Charles A. Isham

Fighting for You Since
1917

The Politics of Jealousy

Recession?

AAGLA: The Undisputed Leader

Is Rent Control Racist?

AAGLA Group Health Insurance Survey

FTC Inspections

A Colonial Christmas
for Tiny Tim

An Open Letter to the Mayor

A Flood of Blood?

 

What Have You Done for me Lately?

M

embers often ask, "Why aren't you guys doing more to get the government off our backs? Isn't there something you can do to even out the unfairness that the politicians and big government heap on property owners? What have you done for me lately?"

 

Well, here's something. It's called Proposition 98. It's on the June 2008 ballot, and we want your vote, your family's vote and your friends' vote. Spread the word, Yes on 98! Just as important, make sure they vote No on 99.

 

Proposition 98 is the product of a broad-based, property owner's group dedicated to placing a proposition on the ballot that will, once and for all, protect you from those who want to confiscate your property and/or income and give it to someone else.

 

Cities just love to seize farm land and sell it at below-market prices to shopping mall developers because of the extra sales taxes generated by them. And, we all know how the politicians love to force small apartment owners to subsidize wealthy renters in exchange for their votes (think of Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Santa Monica and parts of Los Angeles).

 

The campaign to pass Proposition 98 will be difficult because much of the news media will oppose us (shopping malls buy ads and affluent renters read newspapers, after all). Additionally, cities, through their association, called the League of California Cities (LCC), have placed a fake eminent proposal on the ballot. It's called Proposition 99. This farce does almost nothing. Even some single-family homes could be seized for resale to developers and cities could still seize farm land, commercial property, and apartments.

 

Spread the word, Yes on 98 and No on 99.

 

Trevor Grimm, AAGLA's General Counsel and the drafter of Proposition 98, is also active in the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association's effort to achieve this historic electoral victory. Trevor has also filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission against the LCC. We believe that they are using taxpayer funds to qualify and promote Prop. 99. That's not right and it is against the law.

 

This brings me to another

point. As Jessie Unruh once said, "Money is the mother's milk of politics." Our campaign needs money. Lot's of it. Please contribute today. We can pass this historic legislation but we need your help to do so.

 

Do whatever you can to pass the word. VOTE YES ON PROPOSITION 98 AND NO ON PROPOSITION 99.

 

Fighting for You Since 1917

H

oward Jarvis, best remembered as the champion of property rights and the father of Proposition 13, was the Executive Director of AAGLA from 1973 until 1978. He led the fight for rental housing owners' property, tax, and civil rights. This has been the mission and tradition since our founding in 1917.

 

Today, AAGLA employs two full-time lobbyists, Steve Carlson at the State Capitol in Sacramento, and Jim Clarke for the County and City of Los Angeles. AAGLA also retains fierce legal warriors in the persons of Trevor Grimm, Esq., and Craig Mordoh, Esq., who drafted Proposition 98, the property rights initiative appearing on the June ballot. It phases out rent control; thereby, restoring your civil rights over your property.

 

Today, AAGLA is still fighting for you, just as we have for the past 91 years. With your help, we will continue to fight the good fight to restore your freedom.

 

Looking back, 30 years ago this June, Howard Jarvis, the former Executive Director of AAGLA, campaigned hard for the passage of Proposition 13. It passed nearly two-to-one. For those of you too young to know, or too old to remember, property taxes prior to Prop. 13 were 3% of MARKET VALUE, not what you paid for it! This included all real property in California, single‑family homes, apartments and commercial property alike.

 

Further, government gougers in those days reassessed your property once every three years. That kept the complaints at manageable levels, or so the politicians and bureaucrats thought. So, if you have a building with a market value of $2 million, your property taxes, prior to Prop. 13, are $60,000 per year! Do the math on the number of units you own, and their value, to determine how high your rents have to be to pay this tax. Then, compare that with what you actually pay today.

 

April is Fair Housing Month

 

"So what does all this have to do with fair housing," you may ask? Fair housing is an outgrowth, of course, of the civil rights movement of the 60s. As landlords, we certainly know something about being denied our civil rights. In this vein, last year I attended a fair housing conference. The instructor was briefing the owners present on "protected" classes of renters, such as race, religion, martial status, etc. She had them all listed on a big chart in front of the assemblage. Being the crusty curmudgeon that I am (and I enjoy every minute of it), I could not help noticing that one "protected" category was missing.

 

"Oh, miss, you left one out."

 

"Is that right," she responded.

 

"And what, might that be?"

 

"How about sexual predators," I asked?

 

Pause.

