Mary Cummins, Real Estate Appraiser, Real Estate Appraisal, Los Angeles, California, Mary Cummins.

Mary Cummins is a real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California with 38+ years of experience. Cummins provides real estate appraisals for banks, lenders, mortgage brokers, Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs), lawyers, Courts, factors and private parties for lending, lawsuits, probate, estate planning, divorce and all types of litigation. Cummins provides 1004, 1073, 1025 and other form reports, narrative reports and historical appraisals besides real estate research and appraisal advice.

Sunday, April 21, 2019

Ideas to help solve the housing crisis. Here are a few ideas from others and some of my own. Mary Cummins

How to solve the housing crisis, homeless, eviction, homelessness, house, home,condo, shelter, apartment, building, mary cummins, los angeles, california, ideas, solutions

There is no doubt that California has a Housing Crisis. Not enough units have been built in the last 30 years to keep up with the demand for housing. Insufficient housing has been built because of rising cost of land and construction, miles of red tape in development and NIMBYs (not in my back yard) to name just a few causes. The article linked below has some good ideas to help solve the housing crisis. I will list all the ideas then add my own.

Provide resources and incentives for local governments to pay for their fair share of housing.
Integrating housing and transportation planning and investment.
Working with locals to reduce regulatory barriers to production.
Making state excess property available for affordable housing.
Providing financial assistance to developments to ensure long-term housing affordability.
Recognizing that wildfire, climate change, water supplies and quality, environmental protection, efficient transportation and protecting good jobs are all involved.
Change zoning restrictions so multi-family buildings can be built in other zones.
Expand tax incentives for below market rate housing construction.
Stop adding costs to the home building process with more costly laws and regulations.
Roll back some of the out of control building fees.
Allow an increase in density along transit corridors.
CEQA reform to make it easier and quicker to get projects approved.
Guarantee a living wage so wages can keep up with rent increases.
Train young people through union apprenticeship programs so they can earn more money.
Ensure new buildings are sustainable for the environment.
Provide rental assistance to help families secure a home.
Protect renters from losing their home and falling into homelessness.
Every city in the state must build affordable housing.
Allow novel housing options such as micro units, cooperatives, co-living, modular housing.
Increase homeowner property tax exemption which hasn't changed since 1974.
Reform RHNA process to increase development of homes.
Don't allow NIMBYs to use CEQA to stop housing projects for political reasons.

Below are some of my ideas. My basic idea is to have pre-approved plans for standard 2-8 unit two-story buildings on 50' x 100' or 150' lots which NIMBYs can't reject or even have a say in the matter after initial approval. I'm talking about sites already zoned for multi units which only have one old house which are R2+ and other zones which are grandfathered such as C2. The public can have a say in the initial approval of the cookie-cutter units but not after that. This would cut down on the holding costs from permit to occupancy certificate. It would also cut down on the architect, design fees by having the plans be in the public domain. This would make it easier and faster for building and safety inspectors to inspect.

Have pre-approved plans for cookie cutter developments on R2+ standard lots for 2-8 U.
Have pre-approved plans for ADUs.
Educate poor people about how to work, save money to buy, maintain a home.
Protect poor people from real estate scams. I've seen so many people get ripped off because they didn't speak English, couldn't read or write or just were uneducated and naive.
Inventory all vacant properties, underutilized and raw land. Work with owners to make vacant properties habitable, redevelop or sell. Same with vacant land. Other cities have done this with help from cities, developers and non-profits.

Below are some pics of new two and four unit buildings which are cookie cutters. There are a few developers building these on lots with only one old major fixer home. The first is two units, two story. The units are 3 bed, 2 bath which can house an extended family. The ones I've seen have good sized rooms so there could be two beds in each room and/or bunk beds.

Below is a four unit building. These are plain buildings that meet strict city of Los Angeles building and safety building codes. There should be one plan for properties with an alley which has parking in the rear and properties which don't have an alley and will need a driveway to garages in rear.

I also believe the city, county, state should do an analysis of the current housing stock. It should include a list of vacant land suitable for housing, under developed properties and properties with inhabitable structures. Plans should be made to give the owners incentives to rehab, develop or rehab the properties. Other cities such as South Bend, Indiana has done this with success.

