By Heiner Giese, RPA Attorney
Tell your tenants that the $250 Million MPS referendum on the April 2 ballot for City of Milwaukee residents will result in monthly rent increases.
See this article from Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service:
OPINION: Milwaukee’s students cannot afford for MPS to (just) maintain and sustain: We need a plan
Maintaining the status quo in Milwaukee means remaining in an academic crisis. Last year, nine in 10 MPS students did not meet grade-level expectations in math and reading. MPS’ scores on the Nation’s Report Card are lower than peer districts, in some cases by two full grade levels.
https://mkepropertyownership.com/
A key takeaway is that most LLC's (72%) are mom and pops -- giving the lie to the story that "big corporate" interests have gobbled up a lot of properties.
Their statistic on "Date Purchased" must be wrong for any properties purchased before 1995 - when LLCs were first allowed - because they show 1995 as the earliest dates (have to check this some more).
Every owner should check out this new website to see how their property ownership is linked amongst LLCs owned.
The website also tracks building code violations and evictions filed.
The Milwaukee REIA is having a guest speaker in March from Equity Trust.
Topic: Tax-Free Account Focused Investing with John Bowens
When: Tuesday, March 12, 2024 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Where: Sonesta Milwaukee West, 10499 W Innovation Dr, Wauwatosa, WI 53226
John will cover:
Never been to a REIA meeting before? First Time Guests can attend their first meeting for Free with a complimentary Guest Pass.
Register Here
Vote YES on H.R. 803
On February 7, 2024, Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) introduced S. 3755, the Respect State Housing Laws Act, in the U.S. Senate. The legislation would end the CARES Act’s federal notice to vacate requirement for federally-backed and federally-assisted housing, a temporary pandemic measure left in place due to a drafting error.
Companion legislation, H.R.802, was reintroduced in the U.S. House by Representative Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.-11) last year.
The temporary federal 30-day “notice-to-vacate” requirement was established as part of the CARES Act at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It remains a contested issue in courts today, long after the moratorium and the federal COVID-19 public health emergency have ended.
This notice requirement adds complexity and confusion to the eviction process established by states and further delays the start of the eviction process for housing providers who have been waiting to have their cases heard in court while rent remains unpaid. H.R. 802 would repeal this notice requirement.
We are in favor of this federal legislation to end the 30 day notice requirement for any property which received federal assistance.
A repeal would actually help tenants because it would make owners more willing to accept Section 8 vouchers.
Urge your member of Congress who sits on the House Financial Services Committee to vote yes on H.R. 802, the “Respect State Housing Laws Act,” when it is marked up by the Committee on Thursday, February 29.
By Dawn Anastasi, RPA Board Member
If you accept Rent Assistance from the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM), you may have received the incorrect tax form for 2023.
HACM sent our 1099-NEC forms (non-employee compensation) instead of the correct 1099-MISC forms to rental property owners.
They are in the process of re-running and mailing out the correct 1099-MISC forms, so watch your mail for the corrected forms.
Also note: The 2023 1099 tax forms the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM) recently mailed through the U.S. Postal Service do not show the full Employer Identification Number (EIN) for HACM. Please note, the full EIN for HACM is 39-1159751.
The Fair Housing Center of Greater Madison is offering a free in-person fair housing training seminar for owners and managers of rental properties, or staff operating shelters or residential programs.
The seminar will include information about the protected classes and prohibited practices delineated by local, state, and federal fair housing laws, as well as reasonable accommodations and modifications for tenants with disabilities.
This material presented during the seminar is intended for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Recording of the seminar is not permitted.
To register for this seminar, CLICK HERE.
By John Triplett, Rental Housing Journal
Fraud impacting rental housing costs throughout the country is on the rise and includes incidences of fraudulent rental applications, financial and identity fraud, and is often fueled by social media, the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) says in a new survey.
“Driven in part by social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, the rise in false rental housing applications is exacerbating rental costs, fueling the housing affordability challenges facing communities across the country and undermining the credibility of eviction data.
