Woodstock Properties

The right choice when you need a professional to buy, sell, rent or manage your home.

Spring 2012

Linda C. "Dusty" Woodstock
Realtor®
CRB, CRS, GRI, RMP®

Address
98-211 Pali Momi Street.
Suite 430
Aiea, Hawaii 96701

Phone
(808) 488-1588

Email
Claudia@WoodstockHawaii.com

Website
www.WoodstockHawaii.com

Announcements
  • Stan Radlo, who has been with Woodstock Properties, Inc. as an agent and a property manager since December 29, 1994 has retired. He entered the real estate profession on August 31, 1982, which is close to a 30 year career.
  • Now that tax time is upon us, don't forget that your End of Year Statement for 2011 was uploaded to your online statement account in January of 2012. This statement reflects every posting to your ledger and will be very helpful to you and/or your accountant when preparing your 2011 income tax returns.
Our Team

Brett Schenk, REALTOR®
BIC, CRS, GRI, GREEN
Licensed Hawaii Real Estate Broker
Property Manager
BrettShenk@Hawaii.rr.com

Scher Webb, RA
Hawaii State Licensed Realtor
Property Manager
Scher@Hawaii.rr.com

Nani Wisenberg, RA
Hawaii State Licensed Realtor
Office Manager
Nani@WoodstockHawaii.com

Jason Bostick, RA
Hawaii State Licensed Realtor
Director of Maintenance & Repairs
Jason@WoodstockHawaii.com

Stephen Lankford, RA
Hawaii State Licensed Realtor
Rental Agent & Project Manager
Stephen@WoodstockHawaii.com

Claudia Host, RA
Hawaii State Licensed Realtor
Rental Agent & Special Project Coordinator
Claudia@WoodstockHawaii.com

Rob Host
Bookkeeper
Rob@WoodstockHawaii.com

Don't Forget

Check Your Insurance: Events can happen - flood, extreme heat, hurricanes, fire, and more! It is important to check your insurance to obtain the best coverage possible and ensure that it is current. Review now with your insurance agent before a disaster/emergency occurs.

If An Emergency Occurs: Our first priority during any emergency is to handle the situation, taking any necessary measures for the safety of your property and your tenants. Then, we will contact you as soon as we are able.


Aloha oukou (aloha to all of you)

We have always valued our customers, both our investment property owners and our loyal tenants. However, we have a special, longstanding relationship and a fiduciary responsibility to our owners for whom we manage properties. In our quest to improve the services we provide, Woodstock Properties, Inc. will be sending out a short survey. Why do we want to survey our owners? Quite simply because YOU are the driving force that fuels Woodstock Properties, Inc. and we want to be the best that we can be.

We will be soliciting your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to receiving your feedback as to how we are doing. How we might enhance or improve our services. Or, perhaps you have ideas about additional services you would like to see us offer. Some of our owners plan to move back into their tropical vacation home. Others plan to ultimately sell their investment. Still others are taking this opportunity of low mortgage rates and increased growth in the Asia/Pacific basin to grow their portfolio. Notwithstanding if your individual goals vary, we want to know how we can better serve you - each of you.

Allow us to take this opportunity to thank you for your patronage and support, for your referrals and for taking a little bit of your time to respond to the survey we will be sending out shortly. Mahalo!


Fair Housing and the Rental Process

It is crucial, when renting a property, that property managers and owners avoid discrimination. There are many pitfalls, and it requires good policies, procedures, and practices, to prevent unwanted Fair Housing complaints.

Fair Housing actually began in the United States in 1776, with the Declaration of Independence, which states, "all men are created equal." Unfortunately, despite this solid foundation, discrimination existed, and, subsequently, it led to the enactment of many federal laws that directly affect rental housing. Some of these are the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, and the 1990 American with Disabilities Act.

Based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or handicap, a landlord cannot:

  • Refuse to rent
  • Refuse to negotiate for housing
  • Make housing unavailable
  • Falsely deny a dwelling is available
  • Set different terms, conditions, or privileges in the rental of the dwelling
  • Refuse to rent to disabled persons
  • Refuse to rent to disabled persons with assistance animals

It is also illegal to:

  • Threaten, coerce, intimidate or interfere with anyone exercising a fair housing right or assisting others who exercise such rights
  • Advertise, or make any statement indicating a limitation, or preference, based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or handicap

There are some states with additional Fair housing laws. An example of this is the Unruh and Rumford Acts in California that also prohibits discrimination based on a person's marital status, age, or sexual orientation.

It may first appear that property managers and owners may be required to rent anyone, but the law really does not convey this meaning. Landlords can select tenants using criteria based on consistent reasons, such a requiring good credit, minimum income, and good rental references from previous property managers and owners. The key is that these standards must apply equally to all applicants and tenants.

How does our company avoid discrimination when renting your property? We take many steps to handle this important issue and protect your investment.

  • First, our advertising does not make any statement that indicates a preference, based on the group characteristics previously mentioned under paragraph three. For example, our rental ads do not contain certain wording such as "executive," indicating that only people of a higher income are allowed to apply. There are many similar words. The general rule is, "describe the property, not the person."
  • Next, property showings are available to all interested parties. We do answer questions, when prospective tenants call regarding our vacancies. The answers could discourage them from wanting to see the property. However, the answers derive from the business requirements previously listed, the size of the property, the location, the list of amenities, or other non-discriminatory issues. The caller makes the determination and decision on whether they want to see the property, based on their individual needs.
  • Offering different terms and conditions to different parties is one of the major offenses many landlords commit. Our company communicates the same terms and conditions, for renting the property, to all prospective applicants. If the terms change - everyone receives the same information.
  • The rental application supports Fair Housing, and we issue the same documents and requirements to all prospective tenants. Upon receipt of each application, the processing procedure is the same for everyone. Acceptance or denial, once again, is the result of valid business requirements.

It is not always an easy task to avoid discrimination. The majority of today's tenants are aware of the Fair Housing laws and the procedures to file complaints. There are many organizations available to assist them. However, we work diligently to avoid unfair practices, and to prevent unwanted lawsuits or claims.

The real estate industry recognizes April as Fair Housing Month. This promotes professional articles and seminars to assist property managers and sales agents with their education on Fair Housing. At all times, our company policy is "Every month is Fair Housing Month."

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The material provided in this newsletter is for informational and educational purposes only. It is NOT legal advice.
Although we believe this material is accurate, we cannot guarantee that it is 100% without errors.

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