All Forum Posts by: John Clarken

The builder will have specific items only that they are looking at covered in the one year. Hiring a home inspector they are going to find over all issues which might not be under warranty or available to cover. Also the turn around time is usually a couple days for this kind of report. I'd see what is covered and inspect those areas.

HI Cristiano, all projects are going to be site specific as the will have different conditions, utility connections, construction access, and city/jurisdiction requirements. From one site to another you could have major city required civil improvements. There could even be variations in the building code which could add costs. Its very important to have a sharp design team that can work with you and the city to navigate all of these challenges.

Quote from @Christian Cambridge:

Greetings all,

I'm considering a home renovation loan to convert my garage into an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU). The loan will change my current interest rate, so I want to make sure that the return is worth doing the renovation loan. Is there a Bigger Pockets or other tool (i.e. Rental Property Calculator, Mortgage Calculator, etc.) available for running the numbers for an ADU done through a Home Renovation Loan?

Hi Christian, I've heard of a few appraisers not increasing the value of the property equal to the cost of the ADU - being less which could be a problem if you are trying to value add and pull cash out. The ADU is great idea for cash flow and you can find comparable by looking what is on the market. What is your strategy for this ADU? I think ultimately when you want to sell the property the right buyer will pay extra for the ADU either for in laws, rental purposes, or some type of guest house. 

Don't quote me LOL. This cost could vary for the reasons below.

Design and install of the system - get three quotes - walk with the contractors and ask questions:

Water source - does the existing water meter need to be upsized - if so, very costly - landscape/excavation/city water meter and permits

Materials damaged or removed during install - is there structural framing/concrete in the way, drywall, insulation ripped out or trampled? Cost to engineer and/or fix these items after

How is the system being communicated to - wiring and monitoring system - cost associated

Hope this helps!

Couple things:

-Make sure the framing rough openings are correct, and that when the garage door wrap is installed no gaps will show.

- Depending on the motorized opener being wall mounted or ceiling mounted you will need to make sure you have proper clearances for the tracks and head space for the roll up. There will also need to be backing installed by the framers, electricity to the motor location, and low volt to any sensors. You'll need a path for those wires unless you are running it surface mount.

Quote from @Nathan Harden:

Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:

Quote from @Nathan Harden:

Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:

Your biggest screw-up was paying in full before the work was complete. However, it seems this was not on you entirely...you say you had a PM? Why weren't they managing the project for you? Wasn't that their job?

 Yes, I did have Property Management and they did charge me those months of not checking in on the property. I am not entirely sure if they were aware of the size of rehab that was going on or what BUT this will be addressed with them forsure. 

 Depending upon how your contract was worded, you could have some leverage to get some money from them. Work this carefully, maybe consult an attorney first....?

 This is just a whole Jacked up situation.

Yes my PM should pay me back. Will they? Time will tell.

This was their contractor that they brought to the table as well so hopefully they find a way to make this right. 

The only positive to come out of this is that I learned ALOT of things of what not to do.

Win or Learn I guess.

I had an similar issue in Cleveland, PM recommended a GC, GC did bad work, PM didn't confirm but paid them out anyway. Sold the property and got out as there were headaches and management wasn't competent. I'd get a quote for $3.5k, call around for a 1/2 hr and get the number down to $1k. having a PM with construction knowledge is key, otherwise you need a trusted GC who isn't booked way out. 

Quote from @Jordyn Lai:

Hello!

We are looking for purchase our first investment property. The plan was single family home in Las Vegas or surrounding the Phoenix area and our goal is to cash flow. Maybe this is just the analysis paralysis speaking, but it seems like these are not the best markets to invest in as rent has not caught up to mortgage rates. 

We are considering pivoting and changing our criteria- perhaps to long distance investing. Before we completely change our strategy, I'd like some insight/ guidance /opinion for investing in these areas.

Thank you!

If you are confident in your numbers I'd see if the sellers have any flexibility and spam offers to the ones that work. With long distance investing you have to build an out of state team and the management can become time consuming/costly. Local markets you will always have more insider knowledge and be able to know cleared what is and what is not a good deal. In the midwest it is also a cashflow came with less appreciation ( in my experience). Good Luck

Quote from @Bryan S.:

Hey John - I'm going thru ADU permitting process in FL and went down a bunch of rabbit holes in articles/Reddit/meetups/YouTube etc.

high level findings - highly localized for the township. I’d become best friends with the local ordnance office and speak with your code enforcement officer. 

A note from my GC - do inspections on Fridays when folks are in a good mode right next to the weekend

Surprisingly, more municipalities are becoming favorable towards ADU [even CA is adding tax credits] as there are housing shortages since the ‘08 crash slowed new builds to keep up with demand and accelerated recently with the shuffle of folks since Covid

Thanks Bryan! That is funny about the Friday inspections. If the inspector has weekend plans they will hurry it up to get out of there! Another trick for passing framing at least is using spray paint to mark out items confirmed prior. The inspectors like to see the door/window openings have been checked, beams and hardware acct for, and a good practice is to double check cabinet locations for conflicts with plumbing and appliances. Keep me posted on the build and good luck!

Quote from @Sidnee Wolfley:

Hi John, we are currently building an ADU in our yard as well. We are waiting on permits right now. I see you posted this a couple months ago so I would love to see what kind of progress you have made and it would be nice to talk with you about the whole process.

Hi Sidnee, the process has been a little slow as I wanted to get the budget as dialed in as possible. I'm currently in the permitting step with the city as well. I wanted to see how low I could get every part of the build for. I used a draftsperson on fiverr and I was very specific with the geo tech to not go overboard which saved $5-$10k. I also will be taking on some of the finish scopes (cabinets, paint, flooring etc). If you need help getting quotes or have general build questions, I have a residential construction background and license so I could pass off some contacts or advice. Best of luck!!

Quote from @Steve Vaughan:

Quote from @John Clarken:

Hi all,

working on building an ADU in our backyard. This will be for in-laws and have all the information collected for potential future builds. I wanted to know if anyone has had experience in the WA state and some items to watch out for. I also wanted to pick everyone's brain if they think multigenerational living will become the new normal driving up the need for attached and detached secondarily living quarters. I think there is an untapped market for adding ADUs to investment properties to drive up cash flow. I also think cottage developments have a future for detached density builds.

 Definitely agree ADUs for multi-gen and co-living are the wave of the future.   Other cultures have done it for generations. 

What you're asking is more of a regional municipality city, county specific zoning and planning ssue most likely.    I think a lot of cities are seeing the benefits of allowing ADUs more than ever now. 

Yeah, I think both the construction and rental market will see growth in this area. Pending city regulations, it could be a great way for investors to reallocate money especially if the owned land is in a desirable area. In Portland up to four units are allowed on a single-family lot.