Hector My Realtor Blog Page

  California’s commercial property investment was dealt a major blow by the global COVID-19 pandemic, though one class was a glaring exception. Industrial development grew in leaps and bounds, perhaps best exemplified in Southern California by enterprises in the Inland Empire region. Yet, a new California law that went into effect on January 1 is threatening to upend that growth if a delicate balance can’t be found in time. It’s called the Planning Logistics and Neighborhood Standards Act. And it pits the state’s housing crisis in direct opposition to its industrial development.  A Law to Combat “Industrial Sprawl”  Photo credit: Envato When the Planning Logistics and Neighborhood Standards Act was first pitched, its overarching goal was straightforward enough. It would be used to address the aggressive industrial development of the region encroaching on suburban residential areas, a phenomenon known as industrial sprawl. But now that the law is...

  Featured image credit: NickCPrior Back in September, we highlighted some of the big changes coming for the Queen Mary Hotel in Long Beach, as well as the Port of Los Angeles as a whole. But with the 117-year-old port now boasting its second most active year of all time, those plans are taking more definitive shape. At a recent press conference, Port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka detailed how the Western hemisphere’s busiest port plans to invest heavily in technology and real estate renovations to reach new heights of revenue generation and eco-friendliness simultaneously.  The Second Biggest Year on Record for the Port of Los Angeles Photo credit: Zzyzx So what does the second biggest year in the Port of Los Angeles’s history look like? Well, 2024 closed with the largest year-over-year gain that the bustling port has recorded. It clocked in at 20% over 2023’s numbers, having transported over 10.3 million shipping containers. Por...

  Featured image credit: Ben Schumin What a year for legendary bands. New wave icons Devo retired from live performance. Rock gods Kiss called it a day. And now Munch’s Make Believe Band is packing it all in… with one notable exception. Wait, you don’t remember Munch’s Make Believe Band? Surely you’ve had the singular experience of gumming your mouth up with processed mozzarella while being serenaded by the official Chuck E. Cheese animatronic band. If not, your chances of experiencing this staple of kinder-rock just narrowed dramatically. Chuck E. Cheese locations across the country are ditching their animatronics for more modern modes of entertainment. But there is one location where the band plays on. And it’s great news for nostalgic Angelenos. The historic Chuck E. Cheese band is taking up a permanent residency in one location and one location only. And it’s in Northridge.  Update – January 2025: The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame is starting 20...

  In a city as diverse as Los Angeles, Black History Month is a special time, offering seemingly countless discussion panels, festivals, live performances, and more to honor Black culture. Putting together a completely comprehensive list of Black History Month events is an impossible task, but we’ve done our best to guide you in the right direction with some stand-outs and personal favorites. Honestly, the offerings for Black History Month 2025 are all pretty stellar, so the real challenge will be figuring out what to sit out.  The 26th Annual Los Angeles Black College Expo Saturday, February 1 9 am – 1 pm SoFi Stadium 1001 Stadium Dr, Inglewood, CA 90301 Photo credit: Black College Expo Our first of the 2025 Black History Month events takes place at SoFi Stadium; a terrible place to see live music but possibly a great place to apply for college? In partnership with Honda’s Battle of the Bands (speaking of live music), the 26th Annual Los Angeles Bla...

  It seems there isn’t a second that passes in the Coachella Valley when Mid-Century designs aren’t celebrated in some way. Yet, Palm Springs still devotes a “week” to Mid-Century Modern styles. That “week” lasts 10 days this year, but it still doesn’t seem like enough time to pack in every event, tour, lecture, and party. It’s Modernism Week. And this year’s Modernism Week Palm Springs event celebrates 20 years of the extravaganza that spotlights art, culture, and, of course, architecture in the beloved Mid-Century Modern aesthetic. So what are we most looking forward to? Where do we begin?  What Can You Expect from This Year’s Modernism Week Palm Springs?  Photo credit: Abbe Rose With over two decades of memories to honor, this year’s annual Modernism Week Palm Springs needed to be big. And with over 350 options to engage with Modernism Week, we’d say there’s no danger of false advertising. You can expect some of the old popular mainstays like the...

  As our neighbors consider rebuilding their homes following the horrifying wildfires that tore through the region just a little over a week into the new year, more and more homeowners are taking careful consideration into what materials and practices build fire-resistant homes. Sadly, a fully fireproof home just isn’t feasible. Otherwise, we may not be going through the ongoing headache of losing the home insurance California brokers keep dropping. But by utilizing fire-resistant building materials and strategies, you can improve your home’s chances of withstanding the destructive rampage of the wildfire seasons to come.  Using Fire-Resistant Building Materials for Resilient Structures Photo credit: Mikeog39 Possibly the most important consideration you can make when attempting to construct a home that’s fire-resistant is the construction of the structure itself. Though it’s initially a more expensive option than a standard wooden skeleton, employing bu...