All Forum Posts by: Dan K.

Hi @Andre Oakley, as @Lien Vuong mentioned, I am doing something similar. I have a multifamily and am converting 4 garages into an apartment.

Before paying professionals for help, look into zoning regulations in your area and find out what's allowed. You need to think about setbacks, how close you're allowed to build to your current structure, FAR for the property and how many dwelling units you can have on a lot that is your size. It's not fun homework, but that's my 2 cents.

@Andrew Beaver My other thought is that you are going to have a very, very hard time finding a landlord that will allow you to Airbnb. Additionally, you are going to need to find some sort of renter's insurance policy that will allow Airbnb.

Hi @Andrew Beaver,

My point of view is I wouldn't do it unless there are already regulations in place. For example, in Cambirdge you must live in an adjacent unit and have the space inspected by the city. In this case at least Cambridge has made the "rules of the road" known.

Additionally, furnishing units is not cheap.

I think you really need to think about your time of management, risk of regulation and potential monthly rent when considering short term rentals.

Congratulations Bella.

Caution and focusing on primary 9-5 income is always good. From an investment perspective, you might want to narrow down what you're looking for. I completely understand the feeling of wanting to get in on a good deal, no matter if it's office, hotel, warehouse, etc., but each investment type is very different and has different groups to network with. When networking, it's hard to be taken seriously by people in the industry if it seems like you're trying to get in on every type of real estate. There are people who have made absolute fortunes in residential real estate who know nearly nothing about office RE -- the converse is of course also true.

Of course researching the various classes of investment and figuring out which seem best for your and your partner is highly encouraged!

@Dennis M. is spot on -- A mini-split system would be great. From Mass Saves you can get a 10-year 0% loan. I haven't turned on our electric baseboards since having the mini-splits. The obvious upside is that you get AC as well. Providing AC is almost a necessity these days.

@Tory Kelliher and @Jay M. hit the nail on the head.

My 2 cents -- Before even thinking about egress, does your HOA allow you to make the improvement and does zoning allow you to have that amount of usable square footage? You need to figure out FAR requirements for the property.

Step 1 - Research if you can do this without need to go to the ZBA

Step 2 - Talking to some architect or very experienced GCs. If you are adding plumbing that low you are likely to need a discharge pump for sewer along with other considerations.

Great post @Aaron Steeves! Besides making a few dollars, I think the biggest benefit is you did it the right way, learned a lot, and left the property safe for future tenants and owners. I'm sure you could have lipsticked it and left future tenants and owners to deal with the repercussions. 

Many multis in Cambridge are falling. Of course you can blame this on a variety of factors -- overpricing, raising interest rates, 1,000+ new rental units being developed in Cambridge over the last year and upcoming year(s), surge of interest in multifamily investing, etc.

Hi @Robin Cornacchio

You probably want to check with your insurance company to make sure you can have pets. Generally there is a list of dog breeds that are black listed from insurance companies.

You should also have a written pet policy with a maximum number of dogs and cats, other species of animals you will allow or ban, and max size of a fish tank. 

My point of view -- Keep in mind when you are in Massachusetts and renting to families, along with section 8 families, you must abide by the lead laws. If a property was abated 10-15 years ago, it may still give you trouble because newer testing technologies are more sensitive. The state as a database of properties that have been inspected for lead.