Mortgage - Home Loan, Commercial Loan

By Ben Steverman

For the crippled mortgage industry, the bad news won’t stop.

In August, mortgage lenders announced 30,892 job cuts, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas (Challenger, Gray & Christmas), a firm that tracks layoff announcements. Speaking of the mortgage-fueled layoffs in the broader financial services industry, the firm’s CEO, John Challenger, says, “We have not seen such a rapid descent since the airlines shed thousands of workers” in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In September, the layoffs haven’t slowed. A selection: Eight hundred more layoffs at National City Corp. (NYSE:NCC - News), a Cleveland-based bank that cut 500 employees last month at its mortgage business. H&R Block (NYSE:HRD - News) will cut 575 more workers at its Option One Mortgage unit. Lehman Brothers (NYSE:LEH - News) will fire 850 workers, many at its Aurora Loan Services unit. IndyMac Bancorp (NYSE:IMB - News) plans to cut 1,000 jobs, or 10% of its workforce.

Finally, Countrywide Financial Corp. (NYSE:CFC - News), the nation’s largest mortgage lender, plans to eliminate 10,000 to 12,000 workers, or about 20% of its headcount.

Yes, there are a few signs of hope for the industry. Many of the bigger mortgage companies have stabilized their financial positions as some of the weakest and riskiest players have gone under. A few of the big players have even hired up their defunct rivals’ former employees. And, yes, an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve, expected Sept. 18, might help somewhat.

But other news isn’t pretty: On Sept. 13, Countrywide announced that its average daily application volume fell 12% in August, compared to both the previous month and a year ago. Total mortgage funding fell 17% from a year ago.

So what’s reason for the layoffs and the drop in mortgage activity?

Major mortgage players have retreated from a large area of the market. Nontraditional loans, such as large “jumbo” mortgages or subprime loans to buyers with poor credit scores, have slowed way down.

If you are a traditional buyer, with good income and credit, “you will have no trouble getting a loan,” says Jay Brinkmann, vice president for research and economics at the Mortgage Bankers Association Mortgage Bankers Association. In fact, interest rates on traditional fixed rate mortgages have actually fallen.

There’s no problem here because federally chartered Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM - News) and Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE - News), using strict credit criteria, continue buying up those loans and re-selling them to investors.

However, investors refuse to buy riskier loans. So, lenders have had nowhere to unload subprime, jumbo, and other nontraditional mortgages. There’s no sign that’s easing, as secondary markets for riskier assets have been frozen since the middle of the summer.

So, Countrywide and other lenders have stopped originating many nontraditional loans. That’s the main factor in the decline in Countrywide’s mortgage activity, says Erin Swanson, an equities analyst at Morningstar (NasdaqGS:MORN - News). “It’s a shift in focus,” she says, accompanied by a tightening of lending standards. In August, 2006, 53% of Countrywide’s loans were traditional fixed rate mortgages; one year later, 75% were fixed rate.

“Those (nontraditional) loans are being made, but at a much higher costs,” says Nancy Vanden Houten, an economist at Stone & McCarthy Research Associates (Stone & McCarthy Research Associates).

A Federal Reserve cut in interest rates might help a bit, by lowering borrowing costs for homebuyers overall. But don’t it expect to help riskier homebuyers re-enter the market or refinance. There is just too much worry by lenders and debt investors about credit quality.

“I don’t feel that there is a quick fix for this problem,” Vanden Houten says. “It’s going to take quite some time for it to resolve itself.”

The Mortgage Bankers Assn. expects mortgage originations to fall from $2.8 trillion in 2006 to $2.4 trillion this year. Next year, the slide should continue, to $2 trillion. Along with worries about credit risk and the freezing up of the credit markets, the mortgage industry is dealing with the oversupply of homes in many markets, Brinkmann says.

Problems of the housing market and the mortgage market actually can feed on themselves, analysts say. That could continue until either housing prices or interest rates get so low that many new buyers and borrowers are lured back into the market.

The one bright spot for the mortgage industry may be mortgages to non-residential buyers. Countrywide said commercial real estate funding volume was $757 million in August, up from just $273 million a year ago. “Commercial real estate has isolated itself from problems in the residential real estate market,” Swanson says.

By Nelson Lampe, Associated Press

LINCOLN, Neb. — The state of Nebraska has sued Advantage Mortgage Service, intending to revoke its license for what the state says were predatory lending practices.

