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HRA Meeting Minutes – Tuesday, November 20, 2012 Page 7 are not in your units, you couldn’t know what was going on, and small prob lems could become big. 1 Mr. Brohman opined that requirements for a report of unit inspections was a good idea; as it was 2 possible for things to get out of hand depending on how much cash flow was available. Mr. Brohman 3 encouraged working together with lan dlords/owners to provide assistance in repairing or rehabilitating 4 buildings. While recognizing that a few landlords may be simply milking properties, Mr. Brohman 5 suggested that they may started out with good intentions, and usually their reason for not p rotecting 6 their investment may be directly tied to a lack or limited cash flow. 7 8 Chair Maschka asked Mr. Brohman for suggestions on training assistance by the City for first -time 9 multi -family building owners or managers. 10 11 Mr. Brohman opined that the best r esource for that training from various perspectives would be found 12 through the Minnesota Multi -family Housing Association, noting that Ms. Peilen was present at 13 tonight’s meeting. Mr. Brohman noted his involvement with the Association and their assistance and 14 training, as well as for those first -time investors in rental housing and how to get started. Mr. Brohman 15 noted that first timers quickly found out it wasn’t easy, and while multi -family housing was a great idea 16 and some owners in the market continue d to do well, they were probably those involved in such an 17 association. Mr. Brohman suggested that through opportunities such as this listening session, and 18 through working closely with such associations would be a good route for the HRA. 19 20 Chair Maschka o pined that bringing the expertise of those various associations made sense. 21 22 Mr. Brohman noted that, if you didn’t get a good return on your investment, it made it difficult to put 23 more money back into the property, and the housing stock then continued to deteriorate. Mr. Brohman 24 reiterated the need for the HRA to help landlords work through that process. Mr. Brohman advised 25 that, to -date, Roseville had been very good to work with, and he had been managing properties in the 26 community since 1985. 27 28 Chair Ma schka questioned if it would be of any help for landlords to have a written statement from the 29 City saying they had been inspected and approved, or if that helped them in leasing situations; and 30 whether the HRA could be of any advantage to them from that p erspective. 31 32 Mr. Brohman responded that it might prove of benefit; however, suggested that Mr. Peilen could speak 33 to that better than him. Mr. Brohman advised that, as a personal practice, he made sure every unit when 34 turning over had been painted and re furbished as needed; and he felt strongly that if he wouldn’t want 35 to live in a unit, no one else should be expected to rent it. 36 37 Chair Maschka thanked Mr. Brohman for his helpful input; and in response, Mr. Brohman offered his 38 assistance – as well as that of his peers – as requested by the HRA. 39 40 Chair Maschka noted that it was the City’s interest in providing good, livable housing; and this process 41 was to determine how best to get there. 42 Mr. Brohman noted that, in his work with the Metropolitan Council, th is was a goal shared by 43 everyone: affordable housing. Mr. Brohman opined that, overall, Roseville had good rental housing 44 stock. 45 46 Brian J ones, R ental P roper O wner in Roseville; Member of MN Multi -Family Housing 47 Association 48 Mr. Jones advised that his situa tion was unique, as an owner of forty (40) townhome units on the west 49 side of Roseville, adjacent to the Village of St. Anthony. In reviewing the CURA report, Mr. Jones 50 expressed his concern, as well as many of those owners attending tonight, in potential licensing fees. 51 Mr. Jones stated that, as good property owners, they were not concerned about inspections, since they 52 felt their properties were solid with good management, it didn’t really matter, and any violations found 53 would most likely be minor in n ature, or no violations would be found at all. 54 55