All Forum Posts by: Harman N.

Hi all,

I'm building a unit in the garage of my duplex. Does anyone have any tips on how to create maximum soundproofing between upstairs and downstairs, whether it's using certain materials or certain construction techniques?

Thanks!

I thought this article was interesting:

https://www.city-journal.org/rust-belt-population-growth

Urban centers within Rust Belt states (eg, Kansas City, Des Moines, etc) are currently booming. But the net population growth is coming from the rural areas within the Rust Belt; these cities are actually losing residents to other states. So is the longer term growth potential of these markets capped? 

Thanks @Jason Hsiao!

In case anyone comes across this thread via search, putting this info here.

Looks like SF uses the cost approach:

https://sfassessor.org/property-information/homeowners/new-construction-remodeling-repair

"How is new construction assessed?

One common method is the cost approach. The cost approach considers all costs incurred during the course of construction. These “full economic costs” include labor, materials, permit fees, contractor’s overhead and profit."

There are some exclusions, for example, you can deduct the cost of seismic retrofits from the assessment:

https://sfassessor.org/tax-savings/exclusions/earthquake-retrofit

Hi all,

How aggressive is San Francisco in marking up the taxable value of a property after adding an ADU?

I've a duplex I bought 2.5 years ago. It's worth more than what I paid for it since I renovated the unit I live in (and prices have gone up since then). If I add an ADU, how would they handle the reassessment --

• Would they only add value for the ADU?
• Would they mark up the value to the current market value and then add the ADU on top of that?
• And how aggressive or conservative are their valuations generally?

Thanks!

- Harman

@Amit M. -- solid advice re: calling the rent board! I'm actually in a similar boat as the OP: have an issue and need advice, but my SFAA membership (which I had for 1 year just to try it out) expired a couple of months ago, and I was trying to decide if renewing it just for the advice line for this particular issue would be worth it. Thanks for the idea!

@Kin Leung -- interesting question; what did you end up doing? 

I think it's great that you're thinking creatively like this. I think the answer just depends on the numbers -- depends on the relative interest rates of the two financing, the interest vs principal portions, the amount of rental income, the tax rate on the rental income, etc. It very well could be advantageous to do so, only way to know is to build a pro forma and work out the maths. 

Like @Chris Mason said though, there's also a lot of psychological value in having your primary residence debt-free! 

@Amit M. - thanks again for the wealth of knowledge!

@Sean Walton - the 2 layers of drywall + insulation is a great idea! Wasn't able to make it to that  happy hour but hope to see you soon at another meet up. 

@Matt Sanford - why is a condo conversion application necessary for building an ADU? Thanks for the encouragement btw!

@Meghan McCallum - not quire sure I understand. Are you saying to condo covert, sell at an assumed market peak now, and then buy the same condos back for cheaper after an assumed market correction?

What do you think the ARV value on this is?