Delaplane Law Group, APC

Last week, the Judicial Council of California voted to end the temporary eviction moratorium that has been in place since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting September 2, 2020, formal evictions and some foreclosure proceedings will be allowed to move forward. However, it is important to note that several cities and counties - including Los Angeles City and Los Angeles County - have implemented their own eviction moratoriums. Therefore, several landlords will not be able to proceed with evictions until their local moratoriums are also ended. If you are a landlord and want to learn more about your options during the COVID-19 pandemic, please feel free to reach out to discuss further.

With these changing times come new legal issues in the real estate industry. From tenants and landlords to buyers and sellers, COVID-19 has impacted them all and they may be asking themselves these questions: - My business is struggling, can I be evicted for non-payment of rent? - If my tenant does not pay rent, what should I do? - Should I offer my tenant a discount on the rent, since getting some money now is better than nothing? ... - Am I able to get out of a real estate contract because of issues related to COVID-19? - My buyer backed out because of COVID-19, do I have any recourse? If you have been presented with these issues, we are available to consult and advise on the practical and legal aspects of these difficult questions. If you would like further information, please call our office - (818) 721-8881.

We have gone through some changes over the last few months! We have a new name - Delaplane Law Group, APC - and a new address - 16501 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 610, Encino, California 91436.

I am happy to announce that I was selected as a Super Lawyers - Rising Star for 2018. It is truly an honor to be recognized by my peers and clients for this honor.

For several years, small business owners have been concerned about being served with lawsuits for violations of the Americas with Disabilities Act (ADA). Most of these lawsuits were filed by professional plaintiffs and their attorneys, who are in the business of filing complaints for ADA violations against business establishments. In fact, some of these plaintiff and attorneys never even step foot into the business. Rather, they would only conduct "drive-bys" of the busine...ss. Fortunately, a new law could stop these types of lawsuits. The House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would require potential ADA plaintiffs and their attorneys to provide notice to business owner of the potential violation and allow the owner time to remedy the violation before filing a lawsuit. This is a big win for business, especially small business owners, who will no longer be required to pay off these professional plaintiffs to avoid litigation. See more

Do you own rental properties that are subject to the Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Ordinance (i.e., Rent Control)? Do you have a tenant paying significantly less than current market rents? If so, take advantage of the Los Angeles Housing Department’s new Cash for Keys program. Under this new statute, landlords are able to offer cash to their tenants in exchange for the tenants moving out of their residence. However, there are specific requirements that must be followed in order to avoid penalties and potential liability. If you are interested, contact us for more information.

For years, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been on the prowl for real estate-related companies that were giving or receiving illegal kickbacks to other professionals. Today, the CFPB revealed that a local lender - Prospect Mortgage, LLC - was fined $3.5 million for providing illegal kickbacks to real estate brokers. One part of the action against Prospect Mortgage that I found interesting was their manipulation of the offer process. The CFPB noted that... Prospect Mortgage's "partner" brokers/agents would require each and every prospective buyer to be pre-approved with Prospect Mortgage as a condition of submitting an offer on their listing. Prospect Mortgage would then pay the broker/agent lead fees for these referrals. While the CFPB did not state that requiring prospective buyer to "double app" with the listing agent's preferred loan broker is illegal in the absence of any kickbacks, they did seemingly imply that the practice is disfavored. In fact, they specifically pointed out that there are very few occasions when "any special expertise possessed by only one lender in a given area...precludes other lenders in that same area from offering equally reliable pre approvals." In general, a real estate agent cannot unilaterally require a prospective buyer to be pre-approved with the agent's preferred loan broker. This direction must come from his/her seller. Thus, when a buyer is requested to double app with the listing agent's loan broker, it is appropriate to ask whether this request was made at the direction of the seller. http://links.govdelivery.com/track

New Blog Post: Six Tips for California Landlords http://www.delaplanelaw.com//six-tips-for-california-landl

Thanks to Dana J. for her great review on yelp.com! "I can't say enough positive things about Christopher Delaplane. His skill, experience and knowledge far exceeded our expectations. Mr. Delaplane is extremely personable and follows through on everything he promises. Most important is his ability as an attorney to be extremely aggressive in a very calm, pleasant, confident and matter of fact approach. I would recommend Mr. Delaplane to anyone and wouldn't hesitate to use him in the future! I confidently believe that without Mr. Delaplane our case wouldn't have turned out in our favor. His approach, preparation and experience is the reason for the positive outcome."