WHAT IS SOFT STORY? A soft story building is a multi story structure built with a first floor that is much less rigid than the floors above, making them prone to structural damage during earthquake shaking.

ARE UPGRADES REQUIRED? In the City Of Los Angeles, Ordinances 183893 and 184081were enacted in 2015 require all structures below current standards to be retrofitted. Owners were given 2 years to submit plans, 3-5 years to begin construction and 7 years to complete. Currently, Los Angeles, Santa Monica and West Hollywood are making it a requirement. Culver City adopted a seismic retrofit ordinance last year.

PROTECTING YOUR INVESTMENT During the Northridge earthquake, we were reminded about the kind of damage that could be sustained. Another earthquake could occur anytime and put your building out of commission for a long time. If you don’t carry earthquake insurance, you could be facing loss of income and potential lawsuits from tenants.

I refinanced an 8 unit building that I own in Whittier a few years back. There was no requirement from the city to do the seismic retrofit, but the lender required it. Even though it cost several thousand dollars, I am glad I did it because it strengthens the building which has some units built over garages. At the time I was not happy about the request, but with the increased costs of labor and materials, and the potential for an earthquake in Southern California, I am happy to have completed the work.

COMING SOON It is my belief that many, if not all, cities will be adding this requirement in the coming years. There is time now to get bids and find a good price to get the work done. Along with the potential damage, which is a major concern, it may be  difficult to  find a contractor to do the work after an earthquake. It will most likely be much more expensive as well, because of additional earthquake damage.

I think it is a good idea to at least get a bid now on the seismic retrofit work that could be required in the future. It may put you a step ahead of other owners, even if your building is not located in one of the cities that currently has this requirement.

What we at PRS PROPERTIES CAN do for you is to recommend building professionals. We can give you the names of contractors we have worked with who will give you a free estimate. We can also look at your building for other changes that might allow you to get a higher value in order to create value for your investment. We can help you to get the maximum value for your property, should you decide to sell, or the maximum return if you are planning to keep your building.

We have many investors who are looking for “as-is” properties and are willing to purchase even with bootleg unit in place. We have put together numerous transactions over the years which involve properties that are not listed for sale. Many investors are in 1031 exchanges and need to identify a replacement property before their 45 day identification period runs out.

Should you decide to put your property on the market, we will put together an aggressive, targeted and professional campaign to get your property sold fast. We have been doing this for over 40 years, and we will use all the tools available to bring you the most dollars at closing. If you are thinking of selling or are just curious about the value of your property, don’t hesitate to give us a call.