All Forum Posts by: Brandon Bielas

We are thinking about selling our home that has a legal ADU downstairs (complete with a full kitchen). Being in the red hot Seattle real estate market, I thought I would ask you professionals if it's better to put some money into a kitchen remodel upstairs and sell the house so that the buyer would have the upstairs unit to live in and 1 to rent downstairs or to convert the upstairs kitchen into a bedroom… making the house a 4 bedroom 2 bath? What is more desirable? Homes with an ADU must be owner occupied. At the prices houses are selling for, I'm just curious if people would pay a ton of money for a house they would share with others in an ADU situation. Thanks for any input!

Maybe arrange for a meeting with the local building department people and fire off all these questions. There may be a fee, but at least you will hear what is required and not required for your situation. I had the option of this before I started my ADU. I opted not to do this kind of "overview meeting", but doing it might have made what I needed to do more clear from the beginning. I personally had to wire the entire house with interconnected fire alarms and do some things related to insulation, window heights, handrail heights, have access to the ADU from my part of the building, etc. to bring it up to their standards. It was honestly way more work dealing with the paperwork than it was for the actual construction. They may determine that it's not even required to file for an ADU if you don't have a full kitchen. Go for it, do it all legit and work with the city. (It appears as though Chicago has recently opened their arms to ADUs.) Good luck!!

John, I'm definitely open to a live in flip. With schools online only right now, we have the ability to move around a bit. I like the idea of conventional financing as well! If I did something like that, I would flip it going through the process of filing for an ADU as well. The small expense is worth the added value for someone. The ADU affidavit can be transferred to a new owner if they comply with the few rules that come with the it.

Matt, I think ADUs are absolutely the way to go in our crazy expensive market. An Airbnb DADU sounds even better. Thanks for posting on this thread. I'll be in touch!

 Frank, that's really spot on about the light rail. I like the growth of both cities overall. Thanks for your reply! 

Having joined the BP community a few months back, I have been sitting on the sidelines quietly reading in the forums. It's way overdue that I introduce myself. I am Brandon and I live in Edmonds, WA. I am originally from Northern Michigan and plan on investing in buy and hold property outside of Seattle (Ellensburg or Bellingham) or possibly back in N. Michigan. I got interested in RE when I was maybe 9 or 10. I would flip through old MLS books my dad had and dream about buying property back when lots in MI were $500 in the little rural towns. That dream was pushed aside and forgotten until a few years ago when I converted my home into one with an ADU. The process was very exciting (sometime scary!) but when the rent comes in each month, I realize how powerful REI truly is! I found the BP podcast a few months ago, and I have learned so much in that short time. I started reading real estate books, and recently started journaling daily in Brandon's Intention Journal. All of this has gotten me to a point where I am focused on learning as much as I can and banking cash for a down payment on another income property. I often think about Brandon Turner saying something to the effect of "if this is too hard, just go back to watching Dancing with the Stars". Through journaling and planning my day and my most important next steps, I don't seem to have any time at all for tv anymore! He is so right though... put in the effort and you will get what you want - or you can plop down and watch tv all day and gain nothing! I'm choosing to educate myself, be mindful of how I spend my time, and choose the direction I take in life. I am looking to network with other investors in the Seattle area or in N. Michigan or folks who have go through the process of converting their home into one with an ADU. Thank you all for reading this!

@Ryan Hazelwood

I'm 42 and I just have 1 mother in law apartment (ADU) under my belt. I converted part of my house about 5 years ago and it was by far the best financial move I have ever made. The process to create a legal ADU wasn't bad or particularly expensive. My house hack has prepared me with the basics of being a landlord and some of the minor headaches that have taught me great lessons for the future. My goal is to buy another property by next summer. I am so inspired by the young folks on biggerpockets who have chosen to go "all in" so early in their lives. Cheers to you all and best wishes investing.

@Deniz Eker

Oh yes, I would absolutely fix these things. Keep those long term renters comfortable enough that they won’t want to move, even when you eventually need to increase rent.