Fremont Real Estate and Beyond

The City of Hayward's preliminary Residential Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protection Ordinance includes fines and jail time for rental property owners who don't share rent increase and eviction information with City Hall. Other rules include Hayward politicians and bureaucrats determining a property owners "fair rate" of return on their investment. You can review the entire draft Ordinance here. The City Council will take action on the Ordinance during their June 18 meeting.  Share your thoughts about this issue, and your experiences as rental property owners or managers, with the Hayward City Council.

The City of Hayward released a draft of a Residential Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protection Ordinance. The 45-page document presents new rules regarding:  -A landlord's "fair rate" of return on investment -Limits on rent increases including increases on vacant units -Landlord-tenant dispute resolution -Security deposits -Eviction and harassment -Discrimination based on source of income -Information landlords must provide to tenants and to the City of Hayward including terminations and rent increases. The Hayward City Council is scheduled to take action on this ordinance during its June 18 meeting. You can review the entire draft Ordinance here .

“Like-kind” means I must exchange the same type of property, such as an apartment building, for another apartment building.   FALSE A 1031 Exchange means that the sale and the purchase have to happen at the same time. In other words, the seller has to find someone willing to swap properties. FALSE My attorney or CPA can handle the exchange for me as my Qualified Intermediary. FALSE To do a 1031 Exchange I just need to file a form with the IRS with my tax return and “roll over” the proceeds into a new investment.  FALSE I can only defer my capital gains tax via a 1031 Exchange.  FALSE All of the funds from the sale of the relinquished property must be reinvested.   NOT NECESSARILY You must replace the debt that you had on the relinquished property with at least the same amount of debt on the replacement property.  FALSE Opportunity Zone Funds are another alternative to defer my taxes.  POSSIBLY When I sell my personal residence I need to set it up...

A special City of Hayward task force will discuss a moratorium on increasing rents and other tenant protections during a meeting on Thursday, March 21.  An agenda for the meeting was released March 19. The Council Homelessness-Housing Task Force was established to advise the City Council on rental housing policies.  During the March 21 meeting they will study the rent moratorium and these other issues: A mandatory mediation program with binding arbitration triggered when rents are increased more than five percent.  (Single family homes and condominiums would be exempt); Elimination of the vacancy decontrol provisions of the current Residential Rent Stabilization Ordinance; Protecting Section 8 voucher holders from discrimination; Requiring landlords file rent increase and eviction notices with the City of Hayward; and Explore ...

During their March 5 meeting, the Hayward City Council unanimously approved an emergency that requires landlords to show a "just cause" for evicting a tenant.  The requirement applies to all rental housing in Hayward including single-family homes and condominiums. According to a press release issued by the City of Hayward, landlords must notify their current tenants of the new policy no later than April 5 and must notify all future tenants, as well. A complete list of "just causes" for eviction are available here .  For more information please contact Jennifer Ott, Deputy City Manager at: Jennifer.Ott@hayward-ca.gov

During their Feb. 19 marathon meeting lasting well past midnight, the Hayward City Council directed staff to work on the following new rental housing policies: Increasing rent, and all other charges, more than 5% would trigger a mandatory meditation process with the potential of a binding arbitration between the landlord and tenant.  This requirement would apply to all rental units except single-family homes.  It is not yet clear whether condominiums would be exempt. The current vacancy decontrol process could be eliminated altogether or possibly suspended for three to five years for the remaining 1,000 to 1,600 units in Hayward currently subject to the Residential Rent Stabilization Ordinance. Eviction for Cause would be expanded to cover all rental units including single-family homes and condominiums. Require all landlords to notify the City of Hayward when in...

The Hayward City Council is considering new rental housing policies some of which will cover single family homes and condominiums. Hayward staff will present the suite of new and expanded regulations to the City Council during a work session on Tuesday, February 12.  They include: Binding landlord-tenant mediation in disputes related to rent increases exceeding five percent.  Single family homes, condominiums and rental units constructed after 1979 and would be exempt. Eliminating the vacancy decontrol provision from the existing Residential Rent Stabilization Ordinance. (RRSO) Expanding eviction for cause to all rental units including single family homes and condominiums. Adding a relocation assistance provision to the RRSO that would require a landlord to pay a tenant an amount equal to three times the Fair Market Rent as defi...

2017-2018 Rent Ordinances Annual Report The City Council will be reviewing the 2017-2018 Annual Report on the Rent Review and Eviction Protection Ordinances at their February 12, 2019 meeting. No regulatory action is being taken at this meeting.  Meeting Information City Council Meeting Tuesday, February 12, 2019 7:00 PM City Council Chambers 34009 Alvarado-Niles Road Union City, CA Agenda/Staff Report The meeting agenda and staff report can be accessed HERE and will be available online on Friday, February 8, 2019. Additional Information For additional information regarding the Rent Review and Eviction Protection Ordinances, please visit www.unioncity.org/rent-requirements Contact Information Program Administrator ECHO Housing Phone: 1-855-ASK-ECHO / 1-855-275-3246 Email: UnionCityRentReview@EchoFairHousing.org Website: www.echofairhousing.org City of Union City Housing & Community Development Division Phone: (510) 675-5392 Email: Ho...

Marketplace's, "Make Me Smart" podcast did a great report on the affordability crisis of housing in the US. 

