All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Matt, we got earthquake insurance for our primary residence and ADU - costing us about 6K a year I believe

2nd meter was installed by PG&E. We now get 2 bills - 1 for each meter. I was under the impression that we would get 2 lines, but PG&E said they would only do 1 service drop so we had to connect both panels using a hot gutter. 

I don't know which 200A panel was used, neither do I know the cost for install as it was part of the bundled cost. But I paid around $1600 for the hot gutter for material and $2000 to install it, I will PM you the name of that electrician. If you upgrade 100A to 200A they might ask you to move to meet code. If you don't upgrade, the city cannot make you change existing non-compliant items related to the main house as per the state ADU laws.

My architect had put the location of the new panel on the plan which the city approved. The city then gave us a meter release. PG&E also asked for pictures of the location where the 200A will be installed, they approved that location and then the electrician installed the panel.

I called PG&E renovations dept and they opened a case for me and assigned a technician, those guys are good

Since water and gas is not split, I just charge the tenants extra for utilities 

@Justin F.

You don't necessarily have to upgrade. We kept the 100A panel for the main house as-is. For the Detached ADU, we got a new 200A panel/meter which we installed right next to the main panel. We installed a sub-panel on the ADU and pulled the wires from 200A panel to the ADU sub-panel from the crawl space (which is 100+ feet away).

We did have to deal with 1 complication, we had to connect the 100A and 200A panel via a hot gutter (which is another box), the hot gutter is a special box and that took us about 45 days to come. The reason the 2 panels need to be connected is that PG&E gives only 1 service drop per lot. 

My logic in getting a new panel/meter for ADU - PG&E has a tiered pricing system based on usage, say at the lowest tier your electricity bill is x per watt, once you pass that tier of usage, your electricity bill gets x+y per watt. With the heavy usage of the main house (we also have a pool) + I wasn't sure how the ADU tenant would use electricity so I decided to get a seperate meter for ADU.

Living in the Bay Area is very difficult with its high cost of living, high mortgages, cut throat competition in the workplace, working long hours. But I think this adversity brings out the best in people to do something truly cutting edge. Bay Area has always been expensive to live and yet it has the most successful tech startup ecosystem & Big Techs on the planet. 

I really don't know how motivated people would be if life was cozy with a low or paid off mortgage, low cost of living. We might have some short term headwinds but I feel long term prospects are very good. 

Deepti, no he only does foundation 

Kyle, I have used an amazing foundation contractor before - Charles from SMF construction - very knowledgeable, trustworthy and reasonably priced. I will DM you his phone number. 

We bought several properties in India. And I regret buying each and everyone of them. You have to consider foreign exchange rate. Most currencies in emerging markets depreciate against the USD over time due to high inflation there, which means your investment will depreciate too. If you want to bring back money to the US say after a decade, you will realize that your money hasn't grown at all as the currrency in the other country depreciated against the USD. If you are a buy and hold investor stay in the US. 

Hi Sanjay, not foolish at all! Do remember that it will take more time but you will also get the house you desire if you do it yourself. 

I can put you in touch with my friend who bought a home in Los Altos Hills and took it from 2500 sq feet to 8000 sq feet and she managed the project herself end to end, it took her 3 years though. She is helping me with my ADU build and I must say she is awesome! She has a great design aesthetic and access to all the reliable contractors. She will be a great person to talk to and perhaps she can help you with your project too.

Hello, I am potentially getting a tenant whose Dad would be co-signing with him. 

Does anyone have a rental agreement with co-signer section n PDF format and would  be willing to share with me?

Alternatively if I just add this 'Co-Signer Agreement' document to the rental agreement would it work?

https://www.aoausa.com/forms_member/120_Co-Signer_Agreement.pdf

Thanks,

Pooja

I think Bigger Pockets can do free viewing but $5 annually for posting- this will ensure that people read the posts first before asking the same questions! Even a small annual monetary fee would ensure that only serious people are posting relevant questions