All Forum Posts by: Bonnie Low

Quote from @Stacy McElroy:

Thank you Bonnie!! I'll definitely do that.

 You're welcome!

Quote from @Nelisa Lee:

Quote from @Bonnie Low:

Hi, Nelisa. I have a small portfolio of LTRs, MTRs and one STR. Until about a year ago we were using a bookkeeper to manage our books in quickbooks. It was just too cumbersome for us to do ourselves. I had wanted to find something simpler for a long time. I also needed to set up some bank accounts for our LLCs so in the process of doing that I ran across Baselane, which is a banking and bookkeeping platform. I had looked at some others but I ended up going with Baselane because it gave me the combination of banking, bookkeeping and tenant management I was looking for. I'm very happy for it and (bonus!) I was able to let our bookkeeper go, saving over $500/mo in the process!

Glad you were able to find a solution that worked for you and to save a lot of money in the process! Quickbooks can be cumbersome to figure out so I get that. I've never heard of Baselane but it seems like it's geared more towards rental property owners. Do you also flip properties? 

Yes, I do. I've done flips, BRRRRs and buy and hold in the LTR and MTR spaces. Buy and hold for STR.

Quote from @Aaron Sweat:

Thank you for the feedback, everyone. Great perspectives. If more information were available to developers and homeowners about ADA compliance and units, we would all benefit. Currently, the CBC mandates a percentage of new dwelling units to be ADA compliant, but I wonder if these units are quickly filled or if there is excess in certain regions. For those of us who have most of the necessary elements, why wouldn't we diversify our units? There is a lot to consider.

I believe in unit diversity. While I've explored full ADA compliance, we don't have the space or budget to achieve it completely. ADA units are more expensive and require more from the permitting process to construction. Therefore, I will make the units as close to ADA-accessible as possible with the least additional cost.

You make some great points. I think of "accessible" as slightly different than ADA compliant. Much like there's "organic" produce and "certified organic." For a farmer's products to be certified organic, there are all kinds of hoops to jump through. But you can do just the same or even better raising truly organic produce without earning the "certified organic" label for marketing purposes. There's a lot you can do to make your property accessible without earning the ADA compliant stamp of approval. Providing a ramp if you have any steps. Wide doorways to accommodate walkers and wheel chairs, a floating sink in the bathroom, a walk in shower, grab bars, etc. I also find that the entire property doesn't necessarily have to be accessible. Even just one bedroom and one level of the home may be sufficient depending on who is using it. There are lots of possibilities!

Quote from @Nikky Jarvis:

Quote from @Bonnie Low:

Quote from @Allen Duan:

For MTR bookings through an OTA, like VRBO or Furnished Finder, you'll have to get creative if you want to do background and credit checks. I've heard of some hosts adding to the house rules that the guests must complete those steps after booking on the OTA platform, otherwise the booking will be canceled.

At my company, we don't do background and credit checks for OTA bookings, but we do ask why they're renting a MTR and who will be staying with them. The answer to those questions is usually enough for me to know if I want to take the booking or not.

But you do have them sign a lease, right?

Yes, I inform them that they will sign a lease. Some people stop responding when they are informed about background checks/credit checks requirement.

 My question was actually for Allen Duan but I'm glad you get a lease signed. Those that run away from the background and credit checks are probably ones you don't want anyway : )

Welcome Cyndi! Are you managing some MTRs in ND now? How's that going?

Quote from @Julia King:

Hi, I am currently house hacking a duplex renting one unit tenants and living in the other. The tenant's are moving out this summer and I'll be looking for new tenants, however, I'd like to rent out my unit to mid-term tenants while I'm away traveling for months at a time. Any suggestions for how to relay this information to potential new tenants without scaring people off? Has anyone successfully done this before?

 Just state in your marketing or listing that the other side of the unit is rented out for midterm stays of 30 days or longer. Shouldn't be a problem.

Quote from @Allen Duan:

For MTR bookings through an OTA, like VRBO or Furnished Finder, you'll have to get creative if you want to do background and credit checks. I've heard of some hosts adding to the house rules that the guests must complete those steps after booking on the OTA platform, otherwise the booking will be canceled.

At my company, we don't do background and credit checks for OTA bookings, but we do ask why they're renting a MTR and who will be staying with them. The answer to those questions is usually enough for me to know if I want to take the booking or not.

But you do have them sign a lease, right?

If a permit is required I absolutely would not list it before then. Big jurisdictions are going after properties that are unpermitted and the fines can be substantial, as can the penalties. Marketing it as an MTR might be a good alternative so long as Sacramento doesn't also regulate MTRs.

Definitely look at your market to see what the competition looks like. Almost everywhere, STRs are becoming extremely competitive. You have to rank at or near the top to stay booked. If your competition has granite counter tops, you need granite. If your competition has spa-like master bathrooms, you need spa-like master bathrooms. If the competition has hot tubs, you need a hot tub. More and more we're seeing a lot of this evolution spill over into MTRs as well, especially as jurisdictions have banned or restricted STRs and those owners pivot to the midterm rental space. Just really, really understand your market and your competition and make your decisions based on that or set your expectations accordingly.

ADUs are really evolving, especially on the west coast where some states and cities are making it easy to build them and, in fact, incentivizing them because of the lack of affordable housing. While they have historically been underappreciated and de-valued, this too is changing, particularly as new loan products are being released specifically for the purpose of funding ADU construction. Appraisers have had to learn how to value them and, as such, we're seeing a real change in thinking. Overall, Dan H's assessment is probably correct today. But this space is changing rapidly and in jurisdictions like San Jose where housing is scare, expensive and government entities are motivated to do something about it, I predict we'll see appreciation and other key metrics play out in favor of properties with ADUs in the near future. No one knows for sure, but this is my speculation.