If you or anyone you know owns residential rental property in Ohio please read the following information so that you are not in violation of Ohio Code. Owners must register with the county in which their rental property is located. The forms are available through the Cincinnati area county auditor websites.

Ohio Revised Code Section (R.C.) 5323.02 requires an owner of residential rental property to register a contact agent for that property with the auditor’s office within 60 days (including weekends and holidays) following the day a real property conveyance form for that property is filed with the county auditor. Failure to file this information in a timely manner may result in the assessment of a penalty of up to $150 against the property that is the subject of the violation. Residential property under this umbrella does not include a hotel or a university dorm.

If there are multiple individual owners of the residential rental property, only one owner has to file as the contact agent. If the property is owned by the following ownership vehicles the individual who must file is in parentheses next to the type of the ownership: trust (trustee), business trust (trustee), estate partnership (executor or administrator), limited partnership (general partner), limited liability company (member, mgr, or officer), association (associate), corporation (officer) or other business entity (member, mgr, or officer).

If you need assistance with this process please contact me and I can email you the form for your county.

Across the country local and state governments are enacting laws aimed at minimizing the eyesore of foreclosed homes, according to USA Today. Properties in foreclosure are often left uncared fore and fall into disrepair, leaving local municipalities with the responsibility of maintaining the property.

In Chicago, owners can use plywood to board up windows and doors for only six months. They must use real windows and metal doors if the home is vacant longer than that and install an alarm system. Garland, Texas requires a $2,500 bond from the property owners, which the city can access to maintain the home as needed.

We have not seen any new legislation come out pertaining to foreclosed homes in Cincinnati. Beyond discouraging squatting maintaining foreclosed homes in good order helps to keep the value of neighborhoods at fair market levels, a good proposition for all involved.

Investors who own multi-family properties or apartment buildings are consistently trying to ensure that their rental rates are consistent with the market. Where as an investor can you go to find the market rates for your area. You can look in the local newspaper such as the Cincinnati Enquirer or community newspaper such as Suburban Life Press for the real estate classified ads.

There are more specialized websites that can show general market trends that have more specific information for areas with a lot of rental property. Apartment Ratings.com is a resource that property owners can use for this purpose. Move.com and Apartment Finder.com have apartment listings with amenity descriptions so that you can compare your property to others that are on the market for rent.

I am searching for other websites that list specific apartment rental rates in Cincinnati with more specific rental data listed by neighborhood. Please email me or comment below if you are aware of a database with this information.