Receiver Mark Adams CRG
Real Estate
For over 25 years, he has led the California Receivership Group (CRG) as its President, specializing in using health and safety receivership to address and remediate slum properties, abandoned sites, and other neglected properties throughout California. With a reputation as the state's most experienced health and safety receiver, he has been appointed by 179 different state and federal judges to rehabilitate more than 360 properties across 36 counties and 126 cities. His work now expands into other states, including Tennessee, Virginia, Texas, and Wisconsin.
Receivership under the Health and Safety Code offers a powerful solution when conventional code enforcement tools have failed to resolve property issues. This process addresses the financial and physical aspects of nuisance abatement without burdening taxpayers, as the property covers the repair cost. The court's statutory authority and equitable discretion enable this approach.
Mark Adams has dealt with various health and safety challenges at distressed properties, including homes, hotels, apartment complexes, and commercial buildings. His expertise includes resolving issues related to unpermitted construction, fire damage, hillside stability, seismic concerns, crime-ridden areas, unsecured structures, unsafe but inhabited buildings, excessive junk and debris, hoarding situations, hazmat abatement, pest infestations, asbestos, mold, structural failures, and properties lacking essential utilities like heat, electricity, and running water.
The First Receiver Appointed under the California Health and Safety Code
In 1999, he became the first receiver appointed under the California Health and Safety Code. This appointment was made to address a 66-unit apartment complex in dire condition, where an 11-week-old infant tragically died from a respiratory infection caused by the building's poor living conditions. This case marked the first use of the remedy under the Health and Safety Code to tackle a nuisance abatement issue.
The incident profoundly impacted him, motivating him to establish the California Receivership Group (CRG) as a comprehensive solution for abating dangerous properties. CRG was created to provide much-needed relief to communities suffering from the negative effects of problem properties.
Over the past 25 years, Mark Adams has become the leading expert in this field. In 2022, Loyola Marymount University (LMU) honored him with the "Distinguished Entrepreneurial Alumnus Award," the Los Angeles Business Journal recognized CRG as an outstanding family-owned business.
Co-founding the Blue Ribbon Citizens Committee on Slum Housing
Before founding CRG, he was pivotal in establishing and serving on then-Mayor Riordan's Blue Ribbon Citizens Committee on Slum Housing. From 1998 to 2000, he co-founded and helped lead the committee, which resulted in the City of Los Angeles significantly expanding its slum-housing inspection program. The committee's findings revealed that many slumlords routinely delayed necessary repairs without fear of inspections or prosecution, leading to unsafe, unhealthy, and uninhabitable living conditions in numerous apartments across Los Angeles.
His experience with the Blue Ribbon Citizens Committee and his extensive background in real estate finance provided a strong foundation for his initial work in receivership. Over the years, he has led CRG in refining its approach to health and safety receivership, gaining considerable experience managing this unique enforcement tool's financial, political, social, and economic complexities. He also pioneered using super-priority receivership certificate financing to rehabilitate nuisance properties. Under his leadership, CRG has funded over $56 million in health and safety receivership financing to address code violations at red-tagged properties.
A Mentor to Health and Safety Receivers
Through California Receivership Group, Mark Adams has mentored and trained many of the health and safety receivers currently operating in California. His expertise is sought after at both state and national housing conferences, and he has contributed to significant legal cases, including submitting an amicus curiae brief in the California Supreme Court's landmark ruling supporting the health and safety receivership remedy, City of Santa Monica v. Gonzalez 43 Cal. 4th 905 (2008).
Mark Adams's Career Path
Before establishing CRG, he held several significant roles, including principal at Civitas Housing Company and Senior Vice President of De Miranda Management, where he managed affordable housing activities for 4,400 apartment units in the Los Angeles area. He also provided consulting services for bank financing of real estate projects.
Earlier in his career, he managed the Los Angeles operations for a nonprofit housing developer. He served as Director of Public Affairs at Fannie Mae, where he was in charge of congressional relations in nine Western states. He also worked as an attorney, offering consulting services on corporate and housing finance matters for clients, including the California Housing Finance Agency and Great Western Bank.
