​1.) Did you buy your real estate as an individual, entity (Corporation, Trust, LLC, etc.), or as an IRA?

You must pay your property taxes from the same source as when you purchased your property in order to avoid “commingling of funds” which ultimately can lead to a loss in tax advantages.  For example, if you bought your real estate using an IRA, you must contact your IRA and have the IRA pay the property tax bill.
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2.) Do you have partners or did you purchase your property alone?

If you have partners that means you own a certain percentage of the property.  The percentage that you own is the same percentage of the tax bill you are responsible for.  For example, if you own 30% of the property and the total tax bill is $300, you are responsible for paying $90 [$300 x 30%].

• Note: All partners should send their bill together in one envelope to the tax collector.  The tax collector does not accept partial payments so it is important that all of the partners put their checks into one envelope.  Simply designate one of the partners to collect all of the checks and send to the tax collector.  For example, if you purchased 30% with your IRA, John purchased 40% with his IRA, Suzy purchased 20% with her corporation, and Michelle purchased 10% as an individual; then you would contact your IRA and have them make a check payable to the tax collector but mail it to your address, John would contact his IRA and his IRA will make a check payable to the tax collector but mail it to your address, Suzy would have a check written from her corporation payable to the tax collector but mailed to your address, and Michelle would write a personal check made payable to the tax collector and sent to your address.  Once you receive all of the checks, be sure they all add up to the amount owed and put them in one envelope and send it to the tax collector.

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3.) What do you need to include on your check to the property tax collector?

​Property Tax season is here.  This is a time to celebrate that you own real estate.  In the words of Louis J. Glickman, “the greatest investment on earth is earth”, so be sure to give yourself a pat on the back, and do something fun!  Paying your property taxes is simple.  Here are few common questions that come up during property tax season that may help clarify things:

All-electric vehicle manufacturer, Build Your Dreams (BYD), is yet again exceeding expectations.  BYD, the world’s largest rechargeable battery manufacturer, has sold more all electric vehicles than Tesla, Nissan, and GM combined.  Ranked in the top 10 technology companies behind Apple and Google, if you haven’t heard of them, BYD is the biggest company you’ve never heard of.  Warren Buffett owns 10% of BYD, the most he was allowed to buy.

BYD first entered the U.S. market in 2011 with 10 employees and opened their U.S. manufacturing plant in 2013 in Lancaster, CA.  In 2013, the City of Lancaster gave BYD an incentive to grow their operation to 250 workers within 3 years, the incentive was to gift BYD the adjacent 12.5 acre parcel of land.

In 2014, with about 60 workers, BYD delivered their first two California-made all-electric buses.

In 2015, BYD was awarded $3 million under the California Competes program, a tax credit incentive which seeks to encourage companies to expand and add jobs in California.  In order to receive the $3 million award, BYD had to meet certain milestones such investing $51 million in their California businesses and hire 243 by 2016 escalating to 625 workers by 2018 (at the time of this article BYD had an employee base of 700).

In 2016, BYD entered into a contract with Antelope Valley Transit Authority’s (AVTA) to replace their fleet with all-electric buses.  AVTA is on track to becoming the nation’s first all-electric transportation agency by 2018.  Additionally, BYD met Lancaster’s milestones and was awarded the 12.5 acre incentive and began construction on expanding their facility.

Last week, Stella Li, President of BYD Motors, was featured in an exclusive live interview with CNBC (see above video) regarding BYD’s extraordinary rapid growth.  BYD’s expansion of their current facility to more than triple their existing space will result in the largest single building in Lancaster, and is expected to be completed next month.  With this new building, BYD will be able to:

• Increase their U.S. Production from 350 to 1,500 buses per year
• Increase from 700 to 1,400 workers
• Expand their US business into all-electric commercial trucks, forklifts, and passenger cars
• Introduce new types of all-electric technologies to the US such as solar energy battery storage

BYD’s current customer base is nationwide, servicing big transportation authorities like AVTA, LA County Metro, Washington D.C. Department of Transporation, to smaller transportation operators like UC Irvine, UCLA, UC San Francisco.  BYD plans to start selling passenger cars to American drivers in two to three years.

