There’s a slight problem with putting a solar system on your roof: You may be radically reducing the value of your property. Now, this doesn’t go for all homes. It’s specifically the case with home in cities where the zoning allows for denser development. So, for example, consider an old 800 sq ft single family home … Continue reading “A small problem with putting solar on your roof”
Author: Moses Kagan
Comparing multifamily to office investing
And… we’re back. (I was at Princeton Reunions over the weekend and my flight didn’t get me back to LA until 3AM Monday morning.) Thought you might be interested in this article, which advocates that institutional investors consider allocating real estate investment dollars to multifamily instead of office. The argument should be familiar to regular … Continue reading “Comparing multifamily to office investing”
The replacement cost barrier
As we seek to deploy our current pool of capital at a time of generally high prices, we are running up against the issue of replacement cost. Here’s the problem: As a repositioner, you don’t really want to be in the position of spending more to buy and renovate a building than it would cost … Continue reading “The replacement cost barrier”
Another report from the front line of the zoning wars
Fund 3 investors know we’re in the process of adding a second story with two units to a duplex we bought a few months ago. This is a pretty straight-forward operation: There is plenty of room on the lot and the zoning allows for more than two additional units. This should be the kind of project … Continue reading “Another report from the front line of the zoning wars”
When is a re-pipe not just a re-pipe?
When you have a building with a “slab” (as opposed to a “raised”) foundation. With a raised foundation, there is a crawl-space under the bottom floor through which pipes run. This makes re-piping the building pretty easy. With a slab foundation, the building sits right on a thick concrete slab in which the original plumbing is … Continue reading “When is a re-pipe not just a re-pipe?”
865 N. Hoover is done
We just completed renovations on 865 N. Hoover, a 5 unit complex in Silver Lake right near Sunset Junction. This was a pretty painful deal, because we had a long fight with the city over whether we could add some basement space to the two bottom-floor units. In the end, we won, but it was … Continue reading “865 N. Hoover is done”
How the state ought to handle gangsters
Today’s LA Times has a heart-warming story about a couple of gangbangers who decided it would be an excellent idea to carjack some people at 3AM this morning right near our office. Not content with stealing the car, these wonderful humans shot their victims (thankfully, no one was killed). Based on where this happened, I … Continue reading “How the state ought to handle gangsters”
Before and after pics of our new Highland Park project
Thought you guys would appreciate some before / after pics of our most recently-completed project, now in lease-up. If you know anyone looking for a great 1/1 or 3/1 in Highland Park, have them email franklin [at] adaptiverealty.com.
Score one for density
Today we learned that the mayor over-ruled his own planning commissioners to approve a high-rise building in K-Town. Here’s the money-quote from the LA Times explaining the opposition to the project: “Such a huge project would be ‘wildly inappropriate’ for the location, said Commissioner Maria Cabildo, an affordable housing developer. “I’m probably one of the biggest advocates … Continue reading “Score one for density”
The evolution of ride-sharing
Just got done reading this piece in Pando, which is basically Sarah Lacy complaining about Lyft’s new Lyft Line service, which is basically paid car pooling (eg the software lets you split the cost of a car service with some strangers, thereby reducing the cost). Buried in the piece is an extraordinary insight from Lacy: That … Continue reading “The evolution of ride-sharing”