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Neil Shekhter of NMS Properties - The New Law to Ease California's Housing Crisis

Sunday, 18 March 2018 04:50 PM

NMS Properties, Inc.

Accessory Dwelling in Los Angeles

SANTA MONICA, CA / ACCESSWIRE / March 18, 2018 / Jerry Brown, the governor of The Golden State, California, in September approved a bill intended to slow the astronomical rise in renting prices in Los Angeles County. The bill acts as a potential solution to the lack of supplies in certain areas within the county. The bill gives most single family homeowners the option to build additional dwelling units, sometimes referred to as back houses, granny flats or in-law units on their property, Neil Shekhter points out.

Last February it was determined that Los Angeles homeowners had been, for years, constructing these back houses using improper permits. The February ruling left residents in a legal purgatory of sort. The Los Angeles City Council had agreed, based on the February ruling, they would allow already constructed back houses to be grandfathered in, while forcing any new construction to abide by the new February ruling.

On December 30th the Department of City Planning, who is responsible for the preparation, maintenance and implementation of General Plans for the development of Los Angeles, released a memo stating the February ruling is direct conflict with the state law and should not be applicable, according to Neil Shekhter founder and CEO of Santa Monica-based NMS Properties.

Now the question for homeowners is, ''what should we be doing moving forward?'' Based on the Department of City Planning's memo, homeowners should be able begin or continue new construction on back house additions. The memo not only shows last February's ruling is no longer applicable, it also requires as of January 1st, homeowner's back houses must meet state mandated requirements before successfully applying for permits.

While this is definitely a win for homeowners, and Los Angeles residents collectively, the Los Angeles Department of City Planning announced that they plan to implement much stricter requirements for the construction of these back houses than those outlined in the February ruling. The Los Angeles Department of City Planning in December released their recommendations for new regulations for the construction of back houses to the Los Angeles City Council, Neil Shekhter notes.

Per Neil Shekhter, the new requirements state accessory dwellings (back houses) to be 640 square feet or 50 percent of the square footage of the total square footage of the ''main house'' or which of the two are the largest, up to 1,200 square feet. The problem for residents is this arbitrary 1,200 square foot limitation automatically limits the maximum size for the back houses. In addition to the restrictive limitation on the size of the back houses, it is looking like homeowners in Hillside Areas will be restricted altogether from construction of any sort.

Launching NMS Properties in 1988, Neil Shekhter assumed the role of CEO in January 1995. The real estate management company focuses on multi-family and mixed-use properties in the Greater Los Angeles area and in Santa Monica. At present, NMS properties manage more than 70 properties.

Over the course of 2017, NMS deployed 40 furnished units in Los Angeles, and Neil Shekhter plans to increase that number in 2018. The company currently manages some of its properties while testing a pilot with MY SUITE.

Neil Shekhter - Founder and CEO of NMS Properties
Apartments For Rent In Los Angeles NMS Residential: http://www.nmsresidential.com
NMS Properties - Real Estate Management Firm: http://www.nmsproperties.com
Contact Information: [email protected]

SOURCE: NMS Properties, Inc.

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