Sad day at kestrel's humble abode.............

[kestrel91316]

Yesterday I found out that the house I have been renting for 6 1/2 years is in escrow. It's only been on the market for two weeks. I will probably be evicted. The asking price was $830,000, and the rental income from me and the guest house cannot REMOTELY justify a mortgage that big.

I love this house. It's in a great, quiet neighborhood.........convenient to shopping and mass transit........has a HUGE yard full of fruit trees and perennials I have planted over the years, and my huge vegetable garden........two bedrooms/1 bath plus the "office" off my bedroom.........two-car garage, patio, carport.......guest house rented separately (where lives a couple with child who have become close friends). I get to watch the hawk and the mockingbirds and the phoebes and other songbirds which abound. It's a DREAM rental house, and my rent is VERY low because we have rent control in Los Angeles, and rents have skyrocketed in the time I have been here. I couldn't even FIND a similar property here - it's one-of-a-kind - and if I did it would cost twice what I am paying.

I will, if evicted, have to find a new home. I cannot afford to rent any other single family house in a neighborhood near my work (commuting is out of the question). I will have to get a one or two-bedroom box (apartment) and go back to the problems of stomping on my ceiling, 3 AM loud stereos nextdoor, etc, which drove me out of apartments/condos in the first place.

I am so upset by this - I couldn't sleep all night.

[ThomCat]

1. That is horrible.

It sounds like it is a wonderful place to be. I'm very sorry that you will have to move.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. I'm sorry that you will have to leave what was your paradise.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

3. I'm sorry to hear that

I've been in your position before and I had a small child at the time. I know how hard it can be to find decent affordable housing, and how horrible you feel when you lose a place you've come to think of as your home.

Keep your chin up and hope for the best. Perhaps the new owner is looking for a tax shield and won't be throwing you out anytime soon.

[petersjo02]

4. Bummer, Kes

Your place sounds like a little bit of heaven. Apartment living is the pits. Hope this works out better for you than it seems right now.

[Cleita]

5. That's what happens when you rent.

It happened to me too. It's too bad that you and the guest house renter didn't try to put in a bid to buy it. In my old apartment building, the tenants got together and bought the building because the rent was getting really high in a very short period of time. It seems to be working out for them.

[kestrel91316]

18. The other tenant and I are in no position to bid on a $800k+ property.

[JitterbugPerfume]

6. I am so sorry

it is terrible that you have to leave your gardens and birds . ((((hug))) from jitterbug

[jobycom]

7. Bummer.... Welp, time to move on, then! Make the most of it!

It goes without saying that it must be a hell of a nice house if they are asking almost a mil for it. Bet that will be hard to replace. I don't know about your area, but I just moved out of a house into an apartment (separation), and the complex I am in is like a resort. Pools, hot tubs, a gym better than some I've paid to belong to, hiking trails, a pond. Nice place, and the neighbors are quiet. So while I've lost stuff, I just enjoy what I've gained. Good luck in finding such a place you can enjoy!

And no, I ain't loanin' you the 830K!

[Kindigger]

8. Sending a hug

I am currently going through the same thing. I'm already grieving the upcoming loss of my flower garden. I look around me everytime I come in the door, deciding what will fit in a crackerbox, and what will be lost for next to nothing in a garage sale.

Sometimes I tell myself, "You only have that there, because you had an empty space to fill." Sometimes it's true, sometimes it's not. I'm still convincing myself that minimalism is a good thing, just as I did after I lost everything in the flood of '93. Hopefully acceptance is not too far away.

Sending you good luck, and good thoughts,
Susan

[Warpy]

9. Consider becoming trailer trash

I am not kidding. Space rent is probably pretty expensive there, but it may still be far less than the cheapest house rental you can find.

Were my own finances to take a significant dive, I'd go back to a trailer in a heartbeat. It doesn't matter much what your neighbors are like because your unit is separate from theirs. Trailer spaces typically give you a place to park, a place to sit, and a place to grow a few veg, and who could ask for more than that? Well, ask and reasonably expect to GET.

I loved living in a trailer park. The only bad neighbors were a few retired WASP types who obviously felt that living in a trailer was considered reduced circumstances and refused to have anything to do with the rest of us trailer trash.

Moving will cost you a reduction in circumstances. A trailer will reduce your circumstances far less than an apartment will.

(NOTE: I am not talking about RVs or parked campers or camper shells. I am talking about single and double wide HOMES, very different)

[GreenPartyVoter]

14. I am living in a very nice trailer park. Will stick with it over

other types of rentals.

[Warpy]

15. So you know what I'm talking about

I liked my trailer much more than this little house, which is just about twice the size of the trailer and feels smaller.