The point is to understand that BYD is one of the largest companies in the world and has continuously exceeded all expectations.  When I discovered just how large their company really was and how big of an impact they’ve made to every city and country they’ve done business in, I had to learn for myself more about them.  I visited their corporate headquarters in Shenzhen China in 2013 and for lack of better wording, was blown away. 

It’s common sense, as BYD expands, the city will make more money.  The state will too.  Last but most importantly RTA educated investors that got there first stand to make a fortune!

We have not just been following BYD, we have been ahead of their forecasts.  We can show you how we’ve already profited and how we plan to continue to do so.  You can profit too.  Give us a call at 844-782-5263 or visit our next live event.

Earlier this year, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti gave his State of the City address.  He focused on economic successes as well as Los Angeles values and progress.
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Eric Garcetti stated, “This is a place where people not only believe in a better future…we are creating it.  The state of our city is undeniably strong.  Record jobs, record investment, record visitors, record trade, record IPOs, returning industries, nation-leading infrastructure programs, and world-leading innovations.  All of these things together are ushering in a transformational decade for our city.”
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One such example of record developments, the Wilshire Grand Center, is the tallest building west of the Mississippi River and now open in downtown Los Angeles.  At 1,100 feet, the building is home to a 900-room InterContinental Hotel on the upper levels and 365,000 square feet of class A office space on its lower floors.  Prior to its completion, the US Bank Tower built in the late 1980s was the tallest building in Los Angeles.

​This past July the Los Angeles Measure M, the largest local infrastructure measure in American History, went into effect.  This will help to reduce traffic congestion and the “car capital of the world will soon be home to a transit system that is the envy of the world.”, said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti

Los Angeles is now home to two football teams, the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers.  The Charges had their first pre-season game in Los Angeles earlier this month at the StubHub Center, their temporary home.  The Los Angeles Stadium, the largest stadium in the world and the future home of the Los Angeles Rams, the Los Angeles Charges, and the National Football League (NFL) Headquarters is currently under construction and is expected to be completed by 2020.  The Los Angeles Stadium will host the 2022 Superbowl.  

The City of Inglewood recently entered into an exclusive negotiations agreement with the Los Angeles clippers, a deal that could bring a new arena for the Los Angeles Clippers.  The Madison Square Garden Company acquired and reconstructed the Inglewood Forum into a  2014, the largest concert-only event venue in Southern California.

Here are some renderings of the Los Angeles Stadium:

​Los Angeles has the most installed solar of any city in America.  Contributing to Sustainable Leadership, The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), will be coal free by 2025.  Los Angeles recently acquired the G2, 42-acre parcel, for $59.3 million.  The G2 parcel is key to the City’s Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan project.

Los Angeles has built 50,000+ units of new housing since 2014 and is on track to meeting it’s goal of 100,000 new housing units by 2021.  This is part of the City’s plan to make rent more affordable.

Record investments are being made in the City of Los Angeles that are sure to affect the rest of the County and beyond.  This is arguably the best time to invest in Los Angeles, find out how by visiting our next live meeting or call our offices at (844) RTA-LAND (782-5263).

​The final key barrier to the Highway 138 beginning construction, the Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS), has been approved and released for public review.

​The more than $2 billion dollar Northwest 138 Corridor improvement, a 36-mile highway, has been in the planning stages for over a decade.  Enhancing this vital roadway, primarily by widening it and adding more lanes, is expected to improve mobility into and out of the Antelope Valley while accommodating foreseeable increases in population and goods movement.  Highway 138 will provide the infrastructure necessary to support current and future population and economic growth.