 

Reluctantly, she admitted I was right. It's true. Under California State laws, sexual predators have civil rights. You cannot discriminate against them, all other things being equal. If you do, they can sue you for BIG bucks, and there are plenty of trial lawyers ready, willing and able to protect these poor souls from us evil landlords. In fact, if you do find out that one of your tenants is a registered sexual predator, you cannot evict them or notify the other tenants in your building of this fact.

 

On the other hand, if a tenant/sexual predator assaults one of your other renters or their children, under state law you can be sued. That's the bed that the trial lawyers have made for you. Hopefully, you will never have to sleep in it.

 

Recognizing this insane situation, AAGLA, along with other allied groups, has introduced legislation annually to provide a "safe harbor" for landlords. In each case, either the trial lawyers killed them, or, as happened last year, the governor vetoed the legislation (he didn't feel it went far enough). Again, we've introduced legislation this year. Hopefully, this will be the year that the abuse stops.

 

Proving once again, true to Howard Jarvis' legacy, we are still, and always, fighting for you... just as we have done since 1917. We thank you for your continuing support and hope you appreciate our continuing efforts.

 

Stay tuned, and do remember to vote Yes on Prop. 98 and No on Prop. 99 (the scam competing government scheme to maintain the status quo).

Recession?

T

here is an old cliché that if you place 100 economists end-to-end they will never reach anywhere. That's true again as many economists are calling for a recession in the second and third quarters this year while others are not. The generally accepted definition of a recession is a decline in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for two consecutive quarters.

 

As you may have read, the generally accepted consensus for the causes of the current decline in economic activity are the collapse of the single‑family housing market, massive mortgage and credit card debt, and the high and rising cost of oil. The only "good" news is that while the unemployment rate is rising, but it still remains near historic lows.

 

Also, expect to see a slowdown this election year as businesses wait to see who is elected president and what their economic policies are going to be (income and/or capital gains tax increases?). The insane "teaser‑rate" mortgages that recently prevailed backfired as we all know, but some homeowners may luck out as the federal government is coming out with a "bail‑out" program to temporarily freeze low interest rates for fairly recent home buyers.

 

Is this bailout fair?

 

Is it an example of interest rate control?

 

Well, yes. It is. What is fair about the buyer with good credit spending years paying a higher rate than a less creditworthy buyer paying a teaser rate?

 

Sounds like the same government mentality that requires apartment owners in rent-controlled areas to charge low rents to high-income tenants in order for the politicians to "buy" their votes. One of my high‑income tenants just bragged to me that due to his cheap rent he is motoring around in a brand new sporty BMW!

 

But, back to the economy. How is government planning to deal with the looming recession? First, keep in mind that government at all levels continually plans on tax increases, recession or not. Locally, government wants to increase sales taxes. At the state level, expect all new and creative "fees" and an income tax increase on the "rich." That's defined as anyone who makes over $55,000 a year.

 

Tax increases mean consumers, your tenants, will have less money to spend. Further, there is a move by some media types to fiddle with Proposition 13 and raise property taxes, starting with commercial property. Can apartments be far behind?

 

My question is this. "What happened to all that extra revenue that was generated by the vast increase in property tax revenues from when the market was red hot?" Here are some interesting numbers for you: 20, 29 and 40%. If our state government had only increased expenditures to match population growth and inflation, state spending would have gone up 20% over the past five years. But state revenues did not increase by 20%. They increased by 29% over the same time period due to the excellent economic conditions we recently experienced. Here's the problem. State spending has increased 40% over the same time frame.

 

Thus, we have a $14-billion deficit, and our state government is targeting us and all other "middle‑class" taxpayers with every scare tactic they can think of, park closings, early releases from jail for felons, and cutbacks on police and fire protection.

 

It's a major push to soften us up for major tax increases. As our friends upstairs at the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association point out... the problem is not the lack of revenue. Revenues increased by 29%. The problem is government's insatiable appetite for spending money!

 

But what, you may ask, does this have to do with apartment owners? With oil /gasoline prices up ($4 gallons this spring?), likely tax increases, and the overall inflationary impact of higher energy prices, expect our residents to be hurting financially. It will be increasingly more difficult to pass along our cost increases to them. Expect to see renters moving to lower-rent apartments and/or doubling up with family or friends. In that regard, keep an eye on who is in your building because more people mean higher costs.

 

And always remember our motto, "In God we trust, everyone else gets tenant screened!" With possible hard times coming, one expense renters may cut back on is YOUR rent. As a result, it is more important than ever to make sure that new renters can afford their rent. If they have massive credit card obligations and car payments, look out.

 

And don't expect much help from government as it steps up its efforts to pander to the renter vote. While, the government may bailout new homebuyers with low teaser interest rates, its not interested in bailing you out when deadbeat tenants put you into foreclosure.

