A landlord with multiple high-value Orange County properties files an unlawful detainer for non-payment of $5,350 in rent. The landlord’s own text message to his tenant explains why.
Acquired by Tran 15 days before tenant move-in (June 2005, then re-transferred April 2022). 3 bd / 2.5 ba / ~2,000 sqft. Tenant rent: $5,000–$5,350 / month (May 2022–July 2024). Following eviction, converted to short-term Airbnb rental marketed at $7,786 / month base — a 122% escalation from the original tenancy baseline. Listed without the City-issued STR permit required by HBMC Ch. 5.120.
Acquired November 2003 for $1,500,000. Held personally for 21 years 11 months. 4 bd / 4.5 ba / 4,351 sqft, built 2001. Estimated value $3.43M–$4.15M. Transferred October 2025 to Smart Invest HB LLC (CA File No. B20250360378), a Delaware-registered entity with no Huntington Beach business license and no STR permit. Transfer occurred following commencement of regulatory filings; examined against Cal. Civ. Code § 3439.04 (Uniform Voidable Transactions Act).
Sold May 2017 for $2,180,000. Estimated value $3.43M–$4.15M. 4 bd / 4.5 ba / 4,351 sqft. Adjacent property to the landlord’s residence at 20012 Sand Dune. Sequential addresses on the same street; Tran father and Tran daughter as next-door neighbors. Tran daughter is co-titled on Las Vegas residential property with husband Kenneth Krause per Clark County Nevada Recorder records.
Anna Ly is the licensee of record (DRE Salesperson #01894348, Sun Realty and Management) named as listing agent and signatory on the Move-Out Clearance Report at issue in Gasio v. Tran et al. The Orchard Drive corridor in Newport Beach is the same corridor where Phat L.K. Tran was the landlord of record at 1536 Orchard from 2005 through 2022 (see adjacent card). Father and daughter on the same street, adjacent house numbers.
Acquired December 2015 for $1,549,900. Estimated value $2.99M–$3.63M. 4 bd / 4.5 ba / 3,531 sqft. Current ownership type per Redfin / county records: Individual. Most recent resident of record: Malida L Tran (born September 12, 1966; maiden surname Leang per California Secretary of State Entity No. 2425128 — Malida Leang, Inc., a general acupuncture corporation registered at the 20012 Sand Dune address since March 11, 2002). Pattern consistent with property division following dissolution of marriage; verification through OC Family Law name search and OC Recorder grant-deed chain pending.
Acquired September 2005 from Diane P. Tran DDS (likely sister or sister-in-law) for $1,079,000 — cash, intra-family transfer. Phat L.K. Tran resided at this address February 2006 through 2022, after which the property was converted to rental use and continues to be rented by Tran. Estimated value $1.95M–$2.36M. 3 bd / 3.5 ba / 2,832 sqft. Diane P. Tran DDS operates from the same Garden Grove dental office address as Phat L.K. Tran D.M.D. (14411 Brookhurst Street, Suite B).
“As you know I still have a adjustable mortgage loan on the property, rate incrase crazy lately, I have to wait for the rate to go down so I can refinance the loan… You lease this property 3 years now and I never increased the rent for 3 years.”
A landlord on a documented adjustable-rate mortgage during a rising-rate environment, holding multiple high-value Orange County properties, with a documented pattern of bill non-payment (HOA arrears, third-party correspondent collection notices routed to the tenant’s rental address, professional-corporation Statement-of-Information defaults dating to 2013), has a financial pressure motive to convert a long-term tenancy at $5,350 to a short-term Airbnb at $7,786 monthly base — a 46% per-month increase. The eviction was not about “non-payment.” The eviction was about clearing a below-market tenancy to relist at the rate the landlord needed in order to service the adjustable mortgage he describes in his own text.
Property facts are drawn from publicly indexed real-estate records (Redfin / Zillow / OC Recorder). Property images are reproduced from publicly available real-estate listings (CRMLS via Redfin) for documentary purposes. The landlord’s May 11, 2024 SMS is preserved in the case file as Primary Source PS-02. Every characterization on this page is an allegation. No determination of liability has been made by any court or regulatory body.
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