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Apache is functioning normally

California would like to crack down on a type of trust that lets the very wealthy avoid state income and federal gift taxes. And the Golden State is not alone: A number of state officials have taken aim at the loophole, known as an incomplete non-grantor trust (ING). In its 2023 budget proposal, the administration of Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed banning the trust.

New York state passed a similar law in 2014, and the idea has begun picking up steam in states that have seen many of their wealthiest citizens use INGs to avoid taxes. Below we dive deeper into the controversy – and explain how an ING trust works.

You can work with a financial advisor to lower your tax bill.

California Wants to Ban ING Trusts

Naturally, high-income, high-tax states have a lot to lose from tax loopholes on the wealthy. These trusts have also come under fire from some tax policy analysts, who cite it – alongside the carried interest loophole – as a substantial tax-avoidance practice employed by the very wealthy. This criticism is sharpened by the fact that an ING trust is only particularly useful to someone seeking to avoid the gift tax, which does not apply until a taxpayer has transferred roughly $13 million in total assets.

In 2014, New York state banned the use of ING trusts to avoid state taxes. They did this by redefining what New York state considers a grantor and non-grantor trust. Specifically, it updated its income tax laws to include any income generated by a non-grantor trust funded by an incomplete gift. (While this contradicts the IRS interpretation of the matter, because this law applies only to taxes in the state of New York it has not run afoul of any supremacy clause issues.)

California would like to follow New York’s lead. Under Newsom’s proposal, the state would update its own tax laws based on the Empire State’s model. It would stop using the IRS definition of incomplete gifts and would instead set its own definitions for when a taxpayer has made a complete transfer of assets. As proposed, this change would apply to California residents, which could leave an open question regarding non-resident taxpayers. Legislators would have to resolve that issue when drafting the actual law.

This proposal “which would be effective beginning in tax year 2023, is projected to increase tax revenues by $30 million in 2023-24 and by $17 million annually thereafter,” according to a state news release. At time of writing, this remained in the governor’s proposed budget. However, the legislature appears to have omitted this issue from the text of the budget itself, which is scheduled for a vote later this week.

What Is an ING Trust?

An incomplete-non grantor trust is a specialized form of trust designed to shift the tax base of its assets. If properly created, it allows the creator to pay no state taxes on the assets they put in trust while also paying no federal gift taxes on the underlying transfer. Given the high IRS cap on gift taxes, an ING, which is a self-settled irrevocable trust, is typically only useful for taxpayers with a very high net worth.

To understand how this works, we need to look at the nature of trusts.

A trust is a legal entity set up to hold, manage and distribute assets. Every trust has three (or more) main parties to it:

  • The Grantor – The person or persons creating the trust and putting assets in it
  • The Trustee – The person or firm who manages and distributes the trust’s assets
  • The Beneficiary – The person or persons getting assets from the trust

When you create a trust, you set its terms. This means you can identify who the trustee and beneficiaries will be, how and when its assets will be distributed, and any other rules for how the entity should work. The trust then becomes an independent third party that can legally own, control and distribute its assets.

While there are many kinds of trusts, there are two broad categories for tax purposes: grantor and non-grantor trust.

Grantor Trusts

A grantor trust is one in which you, as the grantor, maintain some measure of control over the assets in trust. For example, you might allow yourself to take assets out of the trust. Or you may retain the right to change the trust’s beneficiaries or rules, to take loans from the trust, or collect its investment income. However you do it, if you keep a meaningful measure of ownership or control over the trust’s assets, the entity is considered a grantor trust.

With a grantor trust, you pay the trust’s taxes. The assets are still considered functionally yours, so any income or capital gains that the trust generates are reported on your taxes.

Non-Grantor Trusts

A non-grantor trust is one in which you, as the grantor, have no meaningful control over the assets in trust. While you might retain some de minimis connection, you have made a complete gift of the assets to the trust. Any trust that is not considered a grantor trust is a non-grantor trust.

With a non-grantor trust, you pay any applicable gift taxes at the time of your transfer. Then, as the full owner of the underlying assets, the trust itself pays all applicable income and capital gains taxes.

Incomplete Non-Grantor Trusts

An ING is a type of trust designed to thread the needle between these two categories. It is a non-grantor trust, which moves the tax burden of the trust’s assets onto the trust itself. However, it is funded with a legally incomplete gift, which allows the grantor to avoid federal gift taxes while maintaining a measure of control over the assets.

Grantors take three basic steps to set up an ING trust:

  1. Create a trust that is legally based in a state with no taxes on income and capital gains. This effectively nullifies state taxes the trust would otherwise be liable for. Keep in mind, this will not affect the trust’s federal income tax status.
  2. Fund the trust as a non-grantor trust. This shifts the tax base of any assets to the trust itself, which pays the taxes of the state in which it is based (thanks to step one, this will be zero). To do this the grantor must fund the trust with a gift that effectively relinquishes control and ownership of their assets to the trust.
  3. Structure the gift as a defective transfer. This is where an ING gets tricky. By carefully wording the asset transfer, you can structure it as complete enough to qualify for non-grantor trust status yet not complete enough for the IRS to consider it a taxable gift. This is typically done by transferring almost all ownership rights to the underlying assets, but still retaining some narrow, specific measure of control over them. A financial advisor can help guide you.

If properly structured, you will have created a non-grantor trust that assumes all the tax liability for its assets without paying gift taxes on the assets you transfer in. Since the trust is based in a tax-haven state, it will owe no state taxes on the income and capital gains that it generates, while leaving you a small measure of control over how those assets are managed.

Bottom Line

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed closing a tax loophole known as the incomplete non-grantor trust. This is a structure used by the very wealthy to avoid paying state income taxes and federal gift taxes, and which may soon be less available than it was before.

Estate Tax Planning Tips

  • A financial advisor with estate planning experience can help you plan for the future, including how to minimize future tax bills. Finding a financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
  • There are grantor trusts and non-grantor trusts. There are also revocable and irrevocable trusts, intentionally defective grantor trusts, lifetime trusts, testamentary trusts and many more. Let’s take a look at which, if any, are right for you.

Photo credit: ©iStock.com/rarrarorro, ©iStock.com/Andrii Yalanskyi, ©iStock.com/EXTREME-PHOTOGRAPHER

Eric Reed
Eric Reed is a freelance journalist who specializes in economics, policy and global issues, with substantial coverage of finance and personal finance. He has contributed to outlets including The Street, CNBC, Glassdoor and Consumer Reports. Eric’s work focuses on the human impact of abstract issues, emphasizing analytical journalism that helps readers more fully understand their world and their money. He has reported from more than a dozen countries, with datelines that include Sao Paolo, Brazil; Phnom Penh, Cambodia; and Athens, Greece. A former attorney, before becoming a journalist Eric worked in securities litigation and white collar criminal defense with a pro bono specialty in human trafficking issues. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School and can be found any given Saturday in the fall cheering on his Wolverines.

