Yearly Archives: 2015

The White House and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) released statements indicating that they are preparing new Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) guidance designed to “remove existing barriers and accelerate the use of PACE financing for single family housing.” The White House Fact Sheet on the initiative may be found here

California pending home sales soared from the previous year in July, posting the strongest year-over-year increase in more than six years, CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) said today. In a separate report, California REALTORS® responding to C.A.R.’s July Market Pulse Survey saw a reduction in floor calls, listing appointments, and open house traffic, compared with June.

Ayman Shahid, 39, of Danville, California, the former president of Discovery Sales Inc. (DSI), pleaded guilty in federal court in Oakland, California, to conspiracy to commit bank fraud announced U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag for the Northern District of California, Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson of the FBI’s San Francisco Division, Acting Special Agent in Charge Thomas McMahon of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and Special Agent in Charge Leslie DeMarco for the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG).

With wildfires raging across ten Northwestern states and California, the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) is encouraging residents asked to evacuate to save receipts for expenses incurred and contact their insurance companies as soon as possible to begin receiving assistance if their home is damaged

A man was sentenced today to 10 years in state prison for attempting to murder his relative as the victim slept in their Trabuco Canyon home. John Edward Kudla, 19, pleaded guilty on Jan. 16, 2015, to one felony count of attempted murder and one felony count of aggravated assault with a sentencing enhancement for inflicting great bodily injury.

Two men were sentenced today to 30 years to life in state prison for robbery in concert after breaking into two homes in Orange for the benefit of a criminal street gang. Andre Ricardo Pierson, 25, Inglewood, and Dwight Ladale Stephen, 26, Los Angeles, were found guilty by a jury July 29, 2015, of seven felony counts of first degree robbery of a dwelling in concert, one felony count of possession of a firearm by a felon with sentencing enhancements for criminal street gang activity and vicarious use of a firearm by a gang member. Pierson’s prior prison conviction for possession of a firearm by a felon in 2010, and Stephen’s prior conviction for unlawfully carrying a concealed firearm in 2008 were also found to be true.

Today the California Department of Fish and Wildlife released photographic evidence of a new pack of gray wolves established in Siskiyou County in northern California. The pack has been named the “Shasta Pack” and consists of two adults and five pups, all captured on camera. The pups are approximately three to four months old and all appear to be healthy. This news comes just weeks after officials announced sightings of a suspected wolf caught on Siskiyou trail cameras in May and July. The presence of a whole pack in California affirms that wolves know there is suitable habitat in the state and are ready to use it.

California’s 40-year commitment to energy efficiency has saved Californians $90 billion on their utility bills, created hundreds of thousands of efficiency jobs, and will have avoided the pollution from 41 power plants by the end of the next decade, according to a new report published today by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the national nonpartisan business group Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2).

C.A.R. analysis finds significant disparity between home prices and what buyers can truly afford. Dearth of housing supply at affordable prices exacerbates housing affordability issue.

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles (Habitat LA) will celebrate its 25th Anniversary at the Los Angeles Builders Ball™. Habitat LA will honor its construction and real estate counterparts for their shared commitment to building a greater Los Angeles. Earvin “Magic” Johnson will be recognized for the transformative impact he has made on the landscape of Los Angeles through his work with Canyon Johnson Urban Funds, Magic Johnson Enterprises and Guggenheim Partners.

BH Properties, LLC, a Los Angeles-based firm that specializes in acquiring and repositioning challenged or distressed commercial real estate properties, closed more than $120 million in acquisitions during the second quarter of 2015. These transactions added 2.97 million square feet of industrial, office, retail, multifamily and RV Parks to the firm’s portfolio. The properties were located in nine states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has made preliminary identification of 21 groundwater basins and subbasins that have been significantly overdrafted by excessive pumping and thus fall under the earliest deadlines required by groundwater management laws enacted last fall

Rep. Napolitano (D-El Monte) attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the final phase of the Recycled Water Project at Rose Hills Memorial Park and Mortuary, calling for more investment in recycling projects across the region.

The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) is providing input on discussions that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) are having to give Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) liens “super lien” priority, which would make them senior to the FHA’s single-family first-mortgage financing

Helping families re-establish their roots and transition to a place that they can call home is the objective behind the opening of the City’s second transitional housing project. City leaders in partnership with Elk Grove HART (Homeless Assistance Resource Team) and Sacramento Self-Help Housing celebrated the opening of the Meadow House today in east Elk Grove with a ribbon cutting ceremony and tours of the home.

LOS ANGELES - August 18, 2015 - (RealEstateRama) -- Sustained job and income growth gave home buyers the confidence in July to jump into the California housing market, pushing home sales to their highest level in nearly three years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) said today. Home sales have risen year over year for six straight months

Vice President Scott L. Linklater with NAI Capital represented the buyer TD Land LLC on the purchase of a 31,633 square foot light industrial manufacturing facility in the city of Simi Valley, Calif. The seller was 3990 Royal Corporation, Inc. The total sale price was $3.9M or $124 per square foot.

Senior Vice President Lynn Coker with NAI Capital secured a 10-year lease to ACME Moving and Storage. The company based out of Palm Desert, CA will open its largest location in California at 77550 Enfield Lane, Palm Desert, Calif. Coker, represented the owners in the transaction

Senior Vice President Fariba Kavian with NAI Capital represented the seller HCLARE LLC on the sale of the 22,750 square foot Sprouts Farmers Market. The sale price was well over $12 Million. In addition, the buyer paid a prepayment penalty of approximately $600K to the pay off the existing loan on the property, which was at an above market interest rate, in order to obtain better financing.

BKM Capital Partners, a fund manager and operator platform targeting value-add, multi-tenant industrial real estate in the Western U.S., has hired real estate marketing and operations executive Barbara Rea as its Director of Operations & Marketing