Seeking ADU Design Feedback & RE Experience! :)

[Zach Stiegler]

Hello! A bit about me:
My wife and I bought our first house a few months ago in Long Beach area (CA) with 5% down. It already has a JADU (attached studio) that rents for $1350 for 350 sq ft with private washer/dryer and all utilities paid except internet. I plan to slowly raise rent once I fix the last few minor problems. I just put in an initial payment for obtaining drawings and permits to convert my 380 sq ft garage into a 1 bedroom 1 bath detached ADU, ballpark total cost is around $96,000. Estimated ADU rent would be around $1550. Since we don't have much money saved but a healthy income, we plan to get a 2nd mortgage to fund the ADU conversion based on property future value.

Advice I'm seeking:
We've recently received preliminary blueprints for our detached ADU. The current drawing has it as a 1 bedroom/1bath with a washer & dryer inside. I'm thinking to remove the dishwasher to allow for more drawer/cupboard space. Should we keep the design as a 1 bedroom, or change it to a studio? We think it will rent more as a 1 bedroom, but it may feel crowded and therefore cause higher vacancy.

I'm an aerospace engineer, work roughly 50 hours a week. I would like to get more experience in the RE field! Do any of you have too much RE work and not enough man power? I am willing to exchange some of my time for training/shadowing! If we make a good fit, then I would be open to spending more time and move towards a partnership. My interests are in Buy-&-Hold and I think I would do well with analysis, but I'm open to pretty much everything in RE. Send me a message if you need help with your RE stuff!

[Dan H.]

Originally posted by @Zach Stiegler:

Hello! A bit about me:
My wife and I bought our first house a few months ago in Long Beach area (CA) with 5% down. It already has a JADU (attached studio) that rents for $1350 for 350 sq ft with private washer/dryer and all utilities paid except internet. I plan to slowly raise rent once I fix the last few minor problems. I just put in an initial payment for obtaining drawings and permits to convert my 380 sq ft garage into a 1 bedroom 1 bath detached ADU, ballpark total cost is around $96,000. Estimated ADU rent would be around $1550. Since we don't have much money saved but a healthy income, we plan to get a 2nd mortgage to fund the ADU conversion based on property future value.

Advice I'm seeking:
We've recently received preliminary blueprints for our detached ADU. The current drawing has it as a 1 bedroom/1bath with a washer & dryer inside. I'm thinking to remove the dishwasher to allow for more drawer/cupboard space. Should we keep the design as a 1 bedroom, or change it to a studio? We think it will rent more as a 1 bedroom, but it may feel crowded and therefore cause higher vacancy.

I'm an aerospace engineer, work roughly 50 hours a week. I would like to get more experience in the RE field! Do any of you have too much RE work and not enough man power? I am willing to exchange some of my time for training/shadowing! If we make a good fit, then I would be open to spending more time and move towards a partnership. My interests are in Buy-&-Hold and I think I would do well with analysis, but I'm open to pretty much everything in RE. Send me a message if you need help with your RE stuff!

If you are already close to 95% LTV, what equity do you expect to use for the 2nd? I recognize appreciation over the past year has been outstanding, but the last "few months" leave not had enough appreciation to justify a loan that was at 95% LTV. I suspect you may need to find a different way to finance your ADU.

As for the ADU, a 380' ADU is real small. Do you know the value that an appraiser is likely to give for that ADU in you area? I fear that you spend $96k to add <$40k value and start with a negative position in excess of $50k. Your initial cash flow goes to recovering the negative position. I recommend understanding the value an appraiser will provide for the ADU before proceeding. If the value of the ADU is near $96k, then it is safe to proceed. If it is much less than $96k, there are far better investment options available.

Good luck