All Forum Posts by: Kent Baltare

I have been involved with some projects in EPA where dollars spent dropping an ADU on the property flow through about 2:1 on the value. So spend $100k on the ADU, add $200k to your home value. This plus the income (or personal use- depending on your intentions) makes it a pretty good choice in terms of your ROI.

For the 600sq ft ADU option (SJ max) you can get a prefab home, and its smart. Why smart? because it lets you buy these things out of state meaning you wont get slapped around with bay area construction costs, call it construction arbitrage if you will. The cost of the prefab home does not include permits, trenching (utility hooks) and foundation work, total is around $165 per sq ft- however good companies will sell you a pre-fab ADU and help you get all the extra stuff organized.

The ADU gets delivered via truck and then a crane drops on the foundation, and voila! Keep in mind any power line obstructions when dropping the ADU, as you will need a special permit to move them $$$. When picking an ADU layout think of one that will appeal to as many homeowners as possible.. think that you want every person who would view the home to say, "I could use this for X...." If someone isnt interested in being a landlord then the ADU needs to provide value to them also. The more people it appeals to the more value it brings to your property.

Hey, that's too bad. For the ADU, if you don't know, you need a 5500 plus lot to build a 600 sq ft ADU max. So This is not a legal ADU when you bought it. Is there a tenant in there right now? You may have more leverage if you have someone in there as they will likely work with you to not uproot someone. Also look in to a special use permit for your adu which is outside normal building specs. For the home it sounds like you are saying a little after a month of owning it your neighbor complained about something? And the inspector came and found all the Reno's were done without permit. If you didn't know the previous owner circumvented the permit process to remodel I would consider your legal options, if you did know they were not permitted correctly during construction I am not sure what you can do outside pay the fees/penalties. I'm more confused as to what the neighbor saw or heard that triggered an inspection a month after you bought it? Thanks

Sounds like @Kenley Law and myself will be looking for a good mortgage broker in the Bay area that can help TN Visa holders with great borrower profiles land primary residence financing with 10% down.

@Harjeet Bhatti I have heard this from a few sources, however it does not seem to pan out in practice.  We have had two lenders bump up the downpayment request from 10% to 20% only after submitting our applications (another useless credit pull), stating the reason was our TN Visa status.

Any recommendations for mortgage brokers would be great!

Hey Abdulah. Very interesting, as tech cu told me that they could not work with me because of my TN visa status. Maybe the rules change by state.

@John Knisely thanks for the thought and mine was the same initially.  Unfortunately the comments I have received are mixed on the question. But I do invite any local agents to provide their thoughts.

@Chad Hale Thanks Chad, and yes that does help as it shows the added resale from normal 3/2's to one with a granny unit.

Anyone with some more direct experience with valuing a home w granny units acting as a rental, I'd love to hear from.

Thanks!

Hello everyone, I'm trying to determine what the added value would be to my home in willow glen california (San Jose) if I added a 2 bed 1 bath granny unit (detached) and rented it out at market If anyone has any knowledge of what the potential value increase from adding a granny unit is, your thoughts are greatly appreciated. Tough to find comps on this one. Thanks for your time!

Hey out there,

Canadian investor living in California and looking to buy a personal residence.  I have been here for  2 years and am having some trouble finding a bank that is willing to set up a mortgage with me and my partners as we are here on TN Visa's. 

Looking to see if anyone has any advice on this that doesnt result in getting destroyed with a downpayment amount and an inflated rate.

Thanks in advance for your time,

Kent

Thanks @Jenifer Levini and @Wayne Brooks.  

I do not see that specific wording in my contract, but I appreciate the support.  I will let you know how this progresses but definitely a slippery move.

thanks again.

The builder is planning to delay closing until I say enough, I'm out, or cut enough corners where I say I no longer want to purchase as its not the construction specs we agreed upon.  In both cases I walk and the builder get the home and can relist for +20%-- he wins, and I'm up s***s creek.

To your comment, I guess I am wondering what leverage can I use to say "it's not going to happen?"

thanks