If you own a soft-story apartment building in Los Angeles County, this is the announcement you've been waiting for. The If you own a soft-story apartment building in Los Angeles County, this is the announcement you've been waiting for. The state just opened registration for the Earthquake Multi-Unit Retrofit (EMR) grant program — and it […]

In most industries, an 80% repeat client rate is a remarkable number. In construction, it is almost unheard of. Construction is an industry that runs, structurally, on one-time transactions. A homeowner builds a house once. A property owner replaces a roof once every twenty years. The business model of most contracting firms is built around […]

The listing says hillside views. It says architectural character. It says mature landscaping on a quiet canyon street. It says original mid-century details lovingly preserved. It says everything that makes a property in the Hollywood Hills, Silver Lake, Los Feliz, or Beverly Hills Post Office compelling — and nothing about what holding up that property […]

The solar installer's pitch is compelling. Lower utility bills. Energy independence. Federal tax credits. Net metering with LADWP. A system that pays for itself over time and adds value to your property. Everything they're telling you is true — and none of it matters if your electrical panel can't support the system they're proposing to […]

Everyone is talking about EV chargers. The state wants them. Tenants are asking for them. New legislation is requiring them in certain renovation and construction contexts. And the contractors who install them are happy to show up, mount the hardware, and hand you an invoice. What those contractors are frequently not telling you — because […]

Los Angeles is a city of small lots with large ambitions. The R1 parcels in Silver Lake, the narrow infill lots in Echo Park, the constrained rear yards in Palms and Mar Vista, the landlocked properties in Highland Park where a detached ADU would consume the entire usable outdoor space — these are the lots […]

For decades, the fundamental limitation of ADU investment in California was exit strategy. You could build the unit. You could rent it. But you could not sell it independently of the primary residence. The ADU and the main house were legally inseparable — one parcel, one title, one transaction. Whatever equity the ADU represented was […]

If you've received a quote for an SB 326 or SB 721 balcony inspection in Los Angeles, you may have encountered a scope of work that includes something called "destructive testing" — or more specifically, the removal of decking, sheathing, or finish materials to access the structural framing beneath. That approach is not an inspection […]

You volunteered for the board. You show up to the meetings. You vote on the budget, review the financials, and try to do right by your community. You are not a structural engineer. You are not a lawyer. You are a homeowner who agreed to help manage a shared property. SB 326 does not care […]

The crew has packed up. The parking garage has been swept. The steel moment frames are behind drywall and the anchor bolts are under the topping slab. The construction phase of your soft-story retrofit is complete — and if you're like most property owners, your instinct is to close the file. Don't close the file. […]