Government should also look at the various properties and their zones. Perhaps some non-residential zoned land could be used to build multi-family. Maybe some areas zoned R1 which already have some multi-family can be rezoned for R1.5 or R2 uses. Perhaps people with R1 properties should be allowed to legally rent out the individual rooms to different individuals. People are already doing this illegally. If it were legal, there could be regulations to make sure the housing is safe and the tenant is protected. Generally if you share a kitchen in a home, you're not a tenant. You could be evicted with no notice. I'm sure there are many more ideas out there. I welcome a multi-prong approach to help solve the housing crisis.

Let me add a list of things that won't help the housing crisis. In fact these things have caused and made the housing crisis much worse.

Rent control. This will cause landlords to remove units from the market. It will cause developers to buy run down buildings, either demolish or do major renovations, pass that through to the tenant who can't afford it and tenant will have to leave. Rent control makes things worse. Developers won't build if they think the buildings could have rent control. As rents rise so do landlords property tax, insurance, supplies, labor, permits, maintenance...
Yelling "gentrification" and attacking developers, development as "evil" because the rent has risen for some tenants in some buildings. "Gentrification" is actually a real estate cycle called "revitalization." It's not a dirty word. I wrote an article about it here. If you don't revitalize the area, you create slums. Revitalization creates jobs, causes wages to increase, adds living units, improves the neighborhood, increases value of real estate, increases revenue to businesses, the city, county, state and federal government. More jobs, more homes are created for each tenant who must leave a building for redevelopment. The tenant gets relocation fees in the thousands. Notice property owners are fine with property values increasing. It's only the tenants who are not. Notice offices, retail stores, restaurants have to move. They realize it's just economics and move. DTLA artists moved from those artist lofts to lofts in Long Beach. When Long Beach became more expensive they move to lofts in Santa Ana. If you want low rent, you have to live in a low rent area.
Building condo units for poor people to buy under market value. When the value of the unit increases, they will want to sell for profit. Some don't allow the owners to sell for profit. When they don't, the owners refinance all of the equity out of the property. Most end up in foreclosure because they can't sell the condo for market i.e. more than their new loan. These people didn't have enough money or income to buy a home. They are set up to fail and lose their home. I've seen this happen repeatedly. The owners also stop paying HOA dues as the complexes fall apart. This is one of Bernie Sanders ideas so is rent control and yelling "gentrification." He needs a real estate consultant because all of his ideas fail in real life. I've been in real estate since 1983, over 35 years. I watched rent control in BH, WH, SM and LA. It failed.

https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/opinion-influencers/article229271379.html

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the
Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the USDA. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.

Google+ Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, wildlife, wild, animal, rescue, wildlife rehabilitation, wildlife rehabilitator, fish, game, los angeles, california, united states, squirrel, raccoon, fox, skunk, opossum, coyote, bobcat, manual, instructor, speaker, humane, nuisance, control, pest, trap, exclude, deter, green, non-profit, nonprofit, non, profit, ill, injured, orphaned, exhibit, exhibitor, usda, united states department of agriculture, hsus, humane society, peta, ndart, humane academy, humane officer, animal legal defense fund, animal cruelty, investigation, peace officer, animal, cruelty, abuse, neglect #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit

Mary Cummins

Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate Services has been in real estate since 1983, over 35 years. She is licensed by the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers. Mary Cummins was an agent and broker licensed with the California Department of Real Estate selling residential income, commercial buildings, raw land and homes for Merrill Lynch Realty in Beverly Hills and Westside Properties in Los Angeles before concentrating on appraisals. Mary Cummins currently provides real estate appraisals, expert witness testimony, historical research, legal real estate research for mortgage brokers, banks, lawyers, factors, insurance companies, financial consultants and private individuals. Mary Cummins was born and raised in Southern California. Cummins attended Beverly Hills Good Shepherd Catholic School and Beverly Hills High School. Besides being on the Dean's list, Mary Cummins was a top ten national swimmer and competed on the men's water polo team. Mary Cummins began college at the age of 15 attending the University of Southern California on scholarship, majoring in Psychology/Sociology. http://www.animaladvocates.us http://www.facebook.com/AnimalAdvocatesUSA

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

The Notre Dame Cathedral fire shows how building structure affects susceptibility to fires - Mary Cummins

Credit. New York Times. Mary Cummins real estate appraiser agent broker los angeles california. Notre Dame cathedral Paris France. fire suppression, fire rating, sprinklers, fire department, firefighter, fires, attic, oak, wood spire, transept, beams, towers

UPDATE: The church posted a pic of the roof damage. The roof and spire are completely gone. There are a few holes in the ceiling which allowed parts of the roof and spire to fall into the cathedral.

