In the News

An exemption for Measure ULA is heading to the November Ballot for fire victims in the Pacific Palisades. In a 13-1 vote, City Council approved the measure to be voted on, citing distress among the homeowners who have to sell because they can’t afford to build (whether it is lack of resources, under insured, etc.). On a practical basis, many of these lots are selling between $1.8M-$2.2M, far below the Measure ULA threshold, so it almost doesn’t matter.

Measure exempting Pacific Palisades from LA Mansion Tax headed for Nov Ballot

Law to Be Aware Of

California Civil Code §1954 requires landlords to give at least 24 hours’ written notice before entering a rental unit for almost any reason and that notice must include the date, an approximate time, and the specific purpose. A verbal call-ahead doesn’t count, and a text message generally doesn’t count either unless the lease explicitly establishes it as an accepted delivery method. Landlords can only enter for specific permitted reasons: repairs or improvements, showings to prospective tenants or buyers, or a court order. Repeated unlawful entries may be grounds for a tenant to claim harassment, breach of quiet enjoyment, or even constructive eviction. Skipping a required step means the entry isn’t legal and the $2,000 willful-violation penalty stacks per incident.

California Landlord Entry Rules 2026 — 24-Hour Notice, Permitted Reasons & Pre-Move-Out Inspection

General Real Estate Tip

Investors often think that adding units makes the most sense. Sometimes it does. But let’s say you have a singe family home where you want to build an ADU from scratch. That new build might cost you $200,000-$300,000 for a basic unit. You might be able to use that same cash as a down payment on an existing duplex. Then you have a duplex and the original home. More units, more potential cash flow, same money invested. The best thing to do is run the numbers of the rents for the new build, and then go online and see what alternatives are out there and compare.