All Forum Posts by: Ewa Reza

A tenant’s guest shoots and kills someone at the rental property.

Another tenant threatens to behead the landlord.

And a third renter runs a prostitution ring out of the unit.

In each case, the landlord pursues an eviction, and each time, the judge says no.

These are just some of the eviction-worthy situations that have gone nowhere since April 6, when the California Judicial Council suspended virtually all unlawful-detainer proceedings in the state.

In the cases above, the landlords pointed to the Judicial Council’s exception for threats to health and safety.

The plaintiffs were still denied.

The justification? Rule 1 requires that a threat is ongoing, and a homicide is a one-time occurrence; threats of beheading can be handled through a restraining order; and a prostitution ring doesn’t pose a public safety risk.

These new laws are so poorly written the situation became insane. Have any of BP landlords tried to evict lately? How are we supposed to preserve peaceful, quiet enjoyment of rental communities without legal rights to evict? All this combined with short term rentals / airbnb becoming illegal in Los Angeles as of Nov 2019, makes me more and more inclined to give up on California and find market that's less tenant friendly.

@John Hickey maybe we should jump into this sooner then later. So we're not late to the party as we were with crypto :))

@Jimmy Kim I'd say around $400/SF for above average. On top of that you need to count in the cost of land surveys, permits, architectural plans etc

@Diana Adams Did your lender qualify you for loan of only $100K? This would mean you're making about $19K a year (on paper at least). You may want to double check your pre-approval with a good lender. Also remember that 75% of the rental from the units will count toward your personal income.

Inglewood is a great area to invest right now. Relatively inexpensive, no rent control and realistic potential for cash flow from the day one. 

@Pedro Preciado How did you come up with your "price range". Get pre-qualified with a good lender first, than work on your credit / minimize the debt. It's too risky to go out of state to invest for the first time. Flip a house or two in CA to get more $$$ in your pocket, and then buy a duplex in your area. 

@Ralph Sutton Did you consider house hacking in Los Angeles? You can read more about it on my blog. I just posted a case study there. It's not about how much money you have, but how much mortgage you can qualify for. You can easily buy 2-4 units with 3.5% down or less. Your appreciation will be much better here versus out of state. Not mentioning the ease of management when you're local.

I second @Thomas S. First give her notice in writing that partial payments will no longer be accepted. Also remind her of late fees if she'll be late again. Than give her a call and explain that she's putting you in difficult situation and if she can't make the rent on time, you will gladly accept her 30 day notice to vacate. Ask her to make it official and deliver the notice in writing as well. Eviction should be your last resort. You're risking her not paying the rent at all, till the eviction goes through the court. 

It really depends on the zoning of that plot of land. Your best best is to contact architects that have experience with subdivisions. Still... I think it's unlikely that the city would "complete the street". And if there is no street now, where are the utilities? You will have to account for higher cost of tying up to city services. It's an exiting project tho! Best of luck Trevor.

@Kameron Patterson YOU BOUGHT TOO MUCH CAR

It all starts with what we call the 20/4/10 rule, which says you should: Make a down payment of at least 20%. Finance a car for no more than four years. And not let your total monthly vehicle expense, including principal, interest and insurance, exceed 10% of your gross income.

@Angel Samayoa Look into house hacking. I just wrote about it on my blog. Not only you can live rent free (yes, even in expensive areas like Los Angeles) but you may reap all the benefits of real estate investment.