Insurance has quietly become one of the fastest-growing operating expenses for California property owners, and Los Angeles apartment insurance is no exception. At a recent renewal for a property management client, MW Real Estate was presented with an annual insurance cost of $14,291 for a 20-unit,...
Last updated September 2026. This article updates our 2015 post on Los Angeles' then-new soft-story retrofit law. In 2015 the City of Los Angeles adopted the most aggressive seismic retrofit requirements in the country. More than a decade later, the first program is essentially past its...
RecycLA is a new program that has divided Los Angeles into eleven zones for easier management of trash and implementation of recycling for all businesses....
California legislature passes new pest control laws. Integrated Pest Management no longer optional....
Last updated October 2026. This article updates our 2015 post on resident manager pay rules. Many California apartment buildings are required to have a manager living on site, and paying that manager correctly is one of the most common compliance problems we see. The rules change...
By Wolf Baschung, CCIM, CPM. Last updated September 2026. This article updates our earlier post on ratio utility billing. Most older Los Angeles apartment buildings have one master meter for water and sewer, and often for gas. The owner pays one bill for the whole property....
Last updated September 2026. A well-run apartment building produces more income, keeps better tenants and holds its value. In Los Angeles, where most older buildings are rent-stabilized and the rules change every year, the management company you choose matters more than ever. Here is what to...
Last updated September 2026. This article updates our earlier post on rent loss insurance. "Rent loss insurance" means two very different things, and owners are often surprised to learn which one they actually have. Here is the difference, and how to think about each for a...
Last updated September 2026. A landlord's insurance covers the building, not the tenant's belongings. If a fire, theft or water leak damages a tenant's property, or a tenant accidentally causes damage or injury, renters insurance is what pays. It is inexpensive, and for both sides it...
Last updated September 2026. Our original post showed a static map image, which is no longer current. The tools below give an accurate answer for any address. Whether a building is covered by the City of Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) affects its rents, its...
Last updated September 2026. California's security deposit rules changed substantially; this article reflects current law. The security deposit is one of the most regulated parts of a California lease. It is also one of the most common sources of disputes between tenants and landlords. Recent laws...
Last updated October 2026. This guide replaces our earlier posts on the RSO, the 2007 rent control expansion and the housing department's name change. The Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) covers most apartment buildings in the City of Los Angeles. If you own one, the RSO controls...
A look inside how MW Real Estate builds annual operating budgets for Los Angeles apartment owners, from the rent roll and vacancy history to debt service and capital planning....
USC student housing portfolio MW added the North University Park Properties student housing properties, a 21 property USC student housing account, to its core management portfolio. The limited engagement helped ownership consolidate its portfolio. First came a management review. Then MW provided brokerage services on the...
CAP Rate Calculations; The ROI Formula Lens of Lenders vs Investors After the 2007 market crash, CCIMs and other commercial real estate professionals were often asked, 'What is it worth?" With a paucity of sales from which to extract investment benchmarks, many of us were limited to guesswork,...
This example follows one strand of an MW managed investment portfolio from inception over 13 years and 4,516% equity growth. ...
Commercial real estate can sell through on-market or off-market transactions. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages, so the right choice depends on the property and the likely buyer. On-market transactions On-market transactions take the shotgun approach to selling. First, the broker performs a market analysis and...
There are several ways to measure how successful a specific multifamily property investment is likely to be. For example, you could look at rental growth rates and vacancy rates to see how well a particular rental property is doing currently. However, these numbers won’t show...
In a LinkedIn group discussion, Avison Young broker and investment advisor Tony Kim shared illuminating insights into building the most accurate market lease analysis, whether for an appraisal or for client advisory. His main points follow. Asking rents versus completed leases For general appraisals in Los Angeles...
Estimating expenses is always topical around tax time, when deductions are on everyone's mind. More broadly, both appraisers and investors face recurring questions about what to include on the expense side. The goal is the best possible projections for multifamily property valuations and operations. Below are...
Getting the Most from Cost-Segregation Studies By Donald A. Greenhalgh, CPA If you've been using cost-segregation studies to accelerate depreciation of your commercial property, you've likely cut your taxes considerably. But could you save even more? Not all cost-segregation studies are created equally. So what can you do...
Provided by Dino Champagne, Division Manager of Asset Preservation, Inc. REFINANCING (#51) "WITH PROPER TIMING, USE YOUR EQUITY FOR WHATEVER YOU WANT" AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY Many real estate investors never consider an exchange because they mistakenly believe their equity must always remain tied up in real estate. Believe it or...
What a debt yield measures With the markets crashing and defaults at all time highs, some nonrecourse investors now look to measure their default risk with debt yields. In other words, they size loan amounts by the return on their debt should the property default. The...
The unavoidable unintended consequences of rent control In a small book entitled Economics in one Lesson, Henry Hazlitt gave perhaps the best explanation of the unintended consequences of rent control. His analysis in this article is rigorous. So it is with a wry smile that I...