Busy Year Planned at AAGLA

C

ustomary at this time of year is a broad outline and plan for the coming year. During the past year, AAGLA's staff was heavily involved in several major projects. One was a software upgrade of computer operating system. Shortly, we will announce a new more user-friendly tenant screening program. As you may know, you can run your AAGLA tenant screening on-line at a significant savings. Call Cindy, Maureen, or Anna for more info and to sign-up in order to start saving money today.

 

Our annual trade show, held last June at the Gene Autry Museum in Griffith Park, was a different venue than the conventional, and often boring, shows held in some convention center halls. Thanks to the efforts of AAGLA Trade Show Manager Angela Sapien, the show was a success. Events such as these require a great deal of effort, especially at a new venue.

 

Another major endeavor undertaken by staff this past year was the integration of the Apartment Association of San Fernando Valley/Ventura County into AAGLA. Nowadays, the administrative overhead of operating a not-for-profit organization is difficult as the cost of funding lawyers, lobbyists experts, studies and consultants to fight for your civil rights is high and rising. Some outfits brag about their cheap dues because they don't spend the money to protect your rights and your investments. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for. Don't be fooled.

 

In other news, AAGLA has been instrumental over the years in organizing other local apartment owner groups. For example, in 1923 AAGLA spun off owners in the Long Beach area into what is now the Apartment Association, California Southern Cities. Now, AAGLA is planning to do something similar in Ventura County.

 

Subject to AAGLA Board approval, I plan to launch the Apartment Association of Ventura County, fully recognizing the economic facts of life for not-for-profits. As such, there will be a different twist. AAGLA will supply the administrative structure and state lobbying representation. But, a local office in Ventura County will be established with local staff to assist members and to represent their interests before the various governments in Ventura County.

 

I think this plan presents the best of both worlds: administrative economies of scale made possible by a large organization (AAGLA), but with the identity necessary for local service and representation.

 

Already, "Apartment Age" editor Kevin Postema, is expanding the San Fernando Valley edition of our magazine to include articles of interest to the many owners in Ventura County. More about this new owner's organization as the year progresses.

 

As I discussed in last month's column, the main focus of this proposal is to protect you from the government seizing your property through "eminent domain" or seizing a portion of your income through rent control. The initiative requires a gradual phase‑out of rent control throughout the State of California. Please see the Orange County Register editorial on page 17 for more information on this important initiative.

 

At this writing, we believe we have enough signatures to place it on the June 2008 ballot. While this provision protects all property owners from out-of-control government, and would seem like an easy winner, passing it will be difficult.

 

The pro-government-control people will be out in force and will, most likely, have media support behind them. Just imagine the eye‑tearing, heart-wrenching horror stories opposing the phase-out of rent control and you won't be far off. The wealthy tenants, who are the main beneficiaries of Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and West Hollywood rent control, will likely provide significant financial support to defeat us.

 

The campaign will require money and we will need your help to succeed. When you receive our funding requests, please give the maximum possible. Your business security and the protection of your civil rights demand it.

 

The state initiative is not our only legislative goal for 2008. The City of Los Angeles remains a primary battleground as it continues to dream up new methods to "buy" votes and expand their bureaucracy. For example, early this year will be the fight to roll back the recently‑enacted sky‑high relocation fees for owner or resident manager move‑ins.

 

Yes, it's going to be a busy year at AAGLA, so stay tuned and stay with us.

AAGLA: The Undisputed Leader in Los Angeles Since 1917

H

ere is your opportunity to regain some of your property and civil rights. The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles is one of the many sponsoring organizations behind The Committee for Property Rights Protection (CPRP), which is championing a drive to place an initiative on the June 2008 primary ballot that would bring fairness back to California property owners.

 

We are in the process of gathering the necessary signatures at this writing in order to qualify the initiative. It looks as though it will make it and that's half the battle. The campaign to pass it is next and it will be expensive. Every anti‑property rights advocate will be out in force with eye-tearing heart-wrenching horror stories about the effects of phasing out rent control. They will be well financed and they will be convincing.

 

Just what does the initiative achieve? For one thing, government takes private property from one individual and gives it to another private party. They do this to achieve financial gain through higher sales taxes. That's why you see homes and apartment buildings torn down and auto malls or "big box" stores put up in their place. Cities get big financial revenues from the sales taxes. They view housing as a money loser.

 

Thus, they take your property via "eminent domain" and sell it to private developers to build sales-tax-generating facilities. The right for cities to do this was confirmed by the Federal Supreme Court in the now infamous "Kelo" decision. But, the Feds did leave it up to the states to enact anti-Kelo laws if they want to. Our state government has not done this because the powers that be in Sacramento tilt to granting cities more powers than less.

