Santa Ana Enacts a 3% Rent Cap Bad News for the City and Landlords By Mercedes Shaffer

Santa Ana is a city with beautiful historical architecture and an emerging art district that is surrounded by trendy restaurants. In addition, there’s many great attractions such as the Bowers Museum, the Lyon Air Museum and the Discovery Cube Museum.  Santa Ana has the advantage of being centrally located in Orange County and has a…

Why Use a Tenant Estoppel? By Mercedes Shaffer

When selling, financing or re-financing a rental property the tenant estoppel often comes up during the due diligence phase of an acquisition or during the underwriting of a loan. What exactly is a tenant estoppel certificate and how does it work? Let’s dive in and take a closer look. What is a Tenant Estoppel? The legal definition…

Cash for Keys By Mercedes Shaffer

I was recently on a road trip with my family up the California coast enjoying a much-needed change of scenery since all my vacation plans have been cancelled for the past year due to COVID-19.  We travelled from town-to-town and booked all of our hotels ahead of time so that we could be assured that…

ADUs – One Way to Address Prop. 19’s Inheritance Tax Basis Increase By Mercedes Shaffer

The recent passage of Prop 19 eliminates the parent-child and grandparent-grandchild exclusion from reassessment for properties other than a “family home.” As of February 16, 2021, if you transfer your property to your children (or, grandchildren, if the parents are deceased), via any means (gifts, sale, hybrid, estate plan after your passing, etc.) that property…

Raise the Rent? by Mercedes Shaffer

Is it a good idea to raise the rent every year, especially if you have a great tenant?  So many landlords don’t raise the rent annually for a variety of reasons, so let’s explore the benefits and potential drawbacks. Don’t Want to Lose Your Tenant? One of the most common reasons a landlord doesn’t raise…