Source: smartasset.com

Apache is functioning normally

Six months ago, Los Angeles County leaders signed off on an unprecedented transaction: They would return two parcels of beachfront property in Manhattan Beach to the Bruce family, the first example of the government giving back land to a Black family after acknowledging it had been stolen.

On Tuesday, the county announced a surprise twist in the historic deal: The family would sell the Bruce’s Beach property back to the county for nearly $20 million.

In the early 1900s, Willa and Charles Bruce were pushed out of a bustling resort they had built, beloved by the area’s Black community. The Ku Klux Klan, along with other white residents of the area, plotted to drive the family away and city officials later condemned their property in 1924 through eminent domain, claiming they needed the lots for a park. The family’s resort was demolished, and the Bruce family moved away. The park would not be built for decades.

In an effort to “right the wrongs of the past,” the board made the momentous decision in June to return the Manhattan Beach land to the descendants of the Bruces, a move celebrated nationally by reparation advocates.

As part of the agreement, Bruce family members had a two-year window in which they could require the county to buy back the property from them. They have decided to do just that.

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Attorney George Fatheree, who represents the family, said in an interview the sale was not unexpected and the family had always wanted to have the option to sell the property back to the county. He emphasized the sale was still a victory for the Bruce descendants, who would no longer have the land their grandparents were robbed of but instead the money they should have inherited.

For the record:

11:39 a.m. Jan. 8, 2023An earlier version of this story incorrectly quoted a remark from attorney George Fatheree. He said, “What the property represented was the ability to create and preserve and grow and pass down generational wealth,” not “the ability to create and preserve and group.”

“What was stolen from the family was the property, but what the property represented was the ability to create and preserve and grow and pass down generational wealth. And by allowing the family now to have certainty in selling this property to the county, taking the proceeds of that sale, and investing it in their own futures — that’s restoring some of what the family lost,” Fatheree said. “I think we all need to respect the family’s decision to know what’s in its best interest.”

Fatheree said multiple factors contributed to the family’s decision. For one, he said, none of the descendants live in Southern California, and they were in stages of their life where they wanted money to invest.

He also said the land was not zoned for development, and the family members were wary of the years-long permitting fight they would need to wage if they wanted to start building.

“At the end of the day, what the family was very focused on was certainty and being able to access the proceeds of the sale,” he said.

County Board of Supervisors Chair Janice Hahn, who helped initiate the transfer, similarly characterized the sale not as an abrupt change, but as an example of reparations at work.

“They feel what is best for them is selling this property back to the county for nearly $20 million and finally rebuilding the generational wealth they were denied for nearly a century,” Hahn said in a statement. “This is what reparations look like and it is a model that I hope governments across the country will follow.”

The transfer of the property last year was hailed by some as a potential turning point in a nation with a long history of confiscating land from racial minorities, blocking them from the generational wealth that white residents enjoyed. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who signed Senate Bill 796 into law allowing the county to make the transfer, called the deal “catalytic.”

State Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), who authored SB 796, said he supported the Bruces’ decision, framing the sale as the logical move given zoning requirements he said barred the family from fully developing the property. Currently, he said, it’s zoned only for public use.

“It’s bittersweet. I’m excited about the fact that the family can reap some monetary benefit from property that should have been in their family for 100 years had it not been stolen, but it’s disappointing that the family came to the conclusion of having to sell the property because they saw no long-term financial benefit,” he said. “I think they just saw the writing on the wall and said, ‘Hey, we might as well sell it right now while the market’s good.’”

Though surprising to some who cheered the Bruce’s Beach transfer as a rare reparations success story, a sale back to the county has always been an option. The transfer agreement the two parties hashed out last summer contained a two-year window in which the family could require the county to buy the land back for the value of the property — roughly $20 million. The county said in a statement the buyout option was put in the agreement at the family’s request.

A county team that worked alongside an attorney for the Bruce family conducted an economic analysis to determine the property’s value.

The county maintains a lifeguard training facility on the property. Since the property was transferred last summer, the county had been leasing it from the Bruces for $413,000 a year.

The parties have until the end of January to close the sale, according to Fatheree.

Source: latimes.com

Apache is functioning normally

I was tired of fighting with mortgage lenders about self-employment income, high-interest rates, and dealing with scarce inventory that fit our family’s needs. We decided to rent a bigger home. I was beyond done. It wasn’t meant to be. The awards for entrepreneurship did not extend to quickly buying a home.

My wife found a home with motivated owners due to a divorce. They had only lived there nine months and needed to make a move. The best way to say it is that the price point didn’t accommodate the rising interest rate environment, and they were open to many options.

I discussed rent-to-own options, and finally, she said the magic words: “They would even make an assumption – they don’t need to make money on the deal.”

My father had been diagnosed with stage four liver failure at that time, and we were aggressively looking for a home so he could move in with my family. He had been working full-time, despite the immense pain and turmoil he experienced daily.

To overcome the disparity in my income, my father agreed to be our co-borrower on the mortgage assumption application. This was ideal because he was also moving in with us.

I quickly applied with our names, and our combined income was approved. We agreed on a final sale price and were off to the races.

I have been in the mortgage industry for nine years, with my loan officer in the industry for 19 years and my Realtor for over 10 years. While all parties knew this option existed, none of us had ever participated in a real mortgage assumption transaction. I had written a dozen or so mortgage assumption content pieces for various mortgage lenders and realtors, but have never seen a single deal shake out.

Everyone was in for a new experience, and here are the things we learned almost immediately.

Assuming a VA loan

I have nothing but the utmost respect for everyone serving in the military. I have several family members on active duty; this is a sacrifice, and veterans deserve every benefit possible.

Veterans Affairs (VA) mortgage loans can be an excellent product for veterans. VA loans can be assumed by anyone, and the new borrower assumes those benefits. You do not have to be a veteran to assume a VA loan.

I am not a veteran, but I did assume a VA mortgage.

Minimum timeline of 12 months

The sellers had only lived in the home for nine months. To make a mortgage assumption, you must live in the home for 12 months. To move my father in, we opted to rent the house for the remainder of the three months. Ideally, these types of loans can close in 30-45 days from application.

Assume everything

You assume everything about the loan. The focus, of course, will be the mortgage rate, which is almost half what the current market mortgage rates are today. In addition, I received the existing escrow account as well.

However, for some reason, you must pay property insurance up front for a year. Still, these small concessions and fees pale compared to what we’d have to pay if we bought a home traditionally in this high-rate environment.

The price difference

Homeowners at certain price points may need help to sell their homes in this high-rate environment. In our case, we agreed to pay the list price and the difference between the remaining loan and the list price. They had only been there nine months, and the price they bought was the same as the price they listed. So, we didn’t have much to cover.