This drone footage is excellent. You got to give it to whoever put up that scaffolding. Even with all the water and the spire falling the scaffolding held.

André Finot, Notre-Dame's spokesman said, there were "smoke detectors everywhere" that were connected to the cathedral's safety HQ at the presbytery, where a firefighter is posted 24 hours a day.

This article is about Britain's most famous cathedral York Minster which was completed in England in 1360. It's the same style as Notre Dame. They had a fire in 1984 and had to restore the burned roof. They installed fireproof compartments into the roof to keep flames from spreading in the future.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/britains-notre-dame-tells-fiery-tale-restored-glory-135847883.html

ORIGINAL: While the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France is a heartbreaking architectural and iconic loss it is also a monumental teaching moment for building structures that can survive fires. Vincent Dunn a fire consultant and former New York City fire Chief stated “These cathedrals and houses of worship are built to burn. If they weren’t houses of worship, they’d be condemned." That is exactly what happened with Notre Dame. First, some background on the fire.

The fire started in the attic under the 300 foot tall oak spire. The attic is made up of long wooden trusses. Once these massive timber structures start to burn they can almost never be stopped. This is why in the United States we no longer build two story homes with tall horizontal wood members. History has shown that a fire started in the kitchen which is generally on the first floor quickly burns to the second floor where the bedrooms are located. Once the beams are on fire they are almost impossible to extinguish.

After Notre Dame's attic was on fire the roof and oak spire started burning. Eventually the spire fell sideways. By then the entire roof was aflame. Two thirds of the roof collapsed into the building creating holes in the stone ceiling of the cathedral. In the below pic you see the burned roof on the floor of the Cathedral.

Christophe Petit Tesson/Agence France-Presse

One difficulty fighting the Notre Dame fire is the location of Notre Dame. It is located on an island in the middle of the Seine river. The island can only be accessed by smaller bridges which can only be accessed by compact firefighting trucks.

Another difficulty was the height of the Cathedral. Originally it was built to be a fort-like structure to protect the interior. A fire department would need tall ladders and hoses with enough pressure to reach the roof which was 115 feet tall. The fire department did not have the proper equipment to effectively reach the roof.

All that said the fire department did an amazing job fighting this fire and eventually extinguishing it by morning. They were able to save many artifacts, sculptures and paintings. Most of the stained glass windows were also saved besides the two bell towers and a good portion of the interior of the Cathedral.

Going forward there are many things that can be done when they rebuild the structure to better protect it from risk of fire.

1. There are no longer long wood trees to rebuild the trusses. They should be built out of flame proof metal and other materials.

2. Fire breaks should be installed in the attic and in other parts of the cathedral. Fire breaks can stop fires from spreading or at least slow them down and limit the damage they can cause. This can include fire doors and breaks between the ceiling, attic, floors and roof.

3. There should be fire sprinklers on the top of the roof, under the roof and in the attic. This would have stopped the spread of the flames and flying burning embers. The sprinklers have water and fire retardant liquids.

4. The smoke, fire detectors need to be more sensitive. They also should immediately show where the smoke, fire has been detected in the building. Maybe there should be video camera in the attic and on the roof.

5. The Cathedral like most monuments should have its own fire department with firefighters, equipment, water supply and water hookup to the Seine river. For a roof fire there must be ladders and hoses that can reach the roof. They should be in place so they can instantly have hoses on the roof that would not also burn if the roof burns.

6. If the spire is rebuilt, it should be built out of fire proof metal. The sculptures should be reproduced out of fire proof material. The originals can be in a museum.

