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Mr. Wilkerson gave an example of a property that is in very bad condition that he receives <br />complaints about three (3) to four (4) times every week. It is owned by an LLC that went out of <br />business six (6) years ago, their office property went up for sale seven (7) years ago, and the <br />registered agent declined to be the registered agent five (5) years ago, so there is no way to trace <br />this back to someone. He received a letter in the mail from the agent listed as the registered <br />agent by the state. The letter stated that the agent is not the agent for the property mentioned, nor <br />have they ever been. So someone used them as the registered agent when they weren't actually <br />the registered agent. They are dealing with fraud all of the time. Not every landlord out there is <br />doing everything right, which is why we need to build relationships to solve problems. <br />We've had three fires lately, where we were able to get in touch with the owners right away. We <br />were able to complete the demolition process within thirty (30) days due to responsible <br />ownership and communication between owners and inspectors. <br />There will be less confusion if along with a mailed notification, I can send you an email saying <br />that you have trash in your yard that needs to be taken care of. We can send you a picture, and <br />we can solve the problem. I know you by name, but I do not know your LLCs. <br />Steve Cox, South Bend Fire Chief, with offices at 1222 S. Michigan Street. In order for our Fire <br />Investigators to close out their investigations, they need to have contact with the specific <br />landlord. About a third of the time with unoccupied structures, we spend two (2) to three (3) <br />hours roughly just chasing down landlords; man-hours we can spend doing other things. We are <br />being held accountable for what we spend our time doing, and we want to make sure we are <br />making the best use of our time as well as opposed to trying to chase down people that may or <br />may not exist. We're looking at this as a tool for our investigators to be able to use to have <br />contact landlords when we have to conduct an investigation. <br />Tasha Reed Outlaw, offices on the 12th Floor, as a landlord myself, I have a property in <br />Indianapolis, and I was contacted by potential tenants who were very interested to see that my <br />property was listed on the landlord registry. From that perspective, I think that it could <br />potentially make your property a little bit more presentable and let potential tenants know that <br />you are a responsible landlord and you will be held accountable. <br />Officer Keenan Lane, offices at 711 W. Sample Street. I am the Nuisance Abatement Officer, so <br />my full time job is to deal with these problem properties day in and day out. I wish we had a <br />better way of making contact with the owners of the nuisance properties. <br />When I have a property with fights, drug dealing or loud parties, I go through records trying to <br />determine who the owner is so I can make contact with them. Some of these owners have <br />disconnected phone lines or their LLCs aren't registered with the state. It would be a great tool to <br />have if I had a way to immediately contact the owner. Right now I have cases of fraud where <br />there are out of state owners who use local people as managers, and the managers tell the owners <br />that they can't find anyone to rent the property to right now so they aren't collecting rent, when <br />in reality, the manager is collecting cash on a lease that he made. This is why we need the <br />managers' information as well as the owners'. <br />G <br />