 

Government also deprives you of your property in another fashion. That is by rent control. What's the difference if government takes your property and gives it to an auto mall developer or if it requires you to give a portion of your earnings to one of your customers... your tenant. In either case, your property rights are taken.

 

As Trevor Grimm, AAGLA's General Counsel, reported in the October 2007 issue of Apartment Age magazine, this initiative requires a phase-out of rent control laws.

 

And AAGLA has been right there next to HJTA (Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn.) since day one, funding, publicizing and gathering signatures for this initiative in conjunction with Trevor Grimm and Craig Mordoh, the authors.

 

Grimm and Mordoh also are the attorneys representing AAGLA in our ongoing lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles' expansion of rent control to new construction. AAGLA also retains Steve Carlson, our Sacramento lobbyist, who protects your civil and property rights there. Locally, we have Jim Clarke representing your interests in Los Angeles City and across L.A. County.

 

Of course, in addition to the legislative and legal work we do, AAGLA also continues to provide a host of other member services. Member services include Apartment Age magazine, which is chock full of the most current rental housing news and quality vendors; free forms to members, use our forms and stay out of trouble; tenant screening, find out before it's too late; legal assistance and information, know the law before you go to court; manager training and placement; free member meetings, trade tips and information with your peers and gain valuable insights from our monthly speakers; low‑cost high-calibre seminars; and speaking of high-quality seminars, don't miss our annual Trade Show where you can also meet many of the vendors you see in the magazine; and website savings, log on to www. aagla.org and let the savings begin.

 

AAGLA has been serving the needs of apartment owners and fighting for your civil and property rights since l9l7 and we continue to be the leader, just as we have been since our founding in 1917.

 

Welcome AASFC/VC Members

The Apartment Association of San Fernando Valley/Ventura County (AASFVNC) has joined with the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA) to form the largest local rental housing owners organization in the United States. The reason for this merger is twofold. First, we achieve added political prominence in this increasingly anti-landlord environment. Second, a large organization benefits due to the administrative economies of scale.

 

AAGLA was founded in 1917 as owners came together for mutual protection, education and membership services. Earlier this year, AAGLA published a 90-year history of our organization and the rental housing industry in general. A copy of this book was enclosed in the membership kits sent out to our newest San Fernando Valley members. All other AAGLA members should already have gotten it. If not, please give us a call and we'll send one out to you.

 

As you may know, AAGLA is a not-for-profit, mutual-benefit corporation organized under the laws of the State of California. As members, you are one of the owners of the corporation. AAGLA is governed by a voluntary Board of Directors that is elected by you... the members. The Board, in turn, hires a chief-of-staff, Executive Vice President Charles A. Isham, who employs the balance of the staff and manages the association on a day-to-day basis.

 

For you new members, and in case some of you current members forgot or didn't know, following is a review of some of AAGLA's many member services.

 

POLITICAL/LEGAL REPRESENTATION

 

AAGLA spends approximately $500,000 per year funding political and legal efforts, including surveys, studies and consultants, to defend your property and civil rights. This fact sets AAGLA apart from other organizations. As a member of AAGLA, you are invited to attend our governmental and legal affairs committee meetings where policy and strategy are developed. Click the Calendar for the time and location of the meetings.

 

LEGAL AND/OR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT QUESTIONS

 

It is far more difficult these days to manage rental property from a legal standpoint. One of the most valuable membership services AAGLA offers is the access to our large pool of legally-trained staff. AAGLA’s staffers can help you avoid the many pitfalls and traps that government has set for you. We are here to help you. You are not alone. When you have a legal or management issue, call any of the telephone numbers listed on the CONTACT US page under the ABOUT AAGLA banner. Have your membership number ready.

 

FREE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT FORMS

 

As a member, you are entitled to the forms prepared and approved by AAGLA's General Counsel, Trevor Grimm. Use AAGLA's forms and stay out of trouble. You can get the forms for free and you can access these forms in the MEMBER AREA. Click on the Banner “Member Area,” enter your username and password that are shown on your membership card and you’ll will be taken to a page with several member benefits one of which is the UPDATED FORMS area. Just click on “Updated Forms” and you will taken to a section with a complete list of all the forms from which you can download the ones you need.

 

Or you can request that they be faxed. For a $3 charge, they can be mailed to you. Call any of our telephone numbers to request forms. The modest service charge for mailing will be billed later.

 

"FIND OUT BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!"

 

Or in other words, "in God we trust, all others get tenant screened." Use AAGLA's low-cost tenant screening services and avoid (hopefully) that deadbeat tenant from hell. Please call for information about tenant screening and its cost. For the most cost-efficient tenant screening service, use our on-line service. But you must be set up in advance for this service. Ask for either Julie, Anna or Maureen to start saving money.

