WHEN AN HOA HITS OWNERS WITH A $26,000 BILL: LESSONS FROM SAN CLEMENTE’S VILLA MOURA If you own a condo or live in an HOA community, you may have seen the recent news out of San Clemente — and it’s worth paying attention to, wherever you live. WHAT HAPPENED Homeowners at the 198-unit Villa Moura […]

What California’s New “Zone Zero” Rule Means for Homeowners If you own property in a California fire hazard zone, there’s a new rule you’ll want to know about: Zone Zero. On August 19, 2026, the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection approved the final draft of the state’s first statewide defensible space standard focused […]

Rising Costs Are Squeezing California’s Self-Managing Landlords California’s rental market is enormous — and overwhelmingly run by regular people, not corporations. Roughly 70% of U.S. rental properties are owned by individual investors rather than LLCs or REITs, and the large majority of those owners still self-manage. But 2026 is testing that model harder than any […]

Is Now a Good Time to Buy?y a House in California? It’s the single most-searched question in California real estate right now — and for good reason. The market doesn’t look like it did two years ago, but it doesn’t look like a clear buyer’s paradise either. Here’s an honest, balanced look at where things […]