All Forum Posts by: Jon L.

The market is shifting a little in SoCal, so you may be able to pick up something soon. 5-10% down still makes it a little hard in the meantime to make payments. It may make your offer a little weaker with a 5-10% down and 203k loan, but if a house isn't getting a lot of offers, they have to consider you. I don't have too much experience with a 203k loan, though. From what I understand, you get the money and pay the contractors on your own, but you need everything lined up. Plans, architect, contractors, etc. A very common complaint I'm hearing is the architect and the general contractor don't get along.

I have friends building in FV, Westminster, GG, Midway city right now. Some cities are more lenient than others, but that has to do with each city and each inspector. Most of my friends are building ADUs with GCs and not a company that specializes in ADUs. Yes, you should have a contractor go look at it prior to purchase if you can, but most won't take you seriously since they're all so busy(the good ones at least) . You should know the laws and rules of each city from setback, to size allowance, etc.  $100-150k is probably ok just the building part of it, but not the fees such as school fees and code upgrade fees. You will probably have to add in fire sprinklers, possibly a new and separate sewer line, maybe a meter, etc. 

From what I understand, an ADU usually has to be a lot smaller but essentially it is a 2nd house on your lot.

Correct. No contractor will want lawyers involved. You'll scare them all away.

It's a matter of building the delays and incomplete tasks(to hire other people to do it) into the cost. Also, talk to people who have experience with building. There are additional fees you may not be aware of such as school fees or water line from the city meter having to be upgraded for fire sprinklers, etc. 

One of our 1 bedroom units already has 6 people in there. A daughter's boyfriend moved in recently. They're on month to month and there is no rent control. 

Do I issue a Notice to Perform or Quit? Under "Witness" do I need to name the exact person by name or can i say property manager(on site or off site).   Also, can't I also just issue a 60 day notice to increase rent by $200 or so. Not related to the additional person, but just because?

We have an old duplex that we've had for over 15 years and it's never had a heater. The tenant just moved out and the new tenant is moving in but doesn't want a heater. Is there something I can just have him sign that says he doesn't want it installed? I don't care to install one either, since no one really uses it in Southern California. Is that legal to not have one even though the tenant doesn't want it?

Call Habitat for Humanity. They will come inspect them, take them apart and sell them in their ReStores. I build with Habitat and get called out to expensive homes where people just want to remodel

My dad and I own 21 units in Southern California. A few in 1 apartment complex, and a few single family homes and duplexes, self-managed. 

 Looking to own about 30 and stopping by the time I'm 45 years old.  My goal is to take care of them and find good tenants. New roof, windows, plumbing, electrical, upgraded kitchen, bathroom floors.  Especially in southern California, we'll always have a long list of tenants. I'm not going for luxury apartments, but class C apartments. I take out the 12 kitchen cabinets and I put in 8 and Quartz. Each unit gets $4500-$7500 in upgrades and it's done for 5-15 years. We don't allow more than 1-2 person per bedroom and love working with Housing and Veterans.

Looking to travel and work with charities once I'm fully retired :) Good luck to all!

We're considering putting up 1-3 cameras for our rectangular shaped apartment. It's 2 stories, with 15 units. 

The parking lot is out in front and we'd like at least one camera to see who is coming in and out since lots of them allow friends and family to stay over for weeks at a time. It's also a deterrent. They also block other people's parking spot or park in someone else's spot a lot. 

Is it best to just sign up for a local internet and install a Nest Cam or two or is there another way to do it cheaper? I'm looking at about $50/ month for internet and maybe $10 a month for Nest monitoring. If I were to get internet, I'd probably put the router in the back laundry room which is 200 feet from the front of the building. 

We have a 15 unit, two story apartment complex that has a flat roof. All the upstairs units are extremely hot during the summer in southern California. We replaced the roof 2 years ago with a white TPO material, which promised to reduce heat(before it was gravel and tar) They installed 1 inch foam over the gravel and tar, and then installed the TPO on top. Of course, I still can't tell the difference in heat reduction even though it's a California Title 24, white roof that reflects heat. If I change a ceiling fan or a light in the ceiling, the screws and metal box are so hot I can barely touch it.

Aside from ripping out all the ceiling and putting in insulation, is there a way to vent the hot air out? 

We have a 15 unit, two story apartment complex that has a flat roof. All the upstairs units are extremely hot during the summer in southern California. We replaced the roof 2 years ago with a white TPO material, which promised to reduce heat(before it was gravel and tar) They installed 1 inch foam over the gravel and tar, and then installed the TPO on top. Of course, I still can't tell the difference in heat reduction even though it's a California Title 24, white roof that reflects heat. If I change a ceiling fan or a light in the ceiling, the screws and metal box are so hot I can barely touch it. 

Aside from ripping out all the ceiling and putting in insulation, is there a way to vent the hot air out? 

I manage 22 units and do all the small jobs myself. 

I have a general tool bag, a plumbing bag, and a bag for all my small circular saw, jig saw, multi-tool.

I use my general tool bag the most. In it, I have my impact driver with a 3.5 inch makita gold impact phillips on it(since i don't drill as much, I don't have my driver on me. I leave it in the garage). I also have a box full of different size screws, nails, washers, anchors. Then you have your general tools like a vice grip, hammer, channel locks, flashlight, tape measure, composite shims, headlamp, box cutter with extra blades, painter's tool 5-1, wire stripper, allen wrenches, voltage detector, outlet tester, lineman's pliers, good Milwaukee demo screwdrivers, Milwaukee 11-1 with Phillips, flat heads, and 3-4 common size nuts(this is great for appliances). I also have to have 4-8 pairs of vinyl gloves. 

This ALL fits in my one Husky bag from Home Depot. I leave it in the back of my car behind the driver's seat. During the summer months, I also keep a tub of Advion roach gel for our multi-family rentals. I put out half a tub per unit. 

If you're sure you're going to do it, buy good quality tools. Your debate is whether to go with the best of the best or go with mid grade tools like Husky or Kolbalt, which both have lifetime warranties. Milwaukee isn't really lifetime warranty(can't just bring it back to the store and get a new one), but I love their tools. I would not go with Harbor freight tools even though it has a lifetime warranty. 

At home, I have a miter saw, shop vac, and a brad nailer from Ryobi. I love the brad nailer! It's cordless and it can shoot hundreds of nails before being recharged. I can do 1-2 rooms of baseboards easily without running out of juice. Baseboards make any room look great. 

Get an account at Dunn Edwards/Sherwin Williams and buy quality paint at 25-30% off. 

Good luck! I help clients who've just bought a house make their own tool bags or I gift them one as a closing gift.