All Forum Posts by: Brian Hughes

and even if full on duplex conversion isn't possible, adding an ADU may be legal. Functionally almost the same thing, but the ADU may have slightly fewer requirements as far as things like separated utilities. (but thats a good thing to do if you can anyway, at very least for electricity and gas. Just be aware some areas ADUs arent legal at all, some they are but have too many rules to be viable, and one common rule in areas that aren't big on densification is that owner must occupy one of two units, e.g. both cannot be rented.

welcome and congratulations.

Based on your question this sounds like you are a first time landlord.   If this is so,  first of all you need to familiarize yourself with WA landlord tenant law.   There have been many changes - favoring tenants - in the last several years,  including changes that render a couple of the other suggestions in this thread illegal in WA state.   There are specific rules on when you can end tenancy (just cause) statewide,   and statewide rules on giving notices for increases.   There is also a bill in the legislature this term which if passes will require 180 days notice for any rent increase over 3% as well as triggering punitive terms to the landlord (effectively rent control lite).   

Many local jurisdictions (Seattle, tacoma, bellingham,  king county,  etc) also have local landlord/tenant rules.   I doubt if grays harbor does,  but you need to look into it.

You should also consider joining one of the landlord industry associations active in WA state.   For you,  WLA  (washington landlord association) is probably most appropriate.  There is also RHA but they are more focused on the Seattle-Tacoma-Everett urban zone.  Either org is extremely helpful though,   and is your voice in Olympia.

PM me if you would like me to share the intro letter I used last summer with purchase of my latest investment (a 7 unit in Everett, WA)

14 units, 80% DIY maintenance,  and no pickup.    That said I do have an older wagon-style compact vehicle with an already-tired interior which can carry 5 toilets at once (ask me how I know) or a few doors or a few full 8' sticks of lumber at a time.    However the real reason I get by without the truck (or a mid/full sized van,  possibly even better for rentals)  is a 5x8 enclosed box trailer.    The only problem with enclosed trailers vs.  open ones is its a lot harder to carry over-length items like 12' lumber in the enclosed trailer.   Open ones you can't carry interior maintenance stuff like premade laminate countertops, drywall,  etc.  in the rain.  So its a tradeoff.   If I had more space,  I'd keep multiple trailers and probably a pickup too,    but I'm doing OK with what I have.

My vote is build out the ADU - you know the neighborhood already, you have a good idea of likely renter demographics and likely rental (long term and STR) demand already. Remote investing can be very risky especially at small scale. You already know the house so you have a good idea of the work and risks involved. If you are comfortable with a learning process and/or have some contacts who can help then you might be able to do a fair amount of work yourself and save some $ in the process. Do get multiple estimates though. If you are outside seattle and its a simple build I can believe 100K (I have a similar situation only being held up by zoning rules, but I need to reevaluate given changes in laws since I looked last time) but the devils are in details. In my case the ADU triggers upgrade requirements to the rest of the structure, making it cost waaay more than just the additional unit would cost by itself. But my case is not an SFR, yours is.

you can PM me and I can give you a contact for a drywall contractor I have used several times   (he can do everything from drywall through paint and interior trim work)  I don't know his availability though but its a family operation out of Burien)

yes,  everybody is busy with big commercial projects.   I've run into that as well looking to convert an empty finished area to a studio apt. in one of my buildings.

If the roof or upper floor joists run parallel to the wall to be demo'd its non structural.   Be aware there may still be wires, utilities,  etc running through it.   Almost a given considering the layout of the house that plumbing and wiring will need to be moved.

I'm local.   just going by pics I can believe 2500 easy.   Its their labor,   truck costs,  disposal costs,   licences, certifications, and all the taxes and stuff they have to pay.

Also be careful that the full wall demo (last picture,  with furnace in it)  isn't a load bearing wall.

if you are inclined and able,  stripping a kitchen down to bare room  isn't that hard  (kinda fun too to smash cabinets with sledgehammer)  but make sure you are able to haul the materials to the dump,  which may mean renting/borrowing a trailer or pickup if you don't have such equipment.   Also be sure to disconnect/shutoff water, electricity,  etc.  in affected areas first.

Taking out drywall is also fairly easy (big hammer, regular hammer, and flat prybar is about all you need) but is very messy so enclose the work area, wear protection and ventilate it.

Note if if this is a pre 1978 house which it looks like it is,   and you plan to rent it,  then legally speaking you must be lead paint certified and follow abatement procedures when removing or disturbing more than six square feet of painted surface in any room.  That includes walls and cabinets unless known newer than 1978.  Your job is way past that.   

I'm gonna have to refute the comments implying these cities of south seattle area are any more dangerous than any others nearby.    Both cities are very diverse and international (largely thanks to airport proximity) and anybody wanting to be an independent,  class-C landlord (house shares would apply) in those cities hopefully is multilingual  (any of spanish, south/central asian languages, or african languages will equal a ready clientele and built in advantage),  great at working with people,   and/or plans on hiring a property management firm experienced in the area.    But as far as being dangerous,   like any greater metro area there are going to be a few buildings and a few blocks you probably don't want to own at,   but most places are going to be fine as long as you come in with the right expectations and attitude.

