Special Promotion from Apartment Management

We want to hear stories from you, our readers, and we'll pay you to tell them. All you have to do is write a 1,500 word or less story about your personal apartment management experience.

We want to hear from anyone who can tell us about their experiences in the apartment industry; whether it was a first-time purchase night or a spur-of-the-moment purchase that changed your life. If you have a WWII era story, either from your own experience or parents, let us know.

We will be looking at all the stories sent in and choose one to be our Featured Article of the month. The winner will also receive a $100 American Express gift card for their submission.

Getting to Know the Area

While you are investing in real estate and looking for potential areas to live and work, it is good to know relevant information on the surroundings. As we reach out to LA and Orange County, I have decided to give some time to the lay of the land. I found a good site that tells a brief synopsis of the areas around center of LA.

The first area to look at is the coastal regions of Western LA (Zone 3) and Southern LA (Zone 2), where the residents of LA head to during the weekend, where tourists head, and the rich and famous buy luxurious homes on the ocean's front.

Here is a snippet from frommers.com

Malibu, at the northern border of Los Angeles County, 25 miles from Downtown, was once a privately owned ranch -- purchased in 1857 for 10¢ an acre and now the most expensive real estate in L.A. Today its 27 miles of wide beaches, beachfront cliffs, sparsely populated hills, and relative remoteness from the inner city make it popular with rich recluses such as Cher and Mel Gibson. Indeed, the resident lists of Malibu Colony and nearby Broad Beach -- oceanfront strips of closely packed mansions -- read like a who's who in Hollywood. With plenty of green space and dramatic rocky outcroppings, Malibu's rural beauty is unsurpassed in L.A., and surfers flock to "the 'Bu" for great, if crowded, waves.

Santa Monica, Los Angeles's premier beach community, is known for its festive ocean pier, stylish oceanfront hotels, artsy atmosphere, and large population of homeless residents (I know, that's an oxymoron, but it fits). Shopping is king here, especially along the Third Street Promenade, a pedestrian-only outdoor mall lined with dozens of shops and restaurants.

Venice Beach was created by tobacco mogul Abbot Kinney, who set out in 1904 to transform a worthless marsh into a resort town modeled after Venice, Italy -- hence, the series of narrow canals connected by one-lane bridges that you'll see as you explore this refreshingly eclectic community. It was once infested with grime and crime, but regentrification has brought scores of great restaurants, boutiques, and rising property values for the canalside homes and apartment duplexes. Even the movie stars are moving in: Dennis Hopper, Anjelica Huston, Nicolas Cage, and Julia Roberts reside in this pseudobohemian community. Some of L.A.'s most innovative and interesting architecture lines funky Main Street. But without question, Venice Beach is best known for its Ocean Front Walk, a nonstop Mardi Gras of thong-wearing skaters, vendors, fortunetellers, street musicians, and poseurs of all ages, colors, types, and sizes.

Marina del Rey, just south of Venice, is a somewhat quieter, more upscale waterside community best known for its man-made small-craft harbor, the largest of its kind in the world.

Manhattan, Hermosa, and Redondo beaches are laid-back, mainly residential neighborhoods with modest homes (except for oceanfront real estate), mild weather, and residents happy to have fled the L.A. hubbub. There are excellent beaches for volleyball, surfing, and tanning here, but when it comes to cultural activities, pickings can be slim. The restaurant scene, while limited, has been improving steadily, and some great new bars and clubs have opened near their respective piers.

Mortgage Frauds

In a recent article published in the LA Times by Lew Sichelmen, he paints a distressing picture of the ways white-collar, and now blue-collar, thieves steal millions of dollars from home buyers and investors who are unaware of the scams. Lately the FBI has reported a sharp increase in the reports of suspicious activity in the real estate market.

"The bureau will get more than 60,000 suspicious-activity reports this year, he said at a recent conference in Chicago. By comparison, it received a record 46,700 reports of suspicious activity in fiscal 2007, up from 35,600 in 2006." That is quite a great leap in the two years.

It is important to look at the details, and to watch for some of these cons. One is the old trick of an inflated appraisal to pay for the "incentives" that home builders are giving to buyers. These incentives are build into the appraisal without the notice of the appraisers. Also many are using con men to have the home buyers pay, and in the end the con man does not make the payments and the house ends up in foreclosure. Never be too careful who you trust with your home, especially in these crunching times.

"Broshears, the FBI's point man on mortgage fraud, estimated that the feds' investigation is likely to uncover $3 billion in mortgage losses."

Forbes "Boost Your Business" Contest

Forbes is hosting their annual "Boost Your Business" Contest for small business' across the country. They are giving away 100,000 to the best business pitch. So start writing down your plans and go over to their website to check it out here. Hurry because May 31 is the deadline for submissions.

Here are some of the requirements:
1. have at least one salaried employee, aside from the owner
2. be incorporated for less than five (5) years (at the time of entry)
3. be a for-profit entity
4. have annual revenues between $0 and $5,000,000

The Inland Empire

We are excited to inform everybody that we are now going to reach the Inland Empire. This upcoming June, we will be finally getting our 6th zone published. Recently it has only been able to viewed online as a pdf.

If you are interested in getting a copy of the June issue for the Inland Empire, or wish to advertise in the new zone, give us a call at (714) 893-3971 or email me at js@aptmags.com.