BREAKING NEWS !!

Please make sure you are speaking with your accountant and or attorney to understand what your reporting responsibility is regarding The Corporate Transparency Act.

For most eligible businesses, the filing deadline is January 1, 2025. Those who fail to file by this deadline — or fail to update this information if needed — could face up to two years imprisonment and fines up to $10,000, in addition to civil penalties of up to $591 per day.

However, yesterday a Federal Court blocked the implementation of this act across the United States.  Here is a link to this article that is discussing this:

Federal Court Enjoins Enforcement of the CTA Nationwide; Reporting Companies “Need Not Comply” with January 1 Deadline

Here is another link to learn more about the Corporate Transparency Act from the United States Chamber of Commerce, and note that it now states at the beginning of the article that the implementation of this act has now been halted indefinitely. 

What Every Small Business Needs to Know About the Corporate Transparency Act

As always, we encourage you to consult with your accountant/attorney to understand what you need to do under these circumstances.  

We hope this helps to keep everyone informed about this CTA and the reporting responsibilities.

Rick Van Der Leest

Apartment Association of Northeast Wisconsin | President

Fox Valley Apartment Association | Director of Government Affairs

LOCAL GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS NOTICE:

The Winnebago County Board of supervisors signs a resolution asking the state to prevent corporations from buying single-family homes... (Click on the link below to learn more.)

Winnebago County Board Passes Housing Related Resolution...

The above is just one of many examples we have discussed over the past few years now why creating and establishing an "Integrated Grass Roots Advocacy Foundation" now more than ever, is critical to making the work done in Madison, and frankly even Washington, that much more effective and efficient as we move forward into 2025 and beyond.

Those wishing to learn more about an integrated grass roots approach, and learn how to engage in this type of advocacy should email us at:  Admin@aanw.org

As we look forward to 2025 we will be laser focused on an Educational Theme of "Back to the Basics".  It is clear that we have more work to do with owners, managers, investors and the general public, given what we are seeing take place judicially across the state. 

In addition to this, we have some new and exciting educational initiatives that we are working on for the new year.  More on this at a later date...

Happy Holidays !!

Rick Van Der Leest

Apartment Association of Northeast Wisconsin | President

Fox Valley Apartment Association | Director of Government Affairs

MUST READ … Why This Year’s Landlord Bootcamp Event Should Be Viewed as “Mandatory” The Collateral Damage of Koble Investments -v- Marquardt (Koble)

Date:  Friday, October 18, 2024

To:  All Rental Property Owners, Property Managers and Rental Real Estate Investors

If you have been attending our monthly meetings, reading our blog posts, or reading our email communications about Koble Investments, and before that case, Henchey, you understand the concern we have had about the collateral damage these cases were going to have on the rental housing industry, especially Koble since it has now been published and is the law of the State of Wisconsin.

Recall these cases argued that leases which violate Wis. Stat. §704.44, the 10 Deadly Sins, were deemed Void and Unenforceable, and the legal remedy was to award the tenant with all the rent they paid the landlord during their entire tenancy, plus double damages and attorney fees (ATCP 134.08).

We have been following cases that are being argued based on Koble, and as you are aware, the AANW, FVAA, RPA, KLA and the Realtors have filed an amicus (friends of the court) brief asking the Wis Supreme Court to accept Koble’s Petition to hear this case, and ultimately overturn Koble, which was published at the Court of Appeals level.  At this time, we have not seen any movement by the Wis Supreme Court on the petition filed by Koble, and our amicus.

Over the past couple of months now, we have seen a significant number of Plaintiff’s (tenants) attorneys seeking class certification, Wis. Stat. § 803.08, of a number of these cases across the State, including those against owners and managers who operate up and down the Fox Valley.  We have already told you that the Koble case would have detrimental consequences to our industry, and further reduce an already inadequate rental housing inventory across the state.  If these cases now receive class certification, the rental housing industry may not be recognizable in 2025 and beyond.  Those who get dragged into these class action lawsuits may well find their only reasonable solution to be bankruptcy.  This could include, but not be limited to the smaller mom and pop landlords/managers, but also some of the medium-sized operators, and perhaps some of the more vulnerable larger operators.

