ADU Rental in OC/LA - Rent Too Low?

[Jimmy Chu]

Hello All,

This is my first post. I found BP after I purchased my first home on the border of LA and OC county. I'm currently house hacking and have been able to save enough money to turn my detached garage into a 440 sq ft apartment. Everything is brand new and modern inside. I live on a corner lot and because of that, we have 2 entrances. I'm able to section off the back portion of the lot with a fence so the apartment has its own private driveway and backyard. I'd say the lot is around 1500 sq ft and it's all theirs to enjoy. I have put the apartment up for rent on several websites and found surprisingly large interest in it. I now have a handful of good potential tenants, but I think I may be pricing it too low.

Is it unethical or illegal to allow the tenants to bid on the apartment? How would I go about this?

What's the best way I can talk to potential tenants about increasing the rent right now?

Should I just keep rent as is and increase it in a year?

Thanks for your help!

- Jimmy