Recently, a landlord visited me and said that he wanted his Section 8 tenant to move out because her boyfriend, who was not included in the lease, was living in the unit. He was unhappy to learn that, as the landlord, he is responsible for enforcing the lease and that the housing authority could not…
My wife, Hinda and I, have a mission – to protect the families of apartment owners from “HAZARDOUS” estate planning. Through our seminars for AOA members, we have had the pleasure to meet with, and review the estate plans of, hundreds of wonderful apartment owners. The “good news” has been how many of them planned…
Delaware Statutory Trusts (DSTs) offer a number of potential advantages to investors. Used correctly, they can be an effective tool for building and preserving wealth. This article discusses a handful of the potential advantages that are available to investors using DSTs for their 1031 exchange. Please remember that Delaware Statutory Trusts also have a number…
We have a new mayor; let the resurrection of our beautiful city begin! We desperately need for the people living on public streets to be elsewhere. We need for the price of rentals and home purchases to stabilize. Fulfilling these two goals will be the toughest of jobs, requiring our army of people at City…
If you’ve missed some of the prior articles, basic guidelines on successful investing are in my book “Stairway to Wealth” available at LuLu.com. Continued from Part 70: Diversification Emily, after reviewing once again the positives and negatives of property ownership, thought there was no question about it: the benefits heavily outweighed the risks . .…
The below open letter was sent to Mayor Garcetti and City Council members. OPPOSE Ballot Measure Affordable Housing Act! Dear Friends: I believe there’s a great deal of misinformation pertaining to our Rent Stabilization Ordinance (FSO) and the impact of the repeal of the 1995 Costa-Hawkins Fair Housing Act. We should all meet. Let’s start…
Dear Mayor Garcetti: I’m certain that when you served on the City Council and chaired the Council Housing Committee, you always made certain that important housing legislation was thoroughly examined, reviewed and evaluated by not only tenant rights representatives, but also several apartment association staff and leaders. Your outreach was outstanding.
[AOA: Do you think your city is going to be any different in the future than what the city below is proposing? Folks, this is the future that the renters and politicians have envisioned for you and me and their first step is Prop. 10! Then, their next step will be statewide “tenant welfare” (rent…
Do You Keep Up with Market Rents? According to a Rent.com survey, as many as 80% of property managers across the U.S. over the last couple of years have raised rents. Have you raised rents this year? Mom and Pop landlords often mistakenly charge lower than market rent. When I mentioned this on MrLandlord’s Facebook page, a landlord responded:…
In a noble but misguided effort to combat racial discrimination, the City of Seattle passed a series of ordinances forbidding local landlords from choosing their own tenants: A “first in time” ordinance requires landlords to rent to the first financially-qualified tenant who applies. And the “Fair Chance Housing Ordinance” forbids landlords from considering applicants’ criminal…