Lakes Area Realtors Association

             Is it really true that the King Kong version of the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board is finally dead? There are certainly indications that the monster machine, builder hater is now cooling its engines before coming to the negotiating table. And, it’s about time.

            The members of the Board actually showed willingness to compromise on issues that they were not willing to budge on less than a year ago. Recently, the Board modified shoreland zoning regulations for development standards. Initially revised regulations that were adopted in June irrationally would have required properties within 1,000 feet of a water body to meet strict square footage maximums of roofs, driveways and other hard surfaces in order to reduce water runoff into lakes and streams. Now that standard has been changed to 300 feet. This is a win-win situation for all, including builders, home owners and the DNR.

            Of course I care about the quality of our lakes. I know we don’t have a resource more important than water here in Wisconsin, and I understand the value of that resource from an environmental and economic perspective.  Yet, 1,000 feet from a body of water is a long distance, and I find it difficult to believe that the runoff from a home 1,000 feet from a lake will pollute that waterway. There are studies that show that farm runoff from that distance will affect the waterway, but there is no solid evidence that proves water runoff from a building 1,000 feet away will cause harm.

            Another change limits the expansion of an existing home closer than 75 feet from the water. The change specifically states that an owner can’t expand the building’s footprint horizontally within 75 feet of the ordinary high water mark, but a homeowner can build an addition vertically if the structure is 35 feet from the water. I believe this regulation change is reasonable. It still gives the home owner an opportunity to make changes to the property while respecting the shoreline.

            The regulations don’t affect property on waterways in incorporated area. So, if you live in Lake Geneva, this will not affect you. If you live in a town like Sugar Creek on a waterbody such as Wandawega, the new regs will affect your property. Don’t forget that counties can pass greater restrictions than the state, and it is always important to check a county’s shoreland zoning rules before taking on a project.

            The DNR is realizing the importance of give and take. Its job is to protect and conserve our natural resources, not kill our economy. Hopefully what happened with all parties at the negotiating table will be a trend now and for future generations.

Mike VanderBunt 

By Royce K. DeBow

Southeastern Wisconsin Governmental Affairs Director

Wisconsin REALTORS^® Association

Everyone continues hoping and searching for signs the economy is stabilizing and will improve. Unemployment figures may be the most often discussed economic indicator, and rightfully so. There is tremendous focus on how to slow job loss and how new jobs might be created. Jobs are an easy-to-understand measure of our economy and its direction. But there are other signs which also point to an improving, declining or stagnant economy. One of those is housing. Federal lawmakers realized housing’s importance when approving a refundable $8,000 tax credit for certain buyers. A local Realtor^® can help anyone determine if they qualify for the credit. The credit was increased from $7,500 and has sparked some sales. Now, Congress is weighing various options, including maintaining the credit, increasing it and expanding it to more buyers. Lawmakers of both major parties as well as independents know housing must recover for the economy to recover.

For individuals, over the long-term, real estate has proven a sound investment. It also serves as more than just a long-term appreciating asset. Home ownership is the American Dream and for good reason. It is a place to build memories, raise a family, contribute to a community, and make lifelong friends from ones neighborhood. It also strengthens the economy and personal wealth through related spending, appreciation and increased equity.

The data surrounding sales of new and existing homes, as well as foreclosures helps paint a very accurate picture of the economy. The fact that some of these signs are improving may indicate increases in positive economic activity later this year. Improvements in lending practices, appraisals and other parts of the housing industry are all contributing to a bright future for homeowners. When loans to buyers with sufficient credit are made, returns on those loans fuel other business activity, as does the purchase of the home itself. Each home purchase sends a ripple affect through a local economy. Buyers of condos, duplexes, and standalone single-family homes make myriad other purchases. Those purchases are nearly all made locally. Appliances, flooring, furniture, and professional services are just a few areas in which new homeowners often spend money. From hiring a lock smith to buying a lawn mower, paint, or lighting fixtures, home buyers spur the economy near their new home, an economy that provides jobs to area residents. In addition, home ownership stabilizes communities. Preserving and increasing home ownership must continue being a goal of local, state and federal officials.

As we continue searching for answers to difficult economic questions facing our families, communities, state and nation, valuing home ownership must be part of the solution. Policy makers at the local level can do their part by not adding or increasing barriers to home ownership, such as raising fees to a level that discourages new construction, sales or purchases of existing homes. State legislators can ensure new laws and changes to existing law; do no harm to the housing industry. Finally, Congress can adopt policies, such as expanding the first time buyer tax credit, which will help more qualified people buy their first home. New rules can allow the credit to be applied as part of the down payment, thus making monthly mortgage payments more affordable for more people. Ensuring recovery of the housing market ensures a faster recovery of the economy, something we all look forward to.