Costar, the commercial real estate data behemoth that owns Loopnet and Apartments.com recently purchased Cozy.co, the landlord management system.  It will be interesting to see how they connect their current holdings with Cozy to make the purchase and management of properties more streamlined. More info here-- https://cozy.co/blog/great-news-cozy-joins-costar/

As a Realtor, it's difficult to watch this.  I have a fiduciary duty to my clients to help them buy and sell homes, not give legal advice on how to interpret a loophole in a law.

The Hayward City Council is considering tenant protections including mandatory landlord-tenant mediation. But tenant advocates may want more. The Council is holding a work session on Tuesday, Mar. 27 at 7:00 p.m. at Hayward City Hall to review tenant protection options.  Those options include the mediation program and an immediate moratorium on rent increases.   If you are a Hayward resident, own or manage property in Hayward, or represent clients in Hayward, please attend this meeting.

A message forwarded by the Rental Housing Association serving Southern Alameda County The Rental Housing Association is hosting a panel on  Subsidized Housing . Panelists will include representatives from Abode Services, Building Futures for Women & Children, Eden I&R, Housing Authority of Alameda Co., and Veteran's Affairs.  Come prepared with your questions.  Is rent payment  REALLY  guaranteed? What are  YOUR  rights as a landlord? What are the benefits to  YOU  ? What are some the safeguards in place to protect you and  YOUR PROPERTY ? Date:  Thursday, March 29 Time:  12:00 - 1:30pm Location: Castro Valley Moose Lodge 20835 Rutledge Rd . in Castro Valley This event is free and open to the public. RSVP to  caryl@rhosource.com  or by phone at  510.537.0340 .

View this in your browser Basic Housing Rights Workshop: What seniors need to know Legal Assistance for Seniors (LAS) and the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) serving Alameda County will be a hosting a free Basic Housing Rights Workshop. The workshop will cover: Tenant/Landlord Rights and Responsibilities Overview of the eviction process Security deposits Where to get information and resources for assistance New Union City specific policies WHERE Ruggieri Senior Center 33997 Alvarado-Niles R...

I received this from the Fremont Police and wanted to share with everyone. https://local.nixle.com/alert/6404263/?sub_id=406327 In April, 2017, Fremont Police received information from a Fremont landlord involving an ongoing fraudulent home rental scheme conducted by two brothers dating back to 2015. At least five (5) property owners fell victim to these serial renters, suffered a significant financial loss and damage to their homes as a result. The investigation revealed Mohammed QADIR (30) and his brother, Habibullah QADIR (42), engaged in intentional fraudulent and deceptive practices to obtain at least five residential property leases in Fremont. Once the properties were rented to them, they failed to pay rent and forced the landlords to evict them while they remained in the properties rent-free, for months at a time. In summary, Mohammed QADIR, acting alone or collaborating with Habibullah QADIR, sought to obtain leases for single-family houses in high-end neighborhoods in Fre...

One of my 1031 Exchange Specialists sent me this and I thought I would share-- Revenue Procedure 2007-56 permits extension of IRC §1031 exchange deadlines upon issuance of an IRS Notice or other guidance permitting relief to taxpayers due to Federally declared disasters. Note that an IRS Notice of a Federally declared disaster is different from a FEMA disaster declaration, and the extensions are not available until the IRS publishes its Notice granting relief which specifically references Revenue Procedure 2007-56. Regarding the California wild fires, the IRS has issued a disaster relief notice relating to Orange, Solano, Butte, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Sonoma, and Yuba Counties in California extending deadlines as a result of the wildfires that began on October 8, 2017. The notice extends deadlines falling on or after 10/8/2017 and on or before  1/31/2018  for 120 days or until  1/31/2018  (whichever is later). To be eligible for the extension the rel...

From the city of Union City, CA-- Rent Review Ordinance - Effective 10/2/17 On June 27, 2017, the City Council of Union City approved an ordinance that adds Chapter 5.55 “Rent Review” to the City’s municipal code.  The ordinance regulates most residential rental units in Union City and provides a mediation process for qualifying rent increases. Renters will have the right to request non-binding mediation when: A renter receives a rent increases over 7%;  OR A renter receives two or more rent increases in a 12 month period  and  the total of all rent increases exceeds 7%  in the 12 month period Landlord participation in the mediation process is  mandatory ;  however, all recommendations are non-binding. Landlords are required to notify tenants of their rights when issuing a rent increase on or after October 2, 2017.  The full ordinance and additional information can be found at the following link: www.unioncity...

From the City of Union City, CA-- Rent Review Ordinance On June 27, 2017, the City Council adopted an ordinance that adds Chapter 5.55 "Rent Review" to the City's municipal code. The Rent Review Ordinance regulates most residential rental units in Union City and 1) provides a non-binding mediation process for qualifying rent increases; and 2) requires that landlords provide tenants with a notice of tenant rights. Effective October 2, 2017 The full ordinance and additional information can be found at the following link: www.unioncity.org/rent-requirements Eviction Protection Ordinance On April 11, 2017, the City Council adopted an ordinance that adds Chapter 5.50 “Residential Landlord and Tenant Relations” to the City’s municipal code. The ordinance regulates most residential rental units in Union City and 1) requires landlords to provide a specific reason for terminating a tenancy; 2) prohibits landlords from engaging in specific harassment activity; and 3) requires th...