Celebrating Our 25th Year!
WI-CARH Winter 2024
Newsletter
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Message from Russell Kaney WI-CARH President | |
Happy Holidays from WI-CARH
Seasons greetings from WI-CARH! We do not have the snow, yet, but the cold makes it feel like the holidays. This is a great time of year to enjoy family and friends, we trust your plans include some “downtime” to relax and reflect on all that has happened in 2024. At the same time, looking ahead to 2025 cannot be ignored.
Thank you to all our members who supported WI-CARH in 2024. WI-CARH celebrated a 25th anniversary in 2024 and we acknowledged this achievement all year long with the final celebration at our October conference held at the Wilderness.
2025 promises to be an equally challenging year in affordable housing. As anticipated, changes to regulations brought on by HOTMA will finally kick in. For those attending our spring training and conference training sessions, WI-CARH brought together members with US Housing Consultants to navigate and understand these changes. Look for additional assistance from US Housing Consultants later in the newsletter.
Keeping Wisconsin housed has never been more critical to the health and well-being of the state. We know you are doing your part. We hope that WI-CARH will continue to be a resource for you and your organization going forward. Renew your membership for 2025 and take advantage of our discounted lease program, spring training sessions and our annual conference.
We look forward to serving you in 2025.
Russell D. Kaney
President, WI-CARH
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US Housing Consultants Working With WI-CARH on Compliance Issues | |
The WI-CARH Board of Directors is happy to announce that beginning January 1, 2025, US Housing Consultants will be available to answer questions on leasing, income and asset compliance issues that members confront due to the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA) which will take effect in 2025. This legislation passed in 2016, has been delayed several times while the regulations were rewritten and finalized.
The contract with US Housing Consultants will allow you to submit questions and issues to Diane Hamm at WI-CARH, which will be passed along to our housing specialists at US Housing Consultants. This service will be free to all WI-CARH members in 2025.
WI-CARH acknowledges that not all housing management agents and owners have the resources to hire consultants to assist with difficult issues. USDA-RD response times are not always consistent and timely. The service will run through 2025, when the bulk of the HOTMA changes are effective. We encourage every member to contact WI-CARH, diane@wicarh.org if they have questions.
Please note that our spring training, scheduled for May 14-15 at the Doubletree Hotel in Madison, Wisconsin will also feature training from US Housing Consultants. Save the date!
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25th Anniversary Conference a Big Success | |
The annual conference of the Wisconsin Council for Affordable and Rural Housing (WI-CARH) was held on Thursday, October 24th at the Wilderness Hotel and Conference Center in Lake Delton, Wisconsin. The conference celebrated a successful 25 years of WI-CARH providing education, advocacy, and collaboration with housing providers statewide.
Russell Kaney, WI-CARH President, welcomed attendees and provided a brief overview of the day. The conference opened with remarks from Julie Lassa, State Director of Rural Development-USDA. State Director Lassa highlighted the various programs available in Wisconsin through USDA but also mentioned she was well aware of the housing owned and managed by attendees. She thanked all housing professionals at the conference for keeping Wisconsin housed.
The keynote session for the morning featured Randy McCall from US Housing Consultants. Mr. McCall highlighted the changes brought on by the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA). His presentation covered income and asset calculations and special circumstances and changes that management agents need to be aware of.
Prior to a break with our exhibitors, we asked all exhibitors to introduce themselves and provide a brief overview of their services and products. Their attendance is appreciated as they connect directly with housing providers from across the state of Wisconsin.
Colleen Fisher provided a “View from Washington” on housing funding issues, Rural Development transition news, and policies that the Council for Affordable and Rural Housing (CARH) is advocating currently and into 2025. Ms. Fisher is the Executive Director of CARH and represented CARH at our first conference 25 years ago.
The Rural Development session was highlighted by remarks from Eric Siebens, Midwest Regional Director USDA Multi-Family Housing. Mr. Siebens updated the audience on rent increases, budgeting, decoupling legislation MPR applications/processing, and more.
Lunch provided an opportunity to network with fellow housing practitioners before the WI-CARH award and scholarship presentations.
Congratulations to The Meadows Apartments in Darlington, WI for being named the Property of the Year. Staff from Wisconsin Management Company (site managers) and the developers/owners, Cinnaire, and Southwest Wisconsin Community Action Program were on hand to receive the award.