On its website, the mortgage broker says it serves customers in Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, South Dakota, Minnesota and Florida and has offices in Omaha and Lincoln in Nebraska and in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

A news release from the state Attorney General’s Office and Department of Banking and Finance said the actions were being taken against Advantage Mortgage Service and its owners.

Advantage Mortgage says it offers loans “for home purchases, refinancing, home equity allocation, debt consolidation and much more.”

State investigators say Advantage Mortgage falsified closing documents, forged borrowers’ signatures and charged borrowers hidden and excessive fees.

Bob Goldberg, president of the company, said he had not reviewed the state’s allegations with his lawyer, so he wouldn’t comment on them Friday. He did say, however, that “there’s two sides to every story.”

In the lawsuit filed in Lancaster County District Court, the state also said:

• Advantage Mortgage loan officers falsely represented costs and other information about refinancing mortgages and Advantage didn’t disclose some of that information to customers before it refinanced their loans.

• The company used a deceptive promotional spreadsheet to convince customers that they would save money with Advantage. Instead, borrowers paid higher interest rates and as much or more each month to reduce their debt.

• The company knowingly hired a loan officer who had been convicted of felony financial crimes.

• That officer arranged more than $11 million in mortgage loans between January 2004 and January 2006 and the company “unjustly profited” from the loan officer’s “fraudulent behavior.”

• That loan officer was believed to have forged a customer’s signature on a check and deposited the money in his own account.

• The company’s various actions violated Nebraska’s Mortgage Bankers Registration and Licensing Act, the Consumer Protection Act and the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

The lawsuit seeks to stop what the state alleges are Advantage Mortgage’s deceptive practices and have the company make restitution to consumers who were treated unfairly.

Under state law, the company faces fines of $2,000 per violation — more if any damages are assessed.

Advantage says it was formed in Council Bluffs in 1994 and expanded into Omaha in 1996.

The website also says Advantage has more than 30 employees and originates more than $100 million in loans annually.

THE nation’s lenders continue to adjust interest rates on higher risk products in response to the global credit crunch, but mainstream banks have so far avoided any hike in their variable home loan rates.

This is despite warnings from three of the Big Four bank chief executives that profit margins are under pressure due to increased funding costs.

Rate City chairman Andrew Willink said yesterday that banks would “think twice” before lifting their standard variable rates outside any Reserve Bank tightening of the official cash rate.

“The banks will suffer a margin squeeze, but I believe they will fund that internally and will not change their variable rates,” he said.

The situation was different with riskier products like credit cards, personal loans and margin lending.

The majors had already made adjustments on these products, often citing the need to catch up with previous RBA rises that had not been passed on to customers for competitive reasons.

Mr Willink said a further test would emerge towards the end of this month, when a lot of securitised mortgage paper was due to be rolled over.

He predicted that mortgage originators would feel “a lot of pressure” to lift rates.

In a further sign of the big banks moving on riskier products, ANZ lifted its variable margin loan rate earlier this week by 0.05 per cent.

A bank spokesman said while there was continuing pressure on margins due to the turmoil in global financial markets, the bank had no current plans to pass on its higher costs to mainstream consumer lending products.

“But clearly if the current environment continues for the longer term, that will be considered,” he said.

ANZ, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank have all warned that mortgage rates could be lifted if higher funding costs persist.

Westpac chief executive David Morgan was the outrider, saying in a market update on Monday that it was too early to determine the extent to which the turmoil was cyclical or structural, meaning permanent.

Dr Morgan stressed there was no current intention to lift mortgage rates.

Non-bank lenders such as Bluestone and Liberty Financial, which do not have the benefit of a large cushion of deposits, have already hiked home loan rates by more than the 25 basis point increase in cash rates announced by the RBA last month.

Adelaide Bank has followed suit, with a 30 basis point rise in its variable low-doc rate.

The Big Four, though, will be under sustained political pressure in the imminent federal election campaign to keep a lid on rate increases.

Federal Reserve data showed that racial disparities in home-loan rates are not narrowing.

By CRAIG TORRES AND ALISON VEKSHIN
Bloomberg News

Minority borrowers more frequently received higher-cost mortgages than non-Hispanic whites when they refinanced their homes last year, continuing a trend of racial disparities in home-loan rates, the Federal Reserve said.