We paid nothing down and very few fees. Hypothetically, if a homeowner lives in a home for several years, this would be an incredible option for a borrower to cover the difference and receive a mortgage rate that is potentially almost half of the current market rate.

My father grew extremely ill in the weeks leading up to moving in and passed away seven days before we took occupancy. I had to reconfigure my taxes to show income qualifying for the mortgage payment we would soon take over. If my father hadn’t stepped up, we wouldn’t have had a chance to secure the deal of a lifetime.

Three months later, at the closing table, clasping a picture of my father, I went through a traditional mortgage loan closing. The 20+ mortgage title professional had never closed a mortgage assumption in his entire career.

Were we lucky? Maybe a little bit. It was a culmination of luck, mortgage knowledge, and timing.

When going through my father’s stuff after he passed, we found a New Year’s letter from one of those television evangelists he had subscribed to. The letter spewed about affirmations and claiming victories in your life. On that piece of paper, my father wrote down our new address. So maybe it was that.

We live in a weird market. The demand to buy a home has remained strong. As mortgage and real estate professionals, we must continuously educate and inform our clients about every opportunity that may exist.

Mortgage assumptions seem to be the Bigfoot of our industry, but they exist and are a viable option for thousands of home sellers and borrowers. I would recommend checking the option out.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of HousingWire and its owners.

To contact the author of this story: Steven Cooley at ArtVsMath.com To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sarah Wheeler at [email protected]

Source: housingwire.com

Apache is functioning normally

I spend almost nothing on clothes. According to Mint, I’ve spent $199.50 to clothe my family of five this year. They say the average U.S. household has spent $1258.62. That’s more than six times my spending.

It’s been years since I walked into a clothing store, tried on styles I liked and bought myself a new pair of jeans. That doesn’t mean I’m content to dress like a slob, or wear the same tried-and-true favorites season after season. I change up my wardrobe every few months with a huge shopping spree — from my friends’ closets.

The Clothing Swap

My friends and I hold clothing swaps at least once a season. We all clean out our closets of anything we don’t love that’s still in good condition. We get together and swap our cast-offs around. I’m a walking advertisement for the aphorism, “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.”

A clothing swap is a win on several fronts, For example, it decreases clutter in your closet, and gives you a chance to freshen up your wardrobe for free.

I find the selection at a clothing swap is better than I get in most thrift stores. My friends’ tastes in clothes are fairly similar to mine, so I don’t have to wade through rack after rack of 1970s polyester blouses to get to the good stuff. The last swap I was at had an entire business wardrobe of designer-label stuff in my size, a lot of it still with the tags on. I also picked up half a dozen cozy, long-sleeved t-shirts and a pair of great jeans.

I feel free to experiment with my wardrobe. If something fits well but is wildly different from my usual style, I can take it home and see if I like it. If it sits at the back of my closet for six months untouched, I can just return it next time I go to a swap. No harm, no foul. With clothing swap finds, I’ve expanded my staple wardrobe from simple jeans and t-shirts to include a lot more adventurous skirts and dresses.

Clothing swaps are great fun. I’d much rather spend a morning hanging out with a group of friends chatting and laughing while we play dress-up than spend hours trolling a mall for the right ensemble.

I’ve heard these events called “naked lady parties”, but men can play this game, too. I’ve hosted swaps that were just for the ladies and swaps that were co-ed. Do what works for you.

Swapping is simple

Here’s how to host a clothing swap:

  • Find a space. If you’re hosting a small event for your friends, your living room is probably ample. If you want to make it bigger, church basements and community centers are often open to this type of thing.
  • Decide who to invite. Do you want it to be all women, or co-ed? Just your close friends, or a big group? Will your swap have a theme, like a fancy dress swap or a mother-daughter swap?
  • Make your announcement. Giving people a few weeks notice before a clothing swap is a good idea. You want to give your guests time to gather up their unwanted duds, and make sure they have open space on their calendars.
  • Set rules for what can be swapped. Decide what you want people to bring, and what should go straight in the Goodwill bin. A good first rule is that everything be clean and in good condition. You may want to prohibit donations of used underthings. Some swaps also exclude kids’ clothing, athletic wear or winter gear, just because there’s so much of it and the appeal is so limited.
  • Gather your supplies. You’ll want a ready supply of trash bags for people to take clothes home in. Also handy: sharpie markers and masking tape for making labels. Full length mirrors are a huge bonus. You may also want to put out some light snacks and beverages, in a separate room from where the swap is happening.
  • Collect clothing. Encourage people to drop off their donations a few days in advance, so that you have time to set up and sort the loot before the event starts. This helps cut down on chaos. People will bring clothes as they arrive on the day of the swap; it’s human nature to do these things at the last minute. But you can get a head start by taking things early and having piles already going when your first guests arrive.
  • Set up the swap. To help people find what they want, sort clothes into based on type. You’ll want a separate heap for shirts, t-shirts, pants, sweaters, jackets, etc.
  • Donate the leftovers. When the swap is over, take the leftovers to Goodwill, Planet Aid, or the charity of your choice. It’s best to have a couple of dedicated volunteers on hand to help with this. The job can be overwhelming for one person.

The best reward to hosting a clothing swap? You get first dibs on everything that comes in as you sort through the donations.

Final Thoughts

The biggest risk is bedbugs. Bedbugs are a nightmare to live with and nearly impossible to get rid of. They love to travel in clothes, but can’t survive the heat of a dryer. If you’re hosting a clothing swap, make a very firm rule that everything brought into the house be freshly cleaned.

Hosting a clothing swap is a great way to slash your clothing budget to almost nothing, and it’s a fun way to spend time with your friends. It’s also a way to live green. We don’t usually think of clothes as recyclable in the same way a soda can is, but clothing makes up 5% of the municipal waste in New York City. That’s a lot of clothes going into landfills.

Swapping your unwanted stuff decreases your demand for new manufactured textiles, which can be a drain on natural resources. It also helps keep more clothes out of landfills.

Got any more tips on how to host a clothing swap? Leave ’em in the comments!

For more clothing tips, also see How to Stop Buying Clothes You Never Wear and Embracing the Thrift Store Ethic: 18 Top Tips for Buying Used Clothes. Also welcome Lifehacker readers! Photo by iwona_kellie.

Source: getrichslowly.org

Apache is functioning normally

Editor’s note: This post has been updated with new information and offers.

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card overview

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card is Marriott’s most premium card offering. Standout benefits include automatic Platinum Elite status, an annual free night at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program that is worth up to 85,000 points and up to $25 in statement credits each month when you use your card at eligible restaurants worldwide, all alongside its best-ever welcome offer. Card Rating*: ⭐⭐⭐½

*Card Rating is based on the opinion of TPG’s editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.

