Bay Area Renovation Project

[William A Edwards]

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for some guidance on my first small Multifamily renovation.  My wife and I are house hacking a late 1970s triplex (3br/2ba for us, 3/2 and studio for tenants).  We are currently under contract (closing at the end of October), and I'm trying to plan as much as possible now to start the remodel at closing.  Our priorities are 1- fixes for safety or to prevent further damage; 2- fixes that improve the rental income or will draw great tenants (we're turning the studio to a 1Br to increase rent), and 3-things my wife wants for customization/aesthetics (happy wife, happy life).

Some specific questions I had so far are:

1) We have a modified bitumen roof.  Roofs tend to last a lot longer here because it doesn't snow and barely ever rains, but would you replace it if there doesn't appear to be evidence of leakage on the inspection report? I was planning to do another walkthrough with an inspector from another company just to make doubly sure there weren't any issues to fix missed on the first report including this one.

2) How important are window upgrades to tenants? The place still has original single pane aluminum windows, and we were considering replacing them (at least in our unit) for energy efficiency and noise reduction. But I'm not sure it's worth the expense for the rental units.

3) We have two water heaters (each around 40 gallons) - is that sufficient hot water for the number of bathrooms in the building (5)?

4) Does anyone know if there are significant differences in the electrical code in San Francisco/California from the national electric code? My uncle is an electrician in the Philadelphia area and I was wondering if it makes sense to fly him out here to do the work needed - he's guaranteed to be much cheaper than an electrician here.

5) The kitchen cabinets are original - I was considering replacing vs restaining them, but the contractor estimates they'll be around 9000 with labor, cheap cabinets, and replacing 2/3 countertops. I'm trying to decide if it's worth it or not.

Thank for your input in advance! I'll keep everyone updated on the project