Legislating Through a Budget: A Great Place to Hide

            Simply put, our Wisconsin state budget is not a tool for creating policy. Unfortunately, our legislators in the majority and the governor do not feel that way. Legislators have compromised principles to help fund special interest projects in our budget. After seeing the countless list of earmarks that were slipped in, I believe it is time that we structurally change budget creation.

            The state should switch to a line item budget so that every earmark gets broken down into a separate bill. Legislators would have to vote for each earmark based on its merits alone. That’s the way it should be done. Imagine every legislator being accountable for every vote on every bill. There would be no excuses. Hard to believe?

            After the passing of this last budget, I would assume this issue will be a topic debated during the next campaign for governor. I would be surprised if the Republican Party did not make it a part of its policy agenda.

            If we switched to line item budgeting it would certainly reduce the amount of legislation we see passed every couple years. I don’t think any legislator, Democrat or Republican, would be very happy deliberating each earmark thrown his/her way.

            We also would not have to worry about the line item veto, which has been abused by Doyle religiously. The governor, in essence, could make an earmark even worse. The line item budget would place each and every legislator on an island. Let them sweat over their decisions.

            Among some of the earmarks passed in our budget were the following. Marquette University, a private school, will receive $3.33 million for their engineering school, and on a smaller scale, $5,000 will go toward the Human Concerns of South Milwaukee Food Pantry.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, here are your beloved earmarks.

• $3.3 million over two years, and a promise of $1.66 million in a third year, for new Marquette University engineering building.
• $2 million grant for Milwaukee Workforce Investment Board.
• $700,000 for Pleasant Prairie Technology Incubator Center.
• $600,000 for Milwaukee Health Services dental clinic.
• $521,800 to expand Langlade County Family Care program.
• $500,000 for Eisner Ave. project (Sheboygan County).
• $400,000 for bicycle lanes on County Highway B (Douglas County).
• $300,000 to monitor Petenwell and Castle Rock flowages.
• $295,700 supplemental payment to Trempealeau County nursing home.
• $248,400 to keep open State Patrol posts in Spooner, Tomah.
• $175,000 for Town of Stockton (Portage County) rail crossing upgrade.
• $108,000 for Plum City/Union Fire Department equipment.
• $100,000 for HIV/AIDS programs of Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin Inc.
• $100,000 for Lake Koshkonong management study.
• $60,000 for Plum City School District.
• $60,000 for Pepin Area School District.
• $60,000 for Cochrane-Fountain City School District.
• $50,000 for Barron County Restorative Justice Programs.
• $50,000 for Merrill center for abuse victims.
• $10,000 for Oneida County trail crossing.
• $5,000 to Human Concerns of South Milwaukee.
• Allow Burnett County to enact local sales tax of between 0.5% and 1%, if voters approve, to upgrade radio towers.
• Direct UW-Stevens Point to hire director of Wisconsin Institute for Sustainable Technology.
• Require UW-Stevens Point to start bachelor’s degree program in nursing.
• Change state law to let 400 retirees of now-closed Tower Automotive in Milwaukee pay premiums to enroll in state health-care programs.

            If this isn’t enough to make you sick, then I don’t know what will. When given the opportunity to spend money, some fiscally irresponsible legislators will jump all over it. It’s time we take away the legislature’s control of our money and runaway spending. The current budget structure only seems to lead to late budgets, higher taxes, and higher debt. It’s time to budget responsibly; it’s time for a line item budget.

Mike VanderBunt, LARA Executive

As Realtors® one of our jobs is to provide our clients/customers with as much information as we can.  We email listing sheets with additional photos, maps, documents & even virtual tours.  However, when a branded virtual tour (meaning a virtual tour showing the agents name, photo, company logo & contact information) is posted in the MLS by the listing agent/office do you send that to your client/customer? 

Current Metro MLS policy allows for branded virtual tours to be posted.  However, shouldn’t we be posting unbranded virtual tours (tours without any agent contact info) so all agents send them out & all buyers receive them?  As a listing agent I understand and respect the fact they’d like to have their information on the tour if possible.  However, if it’s not being sent out to potential buyers by other agents, are you really helping your seller?  As a selling agent do you want your buyer looking at the listing agent’s contact information?