Marriott has six cobranded cards available to new cardholders, with fees ranging from none to $650 per year.

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card is the most expensive one, at $650 a year (see rates and fees). But does that necessarily mean it’s the best?

The Bonvoy Brilliant card is compelling for loyal Marriott guests — but let’s dig a little deeper to see if it’s right for you.

Related: Which Marriott Bonvoy credit card is right for you?

Amex Bonvoy Brilliant welcome offer

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant offers new cardholders 150,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after using their new card to spend $6,000 on eligible purchases in the first six months; plus, they can earn 50,000 bonus points after they stay 6 eligible paid nights at Marriott hotels through Jan. 31, 2024. Offer ends Aug. 9.

Based on TPG’s valuations of Marriott points at 0.84 cents each, those 200,000 points are worth a whopping $1,680.

The previous highest offer on this card was 150,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points, meaning that the current bonus is the best-ever welcome offer on the card.

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THE POINTS GUY

How do the 50,000 extra points work? Essentially, the promotion earning period runs from the date your new card opens through the end of January. In that time, you’ll have to stay six eligible paid nights at Marriott properties to qualify for the extra points.

Those nights include, per the terms and conditions, “all paid stays, including pre-paid stays and bookings paid with Marriott eGiftCards that are booked using the eligible cardmember’s Marriott Bonvoy account.”

Notably, this offer does not factor in award redemption stays, free night awards, points redemptions or stays booked through third parties. Be sure to check the full terms and conditions before booking to make sure you cash in on this offer.

Also remember that Amex has restrictions limiting your ability to collect a new-member bonus if you’ve had similar Marriott products from Chase or previous Starwood Preferred Guest cards from American Express. Be sure to review the card’s offer details page to ensure you’re eligible.

Related: Is the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex worth the $650 annual fee?

Earning points on the Amex Bonvoy Brilliant

The Bonvoy Brilliant’s earning structure is similar to that of the regular Marriott Bonvoy Amex and the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card, but with two additional bonus categories: dining at restaurants worldwide and select airfare purchases.

Cardholders earn 6 Bonvoy points per dollar spent on eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program, 3 points per dollar at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines, and 2 points per dollar on other purchases.

BENJI STAWSKI/THE POINTS GUY

The non-Marriott earning rates are a bit low, so you’ll probably want to pair the card with one or more other cards that offer superior bonus categories, such as The Platinum Card® from American Express for airfare and the Chase Sapphire Reserve for dining and other travel purchases. There are also some other great options for your everyday spending.

Redeeming points on the Amex Bonvoy Brilliant

There are many lucrative ways to use Marriott Rewards points. The most apparent redemption is for free stays. With the ability to book at more than 7,500 properties across 30 brands in over 130 countries, you’ve got a lot of choices. The Marriott portfolio has many fantastic hotels, including some of the world’s most over-the-top, luxurious properties.

These include a number of Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis properties, some of which are all-suite, such as the St. Regis Maldives, and others in dreamy destinations like the Al Maha Resort in the desert outside Dubai. Rooms at top-tier properties like these typically cost 100,000 points (or even more) per night. That may seem like a hefty price in points, but it isn’t that bad, considering room rates can be $1,500-plus per night most of the year.

Related: Maximizing redemptions with the Marriott Bonvoy program

ST. REGIS MALDIVES

Amex Bonvoy Brilliant benefits

Where the card shines the most is in the perks it offers:

  • Marriott elite status: Primary cardholders (authorized users aren’t included) receive complimentary, automatic Marriott Platinum Elite status, including perks like upgrades to suites, free breakfast and lounge access. You will receive your upgraded status in less than two weeks, on average, according to spokespeople for American Express and Marriott Bonvoy.
  • Annual free-night award: Each year after your card renewal month, you’ll receive a free night award worth up to 85,000 points. That’s much more valuable than the free night certificates that come with the lower-tier Marriott cards, which are capped at 35,000 points. Some of the best uses of the certificate include five-star hotels such as The Ritz-Carlton Macau and The St. Regis Langkawi, where rooms routinely top $500 per night — though Marriott’s dynamic pricing may impact the ability to book some of these properties.
  • $300 in restaurant credits: Cardmembers receive up to $25 in statement credits each calendar month when they use their card at eligible restaurants worldwide. This equates to a total value of $300 each year. (A spokesperson for American Express has confirmed that this credit applies to worldwide restaurants, is automatically applied and does not require registration prior to using this benefit.)
  • Property credit of up to $100: When you book a paid stay of at least two nights at participating Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis properties with the special “$100 property credit, Luxury Credit Card Rate,” you’ll receive a credit of up to $100 for incidentals.
  • Priority Pass Lounge access: As is pretty standard among premium travel rewards cards, the card comes with a Priority Pass Select membership, which gives you and two guests unlimited access to more than 1,230 airport lounges worldwide. Additional guests are charged $32 per lounge visit (enrollment required).
  • Travel protections: This card offers trip cancellation and interruption insurance* as well as trip delay insurance* for trips delayed by more than six hours due to a covered reason. You must book a round-trip ticket and pay entirely with your card to be covered. (Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.)
  • Application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck: Like many other premium cards, the Bonvoy Brilliant will reimburse you when you charge the application fee for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck to the card up to $100 ($85 for TSA PreCheck or $100 credit for Global Entry, 4 years for the application fee for either Global Entry or every 4½ years for the application fee for TSA PreCheck). Unlike the Priority Pass membership, which essentially becomes useless if you already receive the benefit through other cards, if you already have Global Entry or PreCheck, you can use this credit to cover a friend or family member’s application fee (enrollment required for select benefits). This benefit is available to cardholders once every four years. Remember, Global Entry includes PreCheck, so it’s typically the smarter choice.
  • Shopping protections: Purchases made with the card can get up to one year of extended warranty coverage* and 90 days of purchase protection.* This applies to warranties of five years or less on covered purchases in the U.S. or its territories or possessions. (Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.)
  • Elite night credits: Cardholders will receive 25 elite qualifying night credits per year. This benefit can be stacked with the nights you earn with a Marriott small-business card, allowing you to fast-track up to 40 elite nights per year.
  • Annual Earned Choice Award: Earned each calendar year after making $60,000 in purchases. This is separate from the Choice Benefits you’d unlock by reaching 50 and 75 elite-qualifying nights. You can choose from the following:
  • 5 Suite Night Awards.
  • An 85,000-point free night reward.
  • $1,000 off a mattress or box spring from Marriott Bonvoy Boutiques.

Certain hotels have resort fees.

*Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.

Related: The top travel rewards cards that can pay for themselves

TOMOHIRO OHSUMI/GETTY IMAGES

Which cards compete with the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex?

If you’re not loyal to Marriott, there are a number of cards you might consider instead of the Bonvoy Brilliant:

For additional options, check out our full list of the best hotel and Marriott credit cards.