Blacks received high-cost loans 52.8 percent of the time when they refinanced home loans last year, versus 49.3 percent in 2005, the Fed said in a report released Wednesday. Hispanic borrowers received high-cost refinancings 37.7 percent of the time, up from 33.8 percent in 2005. The rate for non-Hispanic white borrowers was 25.7 percent last year, compared with 21 percent in 2005.

`NOTABLY GREATER’

”The incidence of higher-priced lending for blacks and Hispanic white borrowers is notably greater than for non-Hispanic whites,” the Fed said in the report. “Similar patterns are shown in racial and ethnic differences in denial rates.”

The report’s release coincides with increased scrutiny in Congress of lending practices that contributed to the collapse of the subprime-mortgage market and prompted credit-market volatility in recent weeks. Black homeownership fell nearly 2 percentage points in the first six months of this year to 46.3 percent, compared with a half-percentage point drop for whites, to 75.4 percent.

The report indicated little change in the percentage of minority homeowners who rely on expensive mortgage credit. Black borrowers had high-cost loans 53.7 percent of the time last year, versus 54.7 percent in 2005. For Hispanic borrowers, it was 46.6 percent last year versus 46.1 percent in 2005. Those figures weren’t adjusted for loan size, borrower’s income or geographic location.

”Differences by race and ethnicity remain stubborn, persistent, and significant,” said Josh Silver, a vice president of research and policy at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition in Washington. “The differences are not narrowing. With all the increased attention, why isn’t it?”

SEEKING JUSTICE

The Fed findings follow a July report that the central bank would refer five lending-discrimination cases to the Justice Department for investigation during the first half of 2007, up from two cases in all of 2006.

All U.S. bank regulators have independent enforcement authority to censure banks for unfair lending.

Since the data on race and high-cost loans became available in 2004, the Fed hasn’t brought a case against any of the 901 banks it supervises. Fed officials say independent action could jeopardize the Justice Department’s investigations.

$100 million milestone in the Federal Home Loan Bank s Affordable Housing 14/09/2007 16:25:00 Business Wire U.S.
Sen.
Robert P.
Casey Jr.
(D-PA) and U.S.
Rep.
Tim Holden (PA-17) joined public, private and nonprofit leaders today in celebrating the $100 million milestone of an affordable housing program in Pennsylvania and announced an additional $1.3 million in grants for five new projects in the central part of the state.
The $100 million milestone means that more than 20,000 units of housing for very-low- and low-income families as well as individuals with special needs were created in Pennsylvania through the Affordable Housing Program, or AHP.
AHP, a congressionally-mandated initiative, is administered by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh (FHLBank), which is celebrating its 75th year of service.
Begun in 1990, AHP has provided approximately $134 million in grants across the Bank s district of Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, with the amount delivered in the Keystone State now surpassing the $100 million mark.
FHLBank uses private capital, not taxpayer dollars, in pursuit of its public mission.
“$100 million invested in affordable housing over the last 17 years is a staggering figure and a remarkable success,” said Sen.
Casey.
“The Federal Home Loan Bank has proven that private companies and government can work together to solve real problems for real people and more than 20,000 units of housing is lasting proof of that.” During today s ceremony, held at YWCA-Greater Harrisburg, an additional $1.3 million in AHP grants was announced for five new projects in Harrisburg, Ashland, Carlisle and York.
Funded projects include housing for adults suffering from mental illness and female heads of households recovering from substance abuse.
“I congratulate FHLBank Pittsburgh on their 75th Anniversary and strong support of affordable housing programs, which are critical for citizens to hold down a steady job, raise children, and foster healthy families and communities,” said Congressman Holden.
“This program is a shining example of how institutions can work together to provide service to our community s citizens who need affordable housing.” A broad range of financial support Chartered by Congress in 1932, FHLBank Pittsburgh, one of 12 regional Banks comprising the FHLBank System, delivers low-cost and at-cost loans as well as grants to the 335 financial institution members of its private cooperative so a steady stream of money is available to strengthen communities during all economic cycles.
“From the Great Depression to the emergence of the global economy to today s credit crunch, the need for truly affordable housing has been a constant,” said John Bendel, director of Community Investment for FHLBank.
“This need was enormous 75 years ago when the Home Loan Bank System was created, and it is just as compelling today.
As long as we remain adaptable, there is no end to the good we can do working with our members and community partners.” Newer community development initiatives Bendel cited FHLBank s loans to assist both startup and growing entrepreneurs and at-cost loans that finance municipal improvements such as fire stations, libraries and water filtration plants as examples of the newer work the Bank engages in to meet community needs.
FHLBank is making available $7 million in loans to qualifying small businesses in 2007 and maintains an $825 million revolving fund of capital - the Community Lending Program - which members can tap at FHLBank s cost of funds to help finance local housing projects, business development and a variety of local infrastructure.
YWCA Greater Harrisburg, the site of today s milestone celebration, is a prior recipient of AHP funds, having built 49 units of transitional housing for very-low- and low-income individuals as part of its headquarters relocation project ten years ago.

