Magazine Articles

Question 1:     Did the Richmond rent control law you mentioned in last month’s article pass? If so, what should we be aware of?

The government’s Census Bureau recently reported that the U.S. homeownership rate fell to the lowest level in the last 48 years. It is indeed a sad awakening that the level of home ownership is now the lowest since 1967.

We’ve all heard the phrase “there ought to be a law,” when we see something happening that we don’t like.  That is just what housing advocates are saying as they watch rents rise during the current building boom.  Their solution is to reach for the biggest stick available; a city ordinance that imposes a cap…

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, October 21st for AOA’s “Million Dollar Trade Show and Landlording Conference” in Los Angeles. You will meet just about every contractor and vendor you will ever need… it’s called the “Million Dollar Event” of the year. Come and help us celebrate and who knows, you may even go home with…

When it comes to tax deductions, there are a few schools of thoughts. There are the people who want to write off everything, whether it’s legal or not, and figure the cost of an IRS audit won’t be that bad. Or else they think they can’t ever get caught. They are invisible, or so they…

IT CAN SAVE YOU MONEY!  The court system is difficult to wade into when you find yourself having to file an unlawful detainer against a tenant.  Between the time it takes to serve the 3 day notice, file the unlawful detainer, get a court date, possible delays, time in court and the final lock-out by…

According to a NMHC Apartment Cost of Risk Survey, 84% of property management firms have mandated renters insurance. Unfortunately, mandatory renters insurance doesn’t guarantee that residents will keep their policies active while living at your apartment community. In fact, 30% of third-party renters insurance policies are cancelled within lease term and an average community has…

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, here we go again. Once more, taxpayers are being told by our political elites that, if we want good roads, we have to have higher taxes. Not long ago, this column exposed the politicians’ plan to hike gas taxes along with vehicle license fees and registration. This plan, by San Jose…

Dear Resident, We Are Not a Bank One property manager was sharing with me that she has several past due residents, who were about to be evicted, were asking for more time to pay. They promised that a check (tax refund, payroll check, etc.) will be coming in the next week or so. The manager…