 From a future IDX feed standpoint:  As technology evolves I can only assume the MLS will begin to send virtual tours in their IDX feeds (hopefully sooner rather than later). Does Company A really want tours on its Web site that are branded with Company B’s information? By uploading an unbranded virtual tour, companies who receive virtual tours in their IDX feed would receive the unbranded tour for their Web sites.  If the listing company or agent would like to upload a branded tour to a company or agent Web site, then by all means do it!  Let’s leave the MLS as a source for fair, unbranded tours that we can all send to our buyers.  After all, isn’t the point of selling real estate to actually SELL properties?

Tara Dedeo, Marketing Coordinator, Coldwell Banker Primus of Lake Geneva

Those who know me know that I am not a fan of artificial government stimulus for our economy. But, I do realize that our country’s economy, and specifically our housing industry, needs immediate help. I think Realtors, builders, and private property owners will directly benefit from the following specific programs in the package.

1. Home Buyer Tax Credit: This was increased from $7500 to $8000, but most importantly, the repayment requirement has been officially eliminated. Hopefully, this will push a few of the fence-sitters. It’s only for 1st time homebuyers of a principal residence, but it is certainly an incentive for renters. The only problem, who qualifies for a loan? If you are explaining this to a customer or client, make sure to mention that the credit will be claimed on a tax return to reduce the purchaser’s income tax liability.  If any credit amount remains unused, then the unused amount will be refunded as a check to the purchaser. Nothin’ like getting a check to purchase a home!

2. The feds did throw a bone to commercial real estate, maybe more like a small doggy treat: There are business tax incentives, but most of the incentives focus around green construction and energy efficiency. There will be funding for state energy programs. But, will that come back to business owners? Well, we do live in Wisconsin. Government first, Right? I’ll be surprised to see those funds in the hands of business owners. Realtors and builders should be aware of a particular benefit to small businesses; certain provisions of the bill provide tax relief in the area of bonus depreciation and capital expenditures. Also, there will be a 5-Year carryback of net operating losses for small businesses.

3. Neighborhood Stabilization Program: This probably won’t affect our markets. It’s primarily for communities decimated by foreclosures. $2 billion will go into this program.

4. Rural housing: If you don’t know much about the USDA loans, you need to educate yourself about them. The funding will only affect about 200,000 potential homeowners. RHS provides both a guaranteed loan program and a direct housing loan program for those meeting the program’s eligibility criteria.

5. Low-income housing grants: States can trade 2009 low-income housing tax credits for Treasury grants to finance construction or acquisition and rehab of low-income housing. This includes those with or without tax credit allocations.

6. Tax-exempt housing bonds: Tax-exempt interest earned on specified state and local bonds issued during 2009 and 2010 will not be subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT).  Financial institutions will have greater capacity to purchase tax-exempt state and local bonds.

7. Energy efficiency housing tax credit: The best part of this credit, and one that you really should educate your customers and clients about is  that through 2010, homeowners will be able to claim a 30% tax credit (up from 10%) for purchases of new furnaces, windows and insulation. 

Knowing some of these programs may help you put a customer or client in a home. At the least, it will show that you are more knowledgeable and credible. I think it is in the best interest of all members to educate themselves further on this stimulus package, and specifically on the programs I highlighted which affect our industry and your business.

Mike VanderBunt, Association Executive

Lakes Area REALTORS® Association

Some people don’t believe that one can live an urban lifestyle in a small, rural community. I believe we can have the best of both worlds, and we need to start moving in that direction.

Walking distance to a downtown is a major attraction, not just for the young and/or affluent, but for people of various household income levels and needs.  The importance of walking or riding a bike to the coffee shop, produce market, library, post office, etc., has become evident. But, the consumer also wants quick access to bike trails, nature conservancies and parks.

We can’t meet the needs of the consumer and our communities without the cooperation of a variety of entities, public and private. Local municipalities and business associations must demonstrate they are pro mixed use and support affordable housing. Planning commission members and village/city board members need to be more educated on the benefits of mixed use and affordable housing and less concerned about some of their ridiculous ordinances.

Zoning will have to change. High density must be mandated for downtowns. Architectural scales and building setbacks will have to be loosened.

 It seems like the only question we ever hear during a planning commission meeting is “What about the parking? Is there enough parking?”  I say, hec with the parking! If the goal is to slow down driving and the use of the automobile, then shouldn’t we be minimizing parking and creating bike lanes and pedestrian paths?

Encourage growth downtown and the construction of green buildings.  The consumer wants efficiency, and wants to support merchants who build green commercial. Yet, it is important to blend new and old. Preserving significant, old architecture preserves the history of communities.

From what I have seen, our downtowns do an excellent job of encouraging and coordinating pedestrian-intensive activities. Venetian Fest and Winter Fest in Lake Geneva are a huge success. These activities are important because they are not as possible in suburban areas.

