All Forum Posts by: Heather Nguyen

Thanks all for your advice. Very helpful. I forgot to mention that there is a small room ( out of 3 bedrooms) on the second floor that sits directly above an existing bathroom on the first floor. So 2 follow- up questions:

1) will adding a bathroom above existing bathroom on first floor cut cost down significantly? 

2) This is my first investment and honestly I have a tight budget after closing, so if it costs too much to implement everything (kitchen, bathroom and extension) At once, I ‘m thinking of only adding the bathroom first and rent out rooms on the second floor. Then use the rental income to add a kitchen later. Have you seen rooms rented out with no kitchen ? And what would the diff in rent be for a mid size room (500 sqft) with shared kitchen vs. without a shared kitchen ? 

Hi all

I just bought my first house hacking property in bloomfiled NJ. It is a single family home in a legal 2 family zone with 2 floors and an attic. I plan to live on first floor and rent out the second Fl and attic . Second floor only has bedrooms so I want to do 1) an extension on the second floor and 2) add a bathroom and potentially a 3) kitchen.

I called town office and was told to submit an original survey and a drawing of new layout plus $40 processing fees. 

My questions are

1) how much does it cost to pull permit to a) add room b) add kitchen c) add bathroom? 

    —-any recommendations on an affordable handyman/ contractor ? I was quoted 12000 by a contractor nearby which is way over my budget of 3k for a bathroom

2) should I must as well convert it to a two family home? - will prop tax be significantly higher ( I already am paying 9500 per year) 

Thank you so much for your help in advance! 

Heather

I am looking for home in Bloomfield for house hack. Please keep me in the loop if you guys are meeting up. Thank you - Heather