“What’s good about this project is to make sure it can accommodate what needs to happen 20 to 30 years from now but make improvements today that will allow that to be done in a systematic coordinated manner.” – Tony V. Harris, Professional Engineer, Managing Partner at Point C, LLC

“As traffic grows on this highway, and it is growing, this highway was built for a certain traffic load and obviously it’s gone passed that. It has to be done.  That’s just all there is to it.” –Jan Hellsund, Local Market Owner

​Measure M, the Los Angeles County Traffic Improvement Plan, is a half percent LA County sales tax increase that went into effect July 1st.  Measure M also indefinitely extended the Measure R sales tax increase that was approved in 2008.  Measure M will likely pay for the 138 improvements just as Measure R paid for the 138 EIR/EIS process.  Finally, the critical question, 'how will this multi-billion dollar project be funded?', has an answer...Measure M.

Per a study released by UCLA Anderson School Forecast regarding the taxable sales for Los Angeles County, Metro assumes a county sales tax revenue growth of 3.8% per year through 2040 and 3% thereafter.  Measure M is expected to generate over $100 billion over the next 40 years.

With project approval AND funding in place, smart investors know they must act quickly to seize this opportunity.

It’s common sense to buy commercial development-ready land near a freeway before it is developed and the prices soar.  It’s just not common knowledge on how to do it properly.  Do not wait until it’s too late, attend our next meeting or give me a call at (844) RTA-LAND (782-5263) and I’ll tell you exactly how to best position yourself.

We all know one of the best ways to make money is to get into an industry on the ground floor.  Imagine investing in a gold field at the start of the gold rush or oil rich land at the start of the gusher age…how vastly your personal fortune would differ.  Investing in those areas today are just too expensive and with all the desire and competition to get in, the returns are just not what they once were.  Remember oil is simply energy.  Right now is the beginning of the renewable energy era; energy that never runs out.  Have you invested in high-growth development-ready renewable energy land?  This is the opportunity of your lifetime; seize it.

​California is and has been leading the clean energy movement in the US.  In 2002, California started the most aggressive clean energy mandate in the country, its Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) Program, requiring the state to be 20% renewable by 2017.  The goal required utilities to have 20% of all the energy sold come from renewable sources or they would face steep fines/penalties.  In 2006, California accelerated the 20% goal to 2010, and by 2011 codified into law a new target, 33% renewable by 2020.  
 
Furthermore, in 2015, California added a mandate to be 50% renewable by 2030.  As of today, California is over 27% renewable and on track to meeting the 33% mandate by the end of this decade.  Earlier this year a new bill was introduced and is being circulated for approval that proposes a mandate of 100% renewable by 2045.

​Earlier this month, President Trump backed the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement, a global agreement within the United Nations where 148 countries have agreed to reduce emissions and implement renewable energy goals to mitigate global warming.  President Trump's position is clear, a $2 trillion U.S. investment into clean energy will only cause a 0.2% degree celsius drop in global temperature by the year 2100 which is a poor investment of $2 trillion.  MIT and other sources disagree that the change will only be 0.2% degree Celsius and that the statements President Trump made were not accurate.  
 
California has long been regarded as the nation’s leader in clean energy.  A remarkable, one out of four renewable energy jobs in the nation are in California.  California has decided to step up as a global leader along with New York and Washington.  Together, the states have started a "climate alliance" that will work towards upholding the Paris Agreement and they have been encouraging other states to join.

As a leader in innovation, California is once again introducing new solution; strengthening its soil to help draw more carbon into the ground.  California's Central Valley (CV) is comprised primarily of farmland and is the reason that California is and has been the number one food provider in the U.S. for over 50 years.  In short, the CV has a lot of open land prime for cultivation.  By strengthening the soil in the CV, large quantities of carbon dioxide can be absorbed by plants through photosynthesis.

The main takeaway is that California will continue to be a global leader in renewable energy well into the next couple of decades.  Smart investors are positioning themselves into California areas that have been identified as high-growth renewable energy locations.  These areas have already experienced attractive returns, it's only a matter of time before these areas sky rocket in value.

This is the opportunity of your lifetime.  Get educated on the renewable energy boom, rsvp for our next event.

Several decisions were made during last year’s election – the big one – Measure M goes into effect July 1st, 2017.

