Back in December, CBRE won the pony show to sell off a 7 million square feet portfolio of our property. It’s officially hit the market and just in time for IOU’s.

by Tina Merritt

A few years ago, a client of mine was relocating overseas. When I asked about what his plans were for his rental property, he said, "Oh, I'm not worried about it. The tenants are on a multi-year lease and the HOA will keep them in check".

Well, that is not the case. In most states, the HOA has no governing authority at all over tenants; only over members.

Yes, it is the landlord's responsibility to enforce the rules and regulations of the HOA. If there is a fine or penalty for the tenant breaking a rule, the fine is levied against the landlord. It is up to the landlord to get reimbursement from the tenant for the fine.

To help avoid problems, landlords should always give tenants a copy of the HOA rules and regulations and have them sign a document stating they have read and agree to abide by the guidelines of the HOA. Landlord's should also give tenant contact information to the HOA to be used in the case of an emergency.

It is inherently problematic to have a landlord as a middleman between the HOA and tenant. Even worse is a rental property manager added in the middle as well. If you are a "hands-off" landlord, you may want to re-think your position when dealing with a HOA. Let's look at an example:

Landlord owns a property occupied by tenants and handled by a property manager. Tenants go out of town and have a friend house-sit for the weekend. Friend decides to take a swim in the community pool and when finished, leaves a towel hung over the balcony railing of the home. The hanging towel is a violation of the HOA rules and a neighbor calls the HOA, who calls the owner, who calls the property manager, who calls the tenants, who call their house-sitter. Doesn't seem very efficient and appears to be an easy way to upset the neighbors. How about just speaking directly with the adjoining property owners, explain that you are a landlord who cares about the community and your property, give the neighbors your number and ask them to call you personally if there is ever an issue?

by Tina Merritt

Last week, the Department of HUD and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission released a statement offering guidance on identifying problem drywall in homes.  Drywall from China has been found to cause corrosion and air quality issues in homes where it was installed.

The guidance consists of 2 steps for identifying if there is a problem:

1.  A visual inspection showing blackening of the copper electrical wiring and/or air conditioning evaporator coils.

2.  The drywall was installed between 2001 and 2008.

If both of the above conditions are positive, then there are additional tests to determine the presence of problem drywall.

3.  Chemical analysis of the drywall 

4.  Elemental markers in the drywall

5.  Markings on the drywall (such as "Made in China" stamped on the back)

6.  Specific chemical emissions from the drywall

Homes with drywall installed between 2005 and 2008 must have 2 of the above additional tests performed.  Homes with drywall installed between 2001 and 2004 must perform all 4 tests.  Performing these tests may require professional assistance and analysis.

More information can be found at HUD's website or by calling 800-638-2772.  Homeowners who have defective drywall and are experiencing problems may be eligible for financial assistance to help them rehabilitate their property.

If you have drywall which was installed in 2009, I recommend you check that as well.  Just because they stopped importing the drywall doesn't necessarily mean it was removed from inventory in stores and warehouses.

 

The Redevelopment Agency has issued its monthly report and while activity at downtown San Jose condos seems to be improving, sales continue to be extremely slow: 360 Residences – 0/213 Units Closed Escrow (but they are getting a Subway on the ground floor!) Axis – 86/329U Closed Escrow City Heights – 95/124 Units Closed Escrow Tower 88 – 57/197 [...]

Jamie Dimon, the chief of JP Morgan Chase has indicated that California poses a larger risk than Greece. Mr Dimon told investors at the Wall Street bank’s annual meeting that “there could be contagion” if a state the size of California, the biggest of the United States, had problems making debt repayments. Dimon isn’t the first to [...]