Site Manager of the Year was won by Arlene Odeja for her outstanding work at Riverview Manor, a property owned by the Housing Authority of the City of Burlington, WI.
Maintenance Person of the Year was awarded to Michelle Vedder, from Marathon County Housing, also managed by Wisconsin Management Company.
Our scholarship winner was Kyra, a resident at a Wisconsin Management Property. A big thank you to Board members Denise Loveland and Donna Braun for their work on the awards and scholarships.
Denise Loveland also acknowledged the efforts of Russ Endres and Russ Kaney for their 25 years as members and Board members of WI-CARH.
The afternoon sessions started with a property lease review by Kevin Martin, Partner at Michael Best & Friedrich. Mr. Martin is engaged by WI-CARH to review and update the property lease giving property owners and management agents the assurance that all RD and State of Wisconsin regulations are being met. Leases are available for 2025 through WI-CARH in both electronic and paper versions.
The Wisconsin Office of Rural Prosperity, a relatively new arm of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) was represented by Beth Haskovec, their Director. Ms. Haskovec reviewed their mission, programs, and resources available to rural Wisconsin.
Rural Rental Housing Preservation was a topic explored by Leah Hall, Director of Community Development at the Minnesota Housing Partnership (MHP). Ms. Hall reviewed the basics of a transfer of an RRH 515 property from seller to buyer. MHP has a contract with USDA-RD to provide technical assistance to not-for-profits that are interested in purchasing and owning rural multifamily units financed by Rural Development. The assistance is free and available statewide.
After an afternoon break with the exhibitors, Karen Liu-Yates, Community Investment Programs Specialist with the Federal Home Loan Bank-Chicago reviewed the Affordable Housing Program (AHP) and the Downpayment Plus (DPP) program available throughout Wisconsin and Illinois. Both are grant programs that have a one-time per-year funding cycle.
Tommy Harshaw, an Associate with the Eckland & Blando law firm in Minneapolis, MN. explained the settlement process that certain owners may qualify for.
The final session of the day was titled, “Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Turns Two-What’s Working and What’s New”. Rob Dicke, Senior Manager at Baker Tilly and a WI-CARH Board member, Emily Millar, Energy Advisor at Focus On Energy, and Eliza Webb, Vice President of Business Development at Cinnaire gave an update on renewable energy funding from the IRA, early successes and what lays ahead for 2025.
The always popular door prizes closed out our conference along with a complimentary spring training voucher for a free registration in May 2025.
Feedback from attendees was very positive and WI-CARH is grateful and thankful to all attendees, all exhibitors, and all sponsors of our 25th anniversary conference.
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Thank you to the 25th Annual Conference Sponsors and Exhibitors | |
A special thanks to the 2024 Sponsors and Exhibitors
for making this event a success.
Please click on their logos to go directly to their websites.
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Congratulations WI-CARH Award Winners! | |
There were multiple nominations for the WI-CARH awards this year. We were pleased to announce the following award recipients at our 2024 annual conference in November. If you would like to submit a nomination for the 2025 conference, please fill out this form.
Property of the Year: The Meadows Apartments in Darlington, Wisconsin. Managed by Wisconsin Management Company
Congratulations to The Meadows Apartments for winning the 2024 WI-CARH Property of the Year Award. The Meadows is a 32-unit project in Darlington, Wisconsin, designed exclusively to support agriculture, farmworkers, and their families. The Meadows is managed by Wisconsin Management Company Inc. Cinnaire Solutions Corporation, a nonprofit development affiliate of Cinnaire, served as a co-developer of the project along with Southwest Wisconsin Community Action Program (SWCAP). Cinnaire provided a $3.8 million LIHTC investment and a $260,300 redevelopment loan to support the project. Additional financing for the $8.8 million project was provided by: USDA Rural Development ($3,280,000 loan and rental assistance on all units); Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) AHP grant ($480,000); State of Wisconsin HOME Funds ($987,000) and redevelopment funding from United Migrant Opportunity Services (UMOS). The development is the first of its kind in Wisconsin to combine the USDA RD Farmworker housing loan with WHEDA tax credits.
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Maintenance Person of the Year: Michelle Vedder
Congratulations to Michelle Vedder, from Marathon County Housing, managed by Wisconsin Management Company Inc. received the 2024 WI-CARH Maintenance Person of the Year. A resident stated that, "Michelle goes above and beyond her job duties. She is very reliable. She communicates to you and doesn't make you feel your problems or questions are not worth her time. She is prompt, thorough, and oh-so bright. I feel we are extremely blessed to have Michelle as a maintenance person. We just love her!”
