Investor · North Hollywood, CA · Member since 2016 · 3 posts · 3 votes
10y
I would say that most of (central) LA multi-family units are rent controlled. And in addition to the limited rent increases, LA's rent controlled properties has a city housing authority that protects tenants rights.
That's not to say that you shouldn't do it, since I'm currently doing that right now with a duplex, living in one and renting out the other in North Hollywood. Most of these properties are usually older homes, built around 1950's. Usually the owner pays for water and trash bills for multi-family buildings in LA, while the tenant pays for everything else.
House hacking is a great way to get into the market here. As far as expenses it will be different for every property. But it is best to at least account for mortgage, tax, insurance, maintenance, vacancy, capex, water, gardener, garbage. These are what I account for in my initial assessment of each property.
Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2016 · 19 posts · 1 vote
10y
Rent controlled means that it's capped at a certain percentage you can raise the rent every year.
I think it's around 3%.
Places like Beverly Hills for instance usually do not have rent control and can raise up to 10%.
Something to think about if your buying price and expenses are high.
Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2015 · 11 posts · 5 votes
10y
If you don't even know what rent control is, you may not be ready to be a landlord, you need to do a lot more reading first.
And the first thing to know about the LA area is that there are over 80 separate incorporated cities in LA county. It can make a huge difference which city you live in. Take some time and figure out the lay of the land. It's very unintuitive, too. North Hollywood is in city of LA, West Hollywood is its own city. Some cities are better or worse for landlords/property owners than others.
Investor · North Hollywood, CA · Member since 2016 · 3 posts · 3 votes
10y
I would say that most of (central) LA multi-family units are rent controlled. And in addition to the limited rent increases, LA's rent controlled properties has a city housing authority that protects tenants rights.
That's not to say that you shouldn't do it, since I'm currently doing that right now with a duplex, living in one and renting out the other in North Hollywood. Most of these properties are usually older homes, built around 1950's. Usually the owner pays for water and trash bills for multi-family buildings in LA, while the tenant pays for everything else.
Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2016 · 42 posts · 10 votes
10y
I'd say I'm pretty well versed on house-hacking in LA (I live in my triplex). Let me know if you have any questions. But yes, overall familiarize yourself with rent control rules in LA. They can be the difference between living mortgage free or not.
General Contractor · Palm Desert, CA · Member since 2016 · 197 posts · 79 votes
10y
The City of LA has mandated that all apartment buildings with so called "soft story" buildings be seismic upgraded. I'm looking to partner with investors to buy these buildings and do the retrofit work.