Nov 29 2007
Commodity Buildings
Commodities are items that are functionally indistinguishable from each other.
Examples might be sheets of 8 ½ x 11 white typewriter paper, or comparably equipped
Ford Explorers, or even low end apartment buildings, wherein the individual units have
the same utility as all the other individual units in the area. Everything else being equal,
where do you buy [...]
Nov 22 2007
How many people have you met who said, when you mentioned that you own or manage rental property, something like “I owned a rental once and it was a nightmare”? That is followed by an enumeration of the disasters that befell that person and the property.
Owning and managing rental property is the greatest thing [...]
Nov 20 2007
Many landlords believe that they cannot reject any applicant for any reason; that they
have to accept the first one to come along with the money or risk the grief of a lawsuit.
Not so. There are numerous legitimate, businesslike reasons to reject a prospective
tenant.
1. Unsatisfactory References from Landlords, Employers and/or Personal
References. These could include reports [...]
Nov 18 2007
In the times of the slow real estate market and the current financial turmoil, the fittest not only survive but do even better. I always thought that “What does not kill you, makes you stronger”. You need to struggle a little to succeed in life. Attached are some of my favorite motivational quotations to help [...]
Nov 17 2007
Capital Markets Remain
As you have most likely heard by now, credit markets experienced a new round of turmoil during the week of November 5th. The headlines are currently dominated by major Wall Street banks’ growing write-downs and departing CEOs stemming from bad loans in the residential sub-prime category. The result is that spreads [...]
Nov 17 2007
The goal of any investment property is to produce income . The income derived from residential
real estate is primarily from [...]
Nov 16 2007
When most people think about beautiful granite kitchen and bathroom counters, they picture
them in multi-million dollar single family homes. Of course they’re right. Granite is used
extensively in the most expensive homes in Los Angeles and in other cities.
However, the world has changed, and so has the use of granite. You can sum [...]
Nov 16 2007
THE LAW FIRM OF DENNIS P. BLOCK AND ASSOCIATES is a law firm specializing in tenant eviction. This firm started in 1976 and is the leading eviction law firm in the State of California. To date, we have handled over 130,000 evictions. We are dedicated to serving the legal interests of landlords and income property [...]
Nov 15 2007
When I go to speak to real estate professionals sometimes my reputation precedes me.
“That’s the guy who talks about adding extras and upgrades to your properties for more
cash flow.”. I’ve played a big part in revolutionizing the way thousands of rental
owners market their rental homes.
I am the guy who suggests doing surveys of your customers [...]
Nov 15 2007
Question 1- I have a tenant who insists in sitting in the common areas and chain-smokes.
All of the tenants are complaining. The tenant is on a one-year lease. Is there anything
that can be done?
Answer 1- Under California law, the tenant is prohibited from creating a nuisance. A
nuisance is defined as causing an unreasonable interference with [...]
Nov 13 2007
Too often landlords feel guilty about evicting a tenant for anything from nonpayment of
rent to being an otherwise all-around jerk. I am passing along some thoughts from other
landlords on how they deal with any guilt they might feel about evicting a tenant.
Joe Olesik wrote…
I have gone a step further on my eviction thought process.
I [...]
Nov 12 2007
Creating Income with Charitable Planning
Many people assume charitable giving simply involves giving money away, never to be seen
again. But implementing a charitable giving program may actually help investors achieve
important financial goals while saving substantially on taxes. And current market and interest rate
conditions can make certain charitable gifting vehicles even more beneficial.
A properly structured gifting program [...]
Nov 11 2007
Dear Fellow Housing Providers:
Having watched with horror the insanity at Los Angeles City Hall over the past two
decades, I have lately felt a glimmer of hope by the emergence of a populist Valley-
ite…Walter Moore…who is running for Mayor of Los Angeles as an Independent.
The first time I became aware of Moore was during the last [...]
Nov 11 2007
Hawaii: A tenant who claimed her Chihuahua dog was “medically necessary to her
mental health” fails to prove her claim and is evicted after the court refuses to find a Fair
Housing Amendment Act violation.
The tenant leases an apartment from her landlord pursuant to a lease agreement which
contained a “no pets” provision. The tenant obtained [...]
Nov 11 2007
Our management company has kept vacancies down around 2% for a good many of its
properties over the last few months. That is performance our clients love! The secret
to achieving success in today’s rental market is to examine every aspect of your rental
product and offer a better value than your competition.
Before you can beat the competition [...]