Remember everyone to vote today try to vote for real estate friendly and the regulation local government this is to protect your long-term interests and the interests of long-term economic development and long-term prosperity Whoever you vote for make sure you do it with your community and your stake in mindCalifornia and a lot of other places on the West Coast and East Coast have become to anti-investor anti-landlord.

Most agents choose a brokerage based on the following criteria: culture, economic structure, technology, training, and support.

-Number of Lots(I'm guessing around 80-100), number of POH, vacancy and economic vacancy. 

Unlike Texas, Florida and other economically vibrant states (like Washington), your purchase price is very high.

I am going to start a significant remodel of my house in Santa Monica and wanted to maximize all possible rebates, grants or energy rebates that are available for new roofs, windows, appliances, insulation, landscaping..ect.I have a basic list (local municipality and appliance rebates) but didn't know if there was anything that I was missing or didn't know about...possibly other agencies?

Generally speaking it takes about 8-12 years for an area that is reeling from economic struggles to recover, unless there is an influx of new businesses or a new industry coming to the area.

My thoughts are based on my experience Selling/Managing Residential Real Estate and my research/observations into the field of Real Estate Investing.If you are interested in Real Estate Investing I would suggest you research the different types of Real Estate Investment types and find the type that matches your budget, experience, goals, risk tolerance and energy requirements (among other self selected criteria).

Better yet, instead of concentrating on this commission perhaps spend more energy working on your next sale or existing ones.

However, I often find myself thinking that there is more opportunity out there for me to be had, and real estate has always intrigued me and I have invested a ton of time and energy into learning as much about the business as possible. 

I've generally pushed rents up about 5% to 7% from last year, but didn't get much increase for a couple years before that. if I do appearance and energy upgrades I get superior rent for the neighborhood.The precise location of your building will impact your ability to increase rent.