On Jan. 1, 2018, numerous laws relevant to the rental housing industry took effect in California. In the paragraphs below, we summarize the most significant of these laws for the rental property owners. 1) IMMIGRATION STATUS Targeting discrimination: Under AB 291, dubbed the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act, a landlord could face civil penalties if he… Read More
New Landlord Laws for 2016
Along with the new year and resolutions, always comes new laws for landlords. Below, please find a summary of those new laws that may affect you. AFFORDABLE HOUSING Community Revitalization Authority Assembly Bill 2 (D-Alejo) AB 2 allows specified “disadvantaged” areas of California to create a new entity called a Community Revitalization Investment Authority. The… Read More
San Francisco 2015 Ballot Issues that Affect Landlords
The November 3 ballot is teeming with issues with outcomes that will affect property owners. While several of the propositions seem worthy of your vote on the surface, digging a little deeper reveals that the result of their passage may not have the intended effects. See how Lingsch Realty voted below. Prop A: Affordable Housing… Read More
Preparing for El Nino
El Nino is a weather pattern produced by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific. The El Nino phenomenon is associated with extreme weather around the globe. In California, it typically means a wet winter with higher than normal rain levels. An El Nino is predicted for this winter continuing into 2016. In order… Read More
Happy New Year! What to Expect in 2015
A new year brings new hope for us as landlords and unfortunately new determination for tenants’ unions to pass more tenant-friendly legislation. Landlords were successful in 2014 in knocking down some landmark legislation and court rulings aimed at making owning properties more difficult and costly, including SB 1439 (Leno) and Levin vs. San Francisco. 2015 vows to… Read More
Give a Tenant an Inch, They’ll Take a Mile…And More!
While we all try to get the best tenants possible, occasionally a bad one slips through the cracks, or we may purchase a new building and inherit such a tenant. They may pay their rent late, create nuisances for other tenants or create safety hazards in the building. While it can be a frustrating and… Read More
In a Wave of Bad New for Landlords, A Small Victory for a Lingsch Realty Client
I truly love my job and count my blessings each day for the wonderful opportunity my grandfather bestowed on me. However, I would be remiss if I did not confess that the current media portrayal of the rental market and tenants’ sense of entitlement frustrates me. From tenants’ unwillingness to cooperate with construction that will… Read More
A Landlord’s Prospective on Leasing
This is a continuation of last month’s blog post in which I chronicled my apartment hunting experience from a tenant’s prospective. This month, I focus on what I felt landlords and leasing agents could improve. PRICING San Francisco is under rent control, so it is in a landlord’s best interest to rent an apartment for… Read More