New Real Estate Investor in MD looking to network with other investors

[Brendon Worst]

Good Afternoon Bigger Pockets,

I am an avid investor, but just recently starting to branch out and look to start investing in real estate.  I've spent time listening to a lot of the Bigger Pocket podcasts and perusing the forums prior to posting.  I'm looking to network with some other investors in the Baltimore/Columbia/Ellicott City area to learn from experienced investors.  If there is currently a group that meets up I'd love to hear about it.  Thanks!

Brendon

[Christopher Sandys]

Okay, I just found a report from our local newspaper, The Toledo Blade.  It is behind a paywall, but the story basically goes:

"A Lucas County judge granted a preliminary injunction Friday [31 March] to stop Toledo’s lead-safe certification rental law from going into effect on the day the new lead ordinance was scheduled to be enforced.

Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Gary Cook ruled on the injunction Friday in a lawsuit filed by Toledo landlord and rental manager Charmarlyn Strong who is challenging the city’s lead ordinance.
The city of Toledo has “passed, rescinded, and passed again multiple versions” of the ordinance, which has created a ”somewhat convoluted set of circumstances for the court,” he wrote.

However, the injunction is not necessarily “a decision on the ultimate enforceability” of the proposed ordinance, the judge wrote.

The next hearing on the case is scheduled for April 27.

For now, the lead ordinance remains “status quo” until the judge can review all of the legal matters, city law director Dale Emch said Saturday.

“I don’t think the judge’s order regarding the preliminary injunction tips the hand to how he is ultimately going to rule on this,” Mr. Emch said. “We feel that we are on firm legal footing given the way the sixth district ruled on this issue previously.”

Attorney Andrew Mayle, representing the plaintiff in this case, said Saturday that the judge’s ruling was correct.

“We think that Judge Cook made the right decision to preliminary enjoin this (matter) pending further litigation on the merits,” he said.

Mr. Mayle has been opposed to the city’s lead law since 2016 and has successfully won three injunctions against three versions of the ordinance. He believes that this is the first phase of a lengthy litigation process.

“We think that our reading of the law is correct. Whether we’re vindicated at the trial court, the court of appeals or the Ohio Supreme Court, basically we’re in this for the long run and I assume that the city is too,” Mr. Mayle said.

For at least seven years, the city of Toledo has tried to enact a lead-safe ordinance that can successfully withstand legal challenges to no avail.

In the latest version, owners of residential rentals with four or fewer dwellings built before 1978 are required to have their properties inspected for lead paint while also obtaining lead-safe certificates from the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department.

In addition, the inspections must be completed by a local lead inspector who visually inspects properties’ interiors and exteriors and collects dust wipes to test for compliance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards.

Potential fines for violations could reach $10,000 annually. Lead-law violations would be handled in housing court as first-degree misdemeanors, similar to other building nuisances.

Mr. Mayle objects specifically to the lead-safe certificate requirement through the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department. He argues that Toledo City Council does not have the authority to outsource enforcement of a city ordinance to another government agency, which in this case is the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department.

City officials contend that thousands of children continue to test positive for lead poison and they point to testimony from health-care officials who blame Toledo’s blighted housing stock, much of which has become rental property, as the source of the poison.

For Toledo children, especially those who are predominantly poor and live in rental properties, the situation of lead exposure has become critical, health experts have said.

Despite legal challenges, the city has moved forward with enacting the lead-safe certification requirement, which was set to be implemented through a 10-phase process.

Properties identified through the census tract as having the highest risk of lead exposure are listed in the first phase of the lead-certification requirement, in which the deadline was supposed to be March 31. Of the 5,199 rental units located in the first phase, more than 2,000 were not certified as of early March, city officials said.

Between 5,000 and 6,000 properties are included in phase two and phase three of the certification process, in which the deadline for those to receive lead-safe certification is June 30.

Despite the injunction, Toledo Councilman Tiffany Preston Whitman, who chairs council’s neighborhoods and community development committee, said Saturday that she remains confident that the most recent version of Toledo's lead ordinance will stand up in court.

“We believe that our ordinance is ultimately going to protect children,” Ms. Preston Whitman said."