 

In order to run a tenant screening, you are required to have on file a "Service Agreement." If you already have completed a Service Agreement with AASFVNC, there is no further action required as it has been transferred to AAGLA. Please be advised that pursuant to a Federal Trade Commission regulation... certainly not AAGLA's idea... all apartment owners in the United States must undergo physical inspections of the manner in which rental applications are stored and disposed of. Please call Julie for more information. There is a December 31, 2007, deadline.

 

WANT A NEW RESIDENT MANAGER?

 

Use AAGLA’s free manager placement service to find a new trained and qualified resident manager. Call and ask for Yvonne Calderon. She will assist you in the hunt for a new resident manager or she can sign up your current manager for training so he or she is up-to-date on all of the new laws and requirements,

 

DO YOU NEED NEW CARPETS. PAINTERS. OR WHATEVER?

 

Call and ask for either Barry or Angela and they will provide a referral for that needed product or service. If you are unhappy with the vendor, call them as well and we will attempt to resolve the problem.

 

APARTMENT AGE MAGAZINE

 

Each month you will receive a copy of Apartment Age magazine, "The Official Voice of the Industry." Be sure to read it each month in order to stay on top of the rapid changes occurring in our industry. You can find the current and past issues online too. For address changes or to have an extra free magazine sent to your resident manager(s), please call the magazine department for the form to do that.

 

If you are a new Valley member and are now getting more than one copy of the magazine, please let us know if you would like to discontinue the extra one. Call Daniel to get this taken care of. Our editor, Kevin Postema, also loves to hear your comments and suggestions. Write directly to him and be sure to watch for his column, Apartment Life, in the real estate section of the L.A. Times.

 

STOP BY FOR A FREE CUP OF COFFEE

 

AAGLA has a number of regional offices for the convenience of the membership. In the San Fernando Valley, AAGLA is located at 18520 Burbank Blvd. in Tarzana (half a block west of Reseda and just off the 101/Ventura Freeway). It is open from 9a.m-5p.m. (closed from noon until 1:00p.m. for lunch). At the Tarzana office you can obtain magazines, forms, tenant screening, legal guidance and assistance in the understanding and use of the operational forms. The staff is here to make your life easier.

 

The Van Nuys office on Archwood Street is now closed.

 

AVOID TENANT ATTEMPTS TO DECEIVE AND VICTIMIZE YOU

 

Please check the CALENDAR section of this website to see the schedules of meetings and seminars and also see page 22 of Apartment Age magazine each month for the schedule, time and location of AAGLA's free member meetings and modestly-priced educational seminars.

 

Find out what your civil and legal rights are by attending our meetings and seminars. Running apartments is a difficult and daunting task for the misinformed and uneducated landlord.

 

We also have a large selection of educational books and needed signs available to you at member-discounted prices.

 

INCOME TAX DEDUCTIONS

 

Don't forget that all annual dues, educational seminar fees, and tenant screening costs are tax deductible as business expenses for both federal and state income tax purposes. Likewise, your contributions to AAGLA's legal defense fund are tax deductible.

 

And these are just some of the benefits of membership in the largest local apartment association in the United States.

 

There must be some reason why we have been as successful as we have been since 1917. We look forward to "getting to know you" better, and on behalf of the Board of Directors of AAGLA. Welcome to our family.

AAGLA IS NUMBER ONE!

From the "you can never trust them" department comes the latest. In spite of the City of Los Angeles' promises to the industry in 1978, and in spite of the Costa-Hawkins state law mandating that all new construction of rental property be exempt from rent control, the City of Los Angeles enacted an ordinance that requires all new construction to be placed under rent control if it is built on the site of previously rent-controlled apartments.

 

So, if you tear down a 90 to 100-year-old piece of junk and invest major dollars in a brand new, state‑of‑the‑art apartment building, your investment will be placed in financial danger.

 

However, I am told it will be difficult to get construction financing in the first place because many lenders will not accept this added risk.

 

On the other hand, removal of an existing structure in order to build condominiums cannot be prevented by law. Given the fact that Los Angeles is 61% tenant, one unintended consequence of its action will be a shift away, over time, from a city of renters to enhanced homeownership. The marvelous irony of all this is that in order to save "affordable" apartments, the council loses the ability to pander to tenants owing to increased homeownership!

 

The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA) will not permit this assault on our rights under the Costa-Hawkins act, which exempts new construction from rent control. Your Board of Directors unanimously authorized a major lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles to force it to adhere to California state law. The lawsuit has been filed in Superior Court by AAGLA's General Counsel, Trevor Grimm, Esq., with the able assistance of Craig Mordoh, Esq., and the California Apartment Law Information Foundation. Follow Apartment Age for status updates on the lawsuit.

