There’s a proposal up for discussion this week at the city council’s Housing Committee that warrants some discussion. In a nutshell, the city is considering requiring every landlord of a rent stabilized unit to report the rent she is charging to the city every year. Why? Because apparently there are hundreds of people being overcharged. … Continue reading “Yet another bad regulatory innovation”
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Looking for an intern
Readers: We’re looking for an intern. Ideal candidate will be available to spend, say, 10-15 hours per week with us. The intern will work on some interesting / serious stuff but also plenty of scut work. Would be a good way for a college (or, potentially, an extremely mature highschool) student to learn about our business. Pay … Continue reading “Looking for an intern”
Some thoughts on Millennials and the economy
I generally avoid politics on this blog, because there’s no need for yet another place for people to get angry. But today I want to address what seems like a creeping demoralization among Millennials, in particular, that’s causing them to question capitalism. There’s no doubt that Millennials have had it pretty rough. Many of them … Continue reading “Some thoughts on Millennials and the economy”
How to handle call-downs
Today I want to talk about a little-discussed area of money management: How to handle call-downs. First, what’s a call-down? In most real estate deals, the investors don’t send all their money for the whole deal on the day of closing. Instead, they agree to commit a specific total amount to the project and then leave … Continue reading “How to handle call-downs”
Some thoughts on the fight at the CA Coastal Commission
There’s a big fight brewing on the California Coastal Commission. In a nutshell: The Coastal Commission board, which includes a lot of relatively pro-development members appointed by Governor Brown, is in the midst of throwing out the current director, mostly because he’s insufficiently pro-development. The usual suspects, mostly environmental groups, are all up in arms. … Continue reading “Some thoughts on the fight at the CA Coastal Commission”
Thanks to Kris and David
Am slammed all day today, but wanted to use this opportunity to give a huge public THANK YOU to two people who don’t get nearly enough credit in our organization: Kris and David F. Together, Kris and David handle all of our bookkeeping, accounts receivable and payable, oversee 50+ bank accounts, produce financial reporting, and … Continue reading “Thanks to Kris and David”
When to start lease-up on a rehabbed building?
Here’s a question we wrestle with all the time: When should lease-up begin? You’d think this would have an easy answer: When construction is done. But you’d be wrong. Usually, buildings are “showable” (eg look pretty close to complete) 2-4 weeks before the construction is actually done. And, after carrying the building with no cashflow … Continue reading “When to start lease-up on a rehabbed building?”
One lesson from our foray into ground-up construction
We’re closing today on what will become either our second or third ground-up project (depending on how you want to count this one). In going through the design / permitting process, I’ve already learned a pretty valuable lesson, which I’ll share here. I always wondered why investors wanted to see a higher pro forma yield on … Continue reading “One lesson from our foray into ground-up construction”
Bad news about open ceilings in LA apartments
Have some bad news for those of you who love vaulted ceilings in apartments… they’re almost always illegal in LA. First, what do I mean by vaulted ceilings? They’re the ones where you can look up and see the structure of the roof. Here’s an example: Beautiful, right? So, why should that be illegal? Two reasons: … Continue reading “Bad news about open ceilings in LA apartments”
A short book recommendation
Am super busy today with deals and hiring, so this is going to be a short piece. Want to plug a business book which anyone interested in marketing, even tangentially, should definitely read: Permission Marketing by Seth Godin. It’s an old book… more than a decade now. But it’s timeless, because, unlike lots of marketing … Continue reading “A short book recommendation”