All Forum Posts by: Darren Chang

@Robert Freeborn I was aware of that. This provides an opportunity for house hacking. You could buy a SF, move in, covert part of it as ADU and then build another DADU in the backyard. I see the advantages as the ability to stay on top of the construction as you live on the lot, the ability to phase the project as financing becomes available, and easier to get financing from bank as 1) this will be your primary resi and 2) you will have a cash flow from the ADU and DADU.

Hi everyone, I came across this youtube video by Zack McDonald and realized in Seattle you can rent out your ADU and DADU even if your lot is zoned for SF (I'm currently not in Seattle so I'm a little bit slow on the local news, but I have a strong interest in Seattle for reason I'll explain later.) This literally allows you to turn your SF into a triplex! I looked up the SDCI website and confirmed the information. What do you think is the best way to take advantage of this policy? In the video they also talked about challenges faced by people who might want to use this new regulation: high construction cost & high land cost. It seems Nick is suggesting to build small to afford higher price PSF. What do you think is the best strategy?

Also do people know any other cities in the greater Seattle area that have adopted similar zoning changes? For example in Bellevue the zoning code allows you to rent out the ADU but not DADU, and the DADU is only considered as a guest cottage. Is my understanding correct? What about the other cities?

This is a link to the youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euWFdWgoL60&list=PL_HSVyVqhJ4NFrtRgIYFjy403MS3pV6h2&index=4&t=1s

Thanks in advance,

Darren

@David Edwards Hi David, do you see variation of the hard cost by neighborhood, for example building in Lynwood compared to in Bellevue, Queen Anne, or Columbia City? How far do you need to go from downtown Seattle to see drop in cost?

thanks @Nik Moushon

@Nik Moushon Hi Nik, what did you find attractive about Wenatchee? Could you share your thoughts on the place or any other less looked-at place east to Seattle?

@Charlie Lipthratt Not sure yet. Still doing my research..

@Domonick Dangerfield if it’s for sale property, use engineering wood floor, which is affordable, looks great and speaks of taste and quality. If it’s rental property, use wood patten vinyl floor in the living room and carpets in the bedrooms, or use vinyl floor everywhere except kitchen and bathroom. Most of your competitions are probably doing the same thing so no need to do better than them.

@Adrian Chu it’s not just about the numbers. It’s also for the added benefit of designing and building it myself, although these could be headache for a lot of people. But first of all, I want to make sure I have the numbers right.

This discussion is getting interesting. I'm currently in charge of a half million sf condo development in NJ, right across the river from Manhattan, and the all-in cost is much higher. But's hey it's luxury condo in vincinity of NYC. I just talked to a friend who is doing development in the SEattle market, and she told me the hard cost for multi-family starts at $200psf for townhome and can go up to 280 for luxury condo, which is higher than I expected. @Michael Haas 

What are people seeing for the construction cost? By construction cost I mean the hard cost, what goes for all the trades material + labor (foundation, concrete, facade, roofing, SMEP, appliance, interior, etc.), GC fee, insurance, and GC's contingency. 

And what are people seeing for land cost on small multifamily projects? Is there a critical mass that needs to be achieved for the number to work? For example a triplex doesn't work and only 8 units and more will have the right economy of scale...? Everything looks pretty expensive on Loopnet. Maybe I'm not looking at the right place..

@Adrian Chu 👌