All Forum Posts by: Boris Suchkov

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I'm looking for advice on STRs in Marina del Rey. It's an unincorporated community so the rules should be looser than in the nearby City of Los Angeles. However it's made up of mostly condos so HOA rules may be pretty limiting.

What I was thinking of doing is buying a condo as a pied-a-terre for my parents and short-term renting it while they’re not there. 

I was about to post the same question, but just saw this. I've reached out to about ten lenders so far and none had a line of credit product for non-homeowner occupied property. I've been offered a conventional refinance, a 2nd lien position mortgage, an "All In One" (you refinance the entirety of your mortgage, and then you can borrow additional funds like with a HELOC), but no line of credit.

I've heard of such HELOCs on the BP podcast, and I'm pretty sure they exist. Any pointers?

Senate Bill 9, which went into effect on January 1, 2022, has been called the "death knell of exclusive single family zoning" across the state because it authorizes a duplex on any single family lot as well as allows the splitting of lots (potentially allowing 4 units on what was a parcel with a single family home!) How much truth is in that, and how does an SB9 duplex compare to a home with an ADU?

At this month's Brews and ADUs, Maxable Space's LA senior designer Lyle Boatman will help demystify SB9 by discussing:

- What zoning restrictions are waived in ADU law that are not waived in SB9
- Why you don't want to be the first one in your plat map to do a lot split
- What geographic areas are excluded from SB9
- Other benefits and pitfalls of the new state law

Full Program Schedule:

4:00-4:30 - Sign in, networking
4:30-4:40 - Introducing the event and guest speaker
4:40-5:10 - Feature Presentation
5:10-5:30 - Q&A

*Structured Program ends*

5:30-6:00 - Additional networking

Looking to maximize your rental income on a property? Need extra living space for a family member? Want to be a more informed affordable housing advocate? Looking for your next real estate investment strategy? Just have questions about how to get your building permit application through a city bureaucracy?

Check out the Brews and ADUs kickoff event! We are going to start with Boris Suchkov, ADU Consultant, who will present on "What You Need to Know About ADUs to avoid expensive mistakes and plan your project!" followed by a Q & A.

This is the first meeting of an event series intended to bring together community members, industry professionals, affordable housing advocates, and real estate investors. I plan to keep these going once a month, and invite guest speakers to cover a different aspect of the ADU development process each month (site evaluation, design, financing, permitting, construction, appraisal, etc).

Full Program Schedule:

4:00-4:20 - Sign in, networking
4:20-4:25 - Introducing the event and guest speaker: Boris Suchkov
4:25-4:40 - Presentation: What You Need to Know About ADUs to avoid expensive mistakes and plan your project!
4:40-5:00 - Speaker Q&A
5:00-5:15 - Problem/Solution (Before/After): Discuss a real-life, in-progress ADU project
5:15-5:30 - Final Q&A

*Structured Program ends*

5:30-6:00 - Additional networking

@Nick Louie I'm curious, what was your impression when you went and walked the streets for the first time?

I lived in the Bronx as a middle school student in the 1990s, a much more dangerous time than now, and I turned out fine. There may have been an increase in crime in the past year or two, but it's likely temporary. If you plan to hold on to this property long-term, think of the fundamentals:

1) Transportation - being near a transit hub is incredibly valuable. Even though with COVID many people are avoiding public transit, the ridership will come back, and New Yorkers pay more rent for being near transit, so you'll always have your choice of tenants. Just screen them properly.

2) Path of progress - so many NYC neighborhoods have gentrified, with the Bronx being essentially the "last frontier" of affordability, things should only get better. Progress is not inevitable - obviously, in the 1960's/70's/80's the Bronx went from being more middle class to falling on hard times due to white flight, highway building, disinvestment, the crack epidemic, etc. But I think that's all behind us now and in the long run the city will continue to hold itself together and grow.

3) Inflation and equity paydown - don't think of cashflow alone. As we hear on BP podcasts over and over again, real estate is a "get rich slow" game. Any reasonable property in a non-marginal neighborhood makes sense as an investment, over time. And if you're only going to live in it for one year, anyway, you're not taking on much personal risk, your tenants are. 

Hi @Paul Dashevsky, what a great project! Is there any way you can show a breakdown of costs (design, permitting, construction)?

I'm looking to demolish and fill in a non-functioning pool. Having no experience with this, I would like to learn what are the steps involved so that I can better negotiate with a company that specializes in this, or even just get a handyman to do it if it's relatively simple. So far here's what I understand needs to happen:

1) Remove and dispose of pipes and machinery like the pump and filter.

2) Make holes in the concrete lining so that water can drain (or even jackhammer the entire lining into pieces and bury them, not sure).

3) Fill the hole with clean fill.

4) Compact the fill and get a compaction report (required for city pass inspection, and also to allow future construction on the site).

Anything I'm missing? What would a simple contract look like for this type of work? Any advice appreciated!

At the state level, ADUs are very much supported in California, with new legislation in effect since last year that essentially forces cities to allow new ADUs and garage conversions on most residential properties. That doesn't mean it's cheap or easy, however. Interpretation of the state rules varies somewhat from city to city; building code requirements must still be met; finding the right designer and contractor can be an involved process.

Whether the partial conversion is a blessing or a curse depends on what was done and how it was done - i.e. before you apply for a building permit and go through all the proper steps to legalize the ADU, is it too much trouble to remove what's already there? For example, if the previous homeowner ran plumbing that doesn't meet code, and when you are building the ADU the inspector points it out, you have to remove it and redo things the right way, which can be more costly than building from scratch. Do your due diligence.

Large ones! At least three bedrooms. People expect more space - multiple bedrooms, family rooms, dens, home offices, game rooms. For duplexes I want to buy in the future, I would aim for at least 2,000 sq. ft. per unit, with opportunity to add a bedroom or bathroom to force value appreciation.