any monies go to the owner, it has to make whole any fees due the city FIRST. That would be for anything from safety violations corrected by the city to actual demolition of an owned hulk. I am sure there are some checks and balances in the proposal.

 
This is Great...a long time coming... ...
 
We all can agree that something needs to be done...but the landlords are not going to run...leave...over a few dollars...and the bottom line...most are not that stupid and they will get their fees back in the rent... ...
 
I may have been wrong stating that the renter should pay for an Look See...but it was more of a question not a statement...like why not or maybe...so that the city of Sharon did not have this burden...but I still think that everyone should Educate theirself or take someone with them that has some knowledge when they are trying to rent a house or buying a house...it is not hard to find things out today...we all know that Al Gore invented the internet... ...so it is alot easier to educated yourself these days...
...
 
 

My point is...don't start a business to make money unless YOU mave a modicum of honesty in you.

 
Luv That... ...wish it was always that way...but in a way larger amount... ...