 

This new lawsuit by your Board of Directors is another example of your dues at work. AAGLA spends about half a million dollars per year to fund lawyers and lobbyists to fight for and protect your civil and property rights.

 

Our Sacramento lobbyist, Steve Carlson, is one of the most respected advocates for the rental housing industry in the state capitol. Locally, Jim Clarke is a forceful representative in Los Angeles County in our various local communities. His track record on your behalf is lengthy and can be well documented by your attendance at our Local Government Relations Committee meetings (see Board and Committees meeting schedule).

 

Combine this with the efforts of attorneys Grimm and Mordoh, and you can understand why the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles is the most respected local rental owners' association in the USA.

  

AAGLA's political and financial capabilities are further enhanced as a consequence of our recent merger with the Apartment Association of San Fernando Valley/Ventura County. Their membership will join ours and, for the first time in history, all owners in the City of Los Angeles will be represented by one voice... AAGLA's... and its well respected legal and political combat teams.

 

As this article is being written, the many operational tasks from the merger have fallen to me and my capable staff. As you might expect, there are a hundred and one issues that need to be addressed. With some extra effort (and extra dollars) for us at the end of the day, we can all have increased pride in AAGLA. More on the merger in the next issue of Apartment Age.

 

Now that the AASFV/VC membership becomes a part of our family, AAGLA has surpassed New York City in membership as the largest local apartment association in the United State of America.

 

AAGLA truly is number one!

 

Carmen Will Be Missed

 

On a final sad note, I am unhappy to report to you that Carmen Tellez, a long‑time AAGLA employee and friend, has passed away after a courageous four-year battle with cancer. Like many of you who knew her, I will miss her winning smile and effervescent personality.

 

IS RENT CONTROL RACIST?

 

In Los Angeles County there are 88 different cities or municipalities. Each has a City Council that determines public policy and laws for them. Areas of Los Angeles County that are not included in a city are called unincorporated areas. East L.A. is an example of an unincorporated area. Most of the Antelope Valley is also unincorporated and governed by the County Board of Supervisors.

 

Of the 88 cities in Los Angeles County, only four have rent control. They are Santa Monica, West Hollywood, that bastion of poverty, Beverly Hills, and the oldest and largest city in the county, the City of Los Angeles. Of these four cities, the voters enacted rent control in only one (Santa Monica). In the other three, City Councils enacted rent control. You will not find rent control in Hawthorne, El Monte, Covina, Torrance or Inglewood, Pasadena, Montebello, or any of the other 84 cities in Los Angeles County.

 

Santa Monica, West Hollywood & Beverly Hills What is the common thread among these three cities? All are affluent, predominantly Caucasian communities.

 

On the other hand, you don't find rent control enacted by either the electorate or City Councils in predominately Asian, Latino or African-American communities.

 

Larry Gross, head of the Coalition for Economic Survival (CES), has given up his attempt to spread rent control to non-white cities. He has tried it in the past, but the cities and their citizens were simply not interested.

 

"But, what about Los Angeles City," you may ask? Rent control in L.A. was enacted back in the late 70s, primarily due to efforts by affluent, white Westsiders and unionized government employees who saw opportunity (jobs) in its enactment. There are now around 1,200 L.A. City union employees associated in one way or another with rent or property control. From these government employee unions, flow PAC dollars to the candidates who support rent control.

 

For example, one of the strongest rent control supporters is L.A. City Councilmember Bill Rosendahl. He represents the 11^th Council District. It includes wealthy, white neighborhoods like Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Mar Vista, and my old hometown, Westchester.

 

Can I be on to something?

 

Why is it that 84 cities, mostly African-American, Asian, and Latino, distain rent control and only affluent white cities and districts embrace it? Is the intent of rent control to provide low-cost housing for white affluent tenants?

 

Or is rent control a latent form of racism?

 

Still not convinced?

 

Want more evidence?

 

Back in 1983, the citizens of the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County were given the right to vote on rent control. The result was that 61% of Latino TENANTS and 56% of African American TENANTS voted against rent control. At the same time, something like 90% of the tenants in Marina Del Rey and the vast majority of tenants in West Hollywood (both unincorporated areas at the time and predominantly white) cast their ballots in favor of it.

 

Why is that?

 

You make the call, given the evidence presented.

 

West Hollywood incorporated shortly thereafter, and the very first ordinance passed by the new City Council was, you guessed it, rent control. Marina Del Rey cannot incorporate because the land under all those plushy deluxe apartments is located on land owned by the county.

 

So I ask you, "Are Councilmember Rosendahi and CES's Larry Gross racists and bigots?" No, of course not.

 

But, they do believe in class warfare and wealth redistribution (not theirs, of course), and they do believe that your lifestyle must be diminished in order to advance their political lives.

