Real Estate & Construction
Zoning and Legal Compliance: Key to Successful Downtown Development
For developers, adeptly navigating the intricate web of zoning laws and regulations is paramount to ensuring that projects not only comply with local ordinances but also align with community standards.
Understanding Zoning Regulations
Zoning laws are essential for urban planning, dictating how land can be used. They help maintain order and prevent conflicts between different land uses, like residential and industrial areas. Developers must possess a thorough understanding of these laws to avoid legal disputes and project delays. Interpreting…
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Weekly Hospital Real Estate Briefing: Top 10 Real Estate Market Trends We’re Tracking
We are taking a break from our regular briefing this week to focus on a list of trends we are seeing in the market. Take a look at our list—if we didn’t cover a trend you are seeing in the market, send us a note. We always enjoy hearing from our readers. As always, if we can be of service to your organization, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Navigating Flow-Down Clauses in Federal Projects
Federal projects can be complicated – prime contractors must deal with often exacting government performance standards and obscure federal legal requirements.
Subcontracting on a federal project adds an increased level of complexity, as the subcontractor must not only meet the prime’s contractual requirements but also comply with many of these same federal clauses, which are duplicated or “flowed down” from the prime contract to the subcontract.
Samuel W. Jack, George Washington University 2008, is of counsel with Dempsey …
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How Are Landlords Affected Now That The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Has Been Told to “stand down from performing any work task” by the President?
This blog post is authored by Atty. Gary D. Koch of Pettit Law Group S.C.The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was created in 2011 primarily in response to the 2008 financial crisis and recession. It has been tasked with protecting consumers from unfair financial practices from banks, lenders, other financial companies, and, yes, even landlords. The CFPB was one of the agencies charged with enforcing the CARES Act, and has been active in regulating tenant screening processes.Earlier this February,…
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Will Credit Bureaus Continue to Escape Justice? Part 1: Why Consumers Suffer
On August 7, in Frazier v. Equifax Information Services, LLC, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a lower court’s decision to grant summary judgment to defendant Equifax, a consumer credit reporting agency (CRA), in a case brought under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
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Suffer
Do you want to know everything about Residential Landlord-Tenant Law in Wisconsin? Then Attend My Landlord Boot Camp on November 16, 2024
Do you want to learn everything there is to know about residential landlord-tenant law in Wisconsin? If so, then you must attend my next Landlord Boot Camp, which will be held on Saturday, November 16th, from 8:30 am – 6 pm at the Sonesta Hotel in WauwatosaI will cover everything a landlord needs to know about residential landlord-tenant law in Wisconsin. We will be covering the all-important topics like:
- Screening and Qualifying the Prospective Applicant and Fair Housing
Conditional Lien Waivers Under Wisconsin Law – Proceed with Caution
Construction lien waivers are an indispensable part of the traditional construction payment process. The downstream flow of payment from the owner down to the lowest tier of subcontractor depends upon them. In the real world, the lien waiver is a ticket to payment. Owners and lenders rely upon lien waivers when making progress payments. No sophisticated owner or competent construction loan dispersing agent should make a progress payment without receiving a partial lien waiver from the prime contractor and…
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Can Landlords Charge A Nonrefundable Pet Fee? Or What About Charging a Higher Pet Rent for the First Month?

I recently received a question from a client asking whether she could legally charge a nonrefundable pet fee of $150 or a more significant pet rent of $150 for the first month (with all subsequent pet rent being $50). It was an interesting question. Below is the thought process I used to analyze and provide my client with an answer.
We already know that a landlord cannot charge a nonrefundable pet deposit. My previous blog post explains why.
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Don’t Miss the RPA’s Annual Tradeshow + Speaker Event – RPA-CON 2024 – On Friday, October 25th + Saturday, October 26th
The Rental Property Association of Wisconsin’s Annual Trade Show and Speaker Event, nicknamed RPA-CON 2024, will be held this Friday and Saturday, October 25th and 26th at The Ingleside. You will not want to miss this event. Over 60+ vendors and suppliers to the Rental Industry will be present, and a slew of speakers will present on all aspects of real estate.I will provide a Landlord-Tenant Law update on Friday, October 25th, at 10 a.m. and Saturday, October 26th,…
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Avoid ‘Fraudulent Transfers’ When Conveying Rental Property to LLCs

This is a guest blog post written by Atty. Dave Espin of Pettit Law Group S.C.
In light of the recent Koble Investments v. Marquette decision, it is now more critical than ever for landlords who hold rental properties in their personal names to consider transferring them to limited liability companies. If a tenant files a lawsuit (or a counterclaim in an eviction action) against you, landlords who hold properties in their personal names could face large money judgments…
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More Heat than Light: New Laws Affecting the Construction Industry
The 2023-24 Wisconsin legislative session concluded months ago. It began like the 2021 -22 session ended, with a Democratic governor, large Republican majorities in both houses, and a $4 billion state budget surplus. Over 2,000 bills were introduced, with less than 12% becoming law, and Gov. Tony Evers continued his record-setting veto pace.
Despite that, some construction-related ideas became law.
2023-25 State Budget
The state budget deliberations take up most of the first half of odd-numbered years,…
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Ruffled Feathers: HOA Restrictions on Raising Chickens
On July 12th, Missouri Governor Parsons signed HB 2062, a House Bill that, beginning this August, may ruffle a few feathers of those developers, directors, homeowners, and others associated with Missouri homeowner associations (HOAs).
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Wisconsin Supreme Court Adopts Landlords' position on Eviction Record Retention
NOTE: The below blog post which was posted on June 18, 2024, is reproduced from the Rental Property Association of Wisconsin’s blog and was written by Atty. Heiner Giese, attorney for the RPA.
Since the Journal Sentinel and the other local news agencies won’t report on this, I thought it was important for people to know.
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The Wisconsin Supreme Court today [06.18.24] issued it’s long-awaited ruling (Rule Petition 22-03) on how long eviction case records should remain available to…
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ATTENTION LANDLORDS: Wisconsin Court of Appeals case of Koble v. Marquardt Is Now Law

This is a long blog post, and I apologize in advance, but I sincerely hope that you take the time to read it all the way until the end as it is very important that Wisconsin landlords know what they will be facing. This may be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, issues facing landlords in the last 30 years that I have been a practicing attorney, representing many of you.
Koble Investments v. Marquardt (“Koble”) is…
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3 Real Estate Issues Facing All Bank Branches
Banks own and operate a surprising amount of real estate for their branches and offices. There were over 77,500 bank branches in America as of the end of 2023. By comparison, McDonalds has about 13,000 stores in the US. That’s a lot of property, and it comes with a lot of legal considerations.
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