You are correct. It's a myth. Other than depreciation on a vacant building that is available for lease there are no write-offs. And if you take depreciation for many years your cost basis is reduced, which means potentially higher capital gains.
Carbajal doxing law enforcement is disgusting.
When you have 'law makers' running to break the law to secure future votes it has a negative impact on the community. You can see it in the degradation of our city. This is the problem in SB.
Trust me, the people throwing rocks at the immigration vans were not migrant working Mexicans.
The same people that complain about over development in their neighborhoods are the same people that support people like Carbajal. It is unsustainable to have a lawmakers side with the people breaking the law. I am not talking about the people working at the nursery, I'm talking about the people on the street disrupting and being aggressive to law-enforcement. That's not OK.
The only reason I talk on this because these policies ultimately negatively affect the Mexican community. Having no law DOES NOT protect Mexicans. It negatively affects us and puts our lives in more danger. You would only know this living in the neighborhood where we live
The fact that people don't understand this is crazy, but living it and loving my Mexican people, I'm so tired of hearing other people decide what the best is for Mexicans that are not from Mexico.
Just keep on paying your cleaning lady and your gardener.
oh jus pick up the dog poo before your gardener comes:)
"Zhushfest" - you're killing me! LOL
I laugh so hard when reading your property descriptions, thank you for that!
The bigger factor is that if an owner accepted lower (aka "market") rent, it would reduce the overall value of the property on paper. Which, if they are using as collateral, reduces their borrowing power. By keeping asking rents high, the paper value of the property stays high, and, in their calculation, is worth the tradeoff of a vacant property.
Rich - No. They get the depreciation regardless of whether it's leased or vacant.
Depreciation.
Apzer, can you please direct me to the IRS rule where i can deduct rental losses? i have never heard of such a thing, and our CPA have never informed me of such. I know that for insurance purposes you can be compensated, i.e. if there is a flood and the tenant can't pay do business/rent for X months you can be compensated. As far as taxes go, you can deduct insurance/property tax/etc but don't think you can just say you should be receiving $10sqft rent and keep it vacant in perpetuity.
The "pedestrian mall" along state street is more like an e-bike tournament venue
Apzer, that is totally false on landlords receiving a financial benefit for vacant properties. Please don't spread misinformation.
I don't think they're all greedy but there's a financial benefit to claim a loss on a vacant property while holding out for someone to pay $5/NNN per square foot when it's something the market won't bear. It' s been happing on State St for almost 20 years and it's not just SB.
That said, yes, there should be more incentive to change zoning downtown, mix retail/office/residential concepts, and streamline the approval and permit process. Again, SB isn't alone here but it will have to deal with constant turnover and vacancies in prime areas if it doesn't adapt with current consumer and real estate trends.
“More vibrant than ever”? We can debate the causes but it is a far cry from the most vibrant it’s ever been…
“Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify the action taken by the City Council and its next steps”
The VC Star Article was wrong - they’ve since updated it. Ventura City Council is no longer pursuing making it legally a ‘pedestrian mall’, they aren’t reopening to cars.
Also curious why you think Santa Barbara should ‘follow suit’? State Street has lower vacancy rates than prepandemic and is more vibrant than ever.
From the article, it seems like it's not a done deal, but yes, it would be a terrible loss for Ventura. A good reminder for those of us who support a car-free State St. to continue rallying our neighbors and work with city officials to see the promenade made permanent and improved upon.
I mostly agree with you, apzer. You're especially right that reopening State Street to cars won't solve the problems that some businesses face there; but it would be a fatal step backward for the vibrant, pedestrian-friendly atmosphere that is working for many other businesses and has the potential to become a real amenity for our community.
But re: property owners, rather than deem them 'greedy,' I think our energy is better spent creating incentives for the actions we want to see. We could cut red tape for new concepts, better encourage use of outdoor space, support housing conversions, and find other common-ground solutions that are consistent with a bike- and pedestrian-friendly State Street.
How "old" was the gift certificate? If purchased in the last 12 months- it should be honored.... If it was over a yr old, I too would have refused it. Sorry.
We went for breakfast this week at the El Encanto and they wouldn’t honor our gift certificate per the new ownership. This is disappointing and not a great way to start off as a new neighbor. We felt bad for the staff having to deal with all of this….
PS I googled frontwards and backwards, no arrest breakdowns from the 361 arrests at Glass House businesses, so we don't know that only 10 were at Carpinteria....in fact 14 minors were located there, not arrested as far as I know
ICE is pretty good at their investgative job- love the web page subpage about global trade- about investigating and preventing intellectual property rights violations, digital piracy, illicit trade and customs fraud. Nothing like a good read about Korean purse counterfitting! The statistics are jaw dropping
361 people were arrested by LICE? 10 in Carp leaving the balance in Camarillo. Hard to imagine how many actual workers were on site to generate those numbers. Its also hard to imagine that Glass House would be that dumb if so. They cant possibly be doing their own HR. I would think they would use some sort of agency. Facts are going to be elusive.
That churro looks... unfortunate
Amidst all the fake news out there, thanks, Erik, for reporting the real stuff. It takes people like you out there with real eyes and ears, keen editorial judgment, copy-editing and fact-checking skills, and hard work pounding the pavement to keep us informed. It's not an easy task, and you do it so well.
Parking counts, pedestrian counts, and sales tax revenue disagree with your assumption that State is the most vibrant and busy it's been in 15 years. The most vibrant and busy I've seen State was always during the Solstice and Fiesta parades - and people actually stuck around after when it was on State.
"Then greedy property owners were happy to leave spaces vacant until they got their absurd asking rates." - you know not of what you speak apzer.
Thank you for the reporting on the ICE / DHS raids last week in Carpinteria.
I was there in person. And happy to provide a first hand account of what happened from a witnesses perspective. I hope this can set some of the record straight.
https://www.facebook.com/1383941912/videos/1399971087896529/
Thank you.
