Unscrupulous property management companies occasionally disregard tenants’ rights, ignoring legitimate claims for home repairs and mercilessly enforcing one-sided contracts.

However, the victims in a landlord-tenant relationship often are second homeowners who have little experience managing a property as a landlord. Exasperated by their tenants’ broken promises to pay rent and honor other obligations under a verbal agreement or written contract, these second homeowners must turn to local courts to regain possession of their home and obtain a judgment for money damages.

Governed by Colorado’s Forcible Entry and Detainer Statute (Colorado Revised Statutes 13-40-101, et seq.), the eviction process is expedited and fairly straightforward compared to most civil lawsuits. But even this statute features language and requirements that can be as obscure as computer code to a layperson.

That is why a landlord should wait to take any legal action until he has decided whether to retain an attorney or represent himself as a “pro se” party. The advantages of counsel are relatively obvious: the landlord is entrusting a professional with the tasks of following court procedures, meeting deadlines and advancing substantive legal theories that could effectively respond to the tenant’s defenses and maximize the award of a money judgment.

Courts will expect a landlord to strictly comply with procedures that, if not followed, will result in delays in the eviction process, additional expenses and bigger headaches. The nuances of the law make it easy to overlook a step in the eviction process.

For example, a pro se landlord may fail to draft a proper demand notice (that is required, for example, in order to give the tenant an opportunity to avoid an eviction by paying the back rent) or neglect to serve a tenant with a complaint within the time required under the statute. Furthermore, pro se parties often are unfamiliar with legal precedent, including landlord-tenant cases decided by Colorado appellate judges, and related statutes that could affect the outcome of their case.

But in truth, even the most untrained person in the law is capable of filing an eviction and recovering a judgment for possession of the property and money damages. The Colorado State Judicial Branch Web site is a tremendous resource for pro se parties, featuring detailed instructions on filing an eviction and recovering money damages.

Landlords should bear in mind that the legal process demands time and patience. For example, a tenant may file an answer to a landlord’s complaint for non-payment of rent, raising defenses and asserting counterclaims that complicate the issues and prolong a final resolution until a judge has heard all the evidence at trial and ruled. In a contested eviction proceeding, a court generally will hold two separate hearings: one hearing on the landlord’s alleged right to possession, and if the landlord prevails, a second trial on the amount of back rent and other damages owed by the tenant.

A tenant might refuse to budge from the home even after a landlord obtains a court order for possession of the property. The landlord must then serve a court-issued “writ of restitution” on the local sheriff’s department, making arrangements with the authorities to oversee the actual ouster of the tenant from the home. If the renter is really uncooperative, the landlord might even be forced to arrange for the tenant’s furniture to be moved from the house.

Which leads me to crux of this column: second homeowners should carefully screen their potential tenants and enter into a written lease agreement that adequately protects their interests before handing over the keys.

Josh Long is a Longmont-based attorney with Greer & Long, LLP and can be reached at josh@greerandlong.com.

A customer browses the gun case at Grandpa's Pawn and Gun looking at different handguns in Longmont. Mark Leffingwell photo

“I’ve never witnessed the desperation I’ve seen on a daily basis here,” said Rod Brandenburg, owner of Grandpa’s Pawn & Gun in Longmont. “People are pawning things they don’t really want to pawn but they got to make the mortgage payment, a car payment, the illustrious cell phone.”

Pawn shops are more likely to thrive than struggle during a recession as credit scores plummet and banks lend fewer conventional loans. In the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2009, revenues at Austin, Tex.-based EZCORP, Inc. – a publicly traded company that operates payday loan stores and pawn shops across the United States – rose 44 percent over the prior year period to $184.8 million. A manager with Longmont’s EZPAWN store on Main Street declined to comment for this story, referring all questions to headquarters.

As lending institutions go, the pawn shop is an entity unto itself. People off the street supply the guns, jewelry and other goods in exchange for a loan. Pawn shops hold the goods as collateral for the loan, and customers can reclaim the items if they pay off the loan with interest.  The pawn shop will continue storing the items as long as the customer pays monthly interest on the loan. Brandenburg said some customers have been making interest payments on items for 12 consecutive years.

But if the customer fails to make the monthly interest payment within 40 days, Grandpa’s becomes the lawful owner of the property and has the right to sell the merchandise, Brandenburg said. For several years, more than 90 percent of customers redeemed their items, Brandenburg said.  Now, the rate of redemption is approximately 70 percent, he said.

“The economy is hurting here,” Brandenburg said.  “We are the last legal means for people to get a loan, to acquire money in a legal fashion.”

On a recent afternoon at Grandpa’s, Maizee Jones of Longmont popped into the store looking for a bicycle to buy. Jones said she pawned a saddle at Grandpa’s about eight years ago for the obvious reason: she needed money.

“I think I bought it three times,” said Jones, who was referring to the interest payments she made on the saddle before she had the money to reclaim the item.

Brandenburg said local pawn shops are authorized by law to charge up to 20 percent interest per month, but he said Grandpa’s does not charge more than 10 percent interest on a loan of $300.00 or more.

Grandpa’s has no shortage of inventory and is swamped with sellers. Buyers, Brandenburg said, often are hunting for a deal and include wealthy individuals.

Jim Tiff, a resident of Longmont for 56 years, said he peruses Grandpa’s in search of “hard to find items” that cannot be found at a chain store like Wal-Mart.

“You never know if you’re going to find Hitler’s pencil box,” he said. “I keep looking for it.”

Email: journalistjl@yahoo.com

Paul and Jo Ellen Gonzales openedTrigger Time Gun Club because other area clubs were turning away new members. Mark Ivins photo

But Mother Nature cannot faze the firearm enthusiasts today, as several men prepare to fire rifles on an indoor range that spans the length of a football field.

