All Forum Posts by: Eli Altman

@Aaron K. did you seal entry points with a "rodent proofer" or have someone else handle it?

Somehow it has taken me 3 years and over 20 units to run into my first rodent issue. I had a tenant in a 4plex complaining about rat/mice droppings. I looked up a good rodent proofing company and had them submit a bid. My jaw dropped when the bid came back at over $9,000.

Now, I live in a HCOL area. I know things are a little more expensive here. This, however, I was not expecting. The bid looked like this:

1. $2,000 to seal off all points of entry: screens, cracks, etc.
2. $7,000 to install a "rat slab" in the basement crawl space which basically seems like a layer of plastic with a bunch of gravel on it that drains to a sump pump (not included) and keeps the rats/mice from tunneling in

So this price seemed crazy to me and I had another company out yesterday to offer a competitive bid on the project. Their technician called me and told me that after having a look they wouldn't be able to bid on the project and wouldn't elaborate on it. ???

Should I: 

1. Get another rodent-proofing quote
2. Contact an exterminator
3. Pay the 2k to seal off all points on entry and see if the problem persists
4. Do something else entirely

Thanks!

@Account Closed Thanks Pooja. It is not connected to sewer, although you can get it connected without going under the house.

I live in Oakland. I have a 2b/1br with a big backyard. Lot is zoned 2r. Right now I have an uninsulated, mildew-y, rundown, 8x12' shed in the yard. It's on its own slab foundation (separate from the house) and has power and water running to it. 

I did some research into ADUs in Oakland. tl;dr is that building a proper ADU (stick or prefab) isn't worth the hassle and costs. This led me to wonder if demo-ing the shed and putting an Airstream back there would be a good idea. Ideally I would rent it out on Airbnb or VRBO.

What I'm missing is any rules around short-term renting trailers/campers in Oakland. It doesn't seem like the ADU rules apply. I see that there are a few Airstreams renting via Airbnb in Oakland. I've reached out to these renters but haven't heard anything back.

Any info would be appreciated. Thanks. 

I'm interested in any future Oakland/Berkeley meetups should they arise.

@Karen F. isn't it a bit presumptions to assume she'll drive him out of the apartment?

ok, so now i'm hearing two different things. one one hand i'm hearing to not put her on the lease and require an additional security deposit along with an addendum stating that he is solely responsible as a tenant. on the other hand i'm hearing that i should keep with my existing leasing standards and deny her. 

i'm concerned that denying her will create more trouble than it's worth. i could have a bad situation on my hands immediately in that case. with additional deposit and a lease addendum stating that my existing tenant is the only party on the lease and that she is an "other occupant," i keep my existing tenant happy and have additional risk mitigation. i guess it comes down to if she has any legal standing w/r/t being a tenant and staying in the unit without my primary tenant.

@Joe Splitrock Thanks, I appreciate the advice. 

@Marcia Maynard thank you! your response was very helpful.

Eviction was filed one year ago, judgement was 11 months ago.