Also be aware that though tukwila and seatac I don't think have any significant landlord/tenant rules on top of statewide,   there have been rule changes at the state level that make recovering rent and recovering your property more difficult.   How would you like to share living space with somebody you are trying to evict for 3 or 4 months or more?   Tukwila does have an annual rental inspection program,   but relatively speaking buildings are easy,  its people that are hard.   I don't know if it applies to house shares.

Both cities have nice areas and working class areas.    Generally speaking,  the closer you get to Hwy 99 the more working class it is.   

Fun pointless fact:   I grew up in highlight heights of what is now city of Seatac.   Though its been ~25 years since I lived within boundaries.   However I still live in south seattle within 10 minutes of both cities.

If you are planning on offering cheap housing like house shares,   rooms etc.  you will have zero problems finding applicants.   However you will want to screen very carefully,  even if its cheap,   to get people who can live cooperatively and remember the various lessons they should have learned from their mothers and in kindergarten about being nice to others.    Find somebody experienced with houseshares (doing it for years) to discuss how they screen,  or a PM service with experience handling that kind of thing.   Not all of them will want to deal with it, as its a major cat herding exercise,   I can say having seen it as a resident of houseshares during my college daze.

Other places to consider:   Burien,   Renton,  Skyway.    I live in one of these,  eat out all the time in another,  and have a 4-plex in the third,   and all have plenty of stock in small multifamily and large mid century homes amenable to houseshare arrangements.

Good luck.

I use https://www.hutchcpa.com/  and have for some years.   Bellevue location.  no complaints.

If this is your first foray into renting,   please be sure to be aware of all the ordinances that apply to renting a house in seattle.   Seattle is very tenant friendly,   to the point that for example they just passed a rule requiring SIX months notice for ANY rent or cost increase and if you have to give a rent increase more than 10% for any reason,  you may have to pay your tenants three times the new rent amount if they move as a result.   With a single family house,  you also have NO LEGAL WAY to enforce any occupancy limit on the rental.     You could rent to a couple and find a week later that they have both moved in their extended family and there are now 15 people in the home,  and there is nothing you can do about it.    You also can't evict anybody with kids in school from september through june no matter how far behind they get on rent,  and you better hope to be able to get through the whole process over summer before they are protected for another 9 months if you try.  Basically,   our current city leadership considers it more important that a tenant remain housed,  even if it is completely at your expense and your property gets destroyed as a result vs any consideration of your property rights or right to enforce any rental or lease agreement.

if you aren't a member of RHA or WLA   (both local landlord associations that have MANY single-unit members) please join and take advantage of included education opportunities.   The city of seattle also offers semi-regualr renting-in-seattle seminars,  but I can't vouch for how helpful they are.   Most likely they are very focused on tenant rights and not how to protect your own rights.

All that said,  good luck.

@Chester Knapp  I can't really develop an opinion on your duplex without looking at it.    Yes,  doing systems work and stuff beyond paint/floors/trim sort of cosmetics can get expensive fast,  but so can a roof or plumbing leak or electrical fire.    (I had the latter in everett property 1 week after buying it,  so these things can and do happen)    I am a strong proponent though of keeping properties in good shape.  That doesn't mean they have to be perfect and new and totally modernized,   but they should be in good solid, safe and functional condition for what they are.    Making constant patch-up and quickie repairs ultimately invites disaster,  or results in property falling into 'handyman special' condition territory.   My recently purchased everett property is a great example of that.

Adding a detached unit like an ADU could be very expensive (300-500/sf), but depending on the layout of the lot maybe you can just subdivide the lot and sell off the piece(s) to developers. Then use those funds to update the duplex. Only issue is if you want to sell while construction is going on it might deter a lot of buyers (and renters)

The duplex I sold IF I had decided to keep it I probably would have looked at converting it back to a triplex (its configuration probably from about WW2 through early 2000's)  - I would have needed to basically replace a couple walls,   modernize the heating system,   add a third and maybe 4th common electric meter,  and find somewhere (probably a shed) for a common W/D and locate a 3rd/4th water heater.    The house already had updated plumbing and electrical,   modern windows and (asbestos,  but in good shape) siding.   It also had a modern foundation that had been retrofit probably in the early 2000s.   So it had a lot going for it given its age,   but aforementioned local neighborhood issues,  hostile regulations,  and other circumstances meant I decided it was best to move on.   FWIW in late 2018 I got 700K for it.   That was off market so no commission.    The highest priced recent lot sale in the immediate area at the time was 740k,   but things had cooled a bit since that had occurred so I figured I did OK.    The current owner is still renting it,   but they are almost done with their other project in that area,  meaning its probably next go go under the bulldozer unless they try to flip it for more than I took for it which given how long theyve held it now might work for a modest gain.