First House Hack - General Renovating Questions

[Timothy Eaton]

Hi all,

Just purchased my first home which I will be house hacking. The home has a separate entrance to a daylight basement that I will be renovating to convert it into a second unit. Currently, the house is on one water meter, electricity, etc. Does anyone in the Seattle are have the process for converting the single utilities into two? One that is attributed to the top unit and one that will be for the bottom unit. Does this require permitting? What can I expect for timing on the permit approval if it does require a permit? What my be the cost of the permit if it is required? And how much would you gauge it may cost to convert from one to two utility meters? ( I understand the answer will be highly variable but anything will help)

P.s. I am looking for a mentor that has experience in long term holds, and renovation costs. I have a background in construction and I have a construction management degree from the UW. I would be happy to do free work for any potential mentor. Thanks!

[Dennis Nguyen]

Congrats on the househack! I would look into these guys https://www.submetersolutions.com/

If that doesn't work, just split the usage based off square footage and charge the tenants in proportion to that - not 100%  accurate but good enough. I do that for my properties and my investors do the same for their properties (We're in Seattle as well).