By Indian Express

Despite the boom in real estate sector, home loans to GDP ratio in India continues to be a dismal 5 per cent as against 50 per cent in US and UK.

These observations were made by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), which also pointed out that since buying a home requires huge investment, higher home loan GDP ratio is necessary as 90 per cent of borrowers are the first time borrowers.

“At present, India has a housing shortage of about 19.4 million units of which 6.7 million is estimated for urban sector and 12.7 million units in rural. However, the demand is set to shoot up to 45 million units for both rural and urban areas by 2012,” said Assocham president Venugopal N Dhoot.

The average real income of urban and rural sector is likely to grow by 5.7 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively by 2025. Moreover, India’s middle class is expected to expand by more than 10 times from its current size of 50 million to 583 million in next 18 years.

All these estimates work out to make a strong case for higher home loan GDP ratio so that India and its population is able to keep a pace for meeting the demand for housing units, said Dhoot. Commenting on impact of rising home loan rates, the Assocham paper states that rates have shot up from 7 per cent in 2003 to 12 per cent in 2007 with its impact massively following across the board including genuine buyers, speculators, real estate developers and bankers.

The paper also points out that share of housing loans in total personal loans have been rising since 2000-01. It has increased from 37.2 per cent in 2001-02 to 48.6 per cent in 2004-05. Home loans constituted 52.7 per cent in the total household credit in the year ended March 2006, marginally up from 52.5 per cent in the previous year. Housing together with agriculture accounted for more than two-third of incremental priority sector lending in 2005-06.

Home loans formed 11 per cent of the total outstanding credit of scheduled commercial banks in March 2005 up from just 2.4 per cent in May 1990. The sales value of housing construction has witnessed an exceptional leap from Rs.17.61 crore in 1991 to Rs.4,182.67 crore in the year 2006. Lower interest rate regime has played a pivotal role in the progress.

By Laura Dolce
ldolce@seacoastonline.com
September 13, 2007 6:00 AM

KENNEBUNK — The ad looks simple enough: “KENNEBUNK: Rooms for rent in great open concept home walking distance to Dock Square, K’port and close to beaches. Rent is $150 per week per person. All amenities included. Contact …;”

It appeared on the craigslist web site on both Aug. 29 and 30. The address was listed as “33 Canterbury Circle at Route 35.”

Here’s where things get complicated, though. The property at 33 Canterbury Circle is zoned for a single family home and single family home zoning doesn’t allow for the renting of rooms.

A call to the number listed in the ad was answered by a woman named “Skye,” who identified herself as a “friend of the family” who owns the house. That owner, John Barry, got the house as part of a divorce settlement, Skye said. He no longer lives in the house, but leases it to a woman and her son, who share it with three other roommates. Two rooms are currently listed for rent in the house, she said. She said they planned to continue renting the rooms out.

A source who asked to remain anonymous said neighbors are concerned about the house since it seems numerous people live there and multiple cars are parked there early in the day and late at night.

“People are obviously renting rooms there,” the person said. “This needs to be looked into.”

Canterbury Circle is a horseshoe-shaped street just off Route 35 and not far from Lower Village. For the most part, the homes there are surrounded by well-kept lawns and pretty landscaping. The house at 33 Canterbury is a large, extended raised ranch. Town records have it listed as a five-bedroom home, and its property borders on Route 35.

Canterbury Circle itself is a fairly quiet street, yet convenient to many of the area’s attractions. That’s something those advertising the home have pointed out as well. “Perfect for UNE, Heartwood School of Art students or Landing Boat School students,” one ad reads.

When asked how rooms could be rented out in a single family home, Skye insisted that she had checked with the town of Kennebunk code enforcement office and was told that four paying roommates were allowed in single-family homes.

