All Forum Posts by: Caitlin Bigelow

@Kevin Fox the city council is voting Monday to eliminate Development and Impact fees, which will make this 8-20K cheaper to permit. I'll be testifying and Channel 10 did a news segment on it. Fingers crossed! 

@Dan H. that does sound exciting. Can't wait to hear more about it! Best of luck.  What neighborhood is it in?

@Dan H. , I see. Ok, this makes sense. And a value-add could be something like an ADU -- or something much smaller like a remodel or addition?

@Dan H. what would you consider to be a good rent to cost ratio? 

I recently spoke with a friend who lives in North Park (San Diego) in a 3 bedroom 1 bath. They are considering putting an ADU in the backyard and renting it out ocassionally and using it for family and guest that come into town. She's worried that the permitting process will be too challenging and so she's trying to evaluate should she:

A. Build an ADU in the backyard now, she can pay for it all with cash. (~100K)

B. Wait 2-3 years and save for a downpayment of a SFR and skip the whole ADU hassle.

I thought it was an interesting question. I think her goal is more to have a comfortable place for family to stay, but if you were motivated by cash flow, how would you assess this opportunity? 

@David Ivy Thanks for the info! Reaching out now :) 

Can someone please explain to me how the condo regime in Austin works? is this a lottery system, or quota based? How do you qualify? I'm interested from the standpoint of an SFH + ADU.

Can someone explain the 2% rule? Sorry, feeling like a newbie here!

 The minimum sq footage requirement for the state is 150 sq ft. Now, you'd have to check if your jurisdiction has passed an ordinance increasing the minimum. To do that you can look at HCD.CA.GOV 

@Ben A an ADU can absolutely be part of the main house! As long as it has a separate entrance, kitchen, bath and living space you're good to go and can definitely go through the permitting process. The most common ADU is actually a basement conversion. Converting part of your house is often much easier than building a new stand-alone structure.