Read more: Is the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex worth the $650 annual fee?

Bottom line

If you’re a Marriott loyalist in need of a cobranded credit card or are looking to change from a different Marriott card, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant is an ideal choice.

Its earning rates are not as lucrative as those of some of its competitors, but the large welcome offer coupled with impressive built-in perks — like $300 in restaurant credits and an annual free-night certificate of up to 85,000 points — make it easy for even an infrequent traveler to get tremendous value out of the card.

Although you shouldn’t have trouble finding a hotel at which to redeem points, the program’s many airline transfer partners also make it a great choice for racking up points to redeem for free flights.

Application link: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant with up to 200,000 bonus points. Offer ends Aug. 9.

For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex, click here.
For rates and fees of the Hilton Aspire Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Amex, click here.

Additional reporting by Ryan Wilcox.

Source: thepointsguy.com

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So you all know Sunday Suppers, right? The beyond beautiful Brooklyn based company that is known for throwing the most epic dinner parties. E-P-I-C. You may also know them for their seriously cool cookbook. And if you own it like us, you’re likely lusting after the styling and food ideas that fill the pages while wishing you had a kitchen full of beautiful props to make meals prettier. Well wish no further! With the continued goal of inspiring people to celebrate gatherings with friends and family, Sunday Suppers is on their way to making the most beautiful kitchen goods you’ve EVER ever seen with their new line, Ila. From gorgeously designed olive oil bottles to the best and most unique pantry items like black sea salt from Hawaii, we die over this line of pantry essentials.

For their debut collection, Ila has chosen five varieties of sea salt because you can never have enough – especially as a stylist!, spices, wildflower honey, olive oil, and maple syrup – all essentials every cook should have on hand! And right now, you can get your hands on these beautiful kitchen must-haves through Ila’s Kickstarter campaign, so run! We’ve already pledged, obvi – that olive oil is the olive oil of our dreams.

So go on and treat yo pantry to these goodies while supporting their Kickstarter here! Please? Because we don’t know about you, but we want to continue to see more of the absolute dreaminess Ila is throwing down!

images c/o Ila 

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Source: apartment34.com

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You don’t have to search all that hard to find the best Italy cruises — most leading cruise lines offer dozens of itineraries that visit Italian ports, often in conjunction with neighboring countries France, Greece and Croatia.

The reason? Italy has it all: coastlines on both the Mediterranean and the Adriatic, historic port cities (Rome, Venice and Naples among them) and spectacular islands (including Sicily, Sardinia, Capri and Elba).

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Plus, with a cruise season that runs from early April through late October (and even year-round for a few cruise lines), Italy offers something for everyone. Travel here to find an alluring mix of impeccably preserved historic sites, renowned regional cuisines and natural wonders waiting to be discovered.

Here are eight of the best Italy cruises for every type of traveler.

Best Italy cruises for cultural immersion: Azamara

JENNA LYN PHOTOGRAPHY/AZAMARA CRUISES/GETTY IMAGES

Azamara pioneered the concept of single-country itineraries, which allow for greater cultural immersion and even overnight stays in select ports. The cruise line’s 11-night voyage in October 2024 is one of its most comprehensive.

The sailing begins in Monte Carlo, Monaco, and ends in Rome (Civitavecchia), with visits to seven more Italian ports and Tunis, Tunisia. You’ll explore Genoa, Livorno (overnight for Florence/Pisa), Porto Santo Stefano (on the Tuscan coast), Cagliari (on Sardinia), Trapani (on Sicily), Amalfi and Sorrento.

This voyage is aboard the 684-passenger Azamara Onward, one of the cruise line’s four virtually identical ships. (All are former Renaissance R-class ships built in the early 2000s and renovated over the past several years.) The vessels’ intimate size and Azamara’s focus on cultural experiences and shore excursions emphasizing history and food (including cooking classes and market tours) make for an immersive cruise itinerary.

Other Italy-Intensive voyages in 2023 and 2024 include the following: a 10-night voyage in October 2023 aboard Azamara Quest, a 10-night voyage in April 2024 aboard Azamara Pursuit, and a seven-night voyage in May 2024 aboard Azamara Quest.

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Best Italy cruises for small-ship lovers: Windstar Cruises

WINDSTAR CRUISES

It’s rare to find a cruise itinerary so fully focused on one specific region of Italy, but Windstar Cruises’ small ships — three classic sailing yachts and three all-suite motor yachts, which accommodate 148 to 342 guests — allow it to offer cruises to less-frequented ports.

Windstar’s 10-day Sicilian Splendors, aboard its 342-passenger sailing yacht Wind Surf, is available on multiple dates in 2023, 2024 and 2025. The ship will cruise round-trip from Rome and call on six Italian ports: Catania (for Mount Etna), Porto Empedocle (for the ancient ruins at Agrigento) and Trapani (for its signature colored salts and Marsala wines), all in Sicily; the island of Lipari (the largest of seven Aeolian Islands); and Sorrento and Amalfi on the stunning Amalfi Coast. The cruise also visits the neighboring islands of Malta and Gozo.

Five-masted Wind Surf is the world’s largest sailing ship. It manages to be intimate without feeling claustrophobic, although it is worth noting that none of its staterooms or suites has a balcony. There is, however, ample deck space for relaxation, with a pool and two hot tubs, as well as inviting alfresco bars and dining areas.

Related: The 2 classes of Windstar ships, explained

Indoors, the ship’s restaurants and social spaces, such as the Veranda Restaurant, Stella Bistro and the Compass Rose Bar, are light-filled, with elegant neutral decor refreshed in 2019.

Musical entertainment takes place in the Wind Surf Lounge and Compass Rose Bar, and Windstar’s excellent dining program reflects an ongoing partnership with the James Beard Foundation. In select tender ports, passengers can enjoy a watersports platform and take out sea kayaks and stand-up paddleboards.

Best Italy cruises for onboard pampering: Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection

EMILIA WRONSKI/THE POINTS GUY

If enjoying yacht-style indulgence as you explore Southern Italy is on your cruise wish list, consider the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s 10-night Rome to Valletta itinerary in May 2024. This cruise visits scenic hot spots such as Sorrento and Amalfi on the Amalfi Coast, history-rich Siracusa in Sicily and three ports (Gallipoli, Taranto and Otranto) in lesser-known Puglia, located on the heel of boot-shaped Italy, before passengers disembark in Malta.

Ritz-Carlton, which entered the cruise realm in 2021 with its 298-passenger luxury yacht, Evrima, offers an all-inclusive “yachting lifestyle” experience. This leisurely sailing features overnights in Sorrento and Taranto and two sea days with ample ways to enjoy onboard pampering. The ship’s spacious suites are designed with a contemporary residential feel and range in size from 300 square feet with an 81-square-foot terrace to 1,091 square feet with a 635-square-foot terrace.