Measure M, which voters overwhelmingly passed, will raise the Los Angeles (L.A.) County sales tax by half a percent and extend the Measure R half a percent increase.  Together they will generate $120 billion in transportation projects over the next 40 years and will continue permanently unless voters act to repeal them.

​"The car capital of the world will soon be home to a transit system that is the envy of the world," said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti

Make no mistake, L.A. County is huge, with over 10 million residents L.A. County is more populated than most states.  In fact, there are only 7 states in America that have a population of 10 million or more.

There is no doubt that this authorized injection of massive capital will create real estate booms and hot spots.  We know the Five W’s regarding Measure M…who, what, why.  Knowing the where gives us the opportunity to invest before it happens.  Knowing the when allows us to invest at the right time.

As a professional investor, the more information you know, the more predictable your returns will be.  Measure M is a beautiful harmony of planned, predictable, sustainable, recession-proof growth. 

Recession-proof is important.  Even during a recession people purchase the bare necessities such as water, diapers, etc.  Even during a recession, one percent in sales tax (half a percent for Measure M and half a percent for Measure R) on those bare necessities will make its way into the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) to be spent on only approved transportation projects.

​The L.A. Metro has over the past decade laid out, analyzed, debated, prioritized, and approved key projects.  As funds start pouring in July 1st, although it is possible, do NOT think you will see “Ground Breaking” headlines as they kick off projects all over the county.  Metro isn’t always the best at marketing their efforts.  You have to be intimate with these projects and the Five W’s of each.

We all know the power and dramatic boost in values near newly constructed freeways and highways.  For example, our goal isn’t to just be near the freeways but at the planned exits of those freeways that will serve the fastest growing communities.  This is just one of our many no-brainer, life-changing, Measure M strategies.​

If you want to learn more about how we have successfully helped countless investors to enhance their returns and lower their risks, be sure to visit our next meeting by signing up here.

If you understand that success and speed go hand and hand and you are ready to be a part of the Measure M growth, call my office and ask for me my concierge has been instructed to put all Measure M calls through.  You can reach me at (844) RTA-LAND (782-5263).

Every year we host our RTA Investor's Update Red Carpet Event, where investors come from all over the nation to learn about how their investments have performed and how the area/s they have invested in are forecast to perform in the coming months.  RTA Investors that have had great success are presented with awards for their outstanding achievements.  Here is a short video of some of our key award recipients.

​VIEW IN HD: For best viewing, after starting the video, on the bottom right hand corner click the settings button and adjust the quality to "1080p HD".

The City of Lancaster has partnered with the Antelope Valley Healthcare District (AVHD) to kick-start the building of a mixed-use health district called “Medical Main Street”.  Lancaster and the AVHD have each invested $200,000 with private investors pitching in another $100,000 for a comprehensive master plan with Sargent Town Planning, the same firm the city used to design the Lancaster Auto Mall and the 7-time award-winning downtown transformation project dubbed “The Blvd”.

Centered around the Antelope Valley Hospital, the 360+ acre project will include medical office buildings, assisted-living and/or senior housing, restaurants, condos, a hotel, and retail shopping creating a walkable atmosphere.  So if you’re visiting a loved one in the hospital you have a hotel to stay or if you have a medical condition you can live near the hospital in case of emergency, hospital employees will have places to eat in walking distance, and for everyday living within the Medical Main Street district you won’t need a car.

​The design work is expected to be complete within a year and the project built within 3 to 5 years.

Lancaster council members recently voted 3-0 to approve the Medical Main Street conceptual framework noting the project would create jobs and provide high quality healthcare.  Due to financial interests in the area, Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris and Councilman Ken Mann recused themselves from the vote.  Parris owns property in the area and Mann has a restaurant, Camille’s Sidewalk Cafe.

Congratulations to all of our investors that have seen success over the last 12 months.  Many of you are now adjacent to some of the largest projects in the state if not the country!

VIEW IN HD: For best viewing, after starting the video, on the bottom right hand corner click the settings button and adjust the quality to "1080p HD".