With the New Year firmly underway, many of us are working hard at implementing our real estate investing goals for 2013. There is however one group out there that may be trying to thwart you. They generally get together at the beginning of every year and devise ways to make your job harder. No I am not talking about your tenants, but about your state legislature.
Our legislature meets annually here in Tennessee, as I think most of the rest of the states do so as well (with some exceptions like Texas which meets every two years). And every year there is a host of legislation that we real estate investors have to invest time and energy in getting defeated or at least watered down. This year is no different.
Take for example Tennessee House Bill 533. If this bill is signed into law, landlords across the state will have the additional burden of giving 24 hours notice before the execution of an eviction and compiling a complete inventory of the tenant’s belongings before being set out on the street. I think after all of the court proceedings the tenant is aware of the pending eviction and should have made arrangements to secure their possessions.
Bills such as these only serve to make our jobs as investors more difficult. I know that you and I both would rather be devoting our energies to growing our businesses, creating wealth and jobs and improving our communities, however every year we have to divert some of our precious time and energy to fight these battles.
What You Should Do
I strongly suggest that you keep aware of what your legislature is proposing to write into law. Even the smallest, seemingly innocuous proposal, such as changing the word “or” to “and” can have a marked affect on our business. All facets of real estate investing can be affected by state law. There were efforts in several states a few years ago to outlaw “flipping” for example, others have made it more difficult to use private lenders.
The big boys such as the REITs have paid lobbyists to watch out for their interests. We smaller real estate investors simply do not have those types of resources. You can of course keep track of various bills yourself. The Tennessee Legislature’s website actually makes it pretty easy as you can search by subject and even watch live streaming of debates and votes.
Another great resource may be found at your local REIA group or other local real estate trade organization. Our local REIA group for example tracks bills which affect our business, provides updates, talking points and contact information for our legislators. It also works in conjunction with other REIA’s across the state. There is definitely strength in numbers.
So keep up with what your legislature is doing. Get informed and plug into some local real estate trade groups such as a REIA or apartment owner’s association. Your business may very well depend on it.
Photo: Phil Roeder
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Kevin -
Isn’t that something! I agree with you completely. The tenant should be out and if they are not, they should be responsible for their belongings. They were told to move.
Sharon
Could not agree more Sharon!
It seem we have to deal with stuff like this every year.
Thanks for reading and commenting,
Kevin
Thanks for bringing this to our awareness Kevin.
I would add one more thing. Do not only get plugged in, but become part of a committee in your local REIA or apartment manager assoc. I personally work as an assitant to our local REIA legistrative committee. In addition to helping the club, you also stay up to day and are able to make a difference in your community.
Lee Carney
Lee,
Good advice.
I also worked with my REIA on keeping up with legislative matters and working with other REIAs across the state. Our members really appreciated the benefits of learning what our legislators were up to.
Thanks for reading and commenting,
Kevin
Death and taxes are the only certainties in life ………. but death does NOT get worse every time Congress (or state legislators) meet.
Kevin,
Well said.
Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment,
Kevin
Until we investors band together and form our own groups such as NAR, we have little room to cry about these rules. Landlords could easily have more say than the NRA and NAR combined. Our numbers are staggering. Think about a 50% owner occupant neighborhood. 50% of those homes have landlords. Just one neighborhood of 1000 homes could have 100+ landlords.
Jason
I agree, Jason. I’d love to set something up so we can do this, but I just can’t do it on my own. Perhaps we should set up a thread on the forums to see about any interest?
Josh,
For state or national level or both?
Kevin
Both.
Jason,
You are correct, especially on a national level, something to look into perhaps. But most politics are local. At my local REIA we work on keeping up with our city and county and at this time of year with what our state is doing. We have talked here in Tennessee of forming some type of statewide organization (like Ohio’s OREIA) but for now it has just been talk. We do rally the statewide troops however when the need arises.
Thanks for reading and commenting,
Kevin