Jon and I are going to look at a few large apartment complexes up in Sacramento this evening / tomorrow. We’ve never done 100+ unit deals before and we’ve never done anything outside of our little area, so it’s going to be kind of interesting. Here’s the question I keep turning over in my mind: … Continue reading “Going to Sacramento”
Category: Development
Vegas = Pedestrian Hell
I missed posting the last few days because my family and I were in Las Vegas for my sister-in-law’s wedding. Made the mistake on my first night there of attempting to walk from the Wynn (where we were staying) to Treasure Island. As the crow flies, that’s roughly 1,000 ft. This being Vegas (and me … Continue reading “Vegas = Pedestrian Hell”
Micheltorena is sold
A few days ago we closed the sale of 1516 Micheltorena, an 8 unit building in Silver Lake. Here are the relevant numbers: Bought for $954k in September 2010 Renovated for $645k Total capital outlay of $1.6MM Stabilized rent roll of $215k / year Took roughly $200k in cash out of the building while we … Continue reading “Micheltorena is sold”
What happens immediately after you buy
One of the issues that’s been popping up for me lately is how buyers handle the transition to owning once the deal is done. When you buy the kind of buildings I favor, the ones with low-paying, rent-controlled tenants in them, there is inevitably deferred maintenance that needs to be addressed. The kinds of things … Continue reading “What happens immediately after you buy”
Sometimes what I do feels like public service
We’re in the diligence process on an interesting, mid-size project in Silver Lake. The units are pretty great. But there are a load of shitheads who hang out in front of the building drinking beer all afternoon, every day. Periodically, we drive by and see one or more of them zooted on something much stronger … Continue reading “Sometimes what I do feels like public service”
Warning: Tough plumbing inspector on the prowl
If you’re rehabbing in the Silver Lake / Echo Park area, beware! There is a really tough plumbing inspector handling all commercial (5+) unit inspections right now. We had an inspector two years ago who delayed us on four separate projects (and took years off my life!). Among his greatest hits were: Running a ruler … Continue reading “Warning: Tough plumbing inspector on the prowl”
Fixing a screwed-up building
Got a call today from a guy who inherited control of a screwed up apartment building. I have a lot of sympathy for people in that situation, since it happened to my family back east. The dilemma is this: You know you have an asset which is not performing. You know that it will cost … Continue reading “Fixing a screwed-up building”
2241 Branden is sold
We’re recording today on the sale of 2241 Branden St., a 5 unit apartment building we renovated in Silver Lake. Here’s a pic: Here are the numbers: Units are four 2/2s and one 3/3 Bought for $797k Renovated for $308k All in for a hair over $1.1MM Rent roll of $128k / year upon … Continue reading “2241 Branden is sold”
Why can’t LA be more like Santa Monica?
Regular readers know I have a major beef with LA’s insane parking requirements on new developments. Without getting into all of the specifics, the key point is that the amount of parking required by the municipal code pretty much guarantees that you get either suburban style retail (surrounded by huge parking lots) or generic monstrosities … Continue reading “Why can’t LA be more like Santa Monica?”
BAM! Back to work…
Here’s what I saw when I looked in the door of our latest project, a five unit deal in Echo Park, today: I know it looks messy in there, but that view gives me such a huge high! What you’re looking at in that picture above is the sweeping away of the old. All the … Continue reading “BAM! Back to work…”