New Study Finds $6.7 Billion of Private Investment Along Foothill Gold Line -
According to a new study, the extension of the light rail line east of Los Angeles, known as the Foothill Gold Line, has attracted billions...more
11/14/2016
/ American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Federal Grants ,
Light Rail ,
Private Investment Funds ,
Public Projects ,
Railways ,
Real Estate Development ,
Renewable Energy ,
Residential Real Estate Market ,
Transportation Industry ,
Wind Power ,
Zoning Laws
California Legislature Revises De Minimis Exemption of Finance Lenders Law -
Real estate projects that utilize federal New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) financing recently received a reprieve from a state licensing...more
10/18/2016
/ Affordable Housing ,
Commercial Loans ,
EB-5 ,
Foreign Investment ,
Green Cards ,
Housing Market ,
Immigrant Investor Program ,
Job Creation ,
Licensing Rules ,
New Market Tax Credits ,
Real Estate Development ,
Real Estate Market ,
Time Extensions ,
Zoning Laws
California Coastal Act Blocks Housing Project in Venice Despite Earlier Approvals -
Judge James C. Chalfant of the California Court of Appeal on Sept. 29, 2016, affirmed a lower court ruling denying a developer’s petition...more
10/10/2016
/ Affordable Housing ,
Apartments ,
Appeals ,
City of Los Angeles ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Earthquakes ,
Foreclosure ,
Governor Brown ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Local Ordinance ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Mortgages ,
New Legislation ,
Popular ,
Property Ownership ,
Real Estate Development ,
Real Estate Market ,
Seismic Retrofitting ,
Single Family Housing ,
Spouses ,
Surviving Spouse ,
Variances
LACMTA Approves Tax Ballot Measure to Fund $120 Billion Transit Plan -
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACTMA) on June 24, 2016, approved a sales tax ballot measure to help fund $120 billion...more
6/29/2016
/ Ballot Measures ,
CEQA ,
City of Los Angeles ,
EU ,
Mortgage REITS ,
Public Transit ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Real Estate Market ,
Referendums ,
Renewable Energy ,
Retail Market ,
Sales Tax ,
Solar Energy ,
Transit Authority ,
Transportation Industry ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
California Governor Proposes "Build By Right" Approval Process for Affordable Housing -
Recognizing the extreme need throughout California for construction of new affordable housing units, on May 13, 2016, Gov. Jerry...more
6/14/2016
/ Affordable Housing ,
Ballot Measures ,
CA Supreme Court ,
CEQA ,
Community Development ,
Construction Industry ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Financial Crimes ,
FinCEN ,
Housing Developers ,
Money Laundering ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Real Estate Market
California Adopts ADA Relief for Small Businesses -
Gov. Jerry Brown signed California Senate Bill 269 into law on May 10, 2016, providing some limited relief to small businesses that are sued for violations of the...more
5/19/2016
/ Accessibility Rules ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Commercial Leases ,
Disability Access Claims ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Light Rail ,
Mortgage REITS ,
Public Transportation ,
Real Estate Market ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers ,
Shopping Centers ,
Small Business ,
Trains
San Francisco Requires Solar Panel Installation on New Buildings -
Last month, the City of San Francisco passed an ordinance requiring all new buildings to include solar energy systems. California law currently requires...more
5/11/2016
/ Affordable Housing ,
Building Permits ,
City of Los Angeles ,
Community Revitalization and Investment Authorities (CRIAs) ,
Construction Industry ,
Energy Sector ,
Local Ordinance ,
Neighborhood Revitalization ,
Real Estate Development ,
Real Estate Market ,
Redevelopment ,
Renewable Energy ,
San Francisco ,
Solar Energy ,
Successor Agencies
IRS Reevaluates "Bad Boy" Carve-Outs -
Before providing a non-recourse loan to a Limited Liability Company (LLC) – i.e., one for which the LLC members do not bear the risk of economic loss – a lender often will require...more
5/4/2016
/ Bad Boy Liability ,
Beachfront Properties ,
Carve Out Provisions ,
City of Los Angeles ,
General Plan ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Navigable Waters ,
Non-Recourse Loans ,
Private Property ,
Public Access Laws ,
Real Estate Market ,
Right of Access ,
Urban Planning & Development
Residential Communities: Calderon Process for HOAs Likely to Be Extended Again -
The California Assembly Committee on Judiciary in early April unanimously passed Assembly Bill (AB) 1963 to extend the pre-litigation...more
4/13/2016
/ California Building Industry Association (CBIA) ,
Commercial Real Estate Market ,
Construction Defects ,
Construction Industry ,
Consumer Bankruptcy ,
Homeowners Association (HOA) ,
Lease Termination ,
Pre-Litigation Inspection and Repair Procedures ,
Residential Real Estate Market ,
Retailers ,
Sustainability
California's High-Speed Rail May Not Be Financially Feasible -
The California Legislature's analyst released a report stating that the high-speed rail system planned for California is not economically feasible. Several...more
FDIC Clarifies "Abandoned Foreclosures" Guidelines -
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) clarified on March 2, 2016, its existing guidelines with respect to the decision by any FDIC-supervised institution to...more
Supreme Court of California Makes Mortgage Due Diligence More Difficult -
The Supreme Court of California ruled that borrowers have standing to challenge a foreclosure on the grounds that an assignment of the mortgage...more
ASTM Updates Property Condition Assessments Standard -
The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) published at the end of 2015 the latest version of the Standard Guide for Property Condition Assessments:...more
Los Angeles Ballot Proposal To Halt Developer's Zoning Changes -
A group called "Coalition to Preserve L.A." is proposing a ballot measure that would impose a two-year moratorium on all projects in the city of Los...more
New Legislation Limits Tax Sharing Agreements -
California Senate Bill (SB) 533, which was signed into law in October 2015, went into effect on Jan. 1, 2016, and limits local government from executing tax-sharing...more
Residential Communities: Proposed Amendment to Allow Owners' Attorneys at Association Board Meetings -
In an attempt to further broaden when a member of a common interest development association can bring his or her...more
Reporting Leases on the Balance Sheet -
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) announced on Jan. 13, 2016, a new – and materially different – manner of accounting for leases. The new standard, IFRS 16...more
California Senate Proposes $2 Billion on Housing for Homeless -
California state senators put forth a proposal on Jan. 4, 2016, to spend $2 billion to build or rehabilitate permanent housing for homeless people,...more
Hit Pause on Energy Use Disclosure -
Pursuant to California Assembly Bill (AB) 1103, the Nonresidential Building Energy Use Disclosure Program required an owner (or an agent authorized to act on behalf of an owner) of...more