I hope other similarly built structures will learn from this travesty so they can better protect their structures. These are just a few suggestions from a real estate appraiser with over 35 years of experience.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/04/15/world/europe/paris-notre-dame-fire.html

Notre Dame is not owned by the Church. It is owned by the French Ministry of Culture. They haven't been able to afford the past renovations. The Archbishop of Paris and the Diocese of Paris created the Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris organisation. The Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris is a charity that urges people to donate money to go towards the cathedral’s upkeep.

Mary Cummins is a licensed real estate appraiser, expert witness and was a real estate agent, broker since 1983 in Los Angeles, California. Cummins attended Beverly Hills High School and the University of Southern California.

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the USDA. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.

Mary Cummins

Monday, January 1, 2018

Richardson Family Park, Don Richardson, 2700 Budlong, Los Angeles, California by Mary Cummins

Richardson Family Park, 2700 Budlong, Los Angeles, California, Donald Richardson, Mary Cummins, real estate appraiser, real estate, appraisal, appraiser, Martin Luther King Legacy, Esperanza Community Housing, USC

Richardson Family Park is located at 2700 S Budlong, Los Angeles, CA 90007. The park has a basketball court, children's playground and picnic tables. It's closed from sunset to dawn.

The park was developed by the Esperanza Community Housing Corp, a nonprofit neighborhood-based organization, and Martin Luther King Legacy Assoc with a Proposition K "LA for Kids" prog grant of $253,492 and with a commitment to transfer the deed and title to the City of LA, Dept of Rec & Parks for its maintenance.

The site was originally owned by the Richardson family. Lloyd E Richardson 1886-1971 and Maud Marie Jolliff Richardson 1890-1965. They had three children, Maud Richardson Smith 1909-1989, Lloyd Otto Richardson Jr 1911-1970 and Donald Jolliff Richardson 1920-2000. The surviving heirs were Donald J Richardson and Dr Elinor Smith Richardson 1914-2004 his sister-in-law.

Donald married Margaret Sample 1923-1991 in 1944 and had three children, James, Ronald and William. Below is Donald Richardson's photo and obituary.

"RICHARDSON Donald Jolliff (80) Died at home Friday evening July 14. A World War II hero of D-Day and Battle of the Bulge, Don faced all the challenges life gave him with great heart and determination, making the best of any situation. His life profoundly and positively impacted thousands of people. Born in Bakersfield, California and raised in Los Angeles, he graduated from UCLA and married Margaret Sample in 1943. Serving as teacher and Assistant Superintendent for LAUSD from 1947-1980. Don "retired" to become a tireless full-time volunteer leader-advocate for mental health at both the national and state levels. President of the National Alliance for the Mentally III (NAMI), and member of Rosalynn Carter's National Advisory Commission on Mental Health, Don was a principal contributor to the Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health, 2000. Honors include L.A. County's "Volunteer of the Year", California Psychological Association's "Distinguished Humanitarian Award" and U.S. Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services'" Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Disabled in America. Don had a lively sense of humor, enjoyed gardening, dancing and traveling. He was unfailingly loving and courageous. His life will continue to inspire those who knew him, including his three sons, two grandchildren, dear companion Wyoma Perryman, and many cherished friends. A memorial celebration will be held in his home in Los Angeles on Sunday, July 23, from 2:00-4:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to NAMI are encouraged."

Donald Richardson, Dr Elinor Richardson 1999 Grand Opening of Richardson Family Park

The park location used to be the Richardson Family house located at 2700 S Budlong Ave, Los Angeles, California, 90007. It was built in 1904 for Adolph Herman who died 1939. The age of home was deduced by directory listings, voter records, census data, land sales in LA Times articles. It was sold as land in 1903. First directory listing as a home was 1904. Below is a photo from the USC archives which states 1930 2700 S Budlong Ave.

The site is assessor parcel number 5054-031-901, legal description WHITNEY TRACT LOTS 49 AND 50. It's a 150' x 135' corner lot which was two residential lots. One address may have been 1534 W 27th St. It was a large three story home with seven garages. Some of the rooms were rented individually. There are ads in LA Times 1949 for $9.50/week for two room apt. The previous owner was Charles Herman. He sold it in 1930 for $15,000. It was ten rooms, five bedrooms, two story with two bathrooms on a corner. ~~The home was built before 1919 most likely 1900-1905.~~

Below is an ad to sell it in the LA Times from 1930.

