Celebrating Our 25th Year!

WI-CARH Fall 2024

Newsletter

Falling into Fall

Fall is a great time of year for so many things. The change of weather, cooler nights, more moderate days, and certainly shorter days all signal that summer is over, and we progress to the next season. Wisconsin certainly has a distinct four-season calendar. That is one of the things we can all appreciate about our state.

At WI-CARH, as we continue through our 25^th year as an organization, we look ahead to our annual conference which is being held on October 24^th at the Wilderness Hotel & Resort in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. The board and conference committees have worked diligently to prepare a lineup of speakers who will provide the most up-to-date information on a variety of topics that can help you navigate the management and funding hurdles you face in affordable housing. If you have not registered for the conference, please consider doing so today.

WI-CARH has always listened to its members when it comes to trainings, events and support you may need over the course of a year. Several years ago, membership favored having our conference be a one-day affair. Everyone is busy and we took this advice to heart. We will have a long day on October 24^th but there will be something for everyone.

Our sponsors and exhibitors will be available all day to discuss their services and products that can help you manage your properties more efficiently and provide cost-effective solutions to your problems.

We look forward to seeing you in October at the Wilderness!

Russell D. Kaney

President, WI-CARH 

Register for WI-CARH's 25th Annual Conference to be held on October 24, 2025

Join your housing colleagues for the 25th Annual WI-CARH Conference on Thursday, October 24 at the Wilderness Resort in Wisconsin Dells. Management of affordable housing is not easy. Dealing with property issues, budgets, and compliance issues are concerns for all in affordable housing. You will have a chance to network with your peers. There will be a variety of exhibitors with services and products that can assist you with your housing operations.

Who should attend:  This conference will be relevant to property managers, owners, developers, housing authorities, decision-makers, and anyone involved in affordable and rural housing. 

The conference will address the timely issues and topics that matter to you. Highlights will include:

• Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA) Updates
• Rural Development Funding Updates and Decoupling
• Opportunities Under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)
• Technical Assistance For RRH 515 Transfers
• Funding Opportunities Through the Federal Home Loan Bank-Chicago
• Federal Funding Updates for Housing
• Lease and Legal Updates for Wisconsin
• WI-CARH Awards for Property and Maintenance Excellence
• Help WI-CARH celebrate the 25th anniversary of our housing organization

Tentative Schedule 

7:30-8:30 am - Registration and Breakfast with the Sponsors and Exhibitors

8:30-10:15 am - Sessions

10:15-10:45 am - Break with the Sponsors and Exhibitors

10:45-12:00 pm - Sessions

12:00 -1:15 pm - Lunch and Awards Ceremony

1:15 -2:45 pm - Session

2:45-3:00 pm - Break with the Sponsors and Exhibitors

3:00-4:30 pm - Sessions

4:30-6:00 pm - Social Hour Reception

Fees

WI-CARH Members: $245 or three or more at $190

Non-Members:  $400 or three or more at $350



Payment

Payment can be made via PayPal or by check. Please make check payable to: WI-CARH, P.O. Box 258098, Madison, WI 53725. Sorry, credit card payments are not available.

Location and Hotel Information

The 25th annual conference will be held at Wilderness Resort - Glacier Canyon Lodge, 45 Hillman Rd, Wisconsin Dells, WI 53965. Please call them at 1-800-867-9453 and tell them you are with the Leader #989234.  



Be A Sponsor and/or an Exhibitor at the 25th Annual Meeting and Conference

You are invited to join us as a Sponsor/and or Exhibitor at the 25th Annual Conference. Please consider signing up today to help make this education and training opportunity affordable to all in the rural housing industry. You can click here for more information and to complete the form.

Thank you to the 25th Annual Conference Sponsors and Exhibitors

Please click on their logos for more information

Award Nominations for Site Manager, Maintenance Person, and Property of the Year

Don't delay! WI-CARH is now accepting your nominations for the following awards:

Site Manager of the Year

Maintenance Person of the Year

Property of the Year

Recipients will be announced at the WI-CARH Annual Conference on October 24, 2024. Each winner will receive recognition at the WI-CARH Annual Conference. 

We welcome nominations from WI-CARH members, property management staff, residents, and cooperating agencies (such as USDA-Rural Development, Wisconsin Housing, and Economic Development, lenders, etc.).

