Nearly two years after their last meeting, Texas state lawmakers are gathering in Austin for the 87th Legislature’s regular session. For 140 days, they will debate, discuss and ultimately decide on measures of importance to Texans. “The saying goes ‘No man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the Legislature is in session,’ and it’s true,” said Reid Wilson. If anyone would know, it’s Wilson, preeminent land use attorney and chairman of Wilson Cribbs + Goren, one of the go-to real estate boutiques in Texas. Along with being a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL) and one of few practicing real estate attorneys holding the Counselors of Real Estate designation (CRE), he’s also currently serving as the chair of the Real Estate Probate and Trust Law section of the State Bar of Texas (REPTL), the bar’s largest section. “This session, REPTL’s presenting several bills to the Legislature on what we call ‘good government,’ such as cleanup, clarification and updates of real estate statutes,” Wilson said. “We say that REPTL is the keeper of Texas real estate statutes and we want to make them clear, up-to-date and unambiguous, benefiting our attorney members, the industry and the public.” For example, one bill changes provisions in the Landlord and Tenant section of the Texas Property Code. When it comes to certain tenant-made repairs, current text dictates repair services found in the Yellow Pages! Click to read more at www.rednews.com.

Student housing faced a difficult start to the 2020-2021 academic year, but the sector has proven resilient as COVID-19 continues to sow uncertainty.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit last March, colleges and universities across the U.S. switched to online learning and sent students home. In the following months, schools mapped out the 2020-21 academic year, with an emphasis on virtual learning as well as stringent safety measures to keep students socially distant. All of which would affect the demand, the value, and even the design of student housing. “Overall, the market has held up resoundingly well,” says Jaclyn Fitts, executive vice president for the national student housing team at CBRE. This fall, the company polled operators representing some 600,000 beds, a significant portion of the operators in the sector, says Fitts. “We looked at October 2019 versus October 2020, and overall, the sector is only about 3.5 percent behind in occupancy, year-over-year.” The new watchword for campus housing has become “de-densification.” Schools eased on-campus residency requirements, and many left dorms empty to use as quarantine space if needed. Research from Newmark shows similar trends. “Occupancies are within 250 to 300 basis points from where we were last year, which is pretty remarkable,” says Ryan Lang, vice chairman, multifamily capital markets, at Newmark. Click to read more at www.ccim.com.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Healthcare real estate advisory, development and management firm Realty Trust Group (RTG) announces expansion into two key regional healthcare markets, expanding its geographic presence and service offerings. “We are excited to announce our continued investments into Florida and Texas. Although we have previously served clients in both states, our new offices and resources will allow us to better serve clients across both states and regionally,” said Greg Gheen, RTG Co-Founder and President. “Our comprehensive healthcare real estate service platform is focused on helping hospitals and physician practices identify opportunities to align real estate with larger strategic initiatives from planning through implementation; allowing clients to realize cost savings and improve their market position.” RTG’s expansion into Florida will include a new office in Tampa located at 3000 Bayport Drive. The Tampa office is the firm’s sixth regional office and will be led by healthcare real estate industry veteran and RTG Vice President Thomas Wittenberg. He brings 27 years of real estate experience, with extensive sales, marketing and development accomplishments spanning the healthcare, life science, financial, institutional and government sectors. Prior to joining RTG, he served as Senior Vice President of Healthcare Development and Life Science for a Houston-based commercial real estate firm. Click to read more at www.prnewswire.com.

Build-to-rent (BTR) is a relatively new asset class that has been quietly gaining traction among both boutique and institutional investors. This exciting new asset class is exactly what it sounds like: a community of high-quality detached single-family rental properties rife with shared amenities. Historically, a developer building a community of single-family homes would follow the traditional merchant build-to-sell business model in which each home is partitioned off and sold individually. Under the build-to-rent model, a community of single-family homes is developed with the intention of appealing to the rental market, and the community operates similarly to a traditional multifamily asset. The real innovation in the build-to-rent space lies in the improved experience for tenants. BTR provides tenants with all of the best aspects of single-family rentals and upgrades the experience by developing all homes inside a professionally managed, amenity-rich community all without burdening residents with HOA costs. BTR properties have broad appeal. They are simultaneously attractive to seniors, singles and families. BTR appeals to seniors because it allows them to downsize, cash out their equity and avoid the hassle of homeownership. BTR also appeals to singles who want the privacy of a single-family home but still want a sense of community. Finally, families thrive in BTR properties because each property features a private backyard, providing each family with ample space to raise their kids. Click to read more at www.forbes.com.