1971 the building was demolished. 1999 it was officially opened as a new park.

Below is the plat map of the site and plot plat for the new park.

References

"L.A. Neighborhood Gives Gang a New Role: Park Design Consultant," LA Times, January 13, 1999.

"Parks Have Their Day in the Sun," LA Times, June 20,1999, pg 35. http://www.latimes.com

"Greening West Adams," 1996. https://news.usc.edu/13367/USC-in-the-Community/

Los Angeles Parks https://www.laparks.org/park/richardson-family

Park Mural "It Takes a Village" by artists Asylm, Vyal and Man One http://politicalmurals.org/com-murals/rfp/

LocoScout https://www.locoscout.com/location_detail.php?location_id=537

Facebook Richardson Family Park https://www.facebook.com/pages/Richardson-Family-Park/147197498671446

Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.

Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary, Cummins, #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, certified, single family, condo, condominium, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, fha, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, brea insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, 1073, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls, historical appraisal, facebook, linkedin DISCLAIMER: https://mary--cummins.blogspot.com/p/disclaimer-privacy-policy-for-blogs-by.html

Mary Cummins

Sunday, October 15, 2017

Thomas Brothers map Los Angeles, California, page, grid by Mary Cummins Real Estate Appraiser

The old Thomas Brothers Map,Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego County Foldout Map, Los Angeles, California, page, grid, Mary Cummins, Real Estate Appraiser, Real Estate Appraisal, 1991, Rand McNally, cartography, maps, Thomas Brothers Guide, Thomas Bros, index, guide

If you're an old school real estate agent, appraiser, heck, anyone who used to do a lot of driving before smart phones, you are familiar with the Thomas Guide maps. The Thomas Guide was started by cartographer George Coupland Thomas and his two brothers in 1915 to help travelers find their way around growing and frequently changing cities in the United States.

The Thomas Brothers developed a page and grid number system which they published in their yearly street guides. The page and grid layout is a national based tiling system. Map grids are 1/2 mile square, and are numbered from Grid A1 through Grid J7. The letters A to J are along the top of the map left to right and represent the columns. The numbers are on the sides of the map top to bottom and represent the rows. Below is a photo of one well used map page as an example.

The idea of the map grid system probably came from the US Government Survey System from the National Atlas. This is based on the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) which is the surveying method developed and used in the United States to plat, or divide, real property for sale and settling. It uses a similar system based on townships and sections though with a slightly different section numbering system than Thomas Brothers maps.

Below is a copy of the 1991 "Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego County Foldout Map" which I bought along with a spiral bound map book with laminated pages.* It's the index, key, guide for the map book. It includes parts of Ventura and San Bernardino Counties. I also included the other side of that map which has the rest of Orange County, San Diego County, Riverside County. The green squares with numbers in them represent detail maps in the Guide.

If you're looking for Thomas Guide Los Angeles, California map page and grid numbers for a specific address in the city of Los Angeles (city only and not the entire county of Los Angeles), input the address in the below links. Use Zimas first because it's quicker and easier.

Zimas http://161.149.40.71/ Click "Address/Legal" top left. Scroll down a little top left and you'll see "Thomas Brothers Grid."

You can also use Los Angeles City Building and Safety http://www.ladbs.org if Zimas is down. The direct page link https://www.ladbsservices2.lacity.org/OnlineServices/?service=plr Enter address then click on Parcel Profile Report for the address. Click the address which should be blue and underlined. Scroll down until you see Thomas Brothers Map Grid. The page and grid number is directly to the right.

*Disclaimer: I'm sharing these old parts of paper maps under the Fair Use of Copyright under the Copyright Act to talk about the old mapping system and its history in Los Angeles, California. This is a 1991 map which is totally out of date and not useful as a map especially in the digital age of smart phones which have free maps with GPS. There are copies of Thomas Guide maps for Los Angeles County, California in the Library of Congress which are copyright free. This map is the same age. While Thomas Brothers own the copyright to printed maps they do not own the actual maps, map numbering system or the map page and grid numbers.

