Did you come here from the always-excellent Eastsider LA blog? Welcome! As you’ll see from reading through the posts here, I am 100% focused on the business of apartment buildings, primarily in Northeast LA (East Hollywood, Silver Lake, Echo Park, etc.). If you’re reading, you probably own buildings already or hope to in the future. … Continue reading “Welcome, new readers!”
Author: Moses Kagan
Why you need to request estoppels on every apartment deal
Section 9C of the current California Association of Realtors Residential Income Purchase Agreement (“RIPA”) contains a check box which the buyer must check in order to require the seller to provide tenant estoppels as part of the sale process. Make sure you check it. (And if your broker doesn’t check it for you, get a … Continue reading “Why you need to request estoppels on every apartment deal”
What about student housing?
An old friend from highschool recently posted on the blog asking what I think about student housing as an asset class. Thought I’d go ahead and answer publicly. First, take all this with a grain of salt. I’m not in the student housing business. But I have spent a fair amount of time looking into … Continue reading “What about student housing?”
Echo Park rent survey – May 2012
Just completed our semi-regular rent survey for Echo Park north of the 101, and the results are pretty interesting: Median asking rents for 1 bed / 1 bath apartments was $1,450, up a whopping 26% since February Median asking rents for 2 bed apartments was $1,995, down by 15% compared to February Median asking rents … Continue reading “Echo Park rent survey – May 2012”
Elon Musk: An appreciation
When my brother and I bought our first building, I can remember this odd feeling when we began to advertise our apartments for rent. I felt like I should be asking someone’s permission to rent out the units. It seemed weird that we didn’t need some authority figure to bless what we were doing. We … Continue reading “Elon Musk: An appreciation”
How to get started
What an amazing response to the Westmoreland sale post! Am really looking forward to working with a number of you who got in touch. For those who are thinking of dipping a toe in the market but don’t really know how to start, I suggest reading the following pieces: What does success in real estate look … Continue reading “How to get started”
Termite inspections are a racket
There, I said it. Almost every real estate transaction in Souther California involves a termite inspection and repair. Here’s what happens: The buyer’s agent includes a request for a termite inspection and repair in the purchase agreement. The seller agrees because he doesn’t know he can push back. The listing agent chooses a termite company … Continue reading “Termite inspections are a racket”
Westmoreland = sold
Remember 1239 N. Westmoreland? We put up for sale on the MLS on April 17 for $949,000. On May 19, just over a month later, we closed for $950,000. After selling costs, we netted $920,000 or so. We bought the property and renovated it in 2009 for a total investment of $680,000. During the time we … Continue reading “Westmoreland = sold”
Inspection day!
Sorry for the late post today. Am sitting on a small street in W LA waiting for an inspection to begin. We’ve been through the initial phase, winning what was a very competitive auction. Now it’s on us (my clients and me) to do a thorough investigation of the property. First step: Go through each … Continue reading “Inspection day!”
Buying from foreclosure auctions
Is it worth getting involved in buying properties through county foreclosure auctions? The short answer is “maybe”. First, some background: When a borrower defaults on a loan in CA (usually by failing to pay), the trustee who holds title to the property in question is directed by the lender to hold a trustee’s auction. At … Continue reading “Buying from foreclosure auctions”