Socal Multiunit Real Estate

CALGREEN – > CALIFORNIA NOW HAS THE COUNTRY’S GREENEST BUILDING STANDARD

By Jodi Summers

Bravo to us! California has adopted the greenest building standards in the United States…and the world.

The new code, called Calgreen, goes into effect next January 2011. It requires all builders to:

v Install plumbing that cuts indoor water use.

Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board, said the new building code would require developers to slash water use in their buildings by 20%, using more efficient toilets, shower heads and faucets.

v Divert 50 percent of construction waste from landfills to recycling.

v Use low-pollutant paints, carpets and floorings

v Buildings will be given certificates of occupancy occupied only after strict energy standards were verified.

In addition, for non residential buildings:

v Install separate water meters for different uses.

v Mandates the inspection of energy systems by local officials to ensure that heaters, air conditioners and other mechanical equipment in nonresidential buildings are working efficiently.

v It allows local jurisdictions, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, to retain their stricter existing green building standards, or adopt more stringent versions of the state code if they choose.

“California should be proud… These are simple, cost-effective green practices. …” notes Tom Sheehy, acting secretary of the state Consumer Services Agency and chair of the California Building Standards Commission, which approved the standards. “This is (something) no other state in the country has done - integrating green construction practices into the very fabric of the construction code.”

While California’s largest metropolitan areas have adopted their own green building standards, these new regulations will be particularly useful for smaller jurisdictions that have been unable to develop their own green construction guidelines.

This is a positive alternative to LEED construction standards. Sites Sandra Boyle, an executive vice president of Glenborough, a developer, “The cost for owners to go through this rating system is astronomical — in a very challenging commercial real estate market.”

“You will have a whole bunch of cities that never would have included this in their building doing it, and doing it in a way that won’t kill the economy,” observes Matthew Hargrove, a vice president with the California Business Properties Association. “Outside the coastal areas it will be helpful - like in West Sacramento, where they looked into creating a green building code but balked because it’s cumbersome to develop and they didn’t have the resources.”

Buildings currently account for about one-quarter of the state’s total greenhouse gas emissions. These new standards are applauded as an important step in helping California meet its goal in reducing the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2020.

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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2010/01/13/MNDR1BH9SA.DTL#ixzz0dJ9grkaW

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2010/01/13/MNDR1BH9SA.DTL

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-green-building11-2010jan11,0,1841989.story

http://www.thedailygreen.com/cm/thedailygreen/images/WA/Kohler-DualFlush-BR08-lg.jpg

FYI – NEW MULTIFAMILY LEGISLATION FROM SACRAMENTO

FYI – NEW MULTIFAMILY LEGISLATION FROM SACRAMENTO

By Jodi Summers

Legislators in Sacramento were more interested in finding was of shrinking the new $7.4 billion deficit for the 2010-11 budget than they were in thinking about the hit that apartment building owners have taken in the multiunit marketplace this downturn.

Fortunately, the more ominous legislation affecting multiunit properties has been shelved until next year, but, as a local multiunit property owner, we know you want to know what has passed and what is on the horizon.

Passed

* Assembly Bill 1020 (Emmerson, R-Redlands): Limits fees that may be imposed by local and state government and preempts local health departments from adopting any new or additional safety standards on top of federal guidelines regarding public swimming pools. Brings state regulations in line with federal law regarding anti-entrapment devices in pools.

* Senate Bill 120 (Lowenthal, D-Long Beach): Allows a tenant or occupant who has paid utilities in place of a landlord in order to prevent him or her from being shut off to deduct that amount from rental payments.

* Senate Bill 290 (Leno, D-San Francisco): Extends a Jan. 1, 2010, sunset period for a 60-day termination notice requirement for tenants who live in a property for longer than one year.

Be Aware of

* Assembly Bill 473, from Assemblymen Bob Blumenfield, D-Van Nuys, will require owners of properties with five or more units to arrange for mandatory recycling services.

* Assembly Bill 479, introduced by Assemblyman Wayne Chesbro, D-Arcata, will require local governments in large counties to adopt mandatory recycling laws for commercial properties.

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http://www.carealestatejournal.com/newswire/index.cfm?sid=&tkn=&eid=905490&evid

http://www.consrv.ca.gov/smgb/PublishingImages/CaliforniaStateCapitol02.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2006/12/the-governator—64_1280.jpg

http://www.greentechforum.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/california_state_flag.png

http://www.limitstogrowth.org/WEB-Graphics/CaliforniaPostcardGreetings.jpg

http://forcechange.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/cfl-float.jpg

REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS IMPACT BY BERNIE MADOFF’S “PONZI SCHEME”

REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS IMPACT BY BERNIE MADOFF’S “PONZI SCHEME”

by Jodi Summers

Several major East Coast Real Estate Developers have been named as victims in Bernard Madoff’s complex Ponzi scheme, which is rumored to have stripped investors of $50 billion in assets.