If you’ve never done battle with your local appraisal district over the value of your property, you’ve likely saved yourself from a huge headache, but alternately missed out on a huge opportunity to save yourself a significant amount on property taxes. “If you are not aggressively protesting your value and pushing for appeals on your property, you are not managing your tax base appropriately and are most likely paying more than your fair share in property taxes,” said Hunter Lane, vice president of Lane Property Tax Advocates. The company got its start in 2009 when founder Michael Lane, who at the time had more than 20 years of appraisal experience, attended a hearing with the Harris County Appraisal Review Board. “Like the majority of property owners, he left frustrated as he had been denied a correction for his hearing,” Hunter said. “He then decided something needed to be done with the current property tax system and founded Lane Property Tax
Advocates.” The full-service property tax advisory firm has experience in all facets of commercial real estate. It boasts a team of tax professionals with more than 100 years of combined experience. Click to read more at www.rednews.com.

February 24, 2021 (Texas)—Texas-based commercial real estate firm, Hartman Income REIT Management, Inc. (Hartman), and its dedicated property management staff provided unofficial warming centers for displaced tenants, damage relief funds, maintenance house calls, and offered temporary housing for employees who lost power or suffered severe property damages due to the winter storms that raged throughout the state last week. The storm knocked out power for over 4 million Texas residents and more than 14 million were left without access to clean water, according to ABC News. The cost of the storm is estimated to be $20 billion, making it the costliest in state history, according to the Insurance Council of Texas. Property owners across the state experienced severe property damage due to frozen pipes, fires, and flooding. With over $750 million assets under management and more than 8.2 million square feet of commercial space situated across Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio, Hartman has teams of on-site engineers, property managers, and construction crews situated strategically across its entire portfolio. Thanks to meticulous planning, quick thinking, and stalwart field teams, the majority of Hartman properties were spared any major damages. Taking assessment after the storms passed, Shane Cawood, Hartman’s Director of Operations – Asset Services commented “Our teams rapidly developed a freeze SOP, outlining what we needed to do to prepare for this event, how to prevent widespread damage, and protect both the building and our tenant’s property. I am incredibly proud of how our teams responded to this unprecedented event, many of them even left situations at their own homes to care for others.” At the height of the storm, Hartman’s CARES committee (an employee-led disaster response team), worked with its property management, engineering, and executive team to find solutions to help its tenants, employees, and their families through the storm. Hartman opened the doors of five office properties across Texas to provide temporary warming stations for those in need. The warming stations were staffed by Hartman’s property management and engineering teams. Hartman stated last week that the company’s Benevolence Fund would consider requests for financial assistance for employees experiencing damaged pipes, flooding, broken water heaters, or in need of food, water or shelter. The fund, which was established in 2016 through a seed grant from Al & Lisa Hartman, extends aid during times of financial crisis and supports charitable organizations that align with the company’s core values. The fund has paid out more than $380,000 in approved needs since inception. Speaking proudly of the company’s response to the winter storm and its relief efforts, CEO & President Al Hartman shared his appreciation, “Just as our Hartman team came together to support each other during Hurricane Harvey, we have done the same through this winter storm. It is a blessing and testament to the faith and the care each employee has for each other and most importantly, our tenants.” Hartman’s construction, engineering, and property management teams were also responding to tenant and employee needs by performing maintenance calls to the homes of Hartman employees and building tenants to offer help with plumbing issues, organizing temporary housing, and relocating tenants who needed a safer short-term space to work from. One beneficiary of Hartman’s disaster relief fund was a Hartman employee’s mother, whose home flooded due to a broken pipe. The employee shared, “The Hartman CARES Committee reached out to see what needs I had, as soon as they found out that I was dealing with plumbing problems for myself and my 81-year-old mother they immediately offered temporary housing arrangements to us both at no cost. The Hartman way never ceases to amaze me, they truly treat tenants, employees, and our families as their own.” As storm damages continue to be remediated by the Hartman team, tenants can continue to expect regular communications and information to be shared on additional relief efforts from the company.