If your rents are below market, you may want to make a plan to get them closer to market rent, as most of these initiatives have a starting point of freezing rents where they are at, at the time of the enactment, regardless of where they may be relative to markets rents...

Click on the link below for this article.

Waters, House Democrats Press for Rent Hike Limits at Fannie, Freddie Properties

Wisconsin Real Estate Program to Add New Graduate Track in Affordable Housing and Sustainable Development.  

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Wisconsin Real Estate Program To Add New Graduate Track in Affordable Housing and Sustainable Development

"Renters Rights" Legislation is About Optics, Not Solutions...

State government could help renters by making it easier for developers to create new units and by refraining from imposing new laws that raise costs. When a soaring cost of doing business and the headaches of consistently losing income due to new laws become the norm, property owners will not be the only ones to suffer.

What good are “renters rights” laws if the number of rental units shrinks?

Click on the link below to read a refreshing article...

Renters Rights Legislation is About Optics...Not Solutions

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will hold a public hearing on Thursday, September 7th, 2023 regarding Legal Action's Petition to remove Eviction Records after one year, if no money judgement was involved.

For more information on this petition, please click on the link below to read a related article...

Legal aid lawyers want most eviction court records removed after one year

Rick

Foreclosure Activity Dips in July While Lender Repossessions Continue to Climb

According to the ATTOM Data’s July 2023 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, there were 31,877 U.S. properties with a foreclosure filings in July – down 9% from June but up 5% from one year ago. In addition, ATTOM says nationwide one in every 4,380 housing units had a foreclosure filing in July, 2023. States with the highest foreclosure rates were Maryland (one in every 2,071 housing units with a foreclosure filing); New Jersey (one in every 2,335 housing units); Delaware (one in every 2,343 housing units); Illinois (one in every 2,430 housing units); and South Carolina (one in every 2,511 housing units).

“The slight decline in foreclosure filings we are seeing is yet another sign of a rebounding housing market…With home prices back up, several factors have combined to put more financial resources in the hands of homeowners, providing more options to avoid foreclosure. However, given with the U.S. housing market remains in flux, the various forces at play could keep the market improving or turn it back downward over the coming months.” Said Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM.

Lenders repossessed 3,332 U.S. properties through completed foreclosures (REOs) in July 2023, up 4% from last month and up 9% from last year. States that had the greatest number of REOs in July 2023, included: Illinois (355 REOs); Pennsylvania (230 REOs); California (217 REOs); Michigan (200 REOs); and Texas (200 REOs).

Article by Brad Beckett, Director of Education & Outreach, Real Estate Investing Today, National Real Estate Investors Association (NREIA).

There are many things I am sure we don't agree with, in the research/analysis (link below), but that doesn't change the fact that more and more of this rhetoric fuels the fire.

We are hearing more and more about this sentiment across many markets, from the local, state and federal levels.

While it may be much to do about nothing, from a legal, can they do it point of view, our concern is how many landlords get taken back to the woodshed, spend time and money over frivolous muck started because of this sentiment, and "Win".  Only having to sell, close up shop...after winning. 

'Renters Are Struggling': Economists Back Tenant-Led Push for Federal Rent Control

Rick

The Biden Administration announced in Mid-July that it has enlisted the help of several real estate platforms in taking on so-called “junk fees” in rental housing in order to “lower costs for renters.” These partnerships include Zillow, Apartments.com, and Affordablehousing.com. The statement concludes by saying that in the coming months the Biden Administration will work with Congress, state leaders, and the private sector to address these so-called “rental junk fees” in an effort to build “a fairer rental housing market.”

Below is an except from the White House’s release:

July 19, 2023

FACT SHEET: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Takes on Junk Fees in Rental Housing to Lower Costs for Renters

Major rental housing platforms and several states join the President’s effort to crack down on rental housing junk fees for consumers and increase transparency.

Today, President Biden is announcing a new front in his crackdown on junk fees: rental housing. From repeated rental application fees to surprise “convenience fees,” millions of families incur burdensome costs in the rental application process and throughout the duration of their lease. These fees are often more than the actual cost of providing the service, or are added onto rents to cover services that renters assume are included—or that they don’t even want.

Rental housing fees can be a serious burden on renters. Rental application fees can be up to $100 or more per application, and, importantly, they often exceed the actual cost of conducting the background and credit checks. Given that prospective renters often apply for multiple units over the course of their housing search, these application fees can add up to hundreds of dollars. Even after renters secure housing, they are often surprised to be charged mandatory fees on top of their rent, including “convenience fees” to pay rent online, fees for things like mail sorting and trash collection, and even so-called “January fees” charged for no clear reason at the beginning of a new calendar year. Hidden fees not only take money out of people’s pockets, they also make it more difficult to comparison shop. A prospective renter may choose one apartment over another thinking it is less expensive, only to learn that after fees and other add-ons the actual cost for their chosen apartment is much higher than they expected or can afford.

Today, the President will outline several new, concrete steps in the Administration’s effort to crack down on rental junk fees and lower costs for renters, including:

• New commitments from major rental housing platforms—Zillow, Apartments.com, and AffordableHousing.com—who have answered the President’s call for transparency and will provide consumers with total, upfront cost information on rental properties, which can be hundreds of dollars on top of the advertised rent;
• New research from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which provides a blueprint for a nationwide effort to address rental housing junk fees; and
• Legislative action in states across the country—from Connecticut to California—who are joining the Administration in its effort to crack down on rental housing fees and protect consumers.

 

Article by Brad Beckett, Director of Education & Outreach, Real Estate Investing Today, National Real Estate Investors Association (NREIA).

To say that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the US real estate market would be an understatement. In fact, it’s hard to imagine any market in the world that wasn’t affected by the pandemic.

We watched the world face uncertainty, fear, and one of the most significant cultural shifts in recent history. How we live and work will never be the same, and it’s still unclear how and when the pandemic’s impact on the housing market will subside.

Click on this link below for the complete story...

How has COVID Affected the Housing Market (2023)