This is very likely the most consequential judicial action targeted at the rental housing industry of our lifetime.  Now more than at any other time, everyone should sign up for the Landlord Boot Camp, presented by Attorney Tristan Pettit, hosted by the AANW on Friday, November 8^th.  There has been enough change to how Landlord/Tenant Law is being interpreted by the courts, and DATCP, in part because of Koble but not solely, that every member or non-member who follows our association should get signed up before we are Sold Out like we were last year.  You will not find a better value for this Landlord/Tenant Law education than this event, and if you’re not a member, now is the time to take advantage of the non-member special we are offering that combines both membership and the boot camp.  This link will take you to the event on our website, where you can learn more, and get signed up as spots are filling up fast.  AANW 2024 Landlord Boot Camp  (Please note that once this fills up, there is no option to open more spots due to the facility seating limit.)

The Apartment Association of Northeast Wisconsin (AANW.org)

AANW Members:

Those who have attended our monthly meetings this year have heard the reference on more than one occasion...of the following:

"We must move beyond the narrow, nearly insufficient, and unstainable task of “Making Affordable Housing,” and begin to work on the broader, more sustainable, and meaningful work of “Making Housing Affordable.”  There is a difference, and this must not remain misunderstood by those who advocate for common sense policies that promote the sustainability of rental housing, and those responsible for legislating housing policies."

The above is just a small example of what we cover in our State of the Industry presentation/discussion session.

However, there is likely not a more representative article of the point being made above, than the one offered last week by the CATO Institute.  Entitled:

"The Government’s War on Starter Homes"

Once you read this article, take a step back and ask yourself what will happen down the road when some of these current developments are no longer bound by some local and or state requirement for tax credits and other financial incentives?

At the risk of sounding redundant, until we stop simply throwing money at these housing challenges and instead focus on true Root Cause Analysis and address these challenges head on, rather than treating symptoms, this merry-go-round will never stop.

Please read the article by clicking on the link below, and stop to reflect on our State of the Industry presentations that most recently were made in Aug/Sep.

The Government’s War on Starter Homes

Please note, if you missed this presentation in Aug, email us at Admin@aanw.org to get your name on the list that we are building to host a Zoom session to repeat this for those who were unable to attend the event.  We have had a lot of requests to find a way to repeat this PowerPoint presentation, and we are looking into hosting a Zoom session of this in October.

Thank you,

Rick Van Der Leest

Apartment Association of Northeast Wisconsin, Inc. | President

Register here: https://bit.ly/LandEng

Those of you who were able to attend our last general meeting likely understand better, now more than ever, the ever-changing landscape of operating as a residential rental property owner, property manager and investor.  One of the many topics we discussed had to do with evictions and their relationship with tenant screening standards. 

These two issues are an excellent example of several related issues (many of which we discussed this month at our meeting) that are “nested” and complex in developing common-sense solutions within a broad coalition of Stakeholders, from all points of view.

Members who were not able to attend this months meeting, can email us at admin@AANW.org to let us know if you are interested in attending a Zoom session, where we plan to walk through that presentation again.

The more educated everyone is on all of this, from as many points of view as possible before we have our September meeting with the candidates running for the State Senate and Assembly races, the better the quality of the questions and discussions we can have that evening.

Now to the specifics of this Blog Post…

The introduction to this article is below, and the link beyond that will take you to the full article.

“Landlords and local governments across the country could soon face legal consequences for kicking out renters who for decades have faced housing discrimination: People who dial 911 or are the subject of calls to police.