Evrima also offers nine bars and dining venues featuring menus created to reflect the ports visited. For culinary indulgence, guests can book a table at S.E.A., a specialty dining experience designed by Chef Sven Elverfeld of Aqua, the Michelin three-starred restaurant at The Ritz-Carlton in Wolfsburg, Germany.

The ship also features chicly designed spaces for relaxing and socializing, such as the Pool House lounge overlooking an aft infinity pool, a second pool located next to the alfresco restaurant Mistral, a panoramic Observation Lounge and a full-service Ritz-Carlton Spa.

Related: The best luxury cruise lines for elegance and exclusivity

Best Italy cruises for foodies: Silversea Cruises

Barbara Muckermann and Adam Sachs during the event “Celebrating the Harvest” organized by Pasta Mancini in Monte San Pietrangeli, Italy. SILVERSEA CRUISES

The three newest ships in the Silversea Cruises fleet — Silver Moon, Silver Dawn and 2023’s first-in-class Silver Nova — all feature the cruise line’s immersive culinary program known as S.A.L.T. (Sea and Land Taste). When Silversea’s next ship, the 728-passenger Silver Ray, debuts in 2024, it will also take its guests on culinary-focused journeys — among them an 11-day Rome to Venice itinerary in June 2024.

The itinerary includes calls on seven ports in Italy: Rome, Naples, Sorrento, Palermo, Siracusa, Trieste and Venice. The sailing also visits ports in Malta, Montenegro and Croatia.

Silversea’s sailings blend food-centric excursions — such as a visit to a family farm for a tasting of fresh cheese, salami and olive oil in Sorrento — with the onboard S.A.L.T. program to make sampling local cuisine a natural part of the cruise experience. The day-to-day menus at S.A.L.T. Kitchen are all inspired by the ports visited. The Terrain menu focuses on that day’s port while the Voyage menu draws from the best flavors of the entire itinerary.

Passengers aboard Silver Ray should definitely pack an appetite — in addition to S.A.L.T. Kitchen, the ship features seven other restaurants. They are La Dame for haute French cuisine, Atlantide for signature fine dining (think caviar and lobster), Kaiseki for Japanese sushi and teppanyaki (as well as pan-Asian dishes), Silver Note for tapas-style dining and live music, The Grill for casual burgers and salads, La Terrazza for handmade pasta and other Italian specialties, and Spaccanapoli for thin-crusted Naples-style pizza. With 11 nights aboard, there’s time to sample all of them.

Related: The ultimate guide to cruise ship food and dining

Best Italy cruises for families: Norwegian Cruise Line

NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE

If an Italy adventure with the entire family sounds like the perfect cruise vacation in 2024, Norwegian Cruise Line’s new Norwegian Viva, launching in August 2023 as the sister ship to 2022’s Norwegian Prima, is an ideal playground for guests of all ages.

The most Italy-focused itinerary? The 10-day Mediterranean: Italy, Greece & Croatia cruise (offered aboard 3,099-guest Viva in late June and late September 2024) calls on six ports in Italy — Rome, Livorno, Naples, Messina, Siracusa and Trieste — as well as the islands of Corfu and Malta; Koper, Slovenia; and Dubrovnik and Split in Croatia.

This itinerary is rich in history and culture, including the ancient landmarks of Rome, the archeological wonders of Pompeii and the Leaning Tower of Pisa near Livorno, plus the beauty and culinary treats (sweet cannoli and savory arancini) of Sicily, where Viva makes two port calls. Though the cruise ends in Trieste, the wonders of Venice are just 90 minutes away, so adding a few extra nights to explore its colorful, canal-laced islands is a must.

Onboard Viva, you’ll enjoy more than a dozen dining options (five of them complimentary, including the casual and family-friendly Indulge Food Hall), 16 bars and lounges and all the fun activities/entertainment (including a production of the Broadway hit “Beetlejuice: The Musical”) that the line offers.

Related: Best cruise lines for families

Top amenities include the three-deck Viva Speedway for exhilarating go-kart racing, three thrilling slides (two of them 10-story corkscrew dry slides and one tidal-wave-style waterslide), virtual-reality gaming in the Galaxy Pavilion, tech-enhanced minigolf and more. Also, Viva’s generous outside deck space — especially Deck 8’s Ocean Boulevard with its lively Indulge Outdoor Lounge and sleek Infinity Beach pools — is ideal for scenic cruising in the Mediterranean and Adriatic.

Best Italy cruises for couples: Oceania Cruises

OCEANIA VISTA. ERICA SILVERSTEIN/THE POINTS GUY

The sophisticated onboard ambiance and a romantic itinerary are a lovely combination, and couples can enjoy both on the 12-night Mediterranean Tapestry sailing offered in June 2024 aboard Oceania Cruises’ newest vessel, Oceania Vista.

The 1,200-passenger ship, which debuted in May 2023, will visit four top ports in Italy — Venice/Trieste in Northern Italy, Taormina in Sicily, Amalfi/Positano in Southern Italy and Civitavecchia for a day in Rome.

Beyond Italy, this itinerary offers a sampling of scenic locales in six other Adriatic and Mediterranean countries with a possible pre-cruise stay in Venice. You’ll visit Korcula and Split in Croatia; Kotor, Montenegro; Igoumanitsa and Katakolon in Greece; Ajaccio, Corsica; Monte Carlo, Monaco; Marseille, France; and Barcelona, Spain.

Oceania caters to couples seeking an upscale cruise experience with a culinary focus. Onboard Vista, the atmosphere is sleek and polished, with interior decor awash in elegant neutrals of varying patterns and textures, all woven together into a soothing mosaic (in some cases, literally, as tiled vignettes are used throughout the ship). Vista’s bars and lounges, especially the Martini Bar and the Grand Lounge, are so chic you’ll want to get dressed up every night to enjoy one of the craft cocktails on their newly enhanced menus.

All specialty dining is included in the cruise fare, and stand-out meals at Polo Grill (for an excellent steakhouse menu), Toscana (for authentic Italian, including recipes by Vista’s godmother Giada De Laurentiis) and Red Ginger (for flavorful pan-Asian) are just a reservation away. Two new eateries, Aquamar Kitchen and Ember, serve wellness-focused cuisine and casual American comfort food, respectively, and an expanded Culinary Arts Center lets guests who love to cook take hands-on classes.

Best of all, Vista is an all-balcony ship, so every stateroom features access to fresh air (French Veranda Staterooms don’t have an outdoor sitting area, however). Veranda Staterooms and Concierge Level Veranda Staterooms offer a spacious 290 square feet of indoor space — and some of the best standard bathrooms at sea with roomy walk-in showers and ample storage.