Wall size glass framed Thomas Guide map of Los Angeles county in an old LA Fire Dept museum near Olvera Street. It's about 6-7 feet tall.

Mary Cummins

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Real estate cycle Gentrification, Revitalization by Mary Cummins Real Estate Appraiser Los Angeles

What some call "gentrification" is actually just a real estate cycle. There are four cycles through which an improved property will pass in its lifetime. The cycles are caused by ordinary physical deterioration and market demand. Those four stages are as follows:

1. Growth - When improvements are first made and property demand expands.

2. Equilibrium or Stability - When the property undergoes little change.

3. Decline - When the property requires an increasing amount of upkeep to retain its original utility while demand slackens. Rents and property values decline.

4. Revitalization or Rehabilitation - When demand increases for any reason serving to stimulate property renovation. Demand generally increases when people are priced out of adjacent areas and need more affordable nearby housing.

The first three stages of a property's life cycle are also termed development, maturity and old age. The principle of growth, equilibrium, decline and revitalization can also apply to entire neighborhoods.

Los Angeles’ neighborhoods are ever changing. One example of this is downtown Los Angeles. It’s gone through many cycles of change. It currently is nearing a peak with all the new construction and rising interest rates. Read this article as of today’s date of April 5, 2017.

In a year or so there may be an oversupply of luxury apartments, condos and lofts (happened October 2017 with 12% vacancy rate for luxury units) like there was during the great recession which started November 2007. The great recession was caused by a real estate bubble bursting while at the same time poor quality home loans were made and sold on the derivative market. Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) properties went down just a little over 50%. Some luxury loft projects which weren’t finished at least six months before this date were foreclosed upon. HOAs even went bankrupt. Some luxury loft buildings became rentals instead.

A real estate cycle which irks renters in the DTLA areas is “revitalization.” They like to call it “gentrification.” Gentrification is defined as “the process of renovating and improving a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste.” People living in say West Los Angeles can no longer afford the rent or cost of a home in West Los Angeles because their wages have been stagnant. They seek out cheaper up and coming areas to rent or buy such as Boyle Heights. It's about money.

Current renters in Boyle Heights are upset that the area has improved, new luxury condos were being built and more importantly their rents have risen or they’re being evicted so the building can be renovated or torn down and a larger, newer one built. They feel their rent should stay the same even though the landlord’s property tax, utilities, interest rates, repair costs ... have risen significantly. There’s also new development, new stores, boutiques, coffee shops, more people and more demand for housing. The area has improved so market rent will of course be higher. Rents correlate directly with property values. In 2020, 2021 home values increased 15% or more a year. So did the corresponding rents.

Some of these lower income renters go so far as to say it’s wealthier whites pushing out poorer Hispanics, Blacks and their culture. They even broke the windows of and vandalized a new coffee shop and book store to hopefully “scare” away the newcomers. One of the coffee shop owners is Latino. They don’t realize that before Boyle Heights was a Hispanic community it was a Jewish and Chinese community. Before that it was Mexico. Before that it was part of Spain. Before that the land belonged to the Native Americans. These people are only upset about “their” rents rising. They don’t care about the people who own the buildings with rising costs who are generally also Latino or Black. They didn’t care about the people who were there before them whom they pushed out. These people are actually guilty of and benefiting from what they call "gentrification." They took someone else's home. If the area were not improved, it would still be unimproved farm land, vacant land or small run down single family residences. They would not want to live there. The rent they are paying supports revitalization. And the people moving in aren’t all whites. They’re also Hispanics, African Americans, Asian.... The main difference is income.

The main change in the race, color, ethnicity ... of an area has to do with changing socio-economic factors such as income, buying power, marital status, single mother household with young children under 18, credit scores ... The more income you have, the more wealth you have, the more expensive home you can buy, own or rent. Research has proved that whites make more money than blacks and Latinos. This is the cause of the wealth gap between most whites, blacks and Latinos. For this reason whites buy, own and rent more expensive homes than blacks, Latinos. Below is Tobias Peter and AEI's report which shows this. If the government wants to end the white black/brown wealth gap, they need to end the income gap and help people increase their income and buying power.

https://www.aei.org/economics/special-briefing-the-impact-of-race-and-socio-economic-status-on-the-value-of-homes-by-neighborhood/

It’s never the property owners who complain about their property values going up. It’s a few maybe 3% of very low rent people who intentionally moved to the area to take advantage of the low rents in a debilitated area. Some of these “artists” living in “lofts” even have the nerve to state they are the reason why the area improved in value. They think they attracted new businesses. They are never the reason why the area improved. They merely took advantage of then low rents during that cycle. Or maybe they are long time renters who took advantage of the rents staying low because the area declined.

