7 Apr 2020

Paying Your Rent or Mortgage Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, businesses have been shut down, thousands have been laid off from their jobs, millions have applied for unemployment, and people have been asked to stay at home until the pandemic is under control. With all of this being said, homeowners and renters are now faced with the challenge of paying rent, even if they do not have the income to pay. In this article we will outline government initiatives that

By Talia Chopra | | In California Legislation and Your Real Estate, California Real Estate Trends, Politics and Real Estate, Santa Cruz Legislation and Your Real Estate, US Legislation and Your Real Estate | Read moreLeave a comment
17 Sep 2019

AB 1482: Statewide Rent Control and Just Cause For Eviction in California

AB 1482, a state-wide bill that will enforce rent-increase limits and just cause for eviction laws throughout California is about to land on Governor Newsom’s desk. The governor has said that he plans to sign the bill. This means we can expect a state-wide rent cap and just cause for eviction rules to become law in the coming weeks. The bill is set to expire in 10 years, and so it will remain in effect

By Talia Chopra | | In California Legislation and Your Real Estate, New Legislation and Your Real Estate, Santa Cruz Legislation and Your Real Estate, Uncategorized | Read moreLeave a comment
16 Jul 2019

Statewide Rent Cap and Just Cause for Eviction Proposed

Rent control and just cause for eviction laws have been proposed on both a statewide and local level over the past year. One bill is inching towards implementing state-wide rent control and just cause for eviction - AB 1482. However, unlike past bills, this one has numerous provisions in place to temper the negative impacts that rent control and just cause for eviction often have on property-owners. For example, the changes made by the bill

By Talia Chopra | | In California Legislation and Your Real Estate, California Real Estate Trends, New Legislation and Your Real Estate, Rent Control, Rent Control and Just Cause For Eviction, Santa Cruz Legislation and Your Real Estate | Read moreLeave a comment
26 Jun 2019

Section 8 Vouchers – A New Bill With Big Implications

A new, proposed California Senate bill will prohibit landlords from discriminating against those with Section 8 vouchers. In this article we’ll explain what the bill proposes and explore different perspectives of those who will be impacted by it.  What Is the Section 8 Voucher Program? The Section 8 voucher program is the federal government's major program for assisting very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled to afford housing in the private market. In Santa

By Talia Chopra | | In California Legislation and Your Real Estate, California Real Estate Trends, Investment Property in Santa Cruz County, New Legislation and Your Real Estate, Politics and Real Estate | Read moreLeave a comment
7 Jan 2019

Major Downtown Housing Project Moves Forward

In the wake of a passionate election season in which affordable housing was one of the major topics of debate, a large housing project was just approved in the City of Santa Cruz. The Pacific Front project is a 205-rental unit housing project which includes ground-floor commercial space and two floors of parking garage. Have you ever heard of Measure O? Under this measure, developers of housing projects must make a certain percentage of their

By Talia Chopra | | In All About Santa Cruz County, California Legislation and Your Real Estate, California Real Estate Trends, Santa Cruz Legislation and Your Real Estate, Santa Cruz Real Estate Trends, Uncategorized | Read moreLeave a comment
17 Dec 2018

Solar Panels Required on New Homes in California – What it Means

California just became the first state to require all new construction, starting in 2020, to be solar powered. The new standards apply to new residential single-family buildings and multifamily buildings up to three stories high. The solar power can either be supplied by a new structure’s own set of solar panels, or buy a shared solar-power system serving a group of homes. The formalization of this mandate into the CA Building Code has elicited mixed

By Talia Chopra | | In California Legislation and Your Real Estate, California Real Estate Trends, Climate Change and Real Estate, Home Buying Tips and Advice, New Legislation and Your Real Estate, Real Estate and Environmental Sustainability | Read moreLeave a comment
30 Nov 2018

Election Results – Housing Related Measures in Santa Cruz and California

Now that the election season has passed and a majority of the votes have been counted, where do we stand with the many local and statewide housing-related ballot measures? Below we’ve summarized both Santa Cruz County and California ballot measures and proposition results, and what each means for our local market.   Note, after November 6th, there is a 30 day “canvasing” period in which vote-by-mail ballots, provisional ballots (including conditional voter registration provisional ballots),

By Talia Chopra | | In All About Santa Cruz County, California Legislation and Your Real Estate, New Legislation and Your Real Estate, Rent Control, Rent Control and Just Cause For Eviction, Santa Cruz Legislation and Your Real Estate | Read moreLeave a comment
19 Oct 2018

Easing Building Code Regulations in California – CA SB 1226

It just became easier to legalize unpermitted living spaces on your property.   The Problem   Do you own a home with unpermitted space? If so, make sure that you understand the risk involved:   Building codes are designed to make a structure safe. Regardless of how good your contractor is, if a tenant or visitor gets hurt in an unpermitted space, you may face serious legal consequences. When selling a home, unpermitted spaces is

