I, for one, welcome our new mixed-use overlords. You’d think I’d be pissed about a developer coming into Silver Lake and building 300+ rental units. After all, the rules of supply and demand would seem to indicate that this new competition will drive down the rents on my units in the area. But I’m thrilled … Continue reading “How I feel about Frost / Chaddock invading Sunset Junction”
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When to hire a professional to lease your units
I’m all in favor of new landlords learning the business by doing. It’s only by making mistakes that we learn. But there is one scenario where I definitely recommend new landlords get some help: When they absolutely must, at all costs, lease out a unit. No one wants to buy from a desperate salesman. Period. … Continue reading “When to hire a professional to lease your units”
Thank you!
I’ve been writing this blog for around three months now, give or take. And I just want to take the time today to say “thank you” to all of you. I have met amazing people here: first timers, seriously experienced investors, flippers, money guys, brokers, you name it. Without giving away names, I can tell … Continue reading “Thank you!”
Grandfathered zoning in LA
What does “grandfathered zoning” mean with respect to apartment buildings? To understand that, you first need to understand that zoning in Los Angeles has generally become stricter over time. For a long time, there wasn’t any zoning. You could just buy a few single family homes, rip them down, and put up an apartment building. … Continue reading “Grandfathered zoning in LA”
How to value a building that needs work
Rarely do you come across an apartment building in Los Angeles that’s in truly mint condition. Everything’s got a few dings on it; that’s just part of buying older buildings. For those normal, everyday buildings, you figure out a range for the multiples of annual rent in the neighborhood, multiply the annual rents times the … Continue reading “How to value a building that needs work”
Tour our projects?
Quick question for you regular readers based here in Los Angeles: Would you be interested in taking a guided tour of some of our projects? In my mind, I’m envisioning looking at 1-3 of our projects in detail. We would discuss: The forecast that led us to buy the property The cost of relocating the … Continue reading “Tour our projects?”
Why would I sell real estate?
I often joke on this blog that you should never sell apartment buildings. The main reason is that the transaction costs of selling real estate are high (brokerage commission, transfer tax, etc.). Also, in CA, there’s a major benefit to holding on as your rents increase, because your NOI margin increases (see here for more … Continue reading “Why would I sell real estate?”
REAP / Code Enforcement / Eberly Company Summit Meeting
The LA Fair Housing Coalition, a group that fights for landlords, has arranged a meeting for members with officials from the LA Housing Department’s REAP and code enforcement offices and the Eberly Company, which was recently hired as a landlord outreach contractor by the city. The idea is to give landlords a chance to explain … Continue reading “REAP / Code Enforcement / Eberly Company Summit Meeting”
$500k flip opportunity
Am going to blast out a tasty small apartment flip deal at around 2pm PST today to the mailing list. I’m intimately familiar with the deal and I think it’s a winner for someone who can bring $500k in cash to cover acquisition and renovation. The upside is $60-125k in profits within six months or … Continue reading “$500k flip opportunity”
The Biggest Mistake LA Landlords Make
How do you feel about giving your tenants part ownership of your apartment building for free? Pretty terrible, right? If you own a rent controlled building in Los Angeles and don’t raise your rents by the amount allowed by the city each year, you’re effectively giving your tenants a stake in your building for free. … Continue reading “The Biggest Mistake LA Landlords Make”