As the year winds down, it’s the perfect time to start thinking about what’s ahead. Whether you ’ re reflecting on your wins from this year or setting new goals for 2026, Milwaukee REIA is here to help you every step of the way From providing the latest tools and resources to offering education that keeps you ahead of the market, we ’ re committed to helping you make informed decisions and grow your real estate business.
Stay connected with us to make sure you ’ re up to date on trends, opportunities, and strategies that can give you a head start in the new year. Let’s finish 2025 strong and set the stage for an even more successful 2026!
Join Local Experts to Learn New Laws, Legislation and Updates for 2026
Between new regulations, rising costs, and an uncertain stock market, 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable years investors have seen in a long time. What worked before might not work now - and ignoring what's coming up could cost you big Here’s a closer look to what the speakers will be talking about during this important meeting:
Lisa Peterson - FinCEN Updates
Real estate transactions are about to look very different, are you prepared? On March 1 2026, certain residential real estate transactions MUST be reported to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Investors need to know the rules or face financial and criminal penalties for non-compliance
Taylor Rens - New Affidavit of Interest Law
A new Wisconsin law now limits when Affidavits of Interest can be filed on properties, allowing them only if certain requirements are met. The law defines a “non-improvement contract” agreements that don’t involve physical work or improvements and restricts affidavits in those cases to prevent misuse or clouding of title. While a few exceptions exist for legitimate ownership or improvement interests, investors should stay alert to potential loopholes that could still create gray areas under the new rules.
Sam Stair
Over 700 doors owned Additional 200 doors under management Bought 1 Duplex in 2001 Now we have multiple strip malls, daycares, mixed use commercial buildings and an underground bunker house Owns S2 Real Estate management where we manage all these properties, we do almost everything that doesn’t include permits Has personally handled 100’s of eviction cases Pro Se Used Chat GPT to file appellate case when Judge Morales made bad rulings
Doors open at 6pm, followed by networking, Haves & Wants, and then the featured presentation!
Dave Graf | 920-203-6087 | dave@gsifoundations com
Taylor Rens | 414-296-6225 | taylor rens@zrlaywers com John Newland | 414-852-0921 jnewland@terranova-realestate.com
Farsht | 262-208-4708 | info@reiahardmoney com 414-276-7378 | membership@aasew org
Milwaukee REIA Vendor Highlight
Hiring Your Spouse? Here are Ways to Maximize Tax Savings
BY: TIFFANY MCBROOM AND MELANIE SIKMA VIA REALESTATEINVESTINGTODAY.COM
Did you know that hiring your spouse as an employee in your business can lead to significant tax savings? However, if not done correctly, this arrangement can backfire.
Here are five key things to keep in mind to ensure compliance and maximize your benefits:
1. Pay Tax-Free Employee Benefits, Not Taxable Wages
Instead of paying your spouse a traditional salary (which is subject to payroll taxes), consider providing tax-free employee benefits. Certain benefits, such as health insurance, are not taxable income to your spouse-employee but are fully deductible as a business expense for you as the employer. The key requirements:
Your spouse must be a bona fide employee (not a co-owner).
The total compensation, including benefits, must be reasonable
2. Set Up a Medical Reimbursement Arrangement
By hiring your spouse and adopting the right type of medical reimbursement plan, you can convert health insurance premiums and other medical expenses for your spouse, yourself, and children under 27 into fully deductible business expenses. This strategy allows you to reduce your taxable income while covering essential healthcare costs
3. Take Advantage of Additional Fringe Benefits
Beyond health benefits, your spouse-employee can receive other tax-free perks, including:
Job-related education expenses (such as tuition for work-related courses).
Life insurance (up to $50,000 in coverage).
Working condition fringe benefits (such as a smartphone, laptop, or office equipment required for their job).
De minimis benefits, such as occasional meals, snacks, gifts, and event tickets (like theater or sports events)
4. Be Aware of Certain Restrictions on Tax-Free Benefits
Some benefits come with limitations:
Section 127 education plans prohibit tax-free educational benefits for spouses if you own more than 5% of the business
Transportation benefits (like parking and transit passes) can be tax-free for your spouse only if you both work in an outside office. However, these benefits are not deductible for you as the employer.
