For better than two decades, one of the most significant and unpredictable factors influencing the bottom line of multifamily housing properties has been rising utility costs. This doesn't cause quite as much heartburn for property owners who have wisely passed such utilities through to the residents to pay in addition to their rent. However, for the overwhelming majority of properties, particularly those which were developed prior to the 90's, the rent charged typically includes any combination of utilities including water, sewer, garbage, and to a lesser percentage electricity, natural gas, cable television/satellite, and internet services.

A tenant's son has a conviction for sex abuse and is still on parole. He was living with his father in the community until neighbors found out about his conviction and began complaining about his presence because this is a family park with many children. We informed the son's father that he would have to leave due to his conviction. He did leave but now he is doing odd jobs here in the park. He also comes into the park to visit his family. We are getting resident complaints because people are still concerned for their children. Is there anything I can do as a manager to keep this man out of our community?

Question: I have a resident with a "Social Anxiety Disorder." He is not able to attend resident association meetings because of his disorder, and has requested that management not attend, so that he could attend. On two separate occasions the residents have voted unanimously that they wish us to be there. This was done outside of our presence, so we feel the vote was fair and impartial.

Now the resident has created a Facebook page, telling other residents they can submit things to him via email and he will post them anonymously. He wants to ask us about our maintenance agenda and other business/management issues.

I have distributed a letter to him and the rest of the residents stating that we will not respond to posts on that page, since not everyone has a computer to access it. Now he is claiming that his disorder is a "disability" under the Fair Housing Act, and is demanding that we make a "reasonable accommodation" for him by answering his Facebook questions. He has given us a deadline to respond. What should we do?

Question: We have RV spaces at the front of our mobile home park on a well-traveled highway near the coast. We have been renting only to long-term RV'ers, but want to expand our business opportunities to include overnighters. Is that permissible and how do we do that?

Question: We have various screening criteria, but they change from time to time -- usually after we run up against a problem we haven't seen before. Is it OK to change our criteria, and if so, how do we do it?

Question: I understand that Oregon law governs late fees. Can you summarize it for us?

Question: I have two questions regarding submetering. When a community completes the submetering and the tenant is paying back the community for the meter and cost of installation, who owns and maintains the meters from that point on? The second question is that we have a community that was metered when it was built but the community is on a master meter and paying for water and sewer. The community wants to give the notices to the tenants regarding submtetering but keep the current meters and not charge the tenants at this time for the cost of metering. If the community chooses to upgrade the meters at a later date, can we then pass the cost on to the tenant?

So before I give you another accounting rule we are enforcing, let me say the goal is to protect your investment! We live in a very litigious society and need to be aware of potential risks and ways to protect our assets. Commonwealth employees are insured through workers' compensation policies and also provided regular training regarding workplace safety. Another area we are striving to improve risk management and compliance is in the area of hiring contractors. When a contractor is hired, the onsite manager must obtain verification that the contractor is licensed, bonded, and insured. In addition, a Form W-9 must be provided for purposes of reporting non-employee compensation on a Form 1099-Misc at the end of the year.

Our RV park has had problems with theft and the occasional physical confrontation between tenants and/or tenant's guests. Under Oregon law, what minimum level of security do we owe to our RV tenants? Do we need to hire a security guard?

A well management community is essential to making life easier and more pleasant for management and residents.  Here are 10 mistakes to avoid in the management of your community.  Remember - a well managed community - good property management - results in happier residents, pride in the community, encourages resident referrals and discourages the need or desire for additional landlord-tenant legislation.

So - here are ten mistakes to avoid: