All Forum Posts by: Emily Di

@Stephanie Moran, I know that feeling of being taken advantage of and if I can offer at least some perspective - you get a tax write off :) and once the place is rented and you're a few months down the road you won't think about it anymore. Better to learn this on 10k versus 100k so not too bad in the grand scheme of things. I'm aligned with @Tanner Marsey in that being unlicensed doesn't necessarily mean poor work. The flip side to that is I'm sure there are many in this forum that have had licensed contractors do poor jobs. I don't know how he represented himself (as licensed?) and I also don't know if he had a chance to correct things (ie - did he understand you wanted the paint redone). I've asked many a contractor to fix items that were done in a rush or not to my standard and I think you'll find that comes with the territory in a remodel. In terms of the deck, I suspect he based his itemization on the time/cost of the "bondo approach." Since he explained that was his plan, it's probably fair he be paid for it. While I realize the new contractor found other defects, I am assuming correcting those defects wasn't part of that original deck itemization. I am not one who likes to jump into legal battles so I would try to resolve what I can. Maybe you can negotiate over text messaging to an amount that seems fair to both you and to him (ie $1500) and pay it by venmo so you don't need to see him and then call it a day. 

Something to think about for the future - you can set up a free Home Depot Pro account and link it to your phone number and email. When your contractor buys something they go through the contractor line/pro desk and you will get a call or a text to approve the purchase. You can disallow any tools, also, so they aren't buying a $500 saw. I do this and I get all the receipts to my email. I can look at it immediately and then call the contractor if I have a question about something they bought or if I notice they bought the wrong thing (there are photos) like wrong style lock or baseboard, etc. Also, all the purchases are tracked on my pro accounts which makes returns easy. Something to consider. I don't like gift cards for contractors. Too much room for abuse and harder to write things off on taxes. 

Thanks everyone. I think my specific question is: do you know of any exceptions to lot minimums when it's a corner like this? And can you double-check the reasoning I think I'm hearing:

- The minimum depth for RM 1-3 is 90ft. Mine would be 50-65 which is substandard so it sounds like for that reason I cannot do lot line adjustment.

- And because I don't want to demolish I can't do parcel segregation.

- So that leaves me with Small Lot subdivision, which is costly. I would need to determine if it makes financial sense. Is there someone in town who specializes in Small Lot Subdivisions? 

A developer who built on the lot next door to another of my properties told me: "If you wanted to create a separate parcel along existing lot lines the process is simple. You’d need to go to the county assessor building and request a parcel segregation. If you are trying to do a “lot line adjustment” It is much more difficult. The city now allows corner lots to be split as you are suggesting, but I’m not sure how it would work with existing structures on the property. You would need a civil engineer and surveyor to show the city that the two structures meet all setback requirements and the 2 new lots you are essentially creating are the same size." 

I'm hopeful that there is something the city is allowing given that I do have two lots and I need to dig deeper

@Justin R. & @Colin L. & @Tim G. adding @Matt Devincenzo .

If you have experience with within City of San Diego may I get your input? Got nowhere with DPI. I have a corner parcel. It's one APN comprising two "lots." The lots runs longways from the west/narrowest street front (each about 25 x 110) to the alley. The dwelling units span both lots. I want to adjust the lots to run short way from the south/long street side so that each is ~50x55. The end goal is to have 2 separate saleable lots. There are at least 20 APN's on my street that have done this. My zoning is RM1-3. 

The info I got from DPI was: my lot would be nonconforming so it's not possible (because it would be 55 deep and code is 90 deep. When I showed them others on the street that had done this DPI said it was "old zoning." When I showed them a property that had done it within the last year (although not corner) DPI said it was because they had demolished the building which was "merging" the lots and therefore "got their lots back." DPI said that would be my option but it would leave me with long narrow lots versus the square lots I'd like. 

Has anyone done anything similar who can provide perspective? Did I get the right advice from DPI or is there another way? Today I received an email from another investor describing a potential deal which said "it's on a corner with alley access, can leverage new zoning laws that would allow for a lot split..." What are the "new zoning laws? 

 @David F. & @Justin R. & @Colin L. because I didn't want to hijack your thread David, but appreciate any advice.

@Dan H. I am sorry to hear about this fire. I always worry about things like this. I completely relate to your dilemma. There's no easy answer. Both options are going to be a little uncomfortable, so choose the one that makes things uncomfortable for the least amount of time. I don't know which that is for you given the intricacies of the relationships, but good luck!

Thank you all for the great tips. It was work, but I did consolidate the depreciable assets into 27.5, 5 year, 7 and 15 and then used the classes to ID them and pull reports. So for now I am good until the next change. 

@Josh Buchan What a bum way to start with this property. The bright side is that this tenant is out. How did it go? 

@Mauricio SalomI always start by bedroom and then adjust from there. That could be:

- laundry

- # of bathrooms

- private yard with sprinklers

Some scenarios which I've never faced but you might want to think about

- highly uneven number of tenants not accounted for with bedrooms (I wouldn't normally base on people because that can fluctuate with tenant change)

- highly uneven square footage not accounted for with bedrooms and bathrooms

- a tenant that keeps a greenhouse, etc (I actually did have this when I first started in rentals and was paying water. I had no clue how much it was costing me until he moved out - (probably a good $100/month) You may want to write some restrictions about this into your lease, maybe washing the car and anything above the normal 

One thing my friend does is add an extra that she pays to avoid complaints. So if it's to be divided 4 ways she actually divides 5 ways and she pays the extra 1/5 and tells them that's to cover anytime someone might have used a little more than normal so they don't feel like they have to pay for someone else's use.

If I can give you one tip it is to ensure your toilets are in fantastic shape before you rent out the unit. Most tenants have no clue about toilets and unless it's an outright issue, they don't want to bother the landlord with a running toilet. This is a BIG problem in San Diego because the city only bills you every 2 months so if the worst case scenario you might have a running toilet for 60-70 days before you see that bill and freak out. I had a $2000 water bill that I never was able to collect from the tenant. So that's why I've started moving tenants to water responsibility. Oh and the annual 6% increases in the water bill are painful. 

Not sure if you San Diegans have noticed but they seem to increase the MFR more than the SFR. I ran numbers for my duplex the other day and the tenants would have saved $20 had they been billed on SFR rates. Admittedly, my hope is not only to encourage tenant water conservation, but also to encourage engagement with the lawmakers and governing bodies. I send the tenants every notice I get about water rate increases.

@Justin R. @David F. Thank you. The reason I'm exploring this is because the parcel is zoned RM1-3 so it can support 3 units. There's a large garage that I'd like to convert to the third unit - using the ADU regulations because just doing a "normal 3rd" unit I run into: garage 1 ft from prop line, parking for MFR is calculated per bedroom (requiring ~ 8 spaces) and I'm not sure if that's possible unless I get creative or lose yards, let alone if the costs make sense at 600sq ft. But all this would work as ADU. Note both houses already have separate water meters and street addresses if that means anything. The way the buildings sit on the parcel would really create lovely dwelling space, with parking 2 per unit and yards. So desirable for renters.

I thought if I separated these parcels into 2 lots that might somehow be the answer to being able to use the ADU rules. However, if the new parcels retain RM1-3 zoning, then I haven't solved my problem. Any ideas?

Do you think the parcels who have done it along the street did so ages ago?

@David LowePM me if you want more details, but I'll try to lay out as much as I can. I have a home that's similar. Used to be owned by a non-profit and they housed 2 people per bedroom so the rooms are relatively large: all 200+ sf and two large closets per bedroom. There are 2 rooms x 1 bathroom upstairs and same layout downstairs. There also is 1 room up and 1 room down with it's own bath (so total 6 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms). 4 of the rooms have their own exterior entrance. The laundry room also has a bathroom so there is another spare bathroom (bathroom #5). Total rent coming in is $5100/month. I rent long term and market on CL almost exclusively. (I also post on a facebook rooms for rent page, but haven't had luck there. I paid for a subscription to market to SDSU students, but that also was a bust as most everyone was looking for a place months out). I'll probably try Zillow, too, for my next vacancy. Given the proximity to SDSU I thought I would get college students, but in actuality all the units are working young-ish adults. I've only ever had one SDSU student, who was a graduate. A couple tenants go to school and work, but neither actually attend SDSU. They are non-traditional students in speciality programs. Leases are month-to-month, with the ask to stay for at least 6-12. In a snapshot I have 2 tenants that are almost 3 years. 2 that are at about 1.5 years, 1 that's almost at a year and 1 that's been there a few months. The trickiest part is that a bad egg ruins it for everyone so I try my best to screen. I have STVRs, too, in my portfolio, but those are A LOT of work and you would need to plan some major investment to furnish each room and keeping things stocked. Being on the hook for 7k/month-- seems very high IMO. To compare - $800 rent breaks out to about $26/night. What is the room rate for that type of property in that location?  I can tell you that I have a stand alone 1/1 beach cottage with it's own kitchen, bath, patio space, etc a stone's throw from the beach and there are nights when I'm dropping it to $69 to get it rented. And I'm paying SDGE, cable, internet, linens, toilet paper, etc, etc. Be careful. Is it possible to test the waters on STVR first before furnishing the rooms? 

@Colin L. just because I emailed you over the weekend :) This property isn't one that I am making plans for, but maybe one day we'll do an ADU. It definitely has the room in the backyard.

@David F.That's great! I wish you all the best on this. Could you recommend where to efficiently start with the city? Might be similar to yours - I have a Multifamily zoned parcel that sits on a corner so it has street frontage on 2 sides. There are two units that split both lots which are 25x130 and I'd like to adjust the lot line and so that each home is on it's own lot (two 50x65 lots) and parcel. There are many on the street that appear to have done so. One thing I'd like to know is that if I am able to do so would the new parcels maintain their RM zoning or do they get downzoned? @Justin R. I CC you too since you seem to also have experience with this in San Diego.