By Talia Chopra | | In All About Santa Cruz County, California Legislation and Your Real Estate, Home Renovation, Maintenance and Care, New Legislation and Your Real Estate, Santa Cruz Legislation and Your Real Estate | Read more1 Comment
2 Oct 2018

Housing Related Ballot Measures – California November 2018 Elections

A shortage of affordable housing is not just a local issue here in Santa Cruz County; people around the state are under immense pressure to find affordable housing. As a result, Californians will be voting on more ballot propositions related to housing than ever before according to Ballotpedia’s catalog of housing-related ballot measures. There will be four housing related propositions on the statewide ballot alone.   Proposition 1   On a statewide level, Proposition 1 authorize $4

By Talia Chopra | | In California Legislation and Your Real Estate, New Legislation and Your Real Estate, Santa Cruz Legislation and Your Real Estate | Read moreLeave a comment
13 Jun 2018

Prop 13 Extension on November Ballot

Before Prop 13, there were no limits on increases for the property-tax rate. Some properties were reassessed 50% to 100% in just one year and their owners’ property tax bills increased accordingly.   Under Proposition 13 tax reform, property tax value was rolled back and frozen at the 1976 assessed value level. Property tax increases on any given property were limited to no more than 2% per year as long as the property was not

By Talia Chopra | | In California Legislation and Your Real Estate, California Real Estate Trends, New Legislation and Your Real Estate, Politics and Real Estate | Read moreLeave a comment
15 May 2018

Repealing Costa Hawkins Act?

The Costa Hawkins Act (Costa-Hawkins) allows cities to implement local rent control laws, but within specific parameters: housing constructed after 1995, single-family homes, condominiums, and townhouses are exempt from local rent control regulations. Additionally, Costa-Hawkins allows rental property owners to establish their own rates at the time of a change in tenancy.   A proposed ballot initiative entitled the “Affordable Housing Act for the California November 2018 Ballot” was submitted to the California Attorney General’s

By Talia Chopra | | In California Legislation and Your Real Estate, California Real Estate Trends, Politics and Real Estate, Rent Control, Rent Control and Just Cause For Eviction, Santa Cruz Legislation and Your Real Estate | Read more3 Comments
13 Feb 2018

Rent Control In Santa Cruz – The Counterpoint

  Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica) proposed legislation on January 11th to repeal Costa-Hawkins, which would have allowed local governments to implement new rent control policies. The bill failed.   But this is not the end of the rent-control battle. The California Local Rent Control Initiative, which would expand local government's authority to adopt rent control and repeal the Costa-Hawkin's Rental Housing Act may be on this year's November ballot. Locally, the Sentinel reports that

By Talia Chopra | | In All About Santa Cruz County, California Legislation and Your Real Estate, Rent Control, Rent Control and Just Cause For Eviction, Santa Cruz Legislation and Your Real Estate | Read more6 Comments
24 Jan 2018

Changes to Look out For in the 2018 Real Estate Market

We recently wrote about predictions for the 2018 housing market. This article is an extension of our previous post, and covers two important legislative battles that are gaining momentum.   Rent Control: Rent control legislation proposals are popping up on a state and local level. According to this article, Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica) will be proposing legislation on January 11th to repeal Costa-Hawkins, which would allow local governments to implement new rent control policies. Additionally,

By Talia Chopra | | In California Legislation and Your Real Estate, California Real Estate Trends, Santa Cruz Legislation and Your Real Estate | Read moreLeave a comment
30 Nov 2017

Cannabis Cultivation and Santa Cruz Real Estate

  CLICK HERE FOR AN UPDATED VERSION OF THIS ARTICLE The passage of Prop 64 allows for the sale and taxation of commercial cannabis in the state of California. This development may have both negative and positive consequences for local Real Estate Markets. Commercial real estate owners in areas where cannabis cultivation and the sale of marijuana are legal may see a significant increase in real estate values and lease-rates. For example, in Denver, cannabis

By Talia Chopra | | In California Legislation and Your Real Estate, California Real Estate Trends, Cannabis, Santa Cruz Legislation and Your Real Estate | Read moreLeave a comment
28 Feb 2017

Changing ADU Laws in Santa Cruz

In response to our state's housing shortage, Governor Brown has signed Senate Bill (SB) 1069, which will make it easier, and for some, less expensive to develop Additional Dwelling Unit's (ADU's). SB 1069 will require local governing bodies to loosen ADU regulation. Both Santa Cruz County and City have amended their ADU related ordinances. We report on major ordinance changes that the city has publicized. We also summarize County ordinance changes, which are still contingent on Coastal Commission

By Talia Chopra | | In California Legislation and Your Real Estate, California Real Estate Trends, Santa Cruz Real Estate Trends | Read more1 Comment