Muhammad Alameldin
@muhammadspeaks.bsky.social
Director of Growth, California YIMBY. Boardmember: Casita Coalition & First Congregational Memorial Tower. Advisor to Student Homes. They call me "The Condo Guy"
We need YOU to call YOUR representative in support of AB 1903 - construction defect reform. This is not a drill… cayimby.org/legislation/...
AB 1903: Housing Construction Defect Reform
AB 1903 will tighten the standards that determine when lawyers can file lawsuits for defects in new for-sale condo projects. The stricter standards will reduce housing costs and increase opportunities...
cayimby.org
One of the most hopeful things I see in government at all levels is these strengthening bills. California has done a fantastic job with ADUs because a team of experts is listening and helping lawmakers refine. I think this shows competence and dedication to solving problems by lawmakers.
Muhammad Alameldin@muhammadspeaks.bsky.social · 2d agoSB 1116 is one of the most important homeownership bills this century. It’s now heading to the Governor’s desk. Amazing job @mnolangray.bsky.social , @maxdubler.com, Sosan, and so many others to get this through. Shout out Senator Caballero and her staff. God this feels amazing.
SB 1116 is one of the most important homeownership bills this century. It’s now heading to the Governor’s desk. Amazing job @mnolangray.bsky.social , @maxdubler.com, Sosan, and so many others to get this through. Shout out Senator Caballero and her staff. God this feels amazing.
When it comes to legalizing missing middle housing, the details matter. In Sacramento, as in many other cities, overly restrictive massing/design rules have resulted in few units getting built. My latest over on Substack: mnolangray.substack.com/p/whos-afrai...
Who’s Afraid of An Exterior Stairway?
When it comes to legalizing missing middle, the devil is in the details.
mnolangray.substack.com
Some local governments, like Hayward, CA, refuse to approve new housing projects (even townhouses) unless every home in the project is enrolled in a homeowners’ association (HOA). It’s a back door way to impose regulations the city can’t legally impose, such as minimum parking mandates near transit.
Muhammad Alameldin@muhammadspeaks.bsky.social · 3w agoHOAs pay a federal tax of 30% on interest on their reserve funds. The 30% rate comes from a 50-year old tax bill. This tax rate has depraved HOAs of money that would have grown and compounded to help fund needed repairs. This change would need a bill passed by Congress to reform.
HOAs pay a federal tax of 30% on interest on their reserve funds. The 30% rate comes from a 50-year old tax bill. This tax rate has depraved HOAs of money that would have grown and compounded to help fund needed repairs. This change would need a bill passed by Congress to reform.
Friends keep texting me about how rents are skyrocketing in Oakland and San Francisco. Barely any vacancies in these downtown new builds now. Amazing how the market changes in less than a year.
What's next after zoning reform? California YIMBY's @edmendoza.bsky.social and @muhammadspeaks.bsky.social join Tahra Hoops to chat about construction-defect reform, pre-sale financing, building codes, elevators, and the next frontier in housing policy. www.therebuild.pub/p/from-the-i...
From the Inheritance Economy to the Homeownership Ladder
The Rebuild Conversation with Muhammad Alameldin and Eduardo Mendoza
therebuild.pub
@buffywicks.bsky.social is doing a fantastic job explaining construction defect reform. Thank you for your leadership!
I'm the author of ACA 22. I'm also adamantly opposed to it. That deserves an explanation – so I want to tell you what went down w/the ACA, and the fight over transfer taxes & the Taxpayer Protection Act. 👇
That's why I'm opposing “my own” measure. The emergency that led to its creation is over. Now, voters have the final say. I'm asking them to vote NO on ACA 22.
But here's the important part: Just because ACA 22 got the more dangerous measure off the ballot *doesn't* mean ACA 22 should pass on the ballot. You should vote No on ACA 22.
Michael Tubbs, founder of End Poverty in California, makes the case for AB 1903 - construction defect reform: www.golden-state.org/one-law-is-k...
