While most of the “new laws” compilations are surface level and generally unhelpful, I found this summary of new laws that went into effect in California as of January 1, 2019 that impact the real estate industry to be especially well done and a great resource. https://www.car.org/en/riskmanagement/qa/New-Laws/2019-New-Laws
Abandonment by residential and commercial tenants is an issue that frequently arises in California. Effective January 1, 2019, the statutory provisions relating to a landlord establishing a legal abandonment will be revised. Civil Code Section 1951.3 will be restricted only to residential real property, with the Legislature creating a new Civil Code Section 1951.35 for…
People form corporations for many reasons, and probably chief among them is to take advantage of the corporation’s protection against personal liability for the debts and liabilities of the corporation related to the property owned or business operated by the corporation. While there are some limits on the protections that a corporation provides (e.g., criminal…
A few months ago, I posted an article concerning Proposition 10, which would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act and significantly expand the reach of rent control within California. Unsurprisingly, this has proven to be a controversial proposition with significant forces favoring and opposing its passage. While the LA Times has endorsed the measure, the…
As a licensed contractor in California, you were diligently providing labor and materials as a subcontractor to complete a work of improvement on privately held property. As you near the end of your work, the general contractor has stopped paying you, and maybe they have even dropped out of communication and are not showing up…
I’ve written a few blog posts over the past few months about SB 35 and its potential as a game-changer in more expeditiously getting development projects entitled and approved by local jurisdictions. Just this week, Cupertino approved a massive mixed-use development (with almost 3,000 units of new housing) after the City determined that it fell…
For Bay Area real estate developers, NIMBYS, YIMBYS, and interested residents, there is a very interesting and controversial bill (AB 2923) making its way through the California State Assembly and Senate and heading to Governor Brown’s desk for review. The crux of this bill would require BART to specially zone its parking lots, vacant land,…
Interesting link below concerning a few thoughts/tools for investing in real estate in California… https://www.forbes.com/sites/ingowinzer/2018/03/01/investing-in-california-real-estate-here-are-a-few-things-you-should-know/#64563ce66d6e
A few months back, I drafted a blog entry concerning SB 35, which was enacted to streamline the incredibly time-consuming entitlement and environmental review process for certain developments in California. In that March 16th blog post, I had referenced a pending project in Berkeley where the developer had invoked SB 35 in an effort to…
SB 2, which went into effect on January 1, 2018, acted to implement an additional $75 recording fee for most real estate documents, up to $225 per transaction. The fee applies to any deed, grant deed, trustee’s deed, deed of trust, reconveyance, quit claim deed, fictitious deed of trust, assignment of deed of trust, request…