02 Nov Due Diligence-Make sure your properties are not in REAP, or in the process of a Systematic Code Inspection
A situation came up with one of our Clients yesterday purchasing a property in what they believed to be South Pasadena. The Client came to North Oak explaining they are going to close escrow and wanted Joel Rodstein’s (North Oak’s Vice President) thoughts on obtainable rents, and his thoughts on the area in general. After pulling a Market Survey for the property it was Clear to Joel that the property was not in South Pasadena as he was told but was actually in the city of Los Angeles and under Los Angeles’s rent stabilization ordinance. Once Joel found this out he checked the LAHD’s (Los Angeles Housing Department) website and found the property is in the process of a Systematic code Inspection which is scheduled for a final inspection just 12 days away. The Systematic Code Enforcement inspection is a yearly inspection done by Inspectors of the LAHD, in order to ensure habitability of the rental units at properties in Los Angeles city. Once Joel came to the conclusion that the systematic inspection case was still open he immediately called the client back and suggested a course of action that should be taken regarding this matter.
North Oak cannot stress enough how important it is to use LAHD’s website (http://lahd.lacity.org/lahdinternet/) to see any properties status of activities when in the due diligence stage of an acquisition. These Systematic code inspections can be costly and should be figured into the acquisition cost.
North Oak property management serves the greater Los Angeles area including the San Fernando Valley, Burbank, Glendale, Inglewood, and Ventura County since 1984. For more information visit http://www.northoak.com, or call us at 818-715-0575