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Site Manager of the Year: Arlene Odeja
Congratulations to Arlene Odeja from Riverview Manor - Housing Authority of the City of Burlington for the 2024 WI-CARH's Site Manager of the Year. A resident stated that, "Arlene does a great job. She communicates with residents and allows many different activities to take place such as potlucks, bingo, Christmas parties, and other activities. She has a great personality, and I enjoy living here very much.”
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Youth Enrichment Grant: Kyra
Congratulations to Kyra for receiving funds to pay for her driver’s education and she lives in a Wisconsin Management Company property.
We can’t thank you guys enough for this. There is no way we could afford to pay for this. Much appreciation!
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A message from Julie Lassa, USDA Rural Development State Director | |
With the transition to a new presidential administration, my tenure as Wisconsin State Director for USDA Rural Development will end in January. I am incredibly grateful to President Biden, USDA Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, and Rural Development Under Secretary Basil I. Gooden, Ph.D. for the opportunity to serve in this position. I also want to thank US Senator Tammy Baldwin, Congressman Mark Pocan, and former Congressman Ron Kind for their support. It has been an honor to work with the dedicated RD employees to deliver programs and funding that strive to build more resilient and prosperous rural communities.
I am extremely proud of our accomplishments and over the coming weeks, I will be highlighting and sharing our success stories.
I appreciated the good working relationship with WI-CARH and its leadership including the willingness to engage on issues important to members. I also enjoyed being able to visit projects to see how Rural Development investments were being used to improve the quality of life of residents.
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USDA Multifamily Housing Stakeholder Announcement | |
Rural Development Multifamily Housing HOTMA Implementation Update
Washington D.C., October 03, 2024 - The Rural Housing Service (RHS) Office of the Multifamily Housing (MFH) is announcing a change in the implementation date of the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA).
On September 20, 2024, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that the compliance date will be extended to July 1, 2025. To align with HUD, RHS Multifamily Housing is extending full implementation of applicable HOTMA regulations until July 1, 2025. All MFH tenant certifications effective on or after July 1, 2025, must comply with HOTMA requirements.
RHS published an Unnumbered Letter (UL) on August 19, 2024, notifying MFH staff of the anticipated timeline for HOTMA implementation. As indicated in the UL, updated Management Interactive Network Connection (MINC)/Industry Interface specifications for software providers have been posted on the MINC home page. Due to the new implementation date, please note the following:
- The updated Form RD 3560-8 is expected to be published in October 2024. Since tenant certifications can be submitted to the Agency up to 90 days before their effective date, please note the following:
- The updated Form RD 3560-8 will be used for the submission of tenant certifications effective July 1, 2025.
- Once the updated form is published, the current Form RD 3560-8 will be renamed Form RD 3560-8A and should be used for tenant certifications effective before July 1, 2025.
- Updates to Handbook 2-3560, originally scheduled for October 2024, will be delayed until January 2025.
- Any references to January 1, 2025 in the UL should be replaced with July 1, 2025.
- The Passbook Savings Rate increase from 0.4% to 0.45% will be implemented January 1, 2025.
HOTMA was signed into law on July 29, 2016, and directed HUD to update income calculation rules found in the Housing Act of 1937. To incorporate the changes made by HOTMA, HUD published a Final Rule on February 14, 2023, updating the existing 24 CFR 5.609 and 24 CFR 5.611. The HOTMA changes found at 24 CFR 5.609(a) and (b) and 24 CFR 5.611 affect the RHS Multifamily Housing portfolio. (See UL published March 4, 2024.).
To subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit the GovDelivery subscriber page.
For program information...
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USDA Multifamily Housing Stakeholder Announcement - Spotlight on Tenant Recertifications | |
Spotlight on Tenant Recertifications
Washington D.C., September. 24, 2024 - Rural Development (RD) Multifamily Housing (MFH) has created Processing Tenant Recertifications: A Guide for Multifamily Housing Owners and Management Companies as a reference resource for RD MFH owners and management agents.
The guide outlines the recertification process; includes regulatory citations for easier reference; and identifies requirements to ensure process compliance, such as:
- Timeframes for Notifying Tenants
- Documenting Proper Notification
- Tenant Failure to Recertify
- Owner or Manager Recertification Responsibilities
- Processing an Eviction
To subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit the GovDelivery subscriber page.
