Spotlight

EBRHA MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: GABRIEL GALIOTHE

Q. What do you think about current property ownership challenges (e.g., eviction moratorium) and how to solve them?

A. The eviction moratorium, rent control in general, deferred maintenance, and the City of Oakland Permit system, just to name a few.

Q. You recently joined EBRHA, what prompted your membership?

A. I was always familiar with the group from my main job as a Commercial Real Estate Agent focused on apartments. I’ve had my clients reach out to the group when they looked for examples of applications, credit-check sites or vendors to help with their vacant units and how to handle situations with renters. I am familiar with a similar group out of San Francisco for small apartment owners so I was happy to see there is a group that does the same thing for the East Bay. Since I live in Oakland and want to invest in Oakland and surrounding areas, I knew once I started investing, I had to join to become an active member. In 2022, we purchased our first investment property to move into one unit and rent the others. My parents own rentals, my sister just purchased a duplex, and my brother is actively looking as well.

People are taking advantage of the moratorium because they can’t be evicted right now. Oakland is very careful about this issue because of the homeless issue in the Bay Area. Leaders don’t want more people to end up on the street. But, I don’t think it’s fair to make property owners take on the task to solve Oakland’s homeless problem – especially when these issues are happening more with small apartment owners and not on the same level for the new high-rise downtown corporate owners.

Plus, owners didn’t see much relief from the city with payment for non-paying renters. Then the money ran out. Once that happened, owners started to pick and choose repairs, going with a cheaper vendor just to make ends meet instead of someone they know will get the job done.

Of course, I don’t want to wait to see renters who fell on hard times end up on the street. But, it has been very obvious that some renters are taking advantage of the system. Property owners could not even apply for the rent relief, because in order to get relief you can’t have a job and renters were lying. You would hope people would have some kind of honor, but it is just not so!

With the permit system, the response and urgency from the city needs to improve. It is dangerous for contractors to do certain jobs without permits. But when it takes six months to a year just to get response for a job, owners are deciding to do remodels and jobs unwarranted. Some feel like it’s a money-grab. For my duplex, it took seven months to get my permits in hand. I just wanted to take a wall down that split the kitchen from the living room, and I had some fire damage to one unit. I had a rep not respond to me via email or phone because they went on vacation for three weeks. Nobody covered her while she was out.

With rent control, to keep it short, it seems like everything else has suffered from inflation, but when it comes to rental units, they limit how much you can raise rents for renters, even though increases are needed to keep the upkeep of the property and taxes.

Q. You’re a fairly young man in this regional industry where most owners are more mature. What kind of fresh perspective do you bring to the business?

A. Accepting technology: On both sides of the business, using property management software to automate rent collection and maintenance requests or using smart home technology to remotely monitor and control property access and security.

Pets: A lot of renters want pets and love pets. More than half of the owners don’t accept pets. People are willing to pay more for pet deposits and pet rents. I would rather that happen than someone sneaking a dog in anyway.

Using eco-friendly materials in renovations or installing energy-efficient appliances and systems. Not only can these practices help reduce the property’s environmental footprint, but they may also save on utility costs and appeal to environmentally conscious renters. Flexible lease terms: Shorter terms or even Airbnb are great options for management to stay on top of a new renter turning into a long-term renters. Or, if you have family that likes to visit, like my wife's family being mostly from Boston, an Airbnb unit would be great for when they come to visit or for renters when they are not in town.

Q. What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned about property ownership thus far?

A. Always plan ahead and prepare for the worst-case scenario. Have reserves for a rainy day or hurricane. Talk to people who have done it already. They will know how to navigate certain things in the business. The more you talk to different people, the more they can possibly help. People love talking about their trophies. They love giving you a referral for a contractor. Sometimes they can see themselves in me. They know how it was trying to buy their first property and what it took to pull the trigger. Also, some wish they would have started sooner. So me being 34 when I bought my first property, they see me as taking advantage of the opportunity of what property ownership can bring.