Not so, says Kennebunk Code Enforcement Officer Paul Demers.

“If you have four paying roommates you have to be registered as a B&B,” he says. “The zoning allows for the renting of rooms, but in order to do that you have to have permits.”

Demers says that is not the case with the property at 33 Canterbury Circle. He says after receiving complaints about the property, his office is investigating.

“We’re looking into it,” he says.

A woman who identified herself as Karvis Mir called the York County Coast Star last week and said she was the leasee of the house. She threatened the paper with legal action if a story was run or questions were asked about the property.

“I’m involved in this,” she said. “I will have you indicted.”

Barry could not be reached for comment; calls to Mir for additional comment went unanswered.

Security deposits are fees of insurance assessed by an apartment manager. Unless the renter damages the property, the security deposit is usually refunded at the end of the lease term. In order to insure the return of your security deposit, follow these helpful tips.

Cleaning and repairing your apartment before you move out is important; however, you also need to take steps to protect your security deposit before you move in.

Make a written list of any damage you see in the apartment.
Take photographs.
Outline the exact condition you find the apartment in down to the slightest detail including chips in the pain on a wall or carpet stains.
Make a copy of your written record as well as the photographs, keep a copy for your records and give one copy to the landlord.
Ask for a receipt for the deposit and keep a copy of your cancelled check. Don’t pay the security deposit in cash as the paper trail Don’t pay for the security deposit in cash as a paper trail will be useful if needed.

Living in the Apartment
Take care of your apartment as if you owned it.
This includes cleaning (to prevent insect and rodent infestation).
Make repairs as needed instead of waiting until you move out.
If a repair is large enough or significant enough to require professional work, speak to your landlord before you do anything. Depending on the type of repair required, it may be covered in your lease.
Pay your rent in full and on time and keep a record of each payment. If your rent is late, your landlord may charge late fees that may be deducted from your security deposit. This should be detailed in your lease agreement so make sure you read it in full and in depth.

Moving Out of the Apartment
Before you pack your stuff and hit the road, if you want to get your security deposit back, you’re going to need to do some work first. Follow these guidelines and you should get back most, if not all, of your security deposit.

In the Bathroom
Scrub bathtub/shower.
Scrub inside and outside of toilet (yuck).
Clean sink.
Dust and wash the medicine cabinet and mirror.
Look for any signs of leaking water or mold growth.

In the Kitchen

Clean and wash out cabinets and drawers. If necessary, vacuum crumbs.
Make sure that the hinges on all cabinets are working properly and that the drawers slide easily in and out on their tracks.
Note the condition of the linoleum or tile. Check for cracks or chips. Wash the floor.
Scrub and use a cleaner with bleach on countertops, backsplash and sinks.
Look for any chips, nicks or stains in sinks.
Clean stove, oven, microwave and broiler.
Defrost the refrigerator and freezer making sure any ice trays or accessories are in place.
Make sure all appliances are working properly.

In the Bedroom and Living Areas

Thoroughly vacuum, and if needed, steam clean the carpet. Look for burns or for deep stains in the carpet.
Check the condition of closet doors and hinges to make sure that they are working properly.
If your apartment has a fireplace, make sure that it is clean and working properly.

General Areas

Check for cracks or stains on walls.
Remove all tacks and/or nails from the walls and spackle the holes left behind.
Clean windows and window sills.
Make sure all electrical outlets are working properly.
Test ceiling fans, air conditioners and heaters to make sure they are functioning properly.
Look for any missing switch plates or outlet covers.

Don’t Forget To

Empty all drawers.
Pack everything that you brought with you to the apartment including shower curtains, shower hooks and rugs.
Vacuum your furniture.

