All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Liberty Mutual insures our SFH STR with a standard HO policy plus their HomeSharing Coverage endorsement, which explicitly allows STR use. The name of the endorsement implies that it's intended for mixed use / part-time STR but there's no language that limits the number of STR days or % STR use, and our agent is fully aware that it's a full-time STR property. The only stipulation is no single tenant for more than 180 days/yr (I.e. no LTR use).

it even provides $10K loss-of-rental coverage and $1000 liability coverage for damage to tenant property.

I built a direct booking website in Wordpress using a free template:

https://wpastra.com/templates/...

Was pretty simple to go through and just replace all the photos and text with info from my property.  For booking, I use iGMS as my PMS, who provide a free booking plugin for Wordpress.  iGMS does a nice job syncing my PriceLabs pricing / availability / min stay across AirBNB, VRBO, Booking.com and the direct booking website.

Hah, well dunno who you're picturing.  I did well owning and improving a couple of primary residences in the SF Bay Area over the course of 15 years, and most of that money is locked up as equity in this house now.  But otherwise I'm just an average Joe working for a paycheck.

Hello BiggerPockets,

Just finished a substantial remodel on a SFR we bought on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe two years ago. Estate sale with 1990-ish interior. I acted as my own general contractor (with a few subs), relocated the stairs to create open living area, replaced the kitchen, got rid of all the honey-oak trim and doors, and converted part of the huge 55-foot deep garage into two more bedrooms + additional full bath. Now 7 br / 5.5 ba / 3850 sqft with a nice view of the lake.

This was intended as our primary residence and we lived in it during the remodel.

But... now we are looking at the income potential and reconsidering. We're in the only STR-friendly jurisdiction in the Tahoe area, and demand still seems to be huge from San Francisco Bay Area folks who come up to ski in the winter and spend time at the lake in the summer. Comps this size rent for $3500+/night during peak times and gross $300K / year based on what I see on AirDNA.

This also appeals to me as an experiment in moving to a 2nd career rehabbing and managing properties.  This was not my first time GC'ing my own major remodel and I really enjoy it.  More so than my current career sitting behind a screen all day.

That said, I don't see much discussion here or elsewhere about the ins and outs of STRs this size.  Would love to hear thoughts from experienced folks.

Yeah, I've thought of this already.  The right time to ask would be when either of them decide to sell at some point. 

Why would the city be willing to vacate right of way on a public street?

Hi all, new here. I'm thinking about an ADU for my owner-occupied SFH property near downtown Lafayette. It's a good location, easy 10 min walk to BART and downtown shops / restaurants, and 2 blocks from great elementary and middle schools.

Currently I have a 2400 sq. ft. main home on a ridiculously large 19,600 sq. ft. lot. Minimum lot size is 10K, so unfortunately I can't split it. ADU seems like the next best option, as a rental for the next 10-15 years, and then potentially housing for boomerang kids after that.

Lafayette zoning code seems relatively permissive on ADUs.  It looks like I can build up to 1200 sq. ft. or 50% of main home, whichever is less (same in my case).  There's a 12 ft. height limit if I put it near the property line, which poses some design limitations, but not insurmountable.  There are parking requirements, but I think I'm exempt because of location < 1/2 mile from BART.

Any thoughts on ideal size / configuration?  Bigger is better?

Good resources for estimating cost, financing, income, cash flow?

I've read differing opinions on whether precut / prefab is possible.  Would love to hear more about that.

If any others have been down this road, would love to hear other thoughts, pitfalls, etc.

I'm also aware of SB827 on the table, which would dramatically upzone everything within 1/2 mile of a BART station.  That's a big wildcard, so perhaps waiting a bit to see how that plays out would be best.