All Forum Posts by: Garry Burns

Right now bay area contractors are going for $300+/sqft. Some guys are so busy they're charging $500/sqft and people are paying it.

Don't forget this is just contractor pricing. Permits are around 20-25% of construction costs in Oakland and you'll need drawings - which could be another $8-15k for a professional architect and engineers.

We're looking for recommendations for the following design consultants on a residential project in Oakland.

- Land Surveyor for topographic survey

- Geotechnical Engineer

- Structural Engineer

- Architect for plan review and permit drawings

Proposed Project Details:

New construction, 3-unit residential in Oakland, CA

We're looking to get the ball rolling now and our normal guys are booked out for the next few months.

DM me for further information.

Thanks!

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $450,000
Cash invested: $450,000

Developing property into new three unit residential.

Looking for site surveyor for planning dept. review.
Accepting proposals from architects/engineers for permit drawings.

I am not a lawyer nor politician, as I understand the intent for passing this law on the state level was to provide additional housing throughout the state. Most jurisdictions have been more accommodating when it comes to ADUs in the recent years (even some of the neighborhoods you wouldn't think would want to encourage a backyard unit). 

Each jurisdiction still has it's minimum requirements and general planning policies, but if you cannot reasonably meet these requirements you can usually request a special accommodation. No guarantees it'll get approved, but sometimes the plan checker will help your designer come up with a reasonable compromise. I personally haven't had any issues with the greenspace, sqft minimums or FAR requirements, but I have requested a special accommodation because one property was not able to meet the off-street parking requirements. Again, with most plan checkers and inspectors it's all about showing good faith, having a good design, and a good contractor.

@Calvin 

Oakland does have specific requirements for green space as well as FAR ratios and off street parking. They all depend on the zoning and lot size. Check out this link for a quick summary: Oakland Zoning Summary. Easiest way to check the parcel’s zoning is to look up on the county tax assessor website.

I’ve built several ADUs in Oakland and the surrounding areas both on my properties and for other people. Permitting and building in Oakland is pretty straight forward as long as you have a good design and an above board contractor. 

Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions. 

I have been wondering what's better:

Asking friends & family to invest with me or keeping it arms length using professional investors or hardmoney lenders.

Obviously, there are the cost differences, but I am concerned about any potential emotional issues and more particularly friends and family pulling out because we didn't go with their choice of paint color (clearly this is an extreme example, but I'm sure it probably has happened before).

My wife and I currently own three homes. Without going into too much detail . . . under California's encouragement for ADUs, we built a new unit in the back of one of the properties. We used our own money to build it - I am also a GC so the costs were relatively minimal. This turned the property into a cash cow where we'll break even in less than a year.

We are now looking at selling one of our other rentals to invest in a property with the same potential to build an ADU.

The snag is we don't quite have enough cash on hand for the 30% down payment on an investment property and to build out the ADU. We've been talking about asking a few friends or family members if they'd like to invest with us. But, we're weary of the extra issues that could come along with that. We've also been thinking about hard money or trying to reach out private investors, but we're weary this route might erode the profits so far that it's not reasonable.

Anyone else had a similar experience? What did you guys do?

Thanks!

Garry

Thanks for the replies!

Definitely helps!

So the title is a little confusing . . . basically I am wondering if both parties of a transaction can perform a 1031.

Here's the situation:

I bought a SFR rental property a few years back and am now looking to sell and invest in a multifamily property. I'd like to use a 1031 exchange to roll the equity from the SFR to the multifamily.

The multifamily I'm looking at state the current owner also wants to do a 1031 exchange.

Anyone have some experience in this situation? 

Can both parties use the same 1031 administrator to facility the exchange?

Any updates on the 1031 exchange in the last tax update?

Hi Everyone,

I am a new member to BiggerPockets.com and wanted to introduce myself to the community:

My wife and I own two SFH rentals in the San Francisco east bay (Oakland & Pinole).

We've completed a few profitable deals and still have two rentals that are easily managed and in the process of adding an ADU to one of them. Typically, we've look for distressed properties (like most everyone else). This has worked great since I'm an experienced, licensed general contractor and have been doing most of the work myself.

We're looking at expanding into multifamily properties to consolidate the management/work under in one location and increase cash flow. Anyone have some tips or advice on how to quickly analyze properties, especially in the Bay Area? What are key things you look for when researching a multi-family or a property manager?

Thanks!

Garry