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The proposal to allow fourplexes in neighborhoods zoned exclusively for single-family homes was incorporated into SB 50 from a bill authored by Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg. In addition to new zoning requirements, SB50 would bring other sweeping changes to housing and development in the state. As drafted, it allows heavier density around rail, bus and ferry routes, with taller buildings and apartments along busy traffic corridors. Those provisions also have drawn criticism. Proponents say loosening restrictions on single-family zoning could be a gradual, effective way to add housing. The bill makes it easier for builders to turn vacant lots and abandoned buildings into apartments and condos with up to four units, as long as construction conforms to height, size and design guidelines in the neighborhood. The bill also allows property owners to convert existing homes into multi-unit buildings as long as they keep 75 percent of the exterior walls in place and abide by local restrictions. Single-family home conversions may not add more than 15 percent to a building’s size.

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New York Times: California Has a Housing Crisis. The Answer Is More Housing

MSN: How single-family garages can ease California's housing crisis

Thanks to student loan debt, rising rents and stagnant wages, more millennials are living at home with their parents than at any other point this century.More than one in five adults, or 22 percent of millennial Americans, are either staying home or returning to childhood bedrooms, according to Zillow. That number has been increasing steadily for the past two decades, and it's nearly doubled to about 22 percent of people ages 23 to 37 now living with their folks from 11.7 percent of people the same ages back in 2001. While it's easy to point fingers at the "boomerang" generation, experts say the reasons behind returning home for adults in this generation are due to more than a failure to "adult." More millennials hold jobs than they did directly in the aftermath of the financial crisis, indicating that millennials are struggling to afford homes even as the economy recovers. Student loan debt has risen, housing costs have skyrocketed, and wages have stagnated — though the last is recently showing some signs of relief.

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Orange County Register: Where will Southern California house 2.76 million millennial homebuyers?

Work on the multi-phase project is expected to begin as early as 2021, with a hotel and creative office space. When complete in 2033, the Promenade will contain 5,610 parking spaces, 572 hotel rooms, 629,000 square feet of office space, and 244,000 square feet of restaurants and shops. Buildings on the site will range between one and 28 stories tall... Details on the venue are not entirely clear. The size is not finalized, but it could be as large as 15,000 seats—4,000 seats smaller than the Staples Center. And it still hasn’t been determined if the venue will be used for sports or live music or something entirely different. Depending on the structure’s ultimate use, it is also unclear whether it would be enclosed by a roof or remain open-air. Representatives for the Promenade say the venue would be a big bonus. “How great will it be for residents not to have to drive to Downtown or Inglewood for a high-quality entertainment and sporting experience?” said Green.

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When you apply for a loan, the lender will require the answers to certain questions and for you to provide specific documents. This is to make certain you’re put into the correct loan product, FHA, VA, Conventional, or other.

1. What is the selling price and address of the home you’ve chosen? Provide a copy of the signed purchase agreement, if applicable.
2. How much money are you planning to use as a down-payment?
3. Where does the down-payment originate? Is it from savings, a gift or a loan?
4. How long do you plan to occupy your new home? The lender will show you appropriate loan products between fixed rates, adjustable rates or a hybrid of the two.
5. What is your anticipated closing date?

In addition, all lenders will require the following documentation:

• Your Social Security number, to run your credit scores
• Your address and contact information for your employer of the past two years
• W-2s for the past two years and current paycheck stubs
• Bank and savings information, including printed bank statements for the past six months
• Revolving debt and loan accounts, and monthly obligations such as child support.
• Personal assets such as a stock portfolio, CDs, other property, and 401ks.
• Certificate of Eligibility and DD-214 (for veterans only)
• Tax returns with 1099s for the past two years and current balance sheet for self-employed applicants

If you haven’t chosen a home yet, getting preapproved in advance will save you a lot of time and guesswork.

Realtor.com video: How Long Does It Take to Improve Your Credit Score Enough to Buy a Home? (5/10/19)

The shelter will be constructed at a former bus lot owned by Metro and will hold 154 beds for those now living on streets and sidewalks in the area. “I am enormously grateful that the Superior Court rejected the effort to halt progress on bridge housing in Venice,” said Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin in a statement Friday. “No one deserves to live on a sidewalk, and no one deserves to have encampments in their neighborhood.” Bonin said the project’s timeline will be updated next week, now that a ruling has been made on the injunction. His spokesperson, David Graham-Caso, tells Curbed that the shelter will likely open in late summer or early fall. The temporary housing is part of Mayor Eric Garcetti’s A Bridge Home initiative, launched last year to accommodate members of the city’s largest-in-the-nation population of residents living without shelter. City leaders say the program, which has so far produced four shelters, provides badly needed badly needed short-term housing for those waiting on permanent residences, at the same time connecting them to resources like case management and healthcare.

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Last week, University of Southern California-affiliated news outlet Crosstown reported that typical rush-hour speeds had slowed on 31 of 52 LA-area freeway segments in the last four years. On the 405, trips aren’t just getting longer during morning and afternoon rushes. For four years, from 2015 to 2019, Inrix measured the length of commutes along the widened stretch of the 405 during a four-week period between January and February. In that time, average commutes in both the north and southbound directions worsened or stayed the same during all hours of the day. Average vehicle speeds also dropped or stayed the same during both peak- and non-peak-hour periods. Drivers traveling north between 3 and 4 p.m. experience the most additional delay, with average speeds having dropped from 28 miles per hour in 2015 to 19 miles per hour in 2019. The result of that is an almost 50 percent increase in total travel time, from 23 minutes in 2015 to 34 minutes in 2019. In peak traffic, vehicle speeds average just 14 miles per hour, making for commutes longer than 45 minutes in the northbound lanes.

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