Are Apartments on Abbott Street in Ocean Beach About to Become Short Term Rentals?

The OB Rag recently was notified by a neighbor of an apartment complex on Abbott Street in OB who was concerned the units were being converted into short term vacation rentals.

The neighbor was referring to the 2-story, 4 unit complex on the northeast corner of Abbott and Brighton Avenue, 2101 – 2107 Abbott. Each unit has 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom.

I was definitely familiar with the building – old friends from OBGO days used to live in one of the bottom apartments and I had spent a good amount of time there. Their place was literally a step off the street. I had also noticed work being done on the exterior lately, but didn’t give it much thought.

So, the other day, I ventured up close to the complex to check it out.

And indeed, much work had been done recently; a new exterior paint job – top to bottom, new fancy railings, new french doors on a couple of the units, brand new blinds on all the windows and doors – which were tightly closed shut – and a fancy patio for at least one of the units. It also appeared AC units had been installed.

Because of the blinds, nothing inside was visible, so I couldn’t tell whether there was still work going on – but I did notice a pile of paint cans off to the side, as if they were still needed. Another thing I noticed: there was a dial lock on each door – which makes accessibility easier than if one had to deal with all those keys.

But, of course, the biggest thing I noticed was that each unit was empty. There was no one living anywhere on the property. It had been emptied out of people, renters.

I contacted a reliable friend in the real estate world for more information on the building and its owner.

And it turns out the owner is Briarcliff Investments LLC, based out of Turlock, CA. They acquired title in September 2017 from a Victor Pak, with no sale price disclosed.

Pak just bought the place in April for $1.3M, so there’s a good chance, my friend told me, he’s just moving it into a company name. Reportedly, the  units were occupied then and renting for $1450-$1850 a month.

My friend said usually transfers between non-related entities involve money changing hands. Why would Victor Pak buy a piece of property and then transfer it to some company for no compensation, other than to get his own name off the title?

After some research, I found out Victor Pak – an oral surgeon in Turlock – is a member of Briarcliff Investments, LLC.  But after looking up  Briarcliff, could not find a phone –  but I did find one for Dr. Pak’s office.

After calling twice for Dr. Pak, and leaving extensive messages with a secretary, and asking for a response or at least a phone number for Briarcliff, I’ve received nothing at the time of this writing. I really wanted to ask him whether he planned on turning the apartments into short term rentals.

Because they certainly look like they are about to be turned -turned into short term rentals.

All the tenants were evicted; a new polish applied, an upgrade that visitors would appreciate, AC, french doors, cutsie railings, right on Abbott Street, just a block from the gorgeous ocean; with the top units having beautiful views – all with new interiors – and all with those dial locks on the doors. So easy that way; no exchange of keys by managers to the weekend visitors, just give them the code and they can let themselves in.

It’s possible the whole up-grade is simply to have wealthier, long-term renters move in. It is possible. We don’t know. The good doctor won’t answer our inquires.

But if he could make more profits by having visitors pay him each weekend a lot more than what he’d normally get from long-term renters – what’s the incentive? He doesn’t live here; this is an investment.

Drive by the place. Tell me what you think.

And while San Diego burns from an out-of-control and run-away Airbnb empire, while the City Council fiddles – ordinary renters and home-owners are left to themselves.

This could all change. The San Diego City Council is finally sitting down to decide this issue on December 12th, at 10 am in Golden Hall, next door to City Hall.

Be there or don’t complain.

Briarcliff Investments, LLC