All Forum Posts by: Sean Walton

California has passed a law where any home can build a junior ADU. So they can't stop you from a zoning standpoint or even a minimum parking standpoint assuming you are under the area limit. I think some cities it is 500 sf some it is 750sf. I think even if it is over those areas they can require things like school impact fees, and minimum parking spaces.

They can require life safety things like all bedrooms need a window with a minimum 5.7sf of opening so firefighters can get in to rescue people. If you close off or reroute the stair can everyone still exit the house safely in an emergency? 

You may not really know yet but if the home is slab on grade downstairs adding a kitchen can be costly because you need to potentially run new sewer line for the drain to tap into the existing line. I had to do this when I added a kitchen downstairs in my home. 

Once you have a property under contract I wouldn't mind answering some more questions

In the bay area in general but not always the duplexes tend to not be in the most desirable parts of the towns but not always. At a Real Estate Conference right before the pandemic started I heard Ben Leybovich discuss luxury house hacking. See the link below for more details. I've sort of done this with my personal residence. The in-law unit I built offsets more than half my mortgage. When construction costs go down and interest rates go down I will probably build another one in my backyard.

Read up on SB9. If you find a large enough lot you can potentially build 4 units on it. Once you have a property in mind and need an architect let me know.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/... 

San Francisco and the Bay Area are being pushed by the state to build more housing. SF has just committed to building 82,000 units over the next 10 years but no one knows how they will spur developers to actually build these. That could help lower prices but doesn't help you in the short term.

Hi @Hannah B. Welcome to BP. I'm an architect in Pacifica just outside San Francisco. I also want to use my skills to get into the development side of things. Let me know if you want to connect and geek out on zoning.

I haven't done this ground up but I have done 2 interior remodels. The first I hired a separate framer and subs. On the 2nd I hired all licensed trades but separately. I would check with your insurance agent and the city. A lot of cities require you to get a work comp policy if you are an owner builder unless you hire all people with their own policies. Some contractors are licensed but have no staff just them so they are exempt from work comp so if they injure themselves you could be on the hook. Your homeowner policy may cover minor repair work but probably not a large construction project. 

I ended up having to get a state fund work comp policy for $5000 which I think is the minimum amount regardless of scope. If you have no track record that would probably what you would have to do. Factor it into your cost and decision. 

It is cheaper, in general, to sub out like you say but if you have no experience sequencing the work and talking to subs you may be scarring them off. They don't want you saying to start in 2 weeks but your framer takes longer and now they can't start for 4 weeks. If your project takes 4 months instead of 2 by hiring a GC it may end up costing more in the long run.

Kind of a weird layout. With the bed folded down, it's very tight to get into the bathroom. Nice price and looks clean though.

If you're thinking medium-term rentals to traveling nurses I've found they are very low maintenance. Check out furnishedfinder.com to advertise to mostly them although you get some non-nurses too. If you have a high-paying job or want to spend your time finding new deals property managment makes sense but if you are new there is some benefit to managing yourself at least in the begining and just make sure you have a couple handy men, cleaners and other trades lined up in case anything happens.

You should check how old the foundation is. If it has just been sitting there for years it might not meet the current code, rebar could have rusted if exposed to salt and water, are there documented inspections to verify it matches what is shown on the approved plans? Has the permit for the foundation lapsed? That could push you into the new code cycle. Otherwise rather than an asset, you may need to pay to tear it up and remove it. 

Your purchase price and construction costs are lower than your ARV. That doesn't seem like a good deal. And I'm not sure I would use ARV. Maybe more like after construction completion?

Have you looked at the OMG! category on airbnb? Good spot to look for some inspiration. I'm only licensed in California but it would be fun to get on a zoom to discuss some ideas if you want. I think it depends on the land you get. An Ewok village could be cool in a forested place.

@Jonathan Lubenko
1. I think the first step would be to call the planning department and see what your land is zoned for and what that could allow. If it is zoned agricultural that could present a challenge. If it is zoned residential that is better but it might be limited to 1 home and and ADU. If it is 5 acres you could sub-divide lots into smaller pieces that each allow a main home and an ADU. The type of property sort of depends on the above and what there is demand for in your area. Also what the neighbors who could fight the project might say. Apartments/condos are more efficient from a material and energy use standpoint but may cost more to build in your area if there are no contractors used to building larger multi-family projects. Also people tend to move to rural areas to not have to share walls with others even if they are well soundproofed walls. Condos tend to lead to more lawsuits because lawyers market to the HOAs near the end of their 10 year window for suing for latent defects. If you can hold long-term that is better but if you develop with a proper LLC setup you shoudl be pretty protected. You could lot split and sell some of the homes then use that to re-invest or pay for developing the rest of the property.

2. There is a state density bonus that allows you to build denser than local zoning allows for. This is usually applied to cities where it might yield 2 extra stories and more market-rate units that can offset the lost cost of renting or selling the affordable units at a lower rate. Not sure it helps you with 5 acres but maybe it lets you build more than you otherwise could have.

3. I visited FactoryOS in Vallejo and they are doing really cool stuff with modular multifamily projects. Only makes sense with apartments/condos. Modular will help if there is a lack of available contractors there. Also tends to get you to market faster since they are more systematized, can be built even before you break ground on the foundation, no weather days.

If it's a newer building the city might have the plans on microfilm or even scanned digitally. You could try calling but I wouldn't hold my breath.