For program information...
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Upcoming Housing Tax Credit (HTC) Compliance Workshops | |
This workshop will provide an overview of the Housing Tax Credit Program, compliance requirements, and WHEDA’s monitoring procedures. It is designed to be particularly useful to on-site managers and individuals who have not previously attended Section 42 Training. Included are general resident certification procedures, forms, WHEDA’s reporting and inspection requirements, and the basics of what to expect when physical and file reviews are conducted.
3-DAY VIRTUAL TRAINING
Tuesday 12/17, Wednesday 12/18, Thursday 12/19, 2024
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. each day
Remote via Zoom
What to Know
- This session will be spread out over the course of three days, for two hours each day.
- The instructor will be available for one hour at the end of each session for a Q&A.
- All participants will receive a digital copy of the presentation, booklet, and other necessary materials before the training.
- If you prefer to have a physical copy of the booklet in addition to the digital materials, please indicate so and provide your mailing address to communications@wheda.com upon registration.
- A link to the Zoom meeting will be sent via email prior to the training.
Register for the December 2024 Workshop
1-DAY IN-PERSON TRAINING
Tuesday, February 4, 2025
8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.*
WHEDA Headquarters
(908 East Main Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53703)
What to Know
- Parking is included in the price of the ticket.
- On the day of the training (02/04/2025), please enter the parking structure next to WHEDA Headquarters via Brearly Street.
- Park your vehicle in a spot designated as "WHEDA Employees Only".
- Lunch is NOT provided.
- Light refreshments will be available in the morning.
- Participants are welcome to bring their own lunch or walk to a local eatery or store over the lunch break.
*Depending on the class structure and number of questions, this class may go past 4:00 p.m. Please plan accordingly.
Register for the February 2025 Workshop in Madison, WI
Future Workshops
The Housing Tax Credit Compliance Workshop is coming to the Milwaukee and Wausau areas in early 2025. The Housing Tax Credit Compliance Workshop is coming to the Milwaukee Area on February 6, 2025 and Wausau on January 28, 2025. Once venues are confirmed, additional information will be available.
Questions?
Please send clarifying questions to john.unertl@wheda.com.
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WI-CARH 2025 Residential Lease is Available | |
The WI-CARH Lease is available and is approved for use in any Rural Development supervised property. Using this lease for your property will ensure that you comply 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 but are not limited to, 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.
| Become a 2025 Member of WI-CARH |
Renew your WI-CARH Membership today! Not a current member? Now is a great time to join!
WI-CARH is dedicated to assisting you in the rural housing industry.
Through your membership, you help support an organization made up of your peers and housing professionals both within the State of Wisconsin and nationally. WI-CARH members include builders, developers, lenders,
management companies, owners, non-profit agencies, and vendors. You also have the opportunity to meet industry leaders and align yourself with a diverse group of businesspeople involved in every sector of the affordable housing community.
When you become a member of WI-CARH, you gain access to important tools, information, and services. The monetary benefits range from discounts on conferences, training, and leases to savings through the CARH Preferred Buyers Club program.
More information on the benefits of membership can be found on our website. If you are a current member, invoices have been sent and are due February 21, 2025. If you are not a member, simply complete the form and mail it along with a check to WI-CARH at P.O. Box 258098, Madison, WI 53725.
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WI-CARH's Spring Training will be held on May 14-15, 2025, at the DoubleTree in Madison. Gary Kirkman from US Housing Consultants will be the trainer. More information will be available soon.
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WI-CARH's 26th Annual Fall Conference will be held on October 22, 2025, at the Wilderness Resort in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. More information will be available at a later date.
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We appreciate our association during the past year and extend our very best wishes for a Happy Holiday Season! | |
Please visit our links below to gain the most up-to-date information pertaining to affordable housing providers and managers.
Rural Development - Wisconsin - link
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Mark Your Calendars - 2025 Dates | |
May 6, 2025: Board of Directors Meeting at the
Wisconsin Management Company, Madison, Wisconsin
May 14-15, 2025: Spring Training at the DoubleTree by Hilton Madison East, 4402 E. Washington Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin
September 9, 2025: Board of Directors Meeting at the Wisconsin Management Company, Madison, Wisconsin
October 22-23, 2025: 26th Annual WI-CARH Conference & Board Meeting, Wilderness Territory, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin
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We would love to hear about it!
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