Multi-Family Building Energy Upgrades and Low Cost Financing

The Bay Area Multi-family Building Program offers cash rebates and free energy consulting for multifamily properties that undertake energy upgrades. The program is open to multi-family buildings with five or more attached dwelling units in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties. (Fourplexes and smaller properties typically qualify for the single-family energy rebate offers. Check www.EnergyUpgradeCA.org for available programs)

Improve your property value by updating to modern energy systems, lowering utility bills and reducing operating costs. An energy consultant will work with you to customize a package of improvements that matches your property’s needs and meets a minimum of 10% whole building energy savings. Select your own licensed contractors and manage your installation.

The program provides $750 per unit in rebates to help pay for qualifying upgrades. In unit, whole building, and common area improvements are eligible.

Get started today by enrolling online at: Multifamily.EnergyUpgradeca.org/#bayarea

Looking for low cost financing? When you replace your heating or air conditioning system, windows, or upgrade your insulation, CaliforniaFIRST offers affordable, long-term financing that you can repay easily on your property taxes. And, there's an added bonus: just as with your mortgage, the interest portion of your CaliforniaFIRST tax assessment may be tax deductible. No banks. No money down. Not based on personal credit rating. Check it out at CaliforniaFirst.org.

Mountain View - the Hot Location in Silicon Valley

Mountain View is proving to be hottest location to live in Silicon Valley, just ask anyone trying to find a home to rent or buy!

• The median price single-family home in 2011: $965K  - In 2014: $1,468K - a 52% increase*
• The average price single-family home in 2011: $1,002K - In 2014: $1,504K - a 50% increase*

My projection is that the next three years will be similar, and here’s why:

Location – Mountain View has a great geographical location on the peninsula. Live in Mountain View and you have easy access to your job, whether it be Oracle, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Cisco, Apple or almost any other company, from San Francisco to San Jose, because highways 101, 237 and 85 all intersect in Mountain View. Plus, CalTrain and the VTA light rail serve Mountain View, providing transportation to downtown San Jose, the north San Jose region (Cisco campus), San Francisco, Palo Alto, Menlo Park and the north peninsula communities.

Location – Mountain View is home to some of Silicon Valley’s largest employers, including Google, Intuit, LinkedIn, Microsoft, and Symantec. These companies are expanding and adding jobs. Time is more valuable than money; so those with money are buying homes closer to work to reduce commute time. Office buildings from five to eight stories tall soon could be allowed north of Highway 101 adding as many as 3.4 million square feet of new offices, with room for at least 15,000 employees, according a Mountain View Voice article on February 26, 2014.

Location – After a long day at work, employees love to relax, eat and enjoy some nightlife. Mountain View’s pedestrian-friendly downtown is the destination point, offering cuisine from scores of countries, as well as bars and nightclubs, specialty shops, bookstores, coffeehouses, and sidewalk cafes. Castro Street is vibrant with people during the evening hours and housing within walking distance is in high demand.

Schools – Schools test scores are a primary driver of real estate values. The past test scores in the Mountain View-Whisman school district have kept real estate prices well below those of neighboring Los Altos and Palo Alto, but those scores are rapidly improving, bring up real estate values with them. We have seen the district’s Academic Performance Index (API) improve by almost 10% since 2007, with some individual schools now having an API similar to those found in Los Altos and Palo Alto schools.

* Based on local MLS data. Information believed to be accurate but not guaranteed.

Tax Time – A Time to Examine Your Real Estate Holdings

Income tax preparation time is a good time to re-evaluate your investment real estate portfolio. Your IRS depreciation allowance on your income property is a key benefit that helps shelter your rental income from income tax.

Rental rates have increased significantly over the past several years, but the amount you can depreciate has remained constant.  If you purchased your investment property long ago, your depreciation allowance may be relatively low. This year, ask your tax consultant if it would be beneficial for you to exchange your current income property to another property of equal value in order to boost your depreciation allowance.

If the answer to this question is yes, give me a call. I will give you an evaluation of your current property, find you a suitable replacement property, and ensure the proper steps are taken in order to qualify for an IRS 1031 tax differed exchange.

IRS Depreciation of Rental Property Guidelines: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p527/ch02.html#en_US_2013_publink1000219255

Tired of being a residential Landlord, but like the rental income?

Isn’t it great to receive that rental check on time every month and not have to lift a finger? You have the perfect tenant, never calls, maintains your property as if it’s their own and always sends the rent in on time every month like clock work. Your only job is to pay the property tax bill twice a year.

If that’s not your experience, and you are tired of the constant turn over of renters, the handyman request calls, handling neighbor complaints or collecting late rents, but you like the income and property value appreciation, perhaps you should consider a different type of property.

You can exchange your residential income property for a small retail property with a quality triple net lease tenant, such as Walgreens, MacDonald’s or a bank.

A triple net lease (NNN) means the tenant pays the property tax, insurance and building maintenance. All you do is receive the rent payments. A 1031 exchange means you defer your capital gains tax from selling your residential income property. All the proceeds from the sale can be used to purchase your new retail property.

If this sounds like something for you, give me a call for a no obligation consultation.

Make Your Rental Properties Smoke-Free

Why would a landlord want to prohibit smoking?

In addition to the important health benefits of reducing exposure to secondhand smoke, prohibiting smoking can decrease the risk of accidental fires and may even reduce fire insurance premiums. Landlords also will avoid complaints from non-smoking tenants and may see a significant reduction in maintenance and turnover costs. Cleaning and refurbishing a smoker’s unit can require additional time and effort to repaint and to replace carpets and drapes. By prohibiting smoking in a unit, landlords can minimize or eliminate these expenses altogether.

Is it legal for a landlord to prohibit smoking?

Yes. Effective January 1, 2012, California Civil Code 1947.5 provides that a landlord has the right to prohibit the smoking anywhere on their property, including common areas and individual units. This right applies to new tenants who enter into lease.  For existing tenants, a new smoking restriction constitutes a change in terms of tenancy. The terms may be modified with reasonable notice and in compliance with all state and local laws for month-to-month tenants. For tenants on a lease, the landlord cannot change the terms during the lease period without the tenant’s consent.  In this case the landlord will need to wait until the end of the lease period to add the restriction.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

HUD has recently launched a set of tools to encourage landlords to adopt smoke-free policies to protect tenants from the dangers of secondhand smoke and to reduce property maintenance costs. The kit includes:

• ·      Going Smoke Free – Steps for Landlords
• ·      A Landlords Guide to –No-Smoking Policies
• ·      Sample Letter to Tenants
• ·      Sample Lease Addendum
• ·      Legal and Health Information
• ·      Frequently Asked Questions
• ·      and more 

Download yours today at: 

Smoke Free Housing / A Toolkit for Owners ... - HUD