Mark Adams founded and managed a mortgage banking company, Callie Mae, Inc., which successfully sold over $500 million in home mortgage loans to California public pension funds and other institutional investors. Additionally, he worked in the policy development arm of California Governor Jerry Brown's office from 1978 to 1982, writing a law review article on what later became known as NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement).
He began his legal career as an attorney with Ball, Hunt, Hart, Brown, and Baerwitz, working under the supervision of Former California Governor Pat Brown. He graduated magna cum laude from Loyola Marymount University and later from Georgetown University Law Center.
A Dedicated Family Man
Born in Chicago, he was raised in Los Angeles, where he and his wife, Janis, raised their three children. The couple will be celebrating their 35th anniversary next year. Two of their children attended Harvard, with his son enrolling at the prestigious university 100 years after his paternal grandfather emigrated from Greece. His daughter attended Harvard Kennedy School of Government as a John F. Kennedy scholar.
Mark Adams passionately supports major league baseball, especially the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was an enthusiastic fan at his daughter's high school volleyball games, where he was honored as the team's most loyal fan. A devoted grandfather of six, he is known for sending daily knock-knock jokes to his granddaughter while she was at camp, which she used in a talent show.
Paying It Forward
His commitment to his community extends beyond his work at CRG. From 2016 to 2022, he served on the National Board of Directors for the Ignatian Volunteer Corps, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the needs of the poor and marginalized. His monthly donations to St. Monica's Catholic Church and Loyola Marymount University support various community initiatives. He was also a founding director of the Chrysalis Center, a well-established homeless services provider in Los Angeles.
His charitable efforts have a long history. In 1986, he organized a volunteer campaign at the state Democratic convention that raised $10,000 for Ethiopian Famine Relief. He has also served as President of the LMU Alumni Board and as a member of the University's Board of Regents.
Mark Adams continues to apply his extensive experience and leadership to improve communities across California and beyond.
Learn More:
https://www.newtimesslo.com/news/capslo-earmarks-nearby-prado-road-property-for-family-services-15136115
https://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/bakersfield-renovates-nuisance-property-officials-and-businesses-put-in-the-work
https://www.picketfencemedia.com/capistrano-seaside-inn-2-0/article_84acafb3-04f6-58d0-8af4-dbc39766b34c.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/granada-hills-junk-house
https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/granada-hills-homeowner-sued-by-la-county-for-hoarding
https://labusinessjournal.com/advertorials/most-influential-family-owned-businesses-2019-cali
Receivership under the Health and Safety Code offers a powerful solution when conventional code enforcement tools have failed to resolve property issues. This process addresses the financial and physical aspects of nuisance abatement without burdening taxpayers, as the property covers the repair cost. The court's statutory authority and equitable discretion enable this approach.
Mark Adams has dealt with various health and safety challenges at distressed properties, including homes, hotels, apartment complexes, and commercial buildings. His expertise includes resolving issues related to unpermitted construction, fire damage, hillside stability, seismic concerns, crime-ridden areas, unsecured structures, unsafe but inhabited buildings, excessive junk and debris, hoarding situations, hazmat abatement, pest infestations, asbestos, mold, structural failures, and properties lacking essential utilities like heat, electricity, and running water.
The First Receiver Appointed under the California Health and Safety Code
In 1999, he became the first receiver appointed under the California Health and Safety Code. This appointment was made to address a 66-unit apartment complex in dire condition, where an 11-week-old infant tragically died from a respiratory infection caused by the building's poor living conditions. This case marked the first use of the remedy under the Health and Safety Code to tackle a nuisance abatement issue.
The incident profoundly impacted him, motivating him to establish the California Receivership Group (CRG) as a comprehensive solution for abating dangerous properties. CRG was created to provide much-needed relief to communities suffering from the negative effects of problem properties.
Over the past 25 years, Mark Adams has become the leading expert in this field. In 2022, Loyola Marymount University (LMU) honored him with the "Distinguished Entrepreneurial Alumnus Award," the Los Angeles Business Journal recognized CRG as an outstanding family-owned business.
Co-founding the Blue Ribbon Citizens Committee on Slum Housing
Before founding CRG, he was pivotal in establishing and serving on then-Mayor Riordan's Blue Ribbon Citizens Committee on Slum Housing. From 1998 to 2000, he co-founded and helped lead the committee, which resulted in the City of Los Angeles significantly expanding its slum-housing inspection program. The committee's findings revealed that many slumlords routinely delayed necessary repairs without fear of inspections or prosecution, leading to unsafe, unhealthy, and uninhabitable living conditions in numerous apartments across Los Angeles.
