Mary Cummins Investigative Reporter Los Angeles, California: Flop houses in shitty areas sold, rehabbed and re-rented as "luxury" rooms in Los Angeles

Sunday, June 16, 2019

Flop houses in shitty areas sold, rehabbed and re-rented as "luxury" rooms in Los Angeles - cause of rise in homeless

1409 1411 w 25th st, los angeles, california, 90007 duplex, slum, dangerous, usc, rental, sale, mary cummins, real estate appraiser, flop house, half way house, homeless, tripalink, high crime area, murder, stabbings, death, shootings, the zoe, tripalink

A flop house owned by "Second Chance" at 1409-1411 W 25th St, Los Angeles, CA 90007 sold late 2018 for $749,000. Months before that it sold for $485K. It was originally owned by a woman who is now elderly or dead. It's located off an alley and behind an auto store right off Vermont across from a Jack in the Box and a liquor store. It was sold as a two unit with four beds, two baths each. It was broken down into eight rooms rented separately to near homeless people. They would panhandle across the street at the Jack in the Box or in the Ralphs parking lot. People were frequently passed out in front of the building or they were smoking pot, doing drugs on the porch. It was built in 1904 and is in a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone. It was a total fixer. Below are some pics of it before. It was boarded up to keep the ex-tenants and homeless out.

They renovated the place and it's already listed for rent. Here's the ad listing. Mind you it's in a very, very dangerous area where people have been murdered. Someone was murdered at the Jack in the Box across the street. Another person murdered a block up. Within last six months someone murdered two blocks away. A USC couple murdered two blocks to the west. Cars are broken into every night. People steal mail. It's within 500 feet of the 10 freeway which is dangerous for your health. It's also located next to a very, very busy intersection. The air pollution, sound, constant police sirens, police helicopters, people fighting, yelling... The address of the owner is a Marcus & Millichap office. The people who were evicted from there now live on the parkway and still hang out there as they are now homeless. The spelling errors below are not mine. The site seems to be run by Chinese people as it's also in Chinese.

"Enjoy private relaxation and high-quility living experience in this luxury house close to USC and DTLA. This duplex is located in UPC Patrol Areas (DPS patrols) which provides safe and private space for every resident. Situated in a convenient location, surrounding by multiple restaurants, 3 minutes’ walk to Ralphs and 4 minutes to USC by riding. This duplex is equipped with all the amenities needed to feel right at home. Brand new mattress, beddings, and solid wood furniture will be provided to giving you a place for the most comfortable rest and study.With a cozy living room on second floor including sofa, coffee table and carpet."

https://www.tripalink.com/#/cityDetail/36

It's already for re-sale for $1,200,000. It's allegedly master leased to a student housing group. It's actually illegal to rent out the rooms separately as this is not zoned for a boarding house. I wonder if leasing to a corporation who subleases to individuals gets it out of rent control? The master lease includes 3% increase in rent per year which is Los Angeles City rent control. Do the sublessees have tenant rights since they aren't the main tenant? Maybe this is how they are getting the units out of LA City rent control. Per rent control even if you rent a room in a boarding house for 30 days plus you are covered by rent control. By July 2019 the landlord can increase your rent by 4%.

https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/1409-W-25th-St-Los-Angeles-CA/15814642/

They said they added heat and cooling, new copper plumbing, electrical. They say there are two units with four beds and four baths each. I think only two baths are legal. Everything else was done without permits. They state it was built in 1907. It was built 1904 and moved in 1907.

I pity anyone who rents a room there for $1,400/month. There are eight rooms. You have to rent for 12 months so it's not student housing. The site advertises itself as communal living. It's now called "The Zoe." I bet they paint over graffiti every morning and roll homeless people off the grass. Whoever cleaned out the building just dumped everything on the sidewalk and parkway across the street in front of Jack in the Box. The homeless people didn't do that. The contractor did. This is where all the trash and dumping is coming from. When you evict a poor person they can't afford to rent another place, move, pay for storage so they have to leave everything. Landlord, contractor dumps it on the street and blames the tenants. The tenants wouldn't dump their stuff on the street. They'd just leave it. I've appraised properties like this with evicted poor tenants. They leave almost everything because they can't afford to move it and have no place to move it to.

And this is why there was a huge increase in homeless. Investors are buying slum buildings cheap, renovating and re-renting for market rent. This is the real estate cycle of revitalization though some call it gentrification. It's good for the community and city bringing jobs, money, taxes, business but it displaces a few of the poorest people in the city.

I'll post a few more of these that I've seen. Chinese investors are buying up a lot of slum homes, apartments to turn into individual room rentals. When you ask them what are their plans for the building they lie and tell you they are going to move into it ;-)

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

Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, single family, condo, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, 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,

Sunday, June 16, 2019

Flop houses in shitty areas sold, rehabbed and re-rented as "luxury" rooms in Los Angeles - cause of rise in homeless

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