All Forum Posts by: Bora Moon

Wondering how you are doing now! Did you secure more bookings? Did you turn LTRN?

Quote from @Wilson Lau:

Oakland in general has large demand for LTR, especially in the family-friendly neighborhoods, so I wouldn't be surprised if you are already seeing many applicants on day 1. As a MTR, 14% premium doesn't seem worth it though. 1.5months of vacancy will already put you behind of what you could have made as an LTR. Your unit seems to be on the luxurious end. Have you thought of doing a STR?

I understand STR is not legal in Oakland, but yeah the unit is on the more luxurious side. I got 2 booking requests for one week each when I accidentally opened it for 7 day + booking. It was open for like 2 days only. Now I changed to 30+ booking only, and I've received two inquiries for viewing the place. One of them was at 30%+ price point compared to LTR. Now I'm not sure if this indicates some demand because I wouldn't expect to get MTR inquiry every single day. Also my listing is not complete as well. I only have nice photos of livingroom and one bedroom, as I'm still living in the unit.

Hi, I'm in the East Bay area and started marketing for my 2bed house both as a mid term rental and long term rental. Listed it on Furnished Finder, Facebook, AirBnB, Zillow

As a long term rental, in one day, I got 10 contacts, 7 out of whom filled out my pre-screening questionnaires and disclosed their income, etc and at least 4 of them scheduled a showing for this week. I think this is a pretty decent demand. They are all quality tenants making at least 15k a month and seem very enthusiastic because the unit is fully upgraded with high end finishes and appliances with private garage and backyard. They all can move in in a few weeks. 

On the other hand, I have not received any response from leads in Furnished Finder as a mid term rental. I priced it only about 14% higher than the long term rental which matches traveling health professionals' budget on Furnished Finder.

So I'm leaning toward longer term rental because even if I secure midterm tenant, that 14% more isn't really worth the potential vacancy. I wanted to do mid term because I've been living here and already put furnishing in, but if it's not in demand.. I'll just do long term rental. 

But I still want to hear how others are doing and see what I could be doing wrong. One hypothesis I have is that this is a very safe residential area in Oakland where a lot of people say it's a place they want to grow family in. There are a lot of young families in this neighborhood. But it's not in walking distance to hospitals or downtown. So this could be an area that is just more attractive to longer term tenants? Or does it not matter? 

Thanks!

I'm wondering what you ended up doing! It seems travel nurses demand has dried out, and now I'm at the cross roads between long term rental and mid term.  

Hi, I am in a very similar situation in Northern California and came across your post. I am also closing on a property that has two separate units, one one which is split level with separate entrances. Lower level however does not have a wet bar like yours did. So I would need to add a kitchen/wet bar, separate meters and remove/block up the stairs. Zoning is not a problem since the two units are already registered as a multifamily. One difficulty I have is that there is almost zero multifamily property in my neighborhood, so very hard to find comps.

wondering how you ended up going! 

Quote from @Rick Albert:

What is the zoning and what does it show on title? For example, a house with ADU will show as single family zoning and therefore an appraiser will look at it like a house and make a value adjustment for the ADU. If the property is zoned for a duplex then the appraiser will consider it a duplex. This is assuming it is on the same lot with same APN and permitted as such.

The lot is a single lot in RD-1 zoning which I understand allows multi family dwellings (upto quadflex). And there are two separate houses on the same lot, each with its own number. I haven't been able to check APN but I assume it's under the same APN. If all this is correct, it is considered a duplex already? Because even though they are separate, they are in the same lot that allows for multi family dwelling.
Then, if I split one of them into two, it will be a triplex, and appraisal will look at it as a triplex, as opposed to duplex. In that case, I'll need to understand the difference in estimated value between updated duplex vs. updated triplex with the conversion. I'm assuming the conversion cost, both the repairs and administrative, would be high, so I wonder if it'll be worth it at all. Might as well just be done with it by adding a fourth bedroom and keeping it a duplex, move on and buy a real multi family. 

Quote from @Dan H.:

Depending on the zoning and under what context it already has a 2nd unit, you may be restricted to having the new unit as a JADU.  

If you are limited to adding the new unit as a JADU, it typically lowers the value of the property as you speculated maybe a little for the reason you specify but more so because JADUs require owner occupancy.  Unless you have a long hold p,a that could justify adding and then moving the JADU at time of selling, I would not add a JADU.  

In general, ADUs add less value than they cost but do add some value.  Typically I am seeing added values in north inland San Diego between $50k and $100k.  The hands off cost to do a garage conversion is greater than $100k. 

If the new 3rd unit is not a ADU or JADU, mean zoning and lot allow a triplex, the cost to add will be greater than adding a JADU (even though construction is the same the fees will be higher), but it will add some value. In general, small triplexes are valued greater than duplexes of the same total size. This is likely your best option if it is available and you want the extra unit and associated income. Note it may not an option if zoning or lot do not work.

Good luck

 Thanks a lot! A lot of info there. So the lot is a single lot in RD-1 zoning which I understand allows multi family dwellings (upto quadflex). And there are two seperate houses on the same lot, each with its own number. I haven't been able to check APN but I assume it's under the same APN. Then, it would be considered triplex (already two, and I'm converting one of them into a duplex). And you're saying if that's the case, it will add value but cost more. I'm hesitant to go that route because as much as I would love that extra income, I think the overhead and the cost associated might not worth that much unless it can increase value significantly compared to the unit being a rehabbed single fam house (or potentially one more bedroom). I will need to understand the cost to be able to do a better cost analysis.. 

Hi, all

The property has two houses on one lot, so it's already a multi-family on surface. But the two are each single family houses. The bigger house is two-story building already with separate entrances. So I'm thinking to add a kitchen on the first floor and make it a separate unit. This will bring in more rental income but I'm curious if that'll have a negative impact on its appraised value. I read that multi-family doesn't compare apple to apple with sfh and there's less purchase demand, so it may appraise less. It is in a mostly sfh residential area so it doesn't have a direct comp nearby either. 

The reason why I think it makes sense other than the additional rental income is that current floor plan is really inefficient with the stairs and dead space. But given the renovation cost and potential disadvantage on appraisal, adding a bedroom to make it a 4b2b sfh might work just fine.. 

Anyone familiar with appraisal that can provide input on this? Appreciate it! Thanks!

Trying to do the similar. How did you end up funding the deal? 

Quote from @Russell Brazil:

San Diego is too expensive not to househack, not the other way around.

 I haven't thought that way but yeah make sense!