Schedule an appointment with your landlord to walk through your apartment. Have on hand the written record and photographs that you compiled when you first moved in. Refer to your records if any preexisting damages are attributed to you. Create a checklist that you and your landlord can review during the walkthrough. If everything meets with the approval of the landlord, you and he/she should sign the checklist and both of you should retain a copy. Be sure to leave your landlord your new address if the deposit is not available immediately after your walk through.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — It’s a standard practice when it comes to renting property: You put down a security deposit, usually the amount of one month’s rent, with your landlord. And that money sits in your landlord’s bank account, where it collects interest for the duration of your rental term. When you move out, barring any damages, the deposit is returned to you.
But what about the sometimes substantial amount of interest incurred on your money? In most states, it belongs to your landlord.
Only one-third of all states require landlords to pay their tenants interest on security deposits. In that case, your landlord typically sets up a separate trust account with your deposit. The interest rate to be paid will be in your rental agreement (the rate is usually lower than what the bank pays so the landlord can cover administrative expenses).
If you live in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco or several other cities that set their own rules, your landlord may have to pay you security-deposit interest even if the state law does not require it.
Even if you live somewhere that is in the majority of places where your landlord can pocket the interest, it doesn’t hurt to ask. Some landlords are willing to pay you the interest as a matter of course in their business. If your landlord agrees, be sure to include the specifics in the rental agreement.

By Robert Griswold, Steven R. Kellman and James McKinley
Saturday, August 11, 2007; Page T13

Q: I am a landlord and have a question about the return of our tenants’ security deposit. We had the same tenants for more than six years, and they recently renewed a two-year lease. However, six months into this lease, they bought a home. They notified us of their intent to vacate, and we found a tenant to take possession within 30 days. Between the time our old tenants left and our new tenants moved in, we repainted the home and installed new carpets.

Over the years, the old tenants had three children and acquired five dogs. The house was very dirty, and the dogs had urinated all over the original carpets. I returned their security deposit minus the half-month’s rent for the 15 days of their last month, for which they didn’t pay. We did not deduct any damage or cleaning fees, which we could have. Now these tenants are insisting that we return the entire security deposit because it’s not their fault that we had to paint and put new rugs down — that’s “average wear and tear.” Also, they claim that we should have had the property rented in less than two weeks. Am I crazy, or are they being totally unreasonable?

A: James McKinley, a lawyer for landlords, replies:

You are not crazy, at least not in your opinion that your former tenants are being totally unreasonable.

A tenant who breaks a lease is responsible for rent until the lease expires or the landlord finds a new tenant, whichever comes first. Your former tenants were lucky that you found a new tenant so quickly.

A security deposit can be used to remedy defaults in rent payments, to pay for cleaning and to repair damages in excess of ordinary wear and tear. In addition to applying the security deposit to the unpaid before your new tenant moved in, you could have charged your former tenants for cleaning and for repairing the damage they caused.

Your former tenants may try to take you to small-claims court to recover the rest of their security deposit, but based on these facts, they have no valid claim.

Q: I rent an older house in which the storm windows are missing and most of the outside windows are cracked or broken, letting in a lot of cold air. What obligation does the landlord have to fix the leaks around the windows? I try to keep my thermostat down even though it gets pretty chilly from the wind blowing in. I live in Oklahoma, ” where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain” most of the time.

A: Steven Kellman, a lawyer for tenants, replies:

Your question illustrates the importance of knowing the landlord-tenant laws specific to your rental unit and why it is important to consult with an experienced lawyer in your area. A quick review of the law in Oklahoma — and this is also true in some other states — indicates that the relevant landlord-tenant statutes are general regarding maintenance. The landlord simply needs to make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the tenant’s dwelling unit and premises in a fit and habitable condition. Because the law in your state seems to go no further, one must wonder if having broken windows that allow cold wind to blow into the house violates the law. A common-sense evaluation would conclude that it does.

However, in many other states, the laws are much more specific and leave less to chance in determining what is acceptable and what is substandard. In those places, you could rely on a specific law that covers your situation. For example, in California the landlord must maintain the dwelling with “effective waterproofing and weather protection of roof and exterior walls, including unbroken windows and doors.” Therefore, broken windows that allow in the wind violate that law.

If you have broken windows, no matter where you live, notify your landlord in writing and request repairs. If the landlord refuses to make the repairs, you need to act. In some jurisdictions, you may repair the windows yourself and than claim reimbursement from the landlord or deduct the cost from the rent. Before taking any such action, seek legal advice to protect your rights and avoid eviction.

This column on issues confronting tenants and landlords is written by property manager Robert Griswold and San Diego lawyers Steven R. Kellman, director of the Tenants Legal Center, and James McKinley, member of the Moffitt & Associates law firm, which represents landlords. E-mail your questions to Griswold atrgriswold.inman@ retodayradio.com. Questions should be brief and cannot be answered individually.

©2007 Inman News Features

Distributed by Inman News Features