All Forum Posts by: Bruce P.

Hi,

My friend is building an ADU (accessory dwelling unit) in their backyard in Los Angeles area and wondered what kind of lumber is good for the framing both in terms of price and quality? They are in a class B+ to A neighborhood. I read up on it a bit and it seems like light structural lumber milled from softwood trees (spruce, fir and pine) might be a fine choice. But there any good brand(s) (model number, SKU, etc.)  I can ask for when making inquiries to a vendor so that they could easily point me in the right direction?  Thanks BP community in advance.

Thank you for the great idea @Mike McCarthy!

Thank you @Frank Hinck @Account Closed - you've given me some great ideas!

Hi, so the house my friend has been living in in Los Angeles area has a First Alert P1210 smoke/fire alarm that started chirping in the middle of the night. It's supposed to be one of these 10 year battery life type alarms. 

He took it down from the mounting on the ceiling and deactivate it since it wouldn't stop chirping. The date on it says 2019 and it's now 2020, so it hasn't been 10 years. It also said that you can't replace the battery. This sounds like a bit of a profit scheme on the part of the smoke detector company, not sure.

Are there any good smoke detectors out there that fit the First Alert P1210 mounting bracket with a battery that he can change easily that aren't a "use once and discard" type smoke alarm?  Or is there a good reason to use an alarm like First Alert?  Thanks.

Thanks @James Mc Ree. Great point @Greg M. - was thinking of asking for 3 months worth of bank statements to get a sense of their average daily balance -- too strict or not enough?

Hi BP,

Was chatting with a friend, and was wondering what key financial metrics (and what minimum numerical scores/values would you accept) would you use for evaluating whether tenants would be good renters for your property? Esp. in a house-hacking situation if that applies.

Some of my friend's initial thoughts on metrics and values:

1) Credit score with a minimum of 600

2) Debt to income ratio - 35% or lower

3) Revolving credit - not really sure if this is needed as it is a factor in credit score?

4) History of employment - ideally stable - maybe 1 job they've spent at least 2 years or more?

Are there any other key metrics or other financial factors my friend and I should look at?

Awesome, thank you @Kody Thompson, always great seeing you around these parts too!

Thank you @Mason Hickman, that's a great thought.

Hi BP community,

My friend is doing a house hack in southern California and was wondering if there was a good way to share/secure common items that could be shareable. For example, there is a Keurig coffee machine - should they share the cost of the coffee pods via an honor system jar? (e.g., each tenant promises to put $0.50 in the jar each time they use a cup). 

Is there some sort of small "vending machine" that would accept quarters and drop out the Keurig cups?  Or should some easily common shareable stuff not be shared at all? I can easily see people abusing an honor system.  Thanks in advance for any ideas!

So my friend is renting out some rooms in their house in Southern California area to house hack - what is a reasonable overnight guest policy? One overnight guest for free per month that must stay in their room and after that charge $20 per night? Interested in some of the BP community's ideas.