 

However they mask it, the bottom line is that rent control promotes racism. Minority tenants see it and feel it. When given the choice, they vote down rent control in massive numbers. Could it be?

 

Is rent control racist?

 

FREE IS GOOD

 

Got your attention, didn't I? Well, the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA) welcomes the opportunity to give you something for free. It comes in the form of free admission to our Annual Trade Show, to be held at the Autry National Center (the Gene Autry Museum), and that's not the only thing you will get for free.

 

How about free parking right across the street from the show? There is no long walk required from some isolated and expensive parking lot. Not enough? Here's more: a free slate of information‑packed seminars to make your life as an apartment owner more hassle free and even more profitable.

 

Still not enough freebies? Well, how about free admission to the museum? That's right, thanks to the efforts of AAGLA's Trade Show staff, Show Manager Angela Sapien and her able assistant, Kevin Postema, we have arranged for everyone who attends the annual trade show to receive a free pass to this extraordinary museum ($9 value) on the day of the show.

 

I've been through the museum twice before and I can testify about the interesting and educational experience you are in for. Even if you've already been to the Autry, many of its exhibits change. Beginning on June 22 in the George Montgomery Gallery, Gene's contributions during the major events of his life are in the spotlight. Bring the kids as school is out and they'll get free admission, too.

 

So, mark your calendar for Thursday, June 28, 2007. The show starts at 10:00 a.m. and continues until 3:00 p.m. with the first seminar at 9:00 a.m. Please download the Seminar Schedule for the roster of eminent speakers at the free money-making/saving seminars.

 

In a different vein, how about something else that was gotten for free, albeit illegally. I am referring to the approximately 47.5-million credit and debit/card numbers that were purloined from a Marshall's Department store in St. Paul, Minn.

 

Using this data, the thieves were able to crack the code of the parent corporation, located in Framingham, Mass., where it stores customer data, including credit and debit card numbers.

 

Then, the thieves sold the numbers over the internet. Shortly thereafter, fraudulent charges begin to show up in Louisiana and California. It turns out that Marshall's has less security on their Internet transactions than AAGLA. As you might expect, it is going to prove to, be a very expensive lesson for them, the TJX Company. Would you believe over $1 billion?

 

Credit Checks Still Available at AAGLA

 

But what has this got to do with AAGLA members, you may ask? I find this to be ironic because the credit reporting bureaus are requiring small owners to undergo and pay for physical inspections of our operations. The credit bureaus are afraid that owners may compromise the data applicants provide, and it may somehow fall into the hands of evildoers.

 

As you may know, in order to do tenant screenings in the future, you must comply with their demands. Many of our members have gotten these inspections out of the way. If you have not, please go to our website, www.AAGLA.org, and sign up to have the physical inspection completed, or call the office.

 

This requirement to get physical inspections is absurd, especially in the light of how easy it was for the evildoers to get the credit and debit card numbers of millions and millions of users from one source. Alas, it is nevertheless a requirement for apartment owners. So, please sign-up if you have not already done so.

 

Zen Management at The Housing Dept.

 

Finally, permit me to end my monthly musings by calling your attention to the May 11, 2007, Los Angeles Times article about the latest Mercedes Marquez madness. She is the general manager of the Los Angeles City Housing Department. She's what the news media calls a "progressive." Some others call her a super leftist. In any event, she is quietly removing or demoting all of the moderates in the housing department and replacing them with tenant activists, as if they're not already biased enough. That's unfair and it's not right.

 

What I find truly absurd, is her spending $18,819 of taxpayer money to hire a Zen Buddhist guru from Hawaii to teach her staff breathing and sphincter control along with techniques of "how to stand" and play with wooden swords. In one exercise, as reported, the housing department executives were instructed to encircle Ms. Marquez with their backs to her and to imagine they were shielding her from her enemies at city hall. If they ever have an exercise like that about AAGLA, you just may want to "duck and cover."

 

Since we apartment owners have paid for all of this nonsense, maybe we can get Marquez and her staff to perform for us at the Trade Show on June 28, 2007. Now, that would be interesting.

CES MISLEADS THE PUBLIC AGAIN

 

The website says, "The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles proudly proclaims its role in the infamous Chavez Ravine evictions of low-income Latino families... the article (in the March 2007 issue of Apartment Age) brags about AAGLA's role in Los Angeles' notorious, infamous and racist displacement of the low-income Latino community... is incredibly insensitive and smacks of the racism that resulted in their evictions in the first place. Any group that is proud to take credit for having a role in one of the darkest moments in L.A.'s history should be discredited in the eyes of our elected officials and the public at‑large."