Award Nomination Form

RD Management Fees Published for Fiscal Year 2025

CARH’S BROADCAST EMAIL – Regulatory Update

July 25, 2024

On July 19^th, Rural Development (RD) published Procedural Notice (PN) 619 announcing management fees for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. Management fees vary from state-to-state as RD based this year’s increase on HUD’s Operating Cost Adjustment Factor (OCAF) which varies based on location in the country and is applied to each state’s current maximum fee. Except for FY 2023 when RD based the management fee increases on HUD’s FY 2022 Income Limits, they have used OCAF as the base since FY 2015.

To view the chart listing your state’s FY 2023 management fee adjustment, visit pages 56-57 of Attachment 3-F, Chapter 3 of HB-2-3560. Note, the 2^nd column on the management fee list, shows where management fees were increased to a minimum of $80 for states that had a FY 2024 management fee of less than $80. (Those states are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Utah, Virgin Islands, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.) CARH over the last year had discussed with RD officials the need to increase the minimum fee for those states. The minimum fee was established many years ago. The cost of managing properties continues to increase and the minimum fees that had previously been used did not reflect actual property operations. Thank you to the efforts of management committee members who advocated for higher base fees to officials in the national RD office. The third column provides the OCAF adjustment percentage, and the final column provides the final FY 2025 fee rounded up to the nearest dollar. RD had informed attendees to CARH’s Annual Meeting and Legislative Conference that the adjustments outlined in the PN would be made.     

The PN includes allowable add-on fees of $5.00 per unit per month. CARH has advocated for add-on fees since 2014 and RD began making them available beginning with the FY 2021 budgets. See section 3.8 B.2 (page 3-16) of the PN for the list of add-on fees. Of particular interest to many CARH members is the $5.00 add-on fee for properties where there are multiple subsidies (i.e., reporting requirements in addition to and separate from Low-Income Housing Tax Credits or project-based Section 8).

For those properties wanting to claim the add-on fee for management of properties in a remote location, beginning in FY 2023, RD provided a definition of “remote location” as those properties located within the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) Level 4 Frontier & Remote (FAR) Area codes. According to the PN, “the following states/territories do not have areas that meet the Level 4 FAR definition: Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and the Virgin Islands. Properties in Alaska or Hawaii that are authorized to take the “off-road” management fee are not eligible to claim an additional add-on fee for remote location. If the property does not suffer difficulty retaining staff, obtaining services, or if management offices are located near the Level 4 FAR property, management should refrain from claiming this add-on fee. If a property is not located in a Level 4 FAR area, and management can justify a remove location add-on fee, they may request an exception. Reasonable justification must be submitted to the MFH servicing specialist for review. Justifications could include extensive travel time, difficulty obtaining services or retaining staff, or required unique means of travel (4-wheel drive, ferry, etc.).”

CARH will continue our discussions with RD regarding any future concerns regarding management fees. Please contact the CARH National Office at carh@carh.org or 703-837-9001 should you have questions or concerns.

For other news and information affecting the affordable rural housing industry, please visit the Newsroom on CARH’s website, www.carh.org

WHEDA Administers New Loan Products to Increase Affordable Housing Options

Learn more about WHEDA’s new funding programs and sign up to be notified of the next funding round:

On June 27th, 2024, Governor Tony Evers announced the second round recipients for the Vacancy-to-Vitality, Infrastructure Access, and Restore Main Street Loan Programs.

• News Release
• June 2024 Loan Funding Cycle Recipients

The next loan application cycle opens in the fall of 2024. Learn more by visiting the Infrastructure Access, Restore Main Street, and Vacancy-to-Vitality product pages listed below.

Governor Evers has signed into law a Bipartisan Housing Legislation Package that will help expand access to safe, affordable housing for working families. WHEDA is administering four loan programs that will emerge from this housing legislation. The new products are critical to providing solutions to address the state’s housing crisis. Learn more about this $525 million investment in affordable housing here.

What Municipalities Need to Know about WHEDA’s New Loan Programs

WHEDA will administer the following four programs:

Infrastructure Access Loan

Assembly Bill 264, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 14; amended by Assembly Bill 1075, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 209:  

 Infrastructure Access competitive loan information

This competitive loan program allows a residential housing developer to apply for a loan to cover the costs of installing, replacing, upgrading, or improving public infrastructure related to workforce housing or senior housing. These costs are typically covered by the developer.

Restore Main Street Loan

Assembly Bill 265, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 15:  

Restore Main Street competitive loan information

This competitive loan program allows an owner of rental housing to apply for a loan to cover the costs to improve housing located on the second or third floors of an existing building with commercial space on the ground level.