According to GlobeSt.com this list includes:

· Larry Silverstein, the World Trade Center developer;

· The Wilpons and Rechlers families;

· Brokers at Newmark Knight Frank and CB Richard Ellis–including Stephen Siegel, chairman of worldwide operations there,

· New Jersey developer Fred Daibes is rumored to have lost a significant amount of money;

· Mort Zuckerman, the chief executive of Boston Properties;

· Fred Wilpon, who owns the Mets and is head of Sterling Equities;

· Steven Simkin, a partner at the New York law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and chairman of the firm’s real estate department;

· A number of limited real estate partnerships in DC are also among the supposed victims.

· Other recognizable names on the list include John Malkovich, Sandy Koufax and Tim Teufel, - if these are the actor and baseball players, respectively, is unconfirmed, as is Larry King, the talk-show host, Frank Lautenberg, the Democratic senator from New Jersey, and Mark Green, a former public advocate of New York City.

Madoff was known to have focused on the rich and famous, sometimes requesting as much as a $20 million minimum.

A large number of the developers who invested with Madoff are reported to have pledged securities held by him for development projects. It has yet to be determined whether the actions of one person, will again impact bank lending criteria.

The complete client list of Madoff has been provided by the Wall Street Journal:

http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/madoffclientlist020409.pdf

Info courtesy of:

http://www.globest.com/news/1341_1341/newyork/176748-1.html

https://ecf.nyeb.uscourts.gov/

http://designdepartment.wordpress.com/2006/09/07/

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2006/10/27/down_in_debt/

http://www.observer.com/term/25509

http://gothamist.com/2007/09/07/revised_vision.php

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mcgin017/blog/fall_2008/honors_intro_to_philosophy_fall_08/

City of Los Angeles Examines Tenant Right of First Refusal for Sale of Buildings

City of Los Angeles Examines Tenant Right of First Refusal for Sale of Buildings

by Jodi Summers

TOPA (Tennant Opportunity to Purchase) was heard at L.A. City Council Housing Community and Economic Committee earlier this year and it was recommended that further study be done “due to the success of Washington D.C.’s TOPA law and similar programs in Maryland.”

The Action Apartment Association points out, “As our industry knows, DC’s program has significant defects in with, including noteworthy delays in the sale process, unmitigatable legal exposure for property owners and vulnerability to fraud and abuse for the tenants.”

TOPA requires owners of rental occupied units to offer tenants the right-of-first-refusal when the owner decides to sell the building. Specifically, owners are required to notify tenants and the Mayor’s Office of the opportunity to purchase, which initiates a process that provides the tenants time to organize, raise funds and solicit outside assistance. (As was done unsuccessfully with Lincoln Place in Venice.)

Additionally, TOPA provides tenants the option to assign their rights to a third-party. In other words, the Action Apartment Association noted, “tenants and tenant organizations have the ability to sell their rights for payment (typically cash) or partner with a developer/ non-profit in the purchase of the building.”

This legal debate will continue throughout the year. We will keep you posted.

For more info on the Action Apartment Association, please visit www.action-wam.com.

Santa Monica Realtor Pays $200,000 in Tenant Harassment Case Involving Senior Tenant

Santa Monica Realtor Pays $200,000 in Tenant Harassment Case Involving Senior Tenant

In its largest-ever tenant harassment settlement, the Santa Monica City Attorney�s Office has reached a final agreement with local realtor Stacey Valnes and his wife Megan. The Valneses have paid a total of $200,000 to a former tenant and the City.

The Valneses own a four-unit rental property on Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica.

The City sued the Valneses in Santa Monica Superior Court in June 2007 alleging that just after purchasing the property, they induced 82-year-old tenant Winifred Goodman into vacating her longtime rent-controlled apartment on the false premise that she had to vacate due to an impending owner-occupancy. At the time Goodman vacated, there was no impending owner-occupancy at the property. Goodman, thinking that she had to leave, relocated to Simi Valley and only later learned that she had been deceived.

The lawsuit alleged that shortly after Goodman vacated her apartment, the Valneses re-rented it to a new tenant for $2,400 a month. Goodman had been paying $529 per month.

Santa Monica law prohibits landlords from inducing rent-controlled tenants to vacate their homes through �fraud, intimidation or coercion.�

Goodman later got her own attorney and filed a separate lawsuit against the Valneses. The two cases were consolidated for trial.

The case was scheduled to go to trial this month.

Under the terms of the settlement the Valneses paid Goodman $160,000. The Valneses paid the City $40,000, to be used in its Consumer Protection fund. The fund is used to maximize voluntary compliance with state and local consumer protection and tenant protection laws in Santa Monica, by educating landlords and tenants of their rights and responsibilities.

�This case is a cautionary tale for that small group of landlords who would consider using deception or intimidation to get their tenants to leave,� said Deputy City Attorney Adam Radinsky.