Prediction For 2030: Can We Stop The Government Take Over Of Rental Housing?

(This is Part 3 and the Final Article in a Series)

By Roger Valdez

After years of working on housing policy, I have found myself frequently referring to Virgil’s Aeneid, the story of the journey of Aeneas from Troy to Italy where he would be the founder of Rome. Like many epics – the Pentateuch, the Mahabharata, or Gilgamesh – the plot is riveting, but so are the images that become cultural touchstones. The Trojan Horse is one of these. Barbara Tuchman dedicated an entire chapter of her book, March of Folly, to the horse as an emblem of humanity’s addiction “to pursuing policy contrary to self-interest.” The government takeover of housing would be just such a policy. But how do we stop the wheeling of this Trojan Horse into the center of our economy?

I’m not going to argue against the notion that housing should be de-commodified and controlled by the state other than to say that even in such a world, without an absolute, stable, and perpetual equilibrium between supply of housing units and demand for them, high prices would simply be replaced with rationing and long waits for “free” housing. This seems to be enough. Except that, as I’ve pointed out before, the desire to seize private housing isn’t about housing at all, but political power.

Union Backed Prop. 15 Will Destroy Small Businesses

By Edward Ring
September 9, 2020

California’s state and local governments, and the public sector unions that exercise nearly absolute control over the politicians who supposedly oversee them, have always had an insatiable desire for higher taxes. The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has added even more urgency to their insatiable quest for more money from taxpayers, but through the years their basic game plan and goals have been remarkably consistent.

For example, the so-called “Split Roll” property tax increase which has finally made it onto the November 2020 state ballot in the form of Prop. 15, is something that has been proposed for years by California’s government unions and their supporters. This new tax is designed to undermine the historic 1978 Prop. 13, which limits property reassessments to when there is a change in ownership, and from that baseline keeps increases to maximum of two percent per year. Prop. 13 also freezes the property tax rate at one percent, although countless local “fees” have elevated the actual amount owners have to pay.

Top-5 Tips to Build a COVID-Proof Real Estate Portfolio

By: Steve Haskell, Vice President of Kay Properties and Investments, LLC 

So, you have decided to invest in income-producing real estate to diversify your investment portfolio so that all your assets are not concentrated in the stock market? Now how do you plan a real estate portfolio to both help you build wealth and withstand a crisis?  We have learned a great deal from analyzing the market through past crises including “9/11,” the crisis of 2008-2009, and the current COVID-19 pandemic. There are no guarantees and certainly no real estate is immune from any crisis, but these Top-5 tips will greatly enhance the likelihood of having your real estate portfolio hold up even through a severe economic shock like the coronavirus crisis.

Prop 15, the Split-Roll, Is a Job Killer

By Jack Humphreville, L.A. Watchdog for CityWatch

Proposition 15 is an attempt by the state’s public sector unions (along with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg) to establish the Split-Roll. Under this amended system, commercial and industrial properties will be assessed at their current market value as opposed to the current practice that is based on the purchase price plus an inflation factor not to exceed 2%.  The Split-Roll is expected to generate $12 billion statewide in additional revenue for local governments and school districts.

Legal Corner
by Stephen C. Duringer, Esq., The Duringer Law Group, PLC

Question          I am about to enter into a five-year term lease for an industrial unit in Southern California.  The unit has been vacant several months and I do not want to lose this deal, seems like good tenants are kind of few and far between lately.  We have agreed on just about all of the deal points except a couple.   At the last minute, the tenant requested the lease be prepared with a subsidiary of his company rather than the parent company, saying it is for ‘tax reasons.’  Additionally, he wants to make the use provision extremely broad rather than specific allowing him to do just about anything in the premises without having to get my permission.   He knows I need to lease the space, but I am not sure I want to give in on these points, what are my options?

If Evictions Destroy Many Tenants’ Credit, Who Will You Rent To?

The entire country is currently very sick of commercials with sad face emojis and pouting voices all themed around saying “during these unprecedented times.” It’s all well and good to have a support system but if one more advertisement promises that now is a great time to buy a car because this one brand understands the world is changing but hey, look at this cool car, well, there will be more than one smashed phone screen.

This is all incredibly irritating because no, now is not a good time to buy a car, which explains why some companies sneakily unlisted their ad campaigns. It’s one thing to remind people that hey, you can get your pizza delivered, and another to suggest restructuring their entire insurance policies or booking plane tickets for the fun of it. Even without mentioning a pandemic, it’s important to know that a recession, if not here already, is coming. In fact, most landlords and rental housing pros already know it’s here.

The Round-Up of California’s Wasted Taxpayer Money

By Jon Coupal, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

Anyone who has ever managed a household knows that it is not only how much money you make that matters. It is also how much you spend.  California’s budget is vastly more complicated, and less transparent, than family finances. So, it is even more important for taxpayers to watch closely as elected officials spend our money.  The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has found that, in many instances, California’s budget is a catalog of careless, excessive, and wasteful spending, or, as some might have it, business as usual.

For example, the Department of Motor Vehicles had years to prepare for the launch of the national “Real ID,” but failed to do so. The agency was rewarded with an additional $242 Million in new spending to try it again.  State Auditor Elaine Howle found misuse of state resources in county fair funds, documenting $318,000 in misspent funds, including more than $30,000 for “excessive and unauthorized travel expenses,” lavish dinners and alcohol.  In another audit, State Auditor Howle discovered that the California State University system hid $1.5 Billion in an outside account to spend on operating costs, while raising tuition almost yearly and asking the Legislature for more funding. CSU has nearly doubled tuition from 2008 to 2018.

Will a Wealth Tax Make California’s Wealthy Flee?

By Edward Ring
August 25, 2020

If you’re rich, there aren’t too many places on earth better than California to live. Sure, there are the perennial earthquakes and wildfires, but those are more than made up for by the Mediterranean climate and the scenic splendor; the Pacific Shore, the High Sierra. And apart from these natural disasters, nothing is wrong with California that money can’t cure.

If you’re a billionaire, then California’s punitive cost-of-living and its failed public schools are of no concern. The moneyed liberal patricians of California, from Tom Steyer to Jack Dorsey, have options. Who cares if your mega-mansion costs $12 million instead of $1.2 million, if you’re a billionaire? Who cares if the local public school is a war zone, if you can easily afford to send your children to the finest private school money can buy?

Low interest rates that affect estate planning in uncertain times

There has been a lot of uncertainty during the last few months in 2020, such as COVD-19, the shutdown of our economy, high unemployment, increased national and state level loss of revenue and increase debt, besides the national protests in our country.  Adding to the continued uncertainty will be our national and state elections in November.  Given the uncertainty of our national and state governments, how will the national and state governments raise money to pay the loss of revenue and increase of governmental debt? 

COVID-19: Addressing Water Damage While Social Distancing

By Jesus Toro, President, Toro Water Damage and Mold Remediation

We are living during a time of so many uncertainties.  An unexpected disaster may only add to the already stressful situation we are living in. The government has deemed the water damage industry as essential workers because water damage services are imperative when water damage occurs from burst pipes, overflowing toilets, roof leaks and mold growth due to poor ventilation and high humidity.  Water damage happens whether we are in a global pandemic or not. Therefore, it is important for you as property owners or property managers to get the impacted units back to pre-existing conditions for the health of everyone at the property and for the integrity of the unit and value of your property. Under our present conditions of social distancing, face coverings and other protective measures, the job of water damage mediation does not change but the interaction does. What do I mean?