All Forum Posts by: Brian Larson

@Rene Schmitz - This is an excellent question. Speaking as a licensed realtor with Keller Williams, you generally will not see as much of a return on an ADU investment. It is more of a long term investment.

Increasing your home size and quality will generally be better if you think you are selling in the next 3-5 years.

@Andy Eakes - Thanks for sharing.  I am sure so of the same problems are occurring in the Bay Area.

It seems that the local city rules and state rules have been changing so fast in California, along with the demand spike in demand, that the planning and permitting offices can't keep up.  I know specifically that San Jose Rules have changed about 3-4 times in the course of 2 years.  That's huge amount of change.

@Emil Pinlac

Here is a rough breakdown from the Silicon Valley Housing Trust Presentation I went to about 1 year ago.  Obviously, this will be Bay Area prices.  Sacramento should be less.

(https://housingtrustsv.org/programs/homeowner-programs/accessory-dwelling-unit-program/)

@Albert Ng - actually the most cost effective option is to owner-build.  :-)

In all seriousness though, most Contractors I spoke with gave $350 per sqft or higher price.  That is not very cost effective.

@David Maldonado - $50K still seems really low but I am glad to hear it is a working strategy for you.

@Namit Raisurana - Have you looked at these companies?  They are essentially endorsed at the bottom of the city of San Jose website - https://www.sanjoseca.gov/business/development-services-permit-center/accessory-dwelling-units-adus/adu-permit-plan-review-process/adu-single-family-master-plan-program

www.abodu.com

www.prefabadu.com

www.actonadu.com

From a cost prospective, the prefab ADUs may be the way to go but I share your concerns about issues with the structures in 5-10 years.  Personally, I have opted for a stick built plan and it is way, way more money.

@Marcus Griswold- thanks for sharing. It looks like Oakland wants to take one the State. They are gonna be overruled.

Also, is it just me or is everyone else thinking about doing real estate business outside of California in the future? Just curious. I understand the sentiments behind these tenant protections but I think they are going to drive off developers and exacerbate an already tight housing market because developers will just stop building If they can't turn a profit. This would make the housing crisis much, much worse. The ADU rules should help curb the housing crisis but not if local cities start playing with the state rules like this.

@Eric Sun - try looking in Sacramento. There are still opportunities there but they are hard to find.

@Hassan Karaouni - is the property in the city limits? Or the county? Start with looking up the local rules online with the city, then the county, and then the state rules. The jurisdiction rules vary greatly all over California.

Additionally, as far as cost to build....it of course varies. If you have a lot of land then a simple and cost-effective way to do project is probably a prefab structure. There are many trendy options out there.

Lastly, financing all of these ADU options varies but I think most people pay for them with a cash out refinance or a HELOC.

Best of luck with your project.

WFH is not a one-size-fits-all.  Most software-based companies like Twitter and Facebook can afford to do this but many hardware-based companies like Apple need people in the office to work on equipment and maintain secrecy around their IP. I think it would be foolish to this that there is going to be any major shifts in the business workplace in the long term.

Additionally, I DO think it is a valid concern about people co-living / house-hacking with a pandemic going on but, again, I do not think that is a long term problem.

Lastly, I think living far away from work brings a poor quality of life and I would be willing to bet many people who are smart enough to think this way would be good renters for a house-hack.

Curious to hear some different opinions out there though.