A well planned small space is much better than a poorly planned large space and a trailer is a tremendous improvement over any apartment.

[GreenPartyVoter]

16. Well we'd liek to leave the trailer as it is way too smal, but i wish we

could afford to put in a dblwide since i like the neighborhood

[kestrel91316]

19. My grandparents lived in a trailer the last 25 years of their lives.

It's not THAT bad, but in my area there are only two trailer parks I know of, and the rents are REALLY REALLY high. And they are both way too far away from my office, which is a deal killer anyway.

I may very well become trailer trash when I semi-retire, but on a piece of land I own myself where land is still affordable, and as temporary housing while I build my real home (of the humble sort).

[Dem2theMax]

26. Trailer trash? Insulting, to say the least.

My folks live in a mobile home and the going price here is anywhere from $300,000 to $400,000 for 'trailer trash.'

[kestrel91316]

29. Get the chip off your shoulder. It's said somewhat affectionately here.

[Dem2theMax]

34. There is no chip. What you said is insulting. Period.

To anyone who ever lived in a mobile home.

And you try to excuse it by saying you were being 'affectionate?'

You have GOT to be kidding.

Thankfully there is a way to solve problems like this around here.

Click. Gone.

[kestrel91316]

35. I never asked your opinion. Use the thread hide button and the

ignore button if you don't like me.

[Jim__]

10. Moving sucks ...

... especially when it's not by choice. If you have to move, best of luck in your search for a new home.

[Freddie Stubbs]

11. Most leases require the new owner to honor the current lease until

it expires. You would still have to move, but not unitil you lease runs out. You should probably talk to a lowyer.

[rsdsharp]

12. I agree

Unless your lease was subject to a sale, you should be able to stay until it expires, unless California law says something to the contrary. My old property professor used to say that real estate was like a bundle of sticks, and you can only dispose of the sticks you have in your hand. If you hold all of the sticks, you own the property in fee simple absolute, and can sell it and convey clear title. In your case, the property owner doesn't have all the sticks. You have a lease hold interest for the term of the lease. So unless your lease terminates on the sale of the property, the sale will have to be subject to the lease. How long does that run?

[kestrel91316]

20. After the first year, the lease reverted to month-to-month, which is

pretty standard for LA rentals.

Per the rent control agency - they have the right to evict if they are tearing down (makes sense to me), but the have to pay Relocation Assistance, which I hear is $3500 or so for a single person.

I also have asked the realtor to discuss with the buyer our wish to have as much heads-up as possible on a demolition date so we can plan. I have to find a new place, plan and execute a move, have at least two garage sales, and all this while running a business 55 hours a week.

We don't know for sure what the plans are, but she did say that the buyer is a "builder/investor". So it's pretty self-explanatory. Just the timeline is open.

[GreenPartyVoter]

13. I am so sry *hugs* I dug up all my plants every time i had to move

[bobbolink]

17. How fortunate you had such a nice place for 6 1/2 years!

I've been homeless now for 9 months, with no end in sight.

It's hurt deeply that Dems don't care about those of us with NO roof, and the churches don't seem too moved, either.

Many of us aren't able to make it at all.

Sleep?

At best, I can get about 4 hours a night in my car, and that's it. Yet, I'm expected to function well, and *never* be "cranky".

Trade ya places??

[EFerrari]

21. Contact the rent board. You might have first right of refusal.

If they didn't offer it to you, you probably have a law suit.

[kestrel91316]

23. After the $830,000 purchase price, then there would be the

probable $150,000 in renovation costs for the 1945 vintage (and extremely substandard)plumbing, wiring, etc. I don't have a down payment anywhere NEAR what it would take, nor could I afford a mortgage on it.

It's really a tear-down. I have often said if I won the lottery I would live in the guest house while taking the big house down to the studs and adding on some more space, and a new garage. And then tear down the guest house (a REAL tear-down!!!) and put in a nice pool, patio, and NICE guest house. But it would take a $1,000,000+ lottery win to do it, so no dice.

[EFerrari]

25. That's not the point. I live in San Francisco, so I get it about

purchase prices.

But, I believe the law where you live is, you MUST be offered the property first. If the owener neglected to do that in writing, you have a case. I believe that your means are immaterial to the owner's obligation to notify you in writing of his/her intent to sell and to offer it to you.

Best of luck. Sigh. Affordable housing, can't live without it and can't live without it.

[kestrel91316]

28. Hm. I see your point, and I should look into it. I have a sneaking

suspicion because it's two rental "units" on one lot, and rent-controlled, that there's probably some exception for them.

