All Forum Posts by: Jenna Y.

Yes, recommend to call the county permit office. And call two times and speak to two different clerks. Be sure to get their names.  I think the general reading is: one permit per parcel under two acres, and two permits max for parcels over two acres. So depending on the parcel size, this could limit you to only one.

Yes, tiny house developments are possible, but it's really location-dependent, particularly when it comes down to the nuts-and-bolts nuances (where it's most important). 

To get you started 

1) I'd recommend going here for a general overview of regulations in your locale: http://americantinyhouseassociation.org/state-regu...

2) Google search "tiny house regulations [your area]"

3) If you're considering the viability of a tiny house on wheels, I point people to this book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KI2JUCE

4) If you see a Tiny House business model you like, research each of them and/or contact them directly to see how they pulled it off. It likely will not be the same where you live, but you'll at least get a general sense of how people are able to pull it off in other areas. 

Again, it's HIGHLY LOCATION SPECIFIC, so general advice or guidelines will not get you very far.

Update - talked to our escrow officer - terms will be written into the escrow instructions - she's handling it all. 

Hello - I modified a boilerplate Purchase Agreement for FSBO, owner-finance, sale contingent on current tenant moving out. Would love it reviewed by an attorney for peace of mind. Any recommendations for an attorney familiar with CA Law who would do a simple contract review?

Thank you! 

I am in the area right now. 

Having a water + electrical meter is GOLD on raw land. If you are buying say 5 acres of vacant land for $20k, getting electrical and power out there could cost just as much, if not more.

- ELECTRICAL: you can call SCE and if you provide an address they can give you an estimated costs. This could range from using a pre-existing power pole, to needing multiple poles installed for you. You would pay the install costs. Of course, solar is always an option too. 

- WATER: For water, same deal - it could be as simple as tapping into water lines already run down the street. Or it could be needing to install new water lines. You pay by feet. It's my understanding that you can no longer drill wells, and I believe you can no longer install a new water tank for u-haul water (having water trucked in) - existing water tanks are grandfathered in. Check with the County of San Bernadino to confirm well/water tank status. 

There are multiple water companies in the area - call around to find the correct one for your property and they will also be able to provided you an estimated cost.

- DEVELOPING - Heads up - You CANNOT just live on raw land with an RV. You CAN however live in your RV if you have an active building permit.

- SEPTIC - Not 100% sure on costs, but putting in a new septic runs about $6k in the area - call around to local septic companies and ask.  

Good to find a property you like and do the whole run-through, so you get a sense of the actual costs of developing on raw property. 

Hi - yep, an acquaintance just sold her vacation rental as a business earlier this year, for about 3x the price of the property alone. She was not forthcoming on details, but yes - it's been done -  she mentioned 3-5 year track record was needed. 

BTW definitely check out some of the tools available to help with forecasting, yield management, analytics for AirBNBs, here's a non-exhaustive list : http://travlpeer.com/2015/02/28/15-startups-supporting-the-short-term-rental-host/

Hello, we own two AirBNB vacation rentals, aiming to capture both cashflow AND appreciation in the CA market. Speaking from personal experience, managing them is not that big of a deal, as long as (1) you enjoy the limited interactions with guests (2) you have an effective infrastructure set up. 

This is roughly our time breakdown right now, managing two vacation rentals ourselves, both about 85% occupancy. At some point it will make sense to go with a property manager, but right now it's doable, enjoyable, and we are still deriving value from learning: 

- DAILY: About 5-10 minutes per property with individual inquiries and sending standardized guest responses.  Keep in mind though that you're on-call 24/7 - maybe about once a quarter we'll get an off-hours issue that needs to be addressed ASAP. If you don't want that possibility in your life at all, I would strongly recommend against managing a vacation rental yourself. Otherwise, A LOT can be addressed by judiciously pre-screening and then proactively managing guests. 

- WEEKLY: About 20-30 minutes per property on housekeeping logistics (arranging times and getting feedback with housekeepers, ordering stuff on Amazon Prime)

- MONTHLY: Probably about 2-3 hours on each property arranging maintenance-related upkeep, accounting, long-term planning (including yield management). 

- QUARTERLY: We dedicate three full work days for scheduled maintenance on-site. Right now we do this all ourselves because we really love our properties - making small improvements, planting new flowers, etc. That's not scalable, clearly, but it is fun for now!

A final thing - there needs to be a solid exit strategy - the numbers still need to make sense if you decided to rent it out long-term.

Hi - late to respond to this, but you can try checking out AirDNA for specific analytics for your geographic area http://www.airdna.co/city/us/new-york/hudson

I now own a couple vacation rental businesses, so it's almost become a weird hobby to suss out the vacation rental viability pretty much everywhere I go. Feel free to PM me for specifics.

Yay tiny homes! FYI there's a tiny house hotel in Portland that does really well. It's all about the zoning. :)

https://tinyhousehotel.com/

Hello! I did a short-term loan at 8% interest only, balloon payment in 18 months. Hope to do a cash-out refi at the end of that period (80% of new appraised value), to pay back the loan and recoup my rehabs costs. Fingers crossed!