Vacancy-to-Vitality Loan Program

Assembly Bill 268, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 18:  

Vacancy-to-Vitality competitive loan information



This competitive loan program allows a developer to apply for a loan to help cover the cost of converting a vacant commercial building to workforce housing or senior housing.

Home Repair and Rehab Loan (Home R&R Loan)

Assembly Bill 267, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 17:  

Learn more about the Home Repair and Rehab loan information

This loan program makes modifications to the Workforce Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program administered by WHEDA.

Questions?

View our FAQ's or email us at home@wheda.com.

Legislative Updates

Want updates on WHEDA's progress toward providing all people in Wisconsin with an affordable place to call home? Subscribe now!

USDA Newly Published HOTMA UL

USDA Rural Development (RD) Multifamily Housing (MFH) is pleased to announce the publication of a HOTMA UL. (Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA) (usda.gov)) This UL is a follow up to our March 4, 2024 UL notifying staff and stakeholders of the RD HOTMA exceptions for implementation. The purpose is to provide additional guidance and timeframes for RD implementation and includes a 10-page FAQ resource. Look for a GovDelivery notice coming soon also. If you do not currently subscribe to GovDelivery for RD MFH news, you can do so here: subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com.

25 Years of WI-CARH Trivia

WI-CARH offers a scholarship to current residents, property employees, or a direct family member of a property employee of a WI-CARH member affordable housing community. What year did the scholarship program begin?

Answer

Who received the first scholarship and what property did they reside in?

Answer

WI-CARH 2025 Residential Lease Will be Available the end of October

The WI-CARH Lease will be available at the end of October and is approved for use in any Rural Development supervised property. Using this lease for your property will ensure that you are in compliance with Wisconsin law and RD regulations while saving you the expense of hiring a lawyer to do the same thing. Just like last year, it is available in three formats:

FHA Software Generated Lease - WI-CARH has teamed up with Simply Computer Software to give FHA Software users the access and ability to generate their WI-CARH Residential Lease and Amendments forms within their FHA Software program. Users of this program can generate the lease through the RD 3560-8 Tenant Certification - PRINT options window. All of the applicable project, unit and tenant information will automatically be inserted.

Stand-alone WI-CARH Lease Generation Program - A link will be sent to you from Simply Computer Software that will allow you to download and install the WI-CARH Lease Generation Program which includes pre-entered property listing information you provided. To produce a lease, just open the program, select the property, enter pertinent tenant information, and print.

Paper Lease - A package of 10 leases and 10 amendments will be shipped to you which you will use to handwrite all pertinent tenant information.

To purchase the lease, complete the lease order form and mail it in with your payment to the WI-CARH Office at: P.O. Box 258098, Madison, WI 53725.

New Youth Grant and Scholarship Opportunities

Wisconsin Council for Affordable & Rural Housing (WI-CARH) is accepting applications for the Youth Grant and Scholarship program.  

WI-CARH is expanding the opportunity to not only current residents, but now to property employees, or a direct family member of a property employee of a WI-CARH member affordable housing community.

Please spread the word and help us make a difference in a student's future! Youth grants not exceeding $500 per student per year, until all funds are used, will be awarded to enable students in grades 3-12 to participate in an academic enrichment activity. Eligible activities include Driver Education, Little League, Soccer, Volleyball or Basketball Leagues, 4H Camp, Music or Band Camp, Sports Camp, Cheerleading Camp, Girl Scouts or Boy Scout Camp, and an International Youth Exchange Program. These activities are on a year-round basis and not limited to the summer.

Help your residents achieve their educational goals. A $500 scholarship will be awarded to a graduating high school senior or adult wishing to further their education. Eligible applicants can use the scholarship at any two (2) year or higher accredited public or private school in the State of Wisconsin that offers an associate or undergraduate degree or a vocational/technical

program. 

Download the attached grant and scholarship flyer and post it in your lobby or breakrooms. Please contact the WI-CARH office with any questions.

Mark Your Calendars - 2024/2025 Dates

October 24-25, 2024: 25th Annual WI-CARH Conference & Board Meeting, Wilderness Territory, Wisconsin Dells

May 14-15, 2025: Spring Training at the DoubleTree by Hilton Madison East, 4402 E. Washington Avenue, Madison

October 22-23, 2025: 26th Annual WI-CARH Conference & Board Meeting, Wilderness Territory, Wisconsin Dells