All Forum Posts by: Andrew B.

Hello everyone,

I've been building an ADU in south San Diego (National City) area and I've hit a big bump on the road. It's been a long process (over a year) and I can't wait to finish it. I just found out by the water (utilities company) that I need to change the size of the water line that goes to my house. This is an older neighborhood and therefore my water meter is located at the corner of the crossing street, not in front of my property. I wish I would have known this information before starting this process. Now that I'm towards the end of it I won't get signed off unless these plumbing upgrades are done. The water company is quoting me at approximately $80k-90k to do this project. Reason being that the linear footage from the meter to my house is pretty long and there's not a main water line on my street. This involves opening up the street so I can add the new main water line to run to my house. I definitely cannot afford to do that at this time. I've put all my money into this ADU and now it seems like I won't be able to finish it unless I come up with that money. Any guidance, suggestions ideas or programs are greatly appreciated.

@Matthew Forrest No the tenants don't have access to the garage at all. We made sure that was not included in the lease. There's fences on both sides of the garage so that they can't access it. The issue in our case is that we will most likely need to expand into their backyards in order to add square footage. 

Thank you for all that information @Dan H.

@Karen Margrave If the lease is up do I have to specify and add that information to the addendum or do I just inform them? In my situation it's a duplex and we want to add an ADU with additional square footage. This will require to expand into my tenants backyards (possibly both or just one side depending on the design). Do I just inform the tenants that their backyard space will be reduced ? Do they have to agree on it?

@Chad New How much did the drawings cost? Did you submit them to your city for permits? I'm in the beginning stages of converting a detached garage DIY project and adding square footage but I have no idea on how much drawings cost. Did you hire an architect or a draftsman/woman?

I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for all the great information and suggestions. The property is in National City CA. There was never a lease signed between us and that tenant since she was inherited. When I tried to contact section 8 about her moving situation they just said that there was nothing they could do about her. So the eviction was against the tenant. We are leaning towards hiring a professional just to get rid of the headache for good. At least that's what we are hoping for. 

Hello everyone! 

We are trying to convert a detached garage into an ADU. I went to the city and they said that I can do it and even add square footage. We have the space to add additional square footage but that would mean that I would be taking over some of tenants current backyard space. Our property is a duplex in National City CA. The current houses are detached and the garage sits in the middle with room to expand towards the front and the sides. Both of my tenants are month to month now. We are trying to do this ASAP. They each have a back yard they would still home some yard left even if we add the extra space. My question is can I do this while they are still living in the property? or do I have to wait until they move out in order to start construction? We are still in the planning stages since we are looking for a draftsman or a reasonably priced architect. If you have any recommendations please let me know. Thank you for all your help!

@Theresa Harris That's what I don't understand. Why are we getting sued if the court had approved the eviction. @Bill B. I represented myself the first time around. She ended up moving out because the court ruled in my favor and she was at risk of loosing her section 8. 

Hello everyone,

I purchased a property back in 2016 in Southern California. It's a duplex. Part of the purchase agreement was that the property would be vacant for us to take over. The previous landlord sent out move out 60 day notices because he was selling the property. One of the families moved out in June 2016. Property was purchased the middle of April 2016. The second tenant didn't move out until March 2017! She kept asking us for more time every time. She kept saying that section 8 wasn't really helping her find a new place therefore it was hard for her to find a new place. We ended up going to court as an eviction because she also stopped paying her portion of the rent and there was no other way of removing her.  In reality didn't have the desire to leave a 3bed 2 bath house with a garage for herself rent was only $1200. The house was a mess and full of a ton of items I don't even know how her section 8 inspections even got approved. Now she's suing us for wrongful eviction. We tried working with her we tried giving her as much time as she needed. It just got to the point where we needed the property for my sister to move in since was getting married soon and already had a newborn. Has anyone had this situation or something similar? The ex tenant is representing herself but I don't know if representing myself will be the best option since I dont want for her to keep coming back at me with another lawsuit I just want her to leave us alone and carry on with her life. 

Thank @Olena M. & @Justin R.

@Justin R.

We currently live in Maryland but the property is located in National City. According to the sellers agent the lot is around .3 acres so I'm hoping that the lot size isn't an issue. Specifics on the process would be awesome. We're in the process of confirming both the zoning and lot size and hoping to get a few quotes from GCs. Do you guys have any you could recommend?

@Olena M. If you don't mind me asking could you give me a high level estimate of cost?