All Forum Posts by: David Holcombe

The value the ADU adds really depends on the location and how you expect to use it. For example, the best ADU project I've ever seen was a 2 bedroom, 750 sf ADU in Atlanta that cost about $200k to build but is rented for $6k/month on average as a furnished monthly rental. It gets that premium because the location is A+ and access to the ADU is great, it has alley access and it's own driveway. With construction costs over $260 psf, this wouldn't add value to the project if it were in suburban Atlanta where rents and sales prices psf are lower, but in this part of town, sale prices of homes are $500-600 psf so adding square footage at $260 psf is a big win. Also, from an investors perspective, this gets you to almost 3% of the sale price in rental income per month. (A lot of investors are targeting 1% per month). This is an extreme example, but there are a lot of deals I look at that can get to 2% rent/month. ADU's can be amazing value-add plays in the right situations.

use data sites like costar or yardi to find small apartment owners. (You're more likely to get a yes from someone local that owns a 5-20 unit building than a 100+ unit building). While they're under construction or renovation is a good time to approach the owner because they likley don't have a management company in place and you'd be adding value by speeding up their lease up process. And you could get contiguous units. You could also look at AirBnb to see what apartment buildings are currently allowing STR and try to start there

Thanks all. Correct, we've got a forensic accountant involved already as well as a trial attorney.  The trial attorney is more experienced in contract law and fraud than real estate and doesn't have a go-to real estate expert witness. So we're looking for some recommendations.  

Hi BP, a friend of mine is in need of an expert witness to testify in an upcoming fraud case involving flipping houses (it will be a few months from now). He was defrauded out of $500k+ by a flipper that he was investing with.  We're looking for recommendations for someone in Atlanta that's a reputable expert in residential real estate investing and/or flipping houses and has experience being an expert witness. Any idea where I could find someone like this?  Thanks in advance for the help

Hi BP! Looking for some opinions on where to hang my license. Here's the scenario: So, I've been a commercial real estate agent in Atlanta GA for the past 10+ years but I'm interested in doing more residential real estate on the sales side and investing side. I'm currently licensed but my license is on inactive status. I'm looking to hang my license with a residential real estate company. My goals are: 

1.  To sell 1-3 houses a year, (mostly helping friends/family) 

2. To purchase investment houses for myself without paying a buyer-side agent (or paying much to my broker's company).

3. Possibly get some leads from the firm.  

I'll need minimal support from the company I hang my license with. I don't want to pay a ton in desk fees.  I've been considering Redfin or something similar. Does anyone have experience with this in Atlanta? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! 

So.. I need to sell a house that we just purchased through conventional financing and I'm wondering how to find out what the fees/penalties will be for not holding it for a year. We're renovating the house now and will sell in the spring. (We're going to sell it about 5 months after the purchase date).  We were originally going to live in the house but the renovation costs and taxes of the house are both significantly higher than expected so we need to sell.  It's a Jumbo loan with conventional financing, 30 year payoff.  The loan doc says there's no pre-payment penalty but it also says I need to live in it for a year as my primary residence.   Does anyone have experience with this type of situation or know who I should talk to about it (Accountant, lawyer?) . Thanks in advance!