All Forum Posts by: Jeff Cliff

Hello,

I am working with a designer/planner to change the floor plan of the house I am rehabbing. I do not have a general contractor yet so I am not quite sure how much to expect as far as the remodel work goes as there are some significant changes I am making, adding sq. ft moving kitchen, bathrooms, exterior walls, removing interior walls, new roof plan etc. in addition to the usual new texture, flooring, paint job etc.

Unless the preliminary plan is done, there is no way general contractors can bid on it but at the same time this being my first rodeo I have no clue how much to expect in this circumstances. How can I figure out what is/isn't within my budget? Should I get cost estimation before going to the city with the preliminary drawings? 

Thanks in advance for your response.

@Ben Tilbury & @Matthew Forrest,

Thank you both for your response.

@Melvin List,

Thank you for your response.

Hello,

I paid for a second home in cash with the money I had saved up and borrowed part of the money from HELOC from my primary home. I had my reasons to pay cash for the second home and it is not quite relevant to my question here.

Now my question is, since the interest rates are low, does it make sense to do a cash out refinance on my primary to pay off HELOC? If I do cash out, will I have to close HELOC account?

Thanks in advance for your response.

Hello,

I am currently rehabbing a property in central coast California. In addition yo rehab work I also want to build an ADU. The lot size is approximately 10K sq.ft and the existing house size is about 1670 sq. ft. So the lot size is not much of a constraint especially with new offset requirements for 2020.

Now my question is strictly from the financial point of view, how do I go about deciding the size (sq.ft.) of the ADU? What are some of the considerations I should make?

As a side note, for now this house will be an investment property and will be rented out for a long time and possibly I will keep a room on the upper floor for myself. Eventually, I would retire in this house after 20-25 years.

Thanks in advance for your response.

@Aaron K.,

Thank you for your response, how do I go about finding a company/individual who could demolish it for me?

Thanks

@Greg Dickerson

Thanks for your response and questions. To provide further detail, since the house is in proximity to a beach the land there is pretty much all sand.

1) It is in-ground pool

2) there is poured concrete around the pool. One of the retaining wall is shot and as a result one side of the concrete deck is caving in.

3) To the best of my knowledge the pool is concrete, from the permit record it seems like it was built in 80's.

What other information do you think I can provide?

Hello,

I am planning to demolish a swimming pool in the backyard as it is not in good shape and the weather is usually on the cooler side so the usage would be very little if at all, besides fixing the pool in its current state may cost a great deal.

Now, I want to understand do I need to hire a specialized company to demolish the pool or any handyman can handle it? In future I may build a secondary unit over that same spot so what things I should consider while removing the pool? Do I need to get any kind of special equipment on the site to demolish the pool, if yes how much clearance should I have in my side yard? Any other considerations I should make?

Thank you in advance.

Hello,

I am planning to demolish a swimming pool in the backyard as it is not in good shape and the weather is usually on the cooler side so the usage would be very little if at all, besides fixing the pool in its current state may cost a great deal.

Now, I want to understand do I need to hire a specialized company to demolish the pool or any handyman can handle it? In future I may build a secondary unit over that same spot so what things I should consider while removing the pool? Do I need to get any kind of special equipment on the site to demolish the pool, if yes how much clearance should I have in my side yard? Any other considerations I should make?

Thank you in advance.

Hello,

The city I am currently in has "view ordinance" so if I were to expand my second floor now, beyond a current room over garage, it would certainly be a huge uphill battle with the city and the neighbors because it would block ocean view for my neighbors in the street behind mine.

While talking to one of the city officials, reading between the line, I gathered sense that in 2020 with new ADU laws coming into play for the state of CA, and city's non-existent laws/policies for ADUs, it maybe legal to build two story ADUs (or expand second floor over the existing unit).

Does anyone know for a fact it is true that you can build two story ADUs? Any other thoughts on this, pros and cons? Anything else I should consider?

Thanks in advance for your response.