His experience with the Blue Ribbon Citizens Committee and his extensive background in real estate finance provided a strong foundation for his initial work in receivership. Over the years, he has led CRG in refining its approach to health and safety receivership, gaining considerable experience managing this unique enforcement tool's financial, political, social, and economic complexities. He also pioneered using super-priority receivership certificate financing to rehabilitate nuisance properties. Under his leadership, CRG has funded over $56 million in health and safety receivership financing to address code violations at red-tagged properties.
A Mentor to Health and Safety Receivers
Through California Receivership Group, Mark Adams has mentored and trained many of the health and safety receivers currently operating in California. His expertise is sought after at both state and national housing conferences, and he has contributed to significant legal cases, including submitting an amicus curiae brief in the California Supreme Court's landmark ruling supporting the health and safety receivership remedy, City of Santa Monica v. Gonzalez 43 Cal. 4th 905 (2008).
Mark Adams's Career Path
Before establishing CRG, he held several significant roles, including principal at Civitas Housing Company and Senior Vice President of De Miranda Management, where he managed affordable housing activities for 4,400 apartment units in the Los Angeles area. He also provided consulting services for bank financing of real estate projects.
Earlier in his career, he managed the Los Angeles operations for a nonprofit housing developer. He served as Director of Public Affairs at Fannie Mae, where he was in charge of congressional relations in nine Western states. He also worked as an attorney, offering consulting services on corporate and housing finance matters for clients, including the California Housing Finance Agency and Great Western Bank.
Mark Adams founded and managed a mortgage banking company, Callie Mae, Inc., which successfully sold over $500 million in home mortgage loans to California public pension funds and other institutional investors. Additionally, he worked in the policy development arm of California Governor Jerry Brown's office from 1978 to 1982, writing a law review article on what later became known as NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement).
He began his legal career as an attorney with Ball, Hunt, Hart, Brown, and Baerwitz, working under the supervision of Former California Governor Pat Brown. He graduated magna cum laude from Loyola Marymount University and later from Georgetown University Law Center.
A Dedicated Family Man
Born in Chicago, he was raised in Los Angeles, where he and his wife, Janis, raised their three children. The couple will be celebrating their 35th anniversary next year. Two of their children attended Harvard, with his son enrolling at the prestigious university 100 years after his paternal grandfather emigrated from Greece. His daughter attended Harvard Kennedy School of Government as a John F. Kennedy scholar.
Mark Adams passionately supports major league baseball, especially the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was an enthusiastic fan at his daughter's high school volleyball games, where he was honored as the team's most loyal fan. A devoted grandfather of six, he is known for sending daily knock-knock jokes to his granddaughter while she was at camp, which she used in a talent show.
Paying It Forward
His commitment to his community extends beyond his work at CRG. From 2016 to 2022, he served on the National Board of Directors for the Ignatian Volunteer Corps, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the needs of the poor and marginalized. His monthly donations to St. Monica's Catholic Church and Loyola Marymount University support various community initiatives. He was also a founding director of the Chrysalis Center, a well-established homeless services provider in Los Angeles.
His charitable efforts have a long history. In 1986, he organized a volunteer campaign at the state Democratic convention that raised $10,000 for Ethiopian Famine Relief. He has also served as President of the LMU Alumni Board and as a member of the University's Board of Regents.
Mark Adams continues to apply his extensive experience and leadership to improve communities across California and beyond.
Learn More:
https://www.newtimesslo.com/news/capslo-earmarks-nearby-prado-road-property-for-family-services-15136115
https://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/bakersfield-renovates-nuisance-property-officials-and-businesses-put-in-the-work
https://www.picketfencemedia.com/capistrano-seaside-inn-2-0/article_84acafb3-04f6-58d0-8af4-dbc39766b34c.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/granada-hills-junk-house
https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/granada-hills-homeowner-sued-by-la-county-for-hoarding
https://labusinessjournal.com/advertorials/most-influential-family-owned-businesses-2019-cali