97% of the people in the community, property owners, business owners, tenants paying market rents, cities, counties, states getting increased taxes are happy about revitalization. There is more income to pay for lower income programs and low rent projects not to mention community improvement projects like cleaning, beautification, parks and improved schools. Should we stop revitalization to make 3% of the lowest income people happy by subsidizing their low rent because they don't have to move to another low rent area? Everyone has to move for one reason or another. It's a good thing for everyone overall. FTR I'm not a property owner. I've had to move to lower rent areas. I understand.

Instead of complaining these people need to move to another area with low rents if they want their rent to stay the same. That’s why some Los Angeles artists moved to Santa Ana, Anaheim and Long Beach industrial areas. They’re cheaper than LA. Many people moved out of California for this reason. If they want to forever pay low rents they’ll have to ride the real estate cycle. They could also increase job skills and seek out higher paying jobs. I realize not everyone can do this but it's an option for some. If they really want to take advantage of this cycle, those that can, can work hard, save money, buy property in dilapidated areas and ride the wave as values increase. If they want to rent out their properties for $1 to people with less income, they can do that and lose money.

Commercial, retail, industrial tenants have also had their rents raised or buildings razed. They move to a cheaper area. They don’t yell “gentrification” and break the windows of coffee shops. They're business people who know it’s purely economics and move.

As stated earlier people who are pushed out of more expensive areas move to lower cost areas. It's not just in California. It's all over the nation and the world. This has been happening forever, since time immemorial. Right now people are leaving expensive California and going to Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Montana. Relative to California those places are "cheap." This has caused home prices and rents to rise in those other states. They're not yelling "gentrification" even though it's the same economic process at play. It's basic economics.

All that said we desperately need affordable housing in Los Angeles. It’s a separate issue from revitalization. The main reason some poorer people can’t afford rent is there aren’t enough units. It’s supply and demand. NIMBYs and red tape has made construction almost impossible in LA over the last 30-40 years. We are years behind the number of units we need. Another big reason is that poorer people’s income hasn’t risen along with rents. This is caused by big business and government keeping lower income people’s wages low. This is caused by the upper 1% using their money and lobbyists to get bills passed which hurt lower to middle income people. I’m talking about Walmart, Walgreens paying poverty wages. These are the real reasons why poor to middle income people can’t afford rent in LA.

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the USDA. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.

Mary Cummins

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Eminent domain in Texas, California, Arizona, New Mexico and the border wall - Mary Cummins real estate appraiser

Eminent domain, Texas, lawyer, attorney, commission, hearing, appeal, real estate appraisal, Dallas, Mary Cummins, real estate appraiser, Biersdorf & Associate

No need to reinvent the wheel. Here is an explanation of the process from an eminent domain attorney in Texas. This is the same process we have in California. In California you can be compensated for up to $5,000 for an appraisal. You can also have some or all of your legal fees covered. Check with an attorney first.

The Eminent Domain Process from Biersdorf & Associate. "The majority of eminent domain cases in Texas meet the requirements for public use and necessity. Examples of cases that meet this criteria are the acquisition of private property for a road expansion project; the acquisition of property for a school expansion project or installation of new sewer lines.

