WE SEND A LETTER TO THE OC REGISTER
Editor OC REGISTER:
Re: "Costa Mesa opens up arrest log," Local 1, Saturday, Jan. 27.07, by Kimberly Edds
Dear Editor:
In your story about the Costa Mesa police department starting to report whether or not arrestees are illegal aliens or not, we read this from Paty Madueno of the Orange Country Congregational Community Organization: "Should we have our paperwork with us? People want to know that if I look Hispanic, should I have my paperwork with me all the time?"
How silly. Why should Hispanics carry driver's licenses or have proof of auto insurance or have auto registrations like the rest of us?
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CONDOMINIUM CONVERSIONS THAT AREN'T WHAT THEY APPEAR TO BE ?
As most readers of the CM PRESS know, many improvers believe that one of the ways to improve Costa Mesa is by increasing home ownership. With this in mind, many improvers have supported the conversion of existing tri-plexes, four-plexes, apartments and even industrial units into condos and have spoken in favor of such conversions at public meetings.
Remember, a condominium is not an architectual style or type of building. It is a building or complex in which units of property, such as apartments, are owned by individuals and common parts of the property, such as the grounds and the building structure are owned jointly by the unit owners.
So, when, say, an apartment building is converted over to condos, the former apartments are, in theory, no longer occupied by renters but by owners. And, it's a long established truism in real estate that when one owns real estate, one is more concerned with the property and the city in which it sits, which would be good for Costa Mesa.
Recently, however, the CM PRESS was contacted by an improver who believes that some of the condo conversions in the city are being done for tax or other purposes and that the original owners of what were rental units often continue to own all or a majority of the condos after the conversion and just continue to rent them out as before.
So, instead of the City getting more condo owners, which is desirable and would help improve our city, we're just getting the same old apartments that are called condos on paper, but nothing has really changed to improve the city.
If the improver who contacted us is correct, and if the City Council truly wants to start the evolution of Costa Mesa to a city with a better balance of owners vs. renters (Our present upside down ratio is appx. 60 per cent renters vs. 40 per cent owners. And,these figures should be just the opposite), then it has to ensure that when it approves condo conversions, the units are really going to be sold on the open market and not still be owned by the original owner.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.
As most readers of the CM PRESS know, many improvers believe that one of the ways to improve Costa Mesa is by increasing home ownership. With this in mind, many improvers have supported the conversion of existing tri-plexes, four-plexes, apartments and even industrial units into condos and have spoken in favor of such conversions at public meetings.
Remember, a condominium is not an architectual style or type of building. It is a building or complex in which units of property, such as apartments, are owned by individuals and common parts of the property, such as the grounds and the building structure are owned jointly by the unit owners.
So, when, say, an apartment building is converted over to condos, the former apartments are, in theory, no longer occupied by renters but by owners. And, it's a long established truism in real estate that when one owns real estate, one is more concerned with the property and the city in which it sits, which would be good for Costa Mesa.
Recently, however, the CM PRESS was contacted by an improver who believes that some of the condo conversions in the city are being done for tax or other purposes and that the original owners of what were rental units often continue to own all or a majority of the condos after the conversion and just continue to rent them out as before.
So, instead of the City getting more condo owners, which is desirable and would help improve our city, we're just getting the same old apartments that are called condos on paper, but nothing has really changed to improve the city.
Thus...
If the improver who contacted us is correct, and if the City Council truly wants to start the evolution of Costa Mesa to a city with a better balance of owners vs. renters (Our present upside down ratio is appx. 60 per cent renters vs. 40 per cent owners. And,these figures should be just the opposite), then it has to ensure that when it approves condo conversions, the units are really going to be sold on the open market and not still be owned by the original owner.
# # #
Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.
