All Forum Posts by: Amy Beth

I do not have experience with adding lines to a lease for this kind of situation. However, I do not see how adding a few lines to a lease would make it ok. Imo a tenant being aware of it would not give you a pass with complying with regulations in your area. The only go arounds that I can foresee are renting out the unit with the permitted kitchen only or obtaining a permit for the other kitchen if you want to rent out that unit. Or Airbnb or a similar short term rental service. If you are set on making this a long term rental I would suggest consulting with a real estate attorney to see if changing the lease or some other work around is possible.

Also to add Airbnb may be an option for short term rentals. I would think there would be a big market for it in LA unless it is over saturated with airbnb rentals in your area. I think a long term renter of an illegal unit is too big of a risk in the event that you have to evict them through the courts or if someone was to call in and report it. Overall this sounds like a great idea if you want to have in laws or parents live close by but with some privacy but not so sure if this is a worthwhile investment as a rental. Perhaps someone else with more experience in your particular situation will have better advice.

We have to have our certificate renewed yearly with an inspection so that could be an issue if you have to do that. Can you live in the unit with the illegal kitchen and have the tenant live in the unit with the legal kitchen instead? Or perhaps find out the costs involved in getting a legal permit for the kitchen and decide if it is a worthwhile investment?

I am not familiar with the rules and regulations in California. In New Jersey we had to obtain an occupancy permit before we could legally rent out our SFH. We would not of been able to obtain an occupancy permit with a kitchen without a permit. I would suggest checking with your local office to find out the procedures.

We used an agent to find our tenant at our SFH rental. We paid a months rent for the fee for finding the tenant. It was worth the money spent because we were able to choose an excellent tenant out of a stack of applications that our agent was able to find. Since the lease signing we have managed the property ourselves so we do not pay a monthly fee for property management.

We do not charge any extra fees for pets at our SFH rental. However, we require that all pets be up to date on vaccinations and be spayed or neutered. We require documentation from a vet at the lease signing for each pet. We also require that the renter obtain renters insurance which covers their pets and provide us with documentation of it. It is also added as an addendum to the lease that any future pets must meet the same requirements. I think it is more important to have a responsible pet owner than to collect additional deposits or fees which may not even cover the damage from irresponsible pet owners.

I would recommend refinancing with a different lender.

Continue saving until you are able to put down a larger down payment.

We have keypad locks at both of our properties. We ordered ours from Amazon because the cost was less than Home Depot. The locks make life much easier.

My husband and I are considering adding a shed at our primary residence.  In our area a zoning permit is required for all sheds and a building permit if the shed is over a certain square footage.  I would suggest checking with your local town office and requiring that a permit be obtained (if that is needed) before the tenants bring a shed onto the property.