Magazine Articles

Many landlords have a “My way or the highway” attitude, and THAT attitude limits their income. We MUST be in tune with our residents’ thinking and life-needs so we can

Value means different things to different people. To a banker, loan value is determined by whether or not the building is likely to generate enough income to pay its expenses and meet debt coverage ratio (DCR) guidelines. It meets value or it doesn’t. An investor might have additional perspectives. While any mortgaged investment must first…

On April 9, 2013, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance making it mandatory to seismically retrofit approximately 2,800 soft-story buildings, those defined as wood-frame residential structures with five or more units and three or more stories with weak first stories. There are roughly 4,300 such buildings. Owners are required to pay a…

Question 1:     What are the requirements for when and where to install CO detectors in two-story units? Answer 1:  In 2010,California enacted the Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act. Among other things, it requires the installation of carbon monoxide detectors in “in each existing  dwelling unit having a fossil fuel burning heater or appliance, fireplace,…

On April 25th, 2013 the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued an update letter FHEO-2013-01 regarding service and assistance animals with direct application to residential housing. This letter tied together

I believe that the “Systematic Code Enforcement Program” is a SCAM and that is why landlords in the City of Los Angeles must come together and become proactive to get rid of this very bad LAHD law/policy. The LAHD claims they have the legal authority to enter your apartment building and go through all your…

Solo 401k is the ultimate retirement plan that offers powerful advantages for real estate investors.  Solo 401k is also known as the Individual 401k or Owner-Only 401k and is an IRS-approved Qualified Retirement Plan (QRP) that has been simplified for the

According to San Francisco Rent Board Rules and Regulations 1.21, in order to qualify for rent control, a tenant must occupy the rental unit as his principal place of residence. The tenant need not be physically present in the unit at all times or continuously in order for the Rent Board to consider him to…

WASHINGTON, D.C.—While demand for apartment homes remained strong, rising interest rates exerted negative pressure on the industry’s ability to secure debt financing according to the National Multi Housing Council’s (NMHC) July Quarterly Survey of Apartment Market

Picture this…Captain Craig has invited you to spend a month sailing the Caribbeanwith all the lobster you can eat!  Your captain has only one rule -“no telephone calls, no E-mail, no texts”.  Will your properties run smoothly while