In American cities big and small, experts say many renters have for decades faced possible housing discrimination stemming from so-called 'crime-free' and 'anti-nuisance' property ordinances − rules that rely heavily on 911 call records. If a renter − or someone in their household − violates an ordinance by racking up 911 calls, the rules say they must leave their apartment, or be evicted…”

Click on the link below for the full story, and the link below that one will give you the PDF of the letter the Justice Department sent out on Aug 15^th, to all of the local and state governments, referred to in the article.

Evictions for making too many 911 calls happen. The Justice Department wants it to stop...

DOJ Crime Free & Nuisance Letter (8-15-2024) 

Please remember to email us and let us know of your interest in attending a Zoom session recap of our August meeting.

Thank you,

Rick Van Der Leest

Apartment Association of Northeast Wisconsin | President

The Cato Institute does a good job in this article to introduce the relationship between market prices and the various ways that governments have controlled them through different price control mechanisms in the past, present, and the related discussions for the future.

Additionally, highlighting what some of the historic unintended consequences have been when free market pricing mechanisms have been artificially managed and/or manipulated by well intended policy makers.

Currently, the consequences and failures of these proposals receives little debate and discussion, but this will and should change in order for the US to avoid making some extremely seriously flawed policy decisions that will do far more harm than good to the housing industry.

If we head down this path of price controls, the unintended consequences will not just negatively impact rental property owners and managers but will also act as a series of tipping dominos that will hurt our resident customers and their families as well.    

Click on the link below to read the article, or you can also simply listen to it:

Market Prices and Price Controls: An Introduction

~ Admin Support ~

The Apartment Association of Northeast Wisconsin

Dear Rental Property Owners, Property Managers and Investors -

There has been a great deal of coverage this entire year about several, less friendly ideas for both our Resident Customers (Tenants) and Owner/Managers, as potential solutions to the affordable housing crisis we have across this entire country.

All too often we are hearing or reading of ideas being thrown out by advocacy groups and politicians on both sides of the aisle at times, to jockey for position (votes) as elections loom.

We plan to dive a little deeper into some of these ideas as they relate to the rental housing industry next week, August 14^th, at our monthly meeting.  So please make sure you mark your calendars and sign up on our website so we can keep track of attendance.  We anticipate both the August and September meetings to be well attended given the subject matter, and timeliness given the election cycle we are in.  (Please note that the September meeting is planned to be a "Legislative Meet-and-Greet" event so please get signed up for this event as well.)

In our August meeting we will be discussing the State of the Rental Housing Industry with a brief recap of:

• Advocacy Efforts at the Federal and State Levels
• NAA Dollar of Rent Updates
• Our own Dollar of Rent Analysis (Updated)

After this we will take a deeper dive into what’s getting all the attention related to concepts like those listed below (and more):

• Rent Control
• Eviction Records: Sealing, Retention & Removal
• Just Cause Evictions
• Non-Renewal Restrictions and Requirements
• Screening Standards
• Junk Fees

The link to the article listed below does a good job of summarizing one of the key points above, Rent Control, and what we know about how we got here.  Note, there are several hyperlinks embedded in this article that we encourage you to click on and become familiar with.

Click below to go to this article…

https://www.vox.com/housing/365063/kamala-harris-housing-rent-control-landlords

We hope to see all our members at next week’s meeting, Wednesday, August 14th and next month's meeting, Wednesday, September 11th !!

The Apartment Association of Northeast Wisconsin

Looking to maximize your short-term rental investment?

Check out this informative blog post from AirDNA on cost segregation for short-term rentals. Learn how to save money and optimize your property’s financial performance!

Read it HERE.

Looking for a local, informative session to learn more about your short-term rental property in Green Bay? 

Don't miss the FREE Short Term Rental Property Owner Training on August 7, 2024, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary! Learn about important processes, ordinances, and policies. Register now and ensure your property meets all local requirements.

Location: 1660 East Shore Dr, Dick Resch and Family Learning and Conservation Center

Register Here

For more details, contact Melanie Skalmoski at Melanie.Skalmoski@greenbaywi.gov or (920) 448-3260.

#GreenBay #ShortTermRental #PropertyTraining #CommunityEvent