This law is killing California condo building. Here's how to fix it
Developers have stopped building starter homes in California over fears of lawsuits for fixable construction defects. The Legislature has the solution before it.
golden-state.org
Tragically, this tweet that I wrote 6 (!) years ago is even more true today than it was then
NEW RAND STUDY A 25-percent impact fee reduction would enable more than 350 additional housing projects / 9,000 new units across SF, LA, SD, and Palo Alto. Forgone fee revenue from a 25-percent reduction is offset by property and sales tax gains within 4-7 years. www.rand.org/pubs/researc...
Understanding How Impact Fees Shape Housing Development Feasibility
As California cities face growing pressure to build more housing, high development costs remain a major barrier. RAND researchers examines whether reducing impact fees could help make more housing pro...
rand.org
People have worked YEARS to get ROAD to Housing to the White House. This is life/changing legislation that is being held up by the most insane president ever.
FinTwitter@fintwitter.bsky.social · 2mo agoTRUMP CANCELS HOUSING EVENT President Trump announced the cancellation of today’s housing news conference and bill-signing ceremony. He said the event will remain on hold until Congress passes the SAVE AMERICA ACT, which he described as a national emergency priority.
A 2002 CA construction-defect law made condo insurance 3-4x more expensive than for apartments, collapsing output and shrinking ownership options for working Californians. AB 1903 aims to reform those liability rules. Read more: www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...
Continuing to catch California construction defect legislation vertical videos on my occasional peruse of LinkedIn. @muhammadspeaks.bsky.social
Transfer tax deal is live. It’s going to be a fun 72 hours! leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNa...
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
Muhammad Alameldin@muhammadspeaks.bsky.social · 3mo ago🧵 Thread: California is about to have a massive fight over taxes, housing, and democracy itself. Here's what's at stake and why the legislature needs to cut a deal by mid-June.
Sometimes when you fly between the Bay Area and San Diego, the plane is routed and is just high enough to view the whole California Coast. It’s the PCH, but in the sky.
New housing being expensive doesn’t keep me up at night. Old housing being expensive does.
In YIMBY housing advocacy, you get called a gentrifier. A developershill. A communist! Today at SD City Council presentation, @muhammadspeaks.bsky.social was called a "demon-possessed freemason."
@cayimby.bsky.social is advocating for a transfer tax deal. See what’s at stake with @hanlon.bsky.social’s piece in Calmatters. calmatters.org/commentary/2...
Opinion | This anti-tax ballot measure could sap local housing funds. California lawmakers need to act
An anti-tax backlash resulted in a November ballot measure that could hamstring the finances of every jurisdiction in California.
calmatters.org
Developers reached out to me with this lost sense that almost eliminating transfer taxes would be good for home production. They seem to miss that if upland is reversed and transfer taxes are gone, the only way cities can realistically raise revenue would be to significantly increase impact fees.
Muhammad Alameldin@muhammadspeaks.bsky.social · 3mo ago🧵 Thread: California is about to have a massive fight over taxes, housing, and democracy itself. Here's what's at stake and why the legislature needs to cut a deal by mid-June.
18 months for the first SB 684 project to get to construction. All 4 units will be installed in one day. 1 month to get everything else ready for new homeowners to move in. SB 684/SB 1124 is one of our best state housing laws. This is a great moment and also a reminder that we will do better.
E24-24, my proposal to raise the IBC’s single-stair apartment building height limit from three stories to four, has passed the final membership vote, and will now officially make it into the 2027 IBC 🎉
The fact that small scale real estate investors who flip $500k starter homes into $2 million McMansions are NOT required to provide subsidized housing for poor people but the investors who flip the same homes into ten $650,000 townhomes ARE is such an indictment of California housing policy.
This explains why it’s advantageous to tear down a home instead of building on vacant land. The system rewards demolishing 1 home to build 1 much nicer home. But we do not allow developers to use these SAME advantages to build 4-6 homes on the same lot. Demolition restrictions kill dreams.