Welcome to Longmont’s Trigger Time Gun Club, a sprawling, $3.5 million complex that is the brainchild of Paul Gonzales, who used to make a living as a mason.

A Longmont native, Gonzales has been a hunter and shooter his entire life. But as the local population has exploded over the course of Gonzales’ life, a number of outdoor ranges have disappeared. Gonzales said the remaining ranges are in such high demand that the wait to become a member can be a decade or longer.

So it’s no wonder that Trigger Time — located just west of I-25 and south of Colo. 119 — is quickly gaining loyal members despite having just opened last month.

“The thought of having a 100-yard indoor range to shoot at was something that I could not pass up on,” said club member Brian Hangartner of Broomfield. “And after seeing the facility you can really tell they went the extra steps to make it top of the line all the way around.”

Gonzales said most members are professionals who live in Boulder. But Trigger Time’s base of clientele hail from all directions: Castle Rock, Fort Collins, Westminster. Gonzales said eventually he will cap the number of members, and he anticipates having more demand than availability.

“Any private club in our area is full,” he said.

Individual membership at the club requires a $350 initiation fee and costs $32 per month. Couples pay a $600 initiation fee plus $60 a month.

Trigger Time performs random criminal background checks and requires that all members take a safety course as part of Gonzales’ goal to create a “safer club.”

Paul’s wife, JoEllen Gonzales, said she and her husband have tried to create a family environment. More than 25 percent of members are women and some families have been showing their children the proper way to discharge a firearm.

The second floor of the Trigger Time complex features a spacious classroom and a lounge with leather couches, a big-screen television and wireless Internet access. Trigger Time teaches classes, ranging from instruction on handgun self-defense techniques to a course that is required in order to obtain a concealed weapons permit.
But most of the real action is downstairs on the ranges.
Shielded from the wind and other natural elements, the indoor range provides a controlled environment in what Gonzales describes as an “absolute perfect scenario for doing your homework for competitive shooting.”
“The rifle range was a big selling point for me as I knew of nowhere nearby (within an hour or so) where I could shoot my rifles at distances of up to 100 yards indoors,” said Joe Tregenza of Frederick. “This allows for year-round use of one part of my collection that otherwise had to wait for warm weather.”

Trigger Time also built a 25-yard handgun range, accommodating up to 11 shooters. The range features state-of-the-art technology, such as a special air-filtration system, programmable targets and low-light capability to simulate a hunting environment.

The first floor also houses a retail area stocked with firearms, ammunition and accessories.

Excluding the owners, Trigger Time employs six people, including a gunsmith who works on the premises.

Email: journalistjl@yahoo.com

The number of home sales has been decreasing as more homes fall into foreclosure. Foreclosure filings were up 25 percent in 2009 over the previous year, according to a report released by the City of Longmont. Josh Long photo

Besieged with huge medical expenses and struggling to save their home, the family split their $1,600 mortgage into two monthly payments of $800 each. But the lender started tacking on late fees.

“They would pay off those late payments and we wouldn’t have the full mortgage payment,” said Carey, who asked not to use her last name to protect her family’s privacy.

In April of 2009, the local mortgage lender — a titan in the financial services industry — informed the Longmont family they were covered under a program that would help them. But that turned out to be false.

Late last summer, the lender delivered some distressing news: “If we (didn’t) come up with some huge dollar amount, our house is going to be taken away,” Carey recalled.

On the brink of foreclosure, the family contacted the Boulder County Housing Counseling Program. County staff helped them apply for the national Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Their mortgage has now been reduced, with the interest rate roughly halved.

“There is no doubt in my mind without (Boulder County’s) help we would have lost our home,” said Carey, whose husband now works three jobs to make ends meet, earning a fraction of his former pay.

Other Longmont families are not so fortunate. In 2009, the number of foreclosure filings increased 25 percent to 722.

“Foreclosure filings represent the point at which the legal foreclosure process begins,” according to a Colorado Division of Housing report issued last year.

A report released by the City of Longmont in February — “Introduction to the City’s Housing Programs” — attributes the increase in foreclosure filings primarily to “the result of adjustments to ARMs (adjustable rate mortgages) issued about three years ago and a residual impact from a moratorium on foreclosure filings from the previous year.”

ARMs offer borrowers a fixed interest rate for a period of years before loans are subject to a substantial hike in the interest rate.

“Payment increases dramatically and most people aren’t equipped to handle that right now understandably,” said Deanna Dyer of Dyer Realty, president of the Longmont Association of Realtors.

A family that is facing economic hardship should contact a Boulder County housing counselor sooner rather than later, said Kathy Fedler, Community Development Block Grant and Affordable Housing Programs Coordinator for the City of Longmont.

“People should call them before they get the foreclosure notice,” Fedler said. “The earlier folks get involved the more options people have.”

Some borrowers who can still afford to make monthly payments may be able to modify their loan terms, salvaging their home.

“Borrowers who cannot make ongoing monthly payments may need to consider a short sale or deed-in-lieu in order to avoid foreclosure,” said Tonja Ahijevych, Housing Counseling Coordinator with the Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services. “The Boulder County Housing Counseling Program is available to meet with people one-on-one to help them understand and access the options that best fit their situation. All services are free and confidential.”

If a borrower has received a foreclosure notice from the Boulder County Public Trustee’s Office, the homeowner will have between 110 and 125 days before the scheduled home sale, Ahijevych said. The Boulder County Public Trustee’s Office declined to comment for this story.

“During this time, they (homeowners) can still work with (a) Housing Counselor to possibly avoid foreclosure,” Ahijevych said.
Email: journalistjl@yahoo.com