All Forum Posts by: Chris Cusiter

I’m considering building a 120 sq ft studio in the back yard to serve as an office. AC, electricity, no plumbing. Probably looking at around $40k-$50k (in California).

Does anybody have experience of doing this and what it does to the value of the property? I live here now but likely won’t in about 2 years. Do you get the value of it back if you sell or does it increase the potential rental income?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Hi Reinhard. No it was a national bank. I had a good introduction which helped. They required a lot of information, more than some of the others, but it worked out in the end. Ended up lending at 80% LTV also which helped as the appraisal they ordered, whilst better than the first, came in lower than many real estate agents had been suggesting.

Thanks for all the replies. Finally closed at the end of December on a 20/20 at 3.95%. 0.33% loan fee. Really happy with the outcome but it took a lot of paperwork, patience and a favorable appraisal to get there. Avoided the broker fee due to a direct relationship with the bank involved. 

@Josh Cochran Great thanks Josh, appreciate the tip

@Michael Jones Thanks Michael, that’s very helpful

@Greg Dickerson Thanks Greg. Is there a standard term also for pre-payment penalties? 2 years, 5 years etc?

@Nicholas Covington C2 zoning. Currently being used as retail. Owner/user

I'm refinancing a commercial property in the US for the first time. $1.7m loan, 65% LTV. One LOI I've received has quoted a 2% origination fee, which seems high to me. (Broker has a 1% fee on top). Presumably negotiable but can anybody give me an idea of what's reasonable to expect in the current market. Thanks in advance!