Lynn councilors OK landlords idea

LYNN – Stacey Devendorf wants to give landlords a voice and Darren Cyr says it’s about time residential building owners are heard.By his own admission, the Ward 3 City Councilor is critical of landlords who live outside Lynn and own property in the city, especially if they do not maintain their buildings and allow trash to pile up outside them.But Cyr endorses Devendorf’s proposal to form a landlord group with regular meetings scheduled to talk about common concerns and needs.”It would make a lot of sense to have a landlord group that could sit down with city officials and tenants. It’s extremely hard to reach landlords. There are some who are great but with some the only way to reach them is to take action,” Cyr said.Devendorf lives in Swampscott and owns condominiums and small multi-family buildings in East Lynn. She is also a real estate broker and operates Baystate Realty out of a downtown office. She got the idea to start a Lynn-area landlord group through her membership with a similar organization representing Salem landlords.Devendorf said the Salem group invites guest speakers on a monthly basis to talk to landlords about legal issues, energy conservation and even problems like bed bugs.”It’s not just all about problems. It’s a network source for contractors, energy discounts and other services,” she said.She said she has tried to generate interest in forming a landlord group representing Lynn and surrounding communities with mixed results.”People are busy but, if there are four or five who are interested, I think it will take off,” she said.East Lynn landlord Maggie Kordonsky is one local landlord joining Devendorf’s group. She would like to hear experts speak to building owners about energy savings and changes in de-leading laws. Kordonsky said she also wants to develop a good relationship with city officials. She described an effort to get water meters adjusted several years ago in her buildings as “a struggle.””They seemed reluctant to help,” she said.But Cyr uses roughly the same words to describe the lack of cooperation he receives from some landlords when he attempts to address trash and building maintenance problems.”A lot of times I run into landlords who don’t think they are responsible for their tenants when they are,” he said.Ward 4 Councilor Richard Colucci said he welcomes more contact with landlords interested in working with the city and said a landlord group could help encourage this contact.”Hopefully then they could reach out to absentee landlords and get them involved,” he said.Devendorf can be reached via Facebook through Greater Lynn Landlord Group or by e mail – [email protected] or by phone: 617-674-2977.