If the taking of your property meets the requirements for public use and necessity, then continue reading to learn more about the eminent domain process in Texas. Please note there are extended explanations for all of the numbered sections in the flowchart. We will be adding additional information on each item in the flow chart in the near future. Please be aware that the flow chart is simply an overview of the process and should not be used as a tool to take matters into your own hands.

http://www.condemnation-law.com/texas-eminent-domain-attorney/process/

Extended Flow Chart Information:

1. Government Announces Project and Properties Affected
2. Property Owner Hires an Attorney
3. Government Inspects and Values Property
4. Government Makes Offer to Property Owner
5. Attorney Evaluates Offer
6. Determine Negotiation Strategy
7. Select Appraiser to Determine True Property Value
8. Property Owner Settles with Government
9. Deed is Transferred
10. Owner’s Case is Done
11. Property Owner Does Not Settle With the Government
12. Government Initiates Eminent Domain Proceeding
13. Commissioners Appointed
14. Commissioners Hearing
15. Government Pays or Deposits Award, Takes Possession
16. Owner Accepts Commissioners Award as Final
17. Owner Appeals Commissioners Award
18. Trial on Compensation

If you have questions regarding the eminent domain process in Texas, contact us for more information. The eminent domain process in the state of Texas is complicated, and if you are undergoing eminent domain and want to make sure you are justly compensated, you should speak to an eminent domain attorney. Speaking to an eminent domain attorney regarding your case will keep you informed of your rights, the eminent domain process, and whether or not your attorney’s fees will be paid for by the state of Texas."

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the
Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the USDA. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.

Mary Cummins

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Donald Trump and the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California - Mary Cummins Real Estate Appraiser

Donald Trump, Donald J Trump, Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles California Wilshire Robert Kennedy shot killed Coconut Grove Nightclub

Today the LA Times had an article about Donald Trump buying the Ambassador Hotel and trying to build the tallest building in the world on the site. The development was to include retail, commercial and residential uses. http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-california-20161017snap-20161017-snap-story.html Instead the LA Unified School District took the property through eminent domain and built the current Robert F Kennedy school.

I was one of the appraisers involved as an expert real estate witness in the litigation between the then owners and other parties. (Due to client confidentiality I can only disclose public facts about the property. I would of course never share any client information or any confidential information.) Because my appraisal was used in the original litigation I kept getting deposed for the next ten years. Every time there would be a conference room full of at least ten lawyers.

When I first appraised the hotel in 1989 it had just been permanently shut down for only a few months. On my initial inspection there was already significant damage to the interior of the property. That damage caused rain to flood the Coconut Grove Nightclub. It also appeared to have been damaged by vandals. I'm sure the vandalism is what caused them to gate the entire property and hire guards. I was walking over soggy broken dishes, moldy carpet and lots of trash. I immediately considered the property a tear down due to the extensive damage. It didn't look that bad from the outside.

My scope of work was to figure out the highest and best use/uses, find comparables for those uses, calculate the cost to demolish, cost to dispose of hazardous waste... to arrive at the ultimate current fair market value for the land for development purposes.

The site was actually about four square blocks combined missing the two front corner lots and one lot depth of land off the western side which were old apartments. Because of the complex nature of the appraisal I had to use a few different commercial valuation theories to arrive at the ultimate value of the land. Needless to say I had to use a few assumptions.

During the course of meetings, depositions I met Donald Trump's then right hand person for the real estate development division of his company Barbara Res. I never realized she was not just a real estate attorney but also an engineer. That explains her extreme knowledge of building materials and practices. She no longer works with Trump and has since written a book about her experience "All Alone on the 68th Floor." She also recently wrote an Op-Ed about Donald Trump and women. I completely agree with her assessment of Trump.

Originally I was shocked to see a woman oversee real estate development for Donald Trump. I already knew how he treated women through social encounters. Based on Res' Op-Ed I agree that Trump took advantage of the fact that women in the 1980's 1990's in the man's world of commercial real estate, development had to be tougher and work harder, longer than men. I also agree that Donald Trump is not fit to be President.

After LAUSD took the Ambassador Hotel property and built the school I no longer was dragged back into deposition. I destroyed my files three years after the end of the final litigation. I would never have been able to share the files publicly anyway. Here's some information about the Ambassador Hotel from the Los Angeles Conservancy.

https://www.laconservancy.org/locations/ambassador-hotel-demolished

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the USDA. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.

Mary Cummins

Mary Cummins, Real Estate Appraiser, Animal Advocates, Los Angeles, California

Sunday, April 21, 2019

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Monday, January 1, 2018

Sunday, October 15, 2017

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Tuesday, October 18, 2016