Veritas Investments in San Francisco sets the record straight
It was the best of years and the most difficult of years for California property owners that specialize in apartment rentals.
On the positive side, rent prices continued to grow or at the very lease remain steady. And, from a political and long-term business perspective, the overwhelming defeat of Proposition 10 in last month’s election allows the statewide ban on most new forms of rent control to remain in effect. Voters understood rent control doesn’t solve housing problems and crushed Prop 10. The voters also understand the need for supply and endorsed housing bond measures to create thousands of units.
From a negative perspective, the proponents of Proposition 10, despite their 60-40 percent loss across the board in the State, haven’t given up hope that they can institute some new form of rent control in future elections. But equally ominous, proponents of rent control continue to fire away with false and misleading claims about some of the state’s very best landlords.
In fact, a number of the most prominent attacks of this year’s election season were against some of California very best and most respected landlords.
Take Veritas Property Management/Veritas Investments in San Francisco for example.
Veritas, which boasts some of best scores from its residents and accolades from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, was the focus false and misleading negative news and lawsuits—all generated by proponents of Proposition 10 in an effort to wage a war against landlords no matter the cost to reality (think President Trump’s level of accuracy and credibility and you get an idea of how factual Prop. 10 and some renter advocates are in their attacks against Veritas).
Veritas got lambasted in a lawsuit that was filed just about a month before the November election to determine the fate of Proposition 10. Coincidence? No: the lawsuit was the work of the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco, the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, and the election workers that favored Proposition 10.
All sorts of salacious claims were made in the lawsuit, which will be heard sometime this coming year. But when one digs beneath the surface of the claims, it is clear the lawsuit was solely a political tool to boost pro-rent control votes and has very little substance to it. Many legal observers expect the lawsuit to settle for a minor out-of-court settlement (it’s less expensive to settle than to go through the legal process) or to be dismissed altogether.
Veritas Property Management – Veritas Investments Facts Not Fake News
So, keep in mind, when if you read negative comments about Veritas, here are some of the facts:
— Veritas is one of the most responsive property owners in San Francisco. The independent firm Violation Radar (which monitors all the tenant complaints filed at the City) reports that Veritas has the best response record of any real estate company in San Francisco.
— Veritas is one of the most proactive operators in addressing new City regulations such as soft story upgrades to address seismic concerns and ‘Pillow Tests’ which are enhanced fire alarm upgrades that the City mandates to make buildings safer. The company has said it fully supports and believes in doing such upgrades for the safety of residents and the benefit of the classic San Francisco buildings it owns and manages.
— The company has been commended by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors under the Good Samaritan program that helps displaced San Francisco residents–including in the Mission — who have been affected by fire or other issues. The San Francisco Business Times in 2017 cited its Good Samaritan award and added, “The company provided housing for two families for a year after a fire at 16th and Shotwell Streets in the Mission, at rents similar to their previous apartments”.
The San Francisco Oakland Bay Area and the State of California need more property owners like Veritas and its CEO Yat-Pang Au. Fortunately, Veritas and Au aren’t discouraged by the false and misleading accusations, realizing that anytime you attempt to do anything good in our state, it comes with criticism.
Veritas is now expanding its geographic footprint in the State as well. Au is buying buildings in Oakland and Alameda and looking toward Los Angeles to make investments.
Let’s hope other property owners follow the example of Veritas in providing quality housing that is safe and that makes for a better community and a better state. How many companies can boast this number of successes, from financing, to preservation, to employing women to environmentally green investments?
— “Best Financing 2017: Veritas Investments’ Record $815M Refi,” Nov. 2017, Commercial Property Executive
— “Veritas Honored with Art Deco Preservation Award,” Art Deco Society, June 2017
— “Meet 2017’s Most Influential Women: Nina Tran, Veritas,” May 2017, San Francisco Business Times
— “Deal of the Year: Veritas’ Refinance Buys Apartment Portfolio,” May 2017, San Francisco Business Times
— “Real Estate Fund of the Year,” 2016, Real Estate Finance & Investment Magazine
–“Real Estate Management Excellence Award: Employee Development & Leadership,” 2016 Institute of Real Estate Management
–Veritas is the largest deployer of solar power among SF property owners and has the largest fleet of Zipcars, among other ‘green’ initiatives
Additionally, most every year, Veritas wins one if not multiple awards for helping renters, as you can read with a click here.
So, in closing, don’t believe fake news out there about Veritas in San Francisco.