5. Ensure Your
Spouse
is a Bona Fide Employee
To legally qualify for these tax advantages, your spouse must be an actual employee, not just a coowner You must be able to prove: Your spouse does real work that benefits the business They are paid for their work (via wages or benefits). They work under your direction and control as an employee. Their compensation (including benefits) is reasonable for the work performed.
By following these guidelines, you can legally reduce taxes while making the most of your business structure If you have questions about setting this up correctly, please reach out to us at the info below
** one more thing; This is a friendly reminder that the extended tax filing deadline for the 2024 tax year is coming up on October 15, 2025. **
Tiffany McBroom and Melanie Sikma are a sister powerpack combo! They grew up listening to Byron, who is their father, mentor and guide, talk tax and financial strategies with his business owning friends on camping trips Byron has been a CPA for 30+ years and thrives on finding new solutions to saving business owners more on taxes His excitement for helping entrepreneurs make their dreams come true led both of them into the same field as him Learn more by visiting onestoptaxstrategistscom
HACM Update: Notice to Owners Regarding Delayed Payments
VIA: RENTAL PROPERTY ASSOCIATION BLOG (AASEW.COM)
From the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM):
For many years, it has been the policy of the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM) Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program to place Housing Assistance Payments on hold if a participating household has failed to comply with their annual income re-certification obligations and the re-certification becomes more than three months past due. This policy exists to protect public funds by ensuring payments are not made on behalf of households and units that are no longer eligible for assistance.
In January of 2025, HACM retained the services of CVR Associates, Inc (CVR) to manage its HCV Program. CVR is a national consulting firm with extensive HCV experience. They identified significant file deficiencies which must be corrected and have delayed the processing of annual recertifications It is vitally important to make these corrections in order to ensure data integrity going forward However, as a result, payments have been held up for approximately 500 assisted households.
To ensure that owners are not unduly penalized, HACM has temporarily changed its policy so that payments are not placed on hold unless the income recertification is more than six months past due. Each account is being handled individually to ensure data accuracy and payments will be made on a rolling basis with all payments expected to be completed by October 31, 2025
Additional resources have been deployed to assist with the necessary file processing. We encourage you to work with your affected tenants to ensure they remain compliant with program requirements Non-compliant households could be subject to program termination in the coming months. We should also remind landlords that if they are missing HAP payments, they can contact our call center at (414) 286-5650 for assistance. If you believe you are missing any payments or have any other questions or concerns, please contact us at (414) 286-5650
The HACM and CVR teams extend our sincere appreciation to landlords for their patience and understanding as we work through these challenges
We value your partnership and ongoing collaboration in supporting families who rely on the Housing Choice Voucher Program
Tool of the Month
RESIMPLI - REAL ESTATE INVESTOR CRM
RESimpli is the only all-in-on real estate investor CRM software that helps you manage Data, Marketing, Sales and Operations.
This is the tool, we use in our home buying business Why did we choose it?
Automated Lead Follow-Up with Drip Campaigns
Detailed KPI Dashboard that tracks EVERY DOLLAR SPENT
Task creation that is tagged for filtering
National Benefit of the Month
SAVE UP TO 45% WITH FEDEX
We’ve worked with FedEx to bring National REIA members discounted shipping rates on eligible services. Sign up for the FedEx Advantage® discounts program to start saving.
With the FedEx Advantage program, you’ll get:
45% on FedEx Express® shipping
25% on FedEx Ground® shipping
25% on FedEx Home Delivery®
Tier 6/506 pricing on FedEx Ground Multiweight® shipping
33% of Americans Have More Credit Card Debt Than Savings
BY: BRAD BECKETT, REALESTATEINVESTINGTODAY COM
According to Bankrate data analyzed by Statista says one in three Americans now have more credit card debt than emergency savings. This is up 10 percentage points from 2011, when the question was first polled In addition, around 53% of respondents said their savings were currently exceeding their credit card debt
The most common uses for emergency savings among all groups were unplanned emergency expenses, such as car repairs or medical bills, followed by monthly bills, including rent and mortgages, followed by day-to-day expenses such as food
