The final home of Marilyn Monroe – and the only residence she ever owned independently – will remain standing for now after Los Angeles officials intervened to block the property’s demolition.
The news that the new owners of 12305 Fifth Helena Drive, where Monroe died at age 36, filed for demolition permits had attracted widespread outrage. Los Angeles city councilwoman Traci Park said she received hundreds of calls urging her to save the Spanish colonial-style house in the city’s Brentwood neighborhood.
“Unfortunately, the department of building and safety issued a demolition permit before my team and I could fully intervene and get this issue resolved,” Park said at a news conference last week, adding that there was a need for “urgent action”.
I completely agree that LLCs, REITs, and institutional investors shouldn’t be able to buy single family homes (and maybe even duplexes), but I don’t know about “housing of any kind.”
Large, multi family units like apartment buildings serve a vital need in the affordable housing market. Private individuals who have the capital to purchase a multi million dollar apartment building aren’t any more likely to be a conscientious landlord than a corporation. At that point, it all boils down to effective enforcement of tenant rights laws.
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Maybe you’re right. But I don’t really bother to try and read too deep into the motivations of any kind of corporation. I assume they’re all primarily motivated by profit. And my point is that individuals who have the capital to buy millions of dollars of real estate are functionally no different from a corporate investor, be it a REIT or a “housing company” motivated solely by “providing service.” They’re all going to do the bare minimum as required by the market to stay competitive and government regulation.