Magazine Articles

How important is the 1031 Exchange?  To investment real estate owners – extremely!  To the economy – very!  To the short-sighted Federal Government?  Insignificant. The Federal Government is willing to kill an important provision in the IRS Code that creates jobs, keeps investment dollars working and actually builds our economy.  Congress has forgotten that investment…

As the reasonable accommodation rules under the Fair Housing Act* continue to receive national press and more tenants use the rules to ask landlords to accommodate their special needs, it makes sense for landlords to codify their response to reasonable accommodation requests in order to maintain consistency.

Question One: I have a rent controlled tenant in the City of Los Angeles. I want to temporarily move this tenant into a vacant unit while we remodel his unit. We have agreed that once he moves back in, rent will not be charged for the first year. Thereafter, rent will go up to market…

How’s your move-in experience? If it consists of getting a signature, handing over the keys, and waiting for the checks to arrive, it may leave something to be desired. If your community isn’t putting its best foot forward with new residents, it’s time to give your

Hello everybody.  My column this month will update AOA members on the REAP program administered by the City of Los Angeles.  This discussion will not be the typical “Los Angeles Housing Department bashing” articles you have undoubtedly read in various apartment trade publications during the past several years.  Rather, it will provide a matter-of-fact explanation…

I’m sure that most landlords know the value of an in-depth screening process when deciding to approve or deny a tenant.  You would be surprised how many landlords that I talk to actually skip this step and just trust what is written on a tenant’s application.

Warning: The following article attempts to clarify important changes to the tax code.  While pertinent to property owners, no amount of artistry could make this material more exciting. We recommend that readers use patience to digest this complex topic.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. − The Los Angeles-based plaintiff’s trial law firm McNicholas & McNicholas obtained a $10 million settlement against the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) on behalf of the family of Connor M., a four year-old who ingested lead-based paint at Caltrans’ residential rental property. 

Question 1:     Does Richmond have rent control now? Answer 1: The Richmond City Council had been on course to approve the first rent control law in decades. As drafted, it would be substantially similar to the rent control ordinances in San Francisco, Berkeley and

Current Recovery is Worst Since 1960: Push to Scrap GDP You should know that there is growing evidence of a strong push by the Obama administration, and its willful accomplices in the media, to get rid of GDP as the bellwether indicator of the economy. It is true that GDP, as currently measured, is lacking…