We have seen some of our communities implement certain concepts of downtown housing, but have we reached its full potential? We have done an excellent job accommodating the second home, empty nesters, but why have we ignored the needs of families and lower income households? Obviously, this has happened in large because of the exponential appreciation of land.  But, public subsidies and higher density should drive those prices down.

We have seen the short-term successes of mixed use, and many are realizing its economic and environmental impacts.  Yet, more work needs to be done to bring about balance to downtown housing and sustainability. Mixed use and affordable housing needs are not going away. Embrace downtown development, and encourage your local board members to get to know and understand the urban-rural experience.

When you submit an application to a government body to build an addition to your house, rip rap your shore line or cut down trees in the front yard, you expect that the application will be reviewed and acted upon in a timely matter. That is not always the case.

            I’ve actually worked for certain government bodies that purposely ignored applications. There was a time I was told by a supervisor, “Just put that in the bin, and leave it there. Maybe they will just go away or forget about it.” That type of attitude is lazy and disrespectful to the public.

            Of course, we do not want our government bodies to undermine permitting processes as well. Rubberstamping a project because it is someone they know or failing to complete required analyses of the project are also public injustices. No government body should abandon its mission by rushing a permit out the door.

            Yet, why should an applicant wait for months to know what is happening with her/his application to build a garage, rip rap a shoreline, place a pier, etc? This is why Wisconsin needs to make mandatory significant reductions in the time required to exercise this regulatory function. We need clear and simple permit processing deadlines. Applicants should be made aware of those deadlines either when they are given an application or when they are submitting an application. State departments and local municipalities must create timelines for permit responses.

            And, if a permit is not acted upon within the time required, it should be automatically approved.

Mike VanderBunt

LARA Association Executive

In rural Wisconsin, particularly in counties such as Walworth, there are calls to preserve farmland. Approaches range from moratoria preventing all development, to slowing the rate at which agricultural land is used for non-agriculture purposes. Preserving farmland is indeed a worthy goal, but no less worthy than building someone a home, constructing a place of employment, or any myriad of legitimate uses for property.

Development opponents often base their preference for stopping a particular development on a false premise. Some claim the land in question is pristine or unique and must be preserved. That may be said of any parcel. No two are exactly alike, thus all are unique. In terms of pristine, that is clearly subjective in both undeveloped and developed states. A home on a wooded lot is not an uncommon dream. Those who seek to prevent that home from being built are often already living their dream. Or, they may claim not to have moved here to have it become like the city or suburb they left. Naturally, when others are seeking a similar dream, they must be stopped. While self-governance is a cornerstone of local government in Wisconsin, extending that province for the purpose of turning others away from a community seems un-neighborly at best and downright elitist at worst. Not to mention, it nearly always involves dictating how others may or may not use their property.

Another false premise is density. It seems there is never-ending criticism that nearly any proposal is too dense, even those where more than half the land will remain open. Not only is this a poor argument, it contradicts the desire to preserve farmland. The bigger the lots, the more land is necessary to support each home. While conservation subdivisions have their place among market choices, mandating them is bad policy. First, it discourages affordable housing. Large lots almost always mean larger than average homes which mean higher than average prices. Also, if you are leap-frogging five acres at a time per home, then you are consuming farmland or open space at a much, much faster rate than more dense or clustered developments.

Our new Blog page is now up and running. We are the first local Realtor® Association in Wisconsin to have a Blog page. This page will give the association and its members greater visibility and allow members, with the public, the opportunity to discuss important issues pertaining to the real estate industry. We encourage all members to participate.

It is important to understand our comments policy as follows. By submitting your comment to this blog, you are allowing the Lakes Area REALTORS® Association the right to use and/or display it at our discretion.  We reserve the right to remove any comment due to offensive or inappropriate language, relevancy, commercial endorsements, and spam. This could be done manually or due to automated spam detection software. We will not remove or edit comments we disagree with nor will we edit comments to change the commenter’s intention.

There are many reasons why it is a good idea to Blog with the Lakes Area Realtors® Association. This is an opportunity for members to stay on top of and embrace the communications technology. Through participation and practice, you may find Blogging to be a marketing opportunity.

Blogging is an opportunity to learn. We will be discussing very important private property rights issues on this Blog page. These issues will be relevant to your business, and give you an idea of what your peers and the public believe.

Blogging gives you a chance to publish your writting. You can share your intellect with the world!

This is a opportunity to contribute to the association and the industry. It will show that you take your career very seriously and professionally.

If you have any ideas for future topics, please let us know. We are always looking for important issues to bring forward.

Mike VanderBunt, Association Executive, Lakes Area REALTORS® Association