Building ADU with existing tenant in Bay Area

[David Chiu]

Hi,

I have a SFH rental property in Menlo Park, CA and I am exploring the option to build a detached ADU on the property for additional rental income. I saw many discussions about ADU here but there are a few things that I am still trying to get more information.

1, Do ADUs generally have separate utility meters?  Does it worth the effort to have separate meters?

2, Anybody has any experience building ADU with existing tenant on the property? I would imagine it will create some inconvenience to the the tenant. What are some of the steps I can take to minimize disputes/complaints from existing tenant?

3, I could get HELOC from either my primary home or my rental property to finance the ADU. Which is the better approach?

Thanks,

David.

[Colby Hanley]

For the electric when you wire the ADU you can put in a sub electric meter. You still only have one meter but you can have an accurate reading of who is using the electricity. I use this on a few of my properties, at the end of the month I look at the meter reading and let the tenant in the ADU know what their share of the electric bill is.

Here is a link to a sub meter, I would talk to your electrician and go with what he recommends.

 https://www.gordonelectricsupp...