These fraudulent incidents consist of a wide range of wrongdoing, including criminal behavior,” the NMHC says in a release about the survey.
Link to Full Article Here
City of Madison introduces new program to help rental housing owners make repairs, upgrades
The City of Madison on Monday announced a new program aimed at helping rental housing owners pay for repairs and improvements at their properties.
The Rental Rehab Program allows property owners who charge no more than fair market rents get funding to prevent property deterioration, reduce safety risks and extend their buildings' lives.
"Our housing crisis requires an all-of-the-above approach," Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said. "While we work to bring more housing to Madison, we must also take care of what we have."
Funding through the program depends on the number of units on each property. Owners with 1-6 unit buildings can get up to $75,000; while those with 13-20 units could get up to $200,000.
Milwaukee Raze & Revive Initiative
According to a new release, a building located at 26th and Townsend is one of the first city-owned vacant properties to be demolished in 2024 by a team within the Department of Public Works.
This team will help address the backlog of vacant abandoned buildings in Milwaukee neighborhoods.
Once the Raze & Revive program is at full capacity, the DPW team will effectively double the city’s demolition capacity. These demolitions will increase public safety, improve property values, and create new opportunities for housing.
Real estate investors who buy up single family homes could get taxed under new bill
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin is making a second attempt to pass federal legislation that would tax real estate investors who buy up substantial numbers of single family homes — the plan aimed at increasing the availability of affordable housing.
The Affordable Housing and Homeownership Protection Act would impose a transfer tax on investors who purchase and hold more than 15 single-family homes nationwide. The revenue would provide up to $50 billion over ten years to help build and preserve approximately 3 million affordable housing units nationwide, according to the senator.
VineBrook Homes Trust, based in Ohio, is one of the largest owners of single-family rental homes in Wisconsin. The company bought approximately 1,000 homes in Wisconsin and about 25,000 nationwide, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Oxford Economics conducted a third-party economic study of VineBrook Home’s impact on Milwaukee. According to the report, VineBrook Homes’ residents pay $113 below the prevailing rent in the area on average per month.
Note: The Journal Sentinel also published a similar article. In it, RPA Attorney Heiner Giese was quoted.
Heiner Giese, attorney for the city's landlord association, said he did not see a need for Baldwin's legislation.
"Why are they discriminating against renters and in favor of homeowners?" Giese said, adding that if the legislation became law, "there will be less rentals available, and that is going to hurt the person who wants to rent."
Link to Journal-Sentinel Article (behind paywall)
By Tim Ballering, RPA Board Member
In this apparent zero-sum game, who is the ultimate loser? In the short term, the property owner is out thousands of dollars in rent, and the renter has lived for free a while longer; a bit further down the road, the renter now has a large eviction on their record, if not sealed.
But the ultimate losers are all similarly situated renters who pay their rent and behave okay towards the property and the neighbors. Owners who suffer large losses respond. They sell out to the big guys, who have stronger eviction criteria. They sell out to owner-occupants. They change their screening criteria. They change their eviction trigger point. They change their deposit requirements. They raise rents to offset losses.
In the end, RtC has protected the tree (a nonperforming renter) at the expense of the forest (the 95% of lower-income renters who perform as they should). And the protected tree… gets chopped down while looking for future housing due to their eviction record.
Zero winners here.
We have covered this topic at prior RPA meetings, however it bears repeating.
Let's say that you are renting out a property and in one of the applications, you suspect that the applicant put down their friend's phone number as a reference.
(You do call current and prior landlords for references, correct?)
Non-owner occupied properties in Milwaukee get registered with the Department of Neighborhood Services. Those records are public information and can be looked up in order to find out the owner information.
Link to My Milwaukee Home
Simply enter the property address then click "Submit Address". The property owner's name appears, and when you scroll down, you will see a section titled "Registration Owner". Click on the "Owner Registration" link and you will find the name/address and phone number for the preferred contact, registration owner, and/or operator.
If the owner has not kept this information up to date, it may be old, but it may give you the actual owner's phone number to contact and get a true reference.
Check out more Landlord Links on the RPA website.
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