 

Of course, it is the website of the Coalition for Economic Survival (CES) and, of course, nothing could be further from the truth. CES is run by Larry Gross, a humorless, ideologue whose goal is to promote class warfare and obtain cheap rent-controlled housing for affluent tenants. He is also an expert at staging media events at City Hall. His usual cast of characters shows up sobbing in their CES t-shirts. They can turn on the crocodile tears almost at will. There is one lady who, I am told, is a part-time actress who, along with her six-year-old child, has attended several city hearings over the past several months. She cries about how terrible landlords are and says she is being evicted (over the past several months?), demanding to keep her cheap rent-controlled garden apartment.

 

In any event, here are the real facts and the truth about Larry Gross' most recent deceptive, shameful allegations. First, AAGLA had no role in evicting anyone. We played no role in these evictions. Here's what actually happened.

 

In 1949, architects Richard Neutra and Richard Alexander signed a contract, with the backing of L.A. Mayor Fletcher Bowron, to develop 10,000 public housing dwelling units in Chavez Ravine. Neutra and Alexander found the chiefly Mexican‑Americans residents of Chavez Ravine to be happy and well adjusted. They took pride in their "Mexican Village," as one observer noted. Festivals and holidays were celebrated with great spirit. High on the hill above Chavez Ravine was the grand Spanish Revival home of the noted Mexican actor Crispin Martin; also know as the "Cisco Kid."

 

Almost all agreed that most of the existing buildings were extremely substandard, especially with respect to plumbing and numerous cracks in the walls. It was, indeed, a blighted slum, they concluded. Neutra was ambivalent on the project and continually referred to the area as a "slum." The community was located next to Elysian Park which had been planted in the 19th century with eucalyptus trees as a community project. He opined that, due to the trees and park setting, this was a slum much closer to nature than those in Harlem or the slums in Chicago.

 

Neutra and Alexander created a grand design that encompassed 24 13-story towers and 163 two-story structures. Also included would be a community center, activity rooms, a "trading center" and three schools. Major highways would skirt the project and it would only have cul-de-sacs.

 

Such a large project developed many critics who objected to the cost and to the fact that so many high‑rise public housing units would be adverse to the low‑rise character of Los Angeles. They and AAGLA believed that it would be disastrous to house so many poor people in such conditions. AAGLA was not the only group objecting to the massive public housing project. The local chapter of the AlA, the Chamber of Commerce, the Home Builders Association, the Los Angeles Times, and a majority of the City Council also opposed the project on the same grounds. The opposition to the project was led by Frederick Dockweiler, for whom the beach in Playa Del Rey is named.

 

AAGLA's chief concern was that the 24 13-story towers would soon become slums in and of themselves. This fact was soon proven true, as nearly all such public housing towers built in the east proved to be unsuccessful and most were subsequently destroyed. AAGLA has been, indeed, vindicated in its opposition to such dreadful public housing projects.

 

Don't forget, the biggest slumlord in the City of Los Angeles is the City of Los Angeles itself, which runs such shocking and frightful projects as Jordan Downs. Because of the massive opposition to the project, the City Council voted on December 26, 1951, 8‑7 to cancel the contract with the housing authority. Mayor Bowron was soon defeated by Norris Poulson.

 

Richard Neutra designed another building in 1949, and it was constructed in 1950. It is currently the home of AAGLA, located at 621 South Westmoreland Avenue, which is why I take an interest in the endeavors of Neutra. For more information on our notable building and for more facts regarding Chavez Ravine, please see "Richard Neutra and the Search for Modern Architecture" by Thomas S. Hines. Especially go to page 242 for the history of AAGLA's home office.

 

But now, there is a new requirement.  The Federal Government, via the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), is imposing upon the credit reporting agencies the new, burdensome requirement of mandating a physical inspection of your business office.  The Service Agreement methodology is not adequate for the FTC anymore.  They are demanding that an independent observer actually come to your main office to view your compliance with anti-identity theft provisions.

AAGLA uses Experian and TransUnion.  We do not employee Equifax as they are an Atlanta-based firm and their data base for Southern California is meager.  We have contracted with TrendSource of San Diego to perform the actual inspections.  We will provide other names of companies authorized by the credit reporting agencies as they become available.

Here’s what you will need to show the inspectors: that you maintain “Applications to Rent” in lockable filing cabinets, have a paper shredder (to destroy the applications after they are not needed), have a valid business license, your company’s sign is on the door, and that you do not keep the applications at any other locale.

If you have a number of buildings and the resident managers keep the records on site rather than at the main office, you will be required to have an inspection at each building and the resident managers must meet the signage, cabinet and license criteria.  Now, and this is where it gets interesting, if you own few units and work out of your home, as many of us do, they require a physical inspection of your home.