Related: The best cruises for couples seeking romance and together time at sea

Best Italy cruises for travelers on a budget: Royal Caribbean

ROYAL CARIBBEAN

To score a budget cruise fare in the Mediterranean, it helps to look for sailings aboard a cruise line’s older ships. If Italy is your main focus for a future cruise, it’s hard to beat the seven-night Western Mediterranean itinerary in September 2024 aboard Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas.

It visits five Italian ports: Venice/Ravenna, Messina in Sicily, Naples, Rome and Livorno (for Florence and Pisa). The ship also calls on Marseille and Barcelona. Voyager’s Italy-focused cruise is a jam-packed itinerary with just one sea day.

Ideal for both couples and multi-generational families, the 3,600-passenger Voyager of the Seas (which debuted in 1999 and was last refurbished in 2019) features seven restaurants (including three complimentary dining venues and specialty restaurant favorites Chops Grille and Giovanni’s Table) and eight bars/lounges.

The ship has been “amped-up” so guests can enjoy features found on Royal Caribbean’s newer ships: Perfect Storm waterslides, FlowRider simulated surfing, Battle for Planet Z laser tag, Voyager Dunes minigolf, Studio B ice-skating shows and reimagined spaces for kids and teens.

Nights aboard Voyager of the Seas will be filled with complimentary entertainment options: production shows in the Royal Theater, pub performances by guest entertainers and bands, game-show competitions, pool parties, outdoor movie nights and a ‘70s disco party.

Best Italy cruises for adults-only ambiance: Viking

Aerial view of the Viking Sea leaving Dubrovnik, Croatia. WHITE RAIN/VIKING CRUISE LINE

Is Venice at the top of your wish list? Does an adults-only cruise on a ship with serene, Scandinavian-inspired interior decor and complimentary wine or beer with lunch and dinner sound ideal?

If so, check out Viking’s 15-night Italy, the Adriatic and Greece itinerary, which sails from Athens to Rome and visits six Italian ports — Venice/Chioggia, Bari, Crotone, Messina, Naples and Rome — with three days spent in Venice. As a bonus, you’ll also visit ports in Greece (Katakolon and Corfu), Croatia (Dubrovnik, Split and Sibenik) and Montenegro (Kotor).

Offered on multiple dates in fall 2023, 2024 and 2025, this itinerary is chock full of port experiences; there are no sea days, and a total of 13 cities are visited. Viking includes one free guided shore excursion in each port, usually a panoramic bus tour or historic walking tour. Use that as an overview and then explore on your own or book one of the cruise line’s longer or more specialized excursions. Onboard guest speakers also offer insight into the ports visited and the cultural landscape.

The cruise line’s nine ocean ships are all identical and accommodate 930 passengers, most of whom are couples over age 55. Onboard dining is available in eight restaurants, including the main venue, The Restaurant and the buffet-style World Cafe, the casual Pool Grill and the Norwegian-focused Mamsen’s. Guests can also reserve dinner at two specialty restaurants (at no extra charge): Manfredi’s for Italian cuisine and The Chef’s Table for multi-course, wine-paired menus that rotate throughout the cruise.

Afternoon tea is served in the elegant Wintergarden. The Aquavit Terrace overlooking the aft infinity pool is a sunny spot to enjoy alfresco dining.

If you’re willing to come back early from port, Viking’s ocean ships offer plenty of ways to relax on board. All passengers enjoy complimentary access to the ship’s thermal suite in the LivNordic Spa. It features a thalassotherapy pool, steam room, sauna and snow room. The Main Pool has a retractable roof and can be enjoyed no matter what the weather. However, if you want to live it up at night, note that the ship does not have an onboard casino.

Bottom line

The best Italy cruises offer access to some of the country’s most-loved cities, as well as a chance to explore some of its sunny islands and lesser-known coastal ports. No matter the itinerary, you’re guaranteed to enjoy the splendid landscapes, treasured antiquities and, of course, the incredible gelato.

Planning a cruise? Start with these stories:

Source: thepointsguy.com

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Elvira Rincon never loved the small apartment that sits between Sunset Boulevard and Dodger Stadium. Even 30 years ago, shortly after she arrived from a small town in Queretaro, Mexico, and moved in with her husband and five children, the one-bedroom unit built in the 1920s felt cramped.

But over the decades she made it a home, planting a sprawling container garden of flowers, fruits and medicinal herbs to cure her family of stomach pains and colds. Her husband poured concrete to make a small patio in the courtyard, where they hosted birthday parties nearly every month. At $495 a month the rent-controlled apartment allowed Rincon, her children and now grandchildren to build a life in the heart of Los Angeles.

That made it easy for Rincon, 59, to dismiss the first buyout offer. A developer who bought the complex and a neighboring one last year proposed paying her and her neighbors $22,000 to leave. She did the math and figured the money would be gone in about one year in a county where the median rent for a one-bedroom is $1,600.

Elvira Rincon has lived in her apartment near Dodger Stadium for more than three decades, where she raised her children and now her grandchildren.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

The second offer to Rincon and her neighbors came in February: $55,000. It was more money than she and her husband, who works in a local nursery, could ever save on their own — and still not enough to stay in her neighborhood for long.

Soon after, the owners sent workers to tear apart a storage shed she’d had for years and haul it away, along with a barbecue and many of her plants, saying they were health and safety violations. Rincon saw it as harassment meant to pressure her to go so the landlord could jack up the rent.

Like so many others, she and her family had one shaky foothold keeping them in a rental market that was otherwise soaring out of reach, and they felt that people with more power than them were trying to shake them off of it.

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The company says it was simply making changes requested by its insurance company and that it is listening to the concerns of residents, not trying to force them out.

Elvira Rincon stands next to the remains of her storage shed outside of her apartment.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Even so, Rincon and her neighbors are on edge, unsure what to expect next and asking themselves whether they still have a place in L.A.

“There are times when I feel desperate,” she said. “I get frustrated. And I tell my husband, ‘Let’s just go. Let’s just go.’ ”

In a city faced with a housing and homelessness crisis, where many renters pay more than half their income to live in overcrowded, aging homes, tenants like Rincon have what many others long for: low-cost housing.

Though city and state officials are desperate to create more of it, developers are simultaneously reducing affordable units by buying out longtime rent-controlled tenants with cash-for-keys offers and renovating old buildings into pricey new apartments or condos. Many residents quietly accept the offers and leave. Others try to hold out, knowing that taking the money probably means leaving their communities or facing rent that’s double, triple or more what they currently pay. Sometimes, tenants say, that leads to harassment or pressure campaigns.

Emiliano Rodriguez-Donantonio, 5, hangs upside down from a bunk bed, while his uncle Salvador Donantonio sits at the computer in the family’s living room in their Los Angeles home.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

The city has adopted policies meant to protect tenants of rent-controlled buildings from being forced to accept buyout offers or being evicted for not accepting.