Nobody ever gave us first shot at it, in writing or verbally. That said, the owners are VERY NICE people and the wife is older and quite ill. I can't imagine any duplicity on their part, and am not the sort of person to tie them up in knots legally over this.

[EFerrari]

31. We had a duplex in Santa Monica and nearly got into a whole

lot of trouble because my mom didn't offer it to one of her tenants. She didn't know the law. It's possible that your landlady doesn't know it either. That was Santa Monica, anyway.

[kestrel91316]

32. It's in 30 d escrow. Should I let the deal go through and then make noise?

I CANNOT afford the property, so it's pointless to make like I can, but I could still maybe get compensated for the denial of my rights (and after closing they will certainly have a lot of money in the bank...........) if I make noise later.

[EFerrari]

33. I'm not a lawyer, so remember what this is worth.

I'm not sure. But, I would for sure call the Rent Board with a general, anonymous question until you have more information.

[kestrel91316]

36. What I have found out so far, just with internet research

Right of First Refusal is what we're talking about, and it is found as part of SOME agreements, like leases.

It is not a part of my lease on the house.

AFAIK, it is not just some general civil right we all enjoy. It has to be put into the lease in the first place. Part of the original contract.

[karlrschneider]

22. Ouch. That sucks, so sorry, but I have a few thoughts:

Escrow doesn't -necessarily- mean the deal will go through, it -could- fall apart...it does happen.

Many of your options depend on the details of your lease, if you have one. See if you can get some
free or cheap legal advice on that.

It -is- possible the buyers are only interested in the property as an investment and might consider
letting you stay on. They might not actually be interested in living there and rent income might
be a bonus to them.

If that isn't the case, there might be a way for you to move into the guest house (if you should want to) depending on what the folks now staying there decide to do.

Wishing you the best of luck in any case!

[kestrel91316]

24. I don't think anybody with the $830k would be content to live in the

"big house". It's 1945 vintage with substandard everything. I'm the only one in town willing to live in something like this, lol.

Currently all I know from the realtor is that the buyer is a "builder/investor", so whether it's a buy and hold, or a buy and demolish is still unknown. She is going to see if the buyer is willing to give us advance notice of intent.

The lease has reverted to month-to-month, and eviction is permissible for tear-downs and if the owner or immediate family wants to move in. In either case, they must pay $3500 relocation exp to me (and $8000 same to the guest house tenant, who has a child). Rent Control laws in LA are very specific and they do a LOT to protect us tenants, but I live in an neighborhood where real estate (just the land) is almost priceless.

I predict one or two Persian Palaces will be put on this 14,000 sf lot.

[Hekate]

27. I'm so sorry you have to leave your Eden

You were lucky to have had it so long -- I'm sorry it could not have been forever.

Maybe you'll get lucky and find an apartment with enough of a balcony to put out a couple of dwarf fruit trees in planters. My lime tree was very happy that way for years.

Best wishes in your search for a new home.

Hekate

[kestrel91316]

30. I had a lime in a planter but it failed. Kumquats do well.................

[kestrel91316]

37. Update:

The building inspector for the buyer came today for the official inspection. My neighbor in the guest house said he was kind of a jerk (just her general impression), but he did say that ".....it'll probably be at least 6 months. We have to pull permits."

So it's going to happen. Demolition and mansionization.

My neighbor across the street is unhappy. This is a humble residential neighborhood of single-story 2- and 3-BR post WWII cracker boxes, most of which have been tastefully remodeled inside but still retain pretty much their original look outside, and the footprints are appropriate for single-family homes (sufficient yards for kids and BBQs). But lately, the trend is to purchase the property, demolish the home (no matter how large or nice) because it's "old" (sometimes only 30 yrs old) and build a "Persian Palace", usually a neorenaissance monstrosity. Always two-story with a HUGE footprint (nearly built to the lot line all around) with wall and wrought iron fencing, curved driveway taking up the ENTIRE front, tasteless architectural embellishments akin to Versailles, huge chandelier visible from the front, and of course lots of 2nd floor windows from which to peer down upon the serfs outside the palace wall. Completely out of place for the neighborhood, but the city doesn't care. They WANT the bigger homes for the higher property taxes. Oh, and these places tend to sell FAST at 1.2-1.2 million. Usually sold while under construction.

Then once the people move in, they make sure to buy their spoiled teenagers expensive new cars to race around the neighborhood in, with boomboxes blaring. And I don't know a soul who has ever spoken to an owner of these sort of homes. They DO NOT associate in any way with neighbors. Not like it is now, where we chat over the back fence or borrow the proverbial cup of sugar.

So my neighbor grumbled about how that's the LAST thing he wants across the street from him. Oh well. Progress...........