May 19

In my embarrassingly long time at rental real estate, I started in 1977, I have seen low prices, I have seen low interest andI have seen easy money, but never all three at once. If real estate investing was a horse race this would be the trifecta.

Today there are really powerful opportunities as interest rates are at record lows, real estate prices remain depressed and there is actually money available for the right deals and the right borrowers.  As far as depressed pricing you can purchase properties today at the prices they were going for in the mid 90’s but now those properties have vinyl siding, new windows and good roofs.  Interest rates? HUD has 35 year, assumable, fixed rate multifamily loans available at silly low rates.  LTV of 83%. I think they are even non recourse.   Friday the rates for the 223 (f) were posted as 2.95%.

Find the right larger deal today, get it financed under these terms and you could quite honestly be set for life, barring of course our government doing something really stupid and destroying the entire economy.

AASEW president Joe Dahl has arranged to have four leaders in Milwaukee area lending speak to the Apartment Association tomorrow Monday May 20th.

The meeting is free for current AASEW members and $25 per person for those who are not members, but at $99 a year who would be in this industry and not be a member.

When: Monday, May 20th, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.

Where: The Best Western, 1005 S. Moorland Road, Brookfield 53005

More info about the meeting and the Association at:

http://apartmentassoc.org

May 11

all, another, any, anybody, anyone, anything, both, each, each, other, either, everybody, everyone, everything, few, he, her, hers, herself, him, himself, his, I, it, its, itselfmany, me, mine, more, most, much, myself, neither, no, one, nobody, none, nothing, one, one, another, other, others, ours, ourselves, several, she, some, somebody, someone, something, that, their, theirs, them, themselves, these, they, this, those, us, we, what, whatever, which, whichever, who, whoever, whom, whomever, whose, you, your, yours, yourself, yourselves and I would add “thing

Pronouns –   They confuse coworkers, cause mistakes and in general put your business more at risk of failure.  Rather than say “him” say Joe. Rather than “there“, say the west wall of the living room.  Say a few more words now to save a long discussion about what went wrong and who is to blame later.

May 10

Fellow Members,

As you have heard me say many times the association is at a critical point, and we must unite together or become powerless separately. The board has adopted an aggressive agenda and will need all hands on deck to make it a reality. The status quo is no longer acceptable and I promise the association will be more active and involved during the next election cycle than we have been in a long time. I am worried about many things including expansion of the Rental Inspection Programs and possible use of Eminent Domain by the City of Milwaukee. I have no doubt the City has both on its mind but I promise the association will give them hell every step of the way.

To ensure the association is in a position to protect our rights we must increase both our membership and business sponsorship’s. I want you to invite every landlord you know to our upcoming May 20th meeting. This meeting will feature some of the top lenders in the area and should be an informative and worthwhile conversation. I need everyone of you to work on behalf of the association and help us gain strength in numbers. Many of you have answered the call and your energy has been felt and is making a difference.

After the last meeting a number of members spoke to me about the importance of supporting businesses that support us. This is a topic I am passionate about and have spoken to frequently. If any vendor you use is not a business member of the association I want you to invite them to our next meeting as a guest of the association. I want them to experience first hand the energy and passion of our organization. I believe this is the best way to get them to see the value of being a part of what we are doing. Please email me if you will be bringing anyone and take a moment to introduce them me at the meeting.

For the past 4 months I have been negotiating with both Home Depot and Sherwin Williams about offering our membership a discount on their products and joining the association. I am happy to announce that representatives from both organizations will be at our next upcoming meeting and we will be announcing the details of the partnerships.

If you can only attend one meeting for the entire year, this is the one you do not want to miss!

Our industry is only as strong as our association and our association is only as strong as our membership. I look forward to seeing all of you at the meeting.

All the best,

Joe Dahl
President
Apartment Association of Southeastern WI
Meeting Details:

Financing Real Estate in Today’s Market.

When: Monday May 20th, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.

Where: The Best Western, 1005 S. Moorland Road, Brookfield 53005

Who: Panel of local lending experts.

Cost: This meeting is free for current AASEW members, $25 for guests or expired members

May 05

HUD has released a final rule on service animals and companion animals as they relate to ADA and fair housing.  Read the full HUD Final rule on service animals.  Below is an excerpt of the most pertinent part.

Housing providers are to evaluate a request for a reasonable accommodation to possess an assistance animal in a dwelling using the general principles applicable to all reasonable accommodation requests. After  eceiving such a request, the housing provider must consider the following:

(1) Does the person seeking to use and live with the animal have a disability — i.e., a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities?
(2) Does the person making the request have a disability-related need for an assistance animal? In other words, does the animal work, provide assistance, perform tasks or services for the benefit of a person with a disability, or  provide emotional support that alleviates one or more of the identified symptoms or effects of a person’s existing disability?

If the answer to question (1) or (2) is “no,” then the FHAct and Section 504 do not require a modification to a provider’s “no pets” policy, and the reasonable accommodation request may be denied.  Where the answers to questions (1) and (2) are “yes,” the FHAct and Section 504 require the housing provider to modify or provide an exception to a “no pets” rule or policy to permit a person with a disability to live with and use an assistance animal(s) in all areas of the premises where persons are normally allowed to go, unless doing so would impose an undue financial and administrative burden or would fundamentally alter the nature of the housing provider’s services. The request may also be denied if:

(1) the specific assistance animal in question poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others that cannot be reduced or eliminated by another reasonable accommodation, or

(2) the specific assistance animal in question would cause substantial physical damage to the property of others that cannot be reduced or eliminated by another reasonable accommodation.

Breed, size, and weight limitations may not be applied to an assistance animal. A determination that an assistance animal poses a direct threat of harm to others or would cause substantial physical damage to the property of others must be based on an individualized assessment that relies on objective evidence about the specific animal’s actual conduct — not on mere speculation or fear about the types of harm or damage an animal may cause and not on evidence about harm or damage that other animals have caused. Conditions and restrictions that housing providers apply to pets may not be applied to assistance animals. For example, while housing providers may require applicants or residents to pay a pet deposit, they may not require applicants and residents to pay a deposit for an assistance animal

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