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In some cases, landlords are required to offer to tenants a base amount for relocation — which ranges from about $12,000 to $23,000 for long-term renters. At times, owners offer more than that. But for tenants with very little income or credit, the money may not go very far once the sky-high rent of their next apartment is factored in.

City leaders have passed rules against harassment. But advocates say the rules lack enforcement, and plenty of tenants say harassment happens anyway with little recourse.

Rincon arrived in Echo Park in the mid-1990s, fleeing a severe recession in Mexico that left her family’s farm deeply in debt.

Aron Mey, an organizer with Chinatown Community for Equitable Development, left, chats with resident Pedro Villegas outside of Villegas’ apartment.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Her first home in the U.S. was in the same apartment complex where she lives now, just across the common area, in a unit she shared with her brother-in-law, Pedro Villegas, her husband and others. Three decades later, Villegas still lives in that apartment, paying monthly rent similar to Rincon’s, whose monthly payments have increased twice over the years to $640.

Despite language barriers, Rincon became close with her neighbors, who include an 80-year-old retiree, a nursing student, her mom and brother, and a Cambodian refugee. Their kids often served as translators.

They’ve watched out for each other’s children and grandchildren, fed each other’s pets and shared lemongrass and guavas from their gardens. Though Rincon doesn’t care for the loquat tree that grows in a corner of the property, she keeps watering it because her neighbors love the fruit.

“We’re more like a community. We have been for years,” said Virginia Watson, 80. “We all know each other. We talk. We watch out for each other. It’s very unusual for L.A. because in other places I’ve lived everybody’s kind of anonymous, in their own little cubicle.”

Virginia Watson, 80, standing outside of her apartment, said she and her neighbors have built a community despite language barriers.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Once Watson retired and began living on a fixed income, she was able to stay in her home because the rent was manageable. The same was true for Rincon and her family when she injured her back and stopped working.

Villegas’ four children have lived their entire lives in the complex, roaming the hills of Elysian Park and riding their bikes to Echo Park. He works at a laundromat on Sunset Boulevard, a short walk away. His youngest is now a junior at Ramon C. Cortines school downtown.

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Like Rincon, he knew the $55,000 offer wouldn’t last long in his community.

“The cost of rent is just too difficult,” he said. “The money doesn’t go far.”

Watson lives in a studio apartment adjacent to Rincon’s. She’s been there for 20 years, lives on Social Security and a small retirement income and pays $529 a month. When she’s looked online for other studios in the neighborhood, the most affordable cost is nearly $1,500 a month, an amount that she said would take about three-quarters of her income.

Neighbors Elvira Rincon, left, and Virginia Watson share a laugh outside of Watson’s apartment.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

She might have considered the offer to leave if it was affordable to move in the city, she said.

But “rent is really, really high in L.A. I don’t know how you would manage for any length of time,” she said.

On Nov. 8, a few months after Watson, Rincon and their neighbors decided not to take the initial $22,000 offer to leave, the property owners, Lilac Development LLC, served Watson with a three-day notice to pay or leave, saying she had not paid her rent for the month, though she says it was paid.

Watson reported the incident to the housing department, which investigated and found the notice in violation of city code for failing to provide proper information under COVID-era tenant protections, according to public records.

One month earlier, the owners served another resident with a three-day notice to pay or vacate the property, saying they owed $86.

In that case, the housing department found a “potential violation of the Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance,” records show.

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In both cases, housing officials wrote letters to the owners, explaining the law.

Watson and her neighbors see this and other actions, including the workers who went to the complex twice in March, tore down Rincon’s shed and hauled away her plants, as a pattern of harassment meant to push them out of their homes.

“I wake up after dreaming that I’m in a battle with landlords, big companies,” Watson said.

Recently, she packed up many of her belongings, assuming she would soon be out of a home, and she has kept them that way.

“I don’t unpack them because I don’t know how long I’m gonna be able to be here,” Watson said.

Jenna Loredo, left, shares an apartment with her boyfriend, Rory Anglin, and their dog.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

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Rory Anglin walks his dog in Elysian Park near the apartment he shares with his girlfriend, Jenna Loredo.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Rory Anglin and his girlfriend, Jenna Loredo, are the newest residents of the two complexes, having moved in four years ago. They pay $1,236 a month for their one-bedroom, which Anglin sees as “the last of the good rents in L.A.”

When he told his mom in Mississippi about the $22,000 offer to leave, she was stunned at the amount.

“In Mississippi, that does sound like a lot,” Anglin said. In L.A. it most certainly does not.

Even so, Anglin said they were willing to consider taking a buyout until they felt a harassment campaign against his neighbors had begun.

“The end game for me is ‘leave us alone,’ ” Anglin said. “If we decide we want to move, we’ll move. But before we do, I gotta make sure all this stuff stops. It has to stop.”

If there’s a silver lining, Anglin said, it’s that the neighbors have become even closer in the last few months, forming a tenants’ association and strategizing together to push back against any harassment.

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Sara Rose, a property manager for Lilac Development LLC, told The Times that although the company initially offered cash for keys in order to “try to get tenants paying market value,” the company was no longer pursuing that strategy and would focus on “making the property habitable for current tenants.”

The company is not trying to evict anyone, Rose said.

Rory Anglin outside his apartment near Dodger Stadium.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

“It’s not something we would take further action on if it wasn’t appropriate to do so,” she said.

Rose also said Lilac Development sent workers to haul away Rincon’s shed, barbecue and plants after its insurance company “advised there was certain work that needed to be done” to get the property insured.

They plan to inspect each property to figure out what needs to be fixed. In April, a city housing inspector found several conditions affecting the “health and safety of the occupants” in Rincon’s building and issued an order to fix the problems, which include damaged plumbing, fences and paint, by May 11.

Elvira Rincon is seen through an aging fence as a neighbor passes by carrying groceries.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Residents say there is a long list of problems beyond what that inspection revealed: leaking ceilings, mold, broken heaters and damaged flooring.

“I think based on the feedback we’ve received so far there’s no interest from the residents” in cash for keys, Rose said. “If they are interested and they approach us, it would be something we’d be willing to discuss. We don’t want to continue reaching out on something they’ve made clear they’re not interested in.”

Rincon said the first she heard about the change in plans was from The Times.

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For a long time now, she and her neighbors have felt as if they were in a state of limbo, waiting for an eviction notice or the return of workers tasked with hauling away more of their things. Like Villegas, she has seriously considered returning to Mexico, but her husband tells her they could never leave their children and grandchildren.

There was some relief hearing that the company would focus on making their home more livable rather than on getting them to leave. But she was also skeptical.

“Hopefully they follow through,” she said.

From a hill, residents of the neighboring apartment complexes have a view of downtown L.A.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Source: latimes.com