All Forum Posts by: Zambricki Li

$400-500 is about right for ground up basic finishes with no surprises. Separate design if you need it, I think. Do you need it? You may find an architect to make the plans who is a designer at heart, and you can embark on a creative journey( cue orchestral music). 

If it's a small garage conversion there is a path to do it cheaper -get a draftsman to do your plans and submit your permits- and just be creative. If it's just a little garage try DIY owner/builder for the basics and bring in a good finishing crew at the end with a designer friend.

I agree with @Bruce Woodruff plans first...though plans are expensive so I think you are smart to explore here. Between plans, and engineering, and geotechnical, and a survey, AND permit fees ect ect groundup you could spend 15k easily.  Then you're ready for to interview a contractor.  After all that time it may even be cheaper to build. One guess, for what it's worth, at this rate is construction may cool off by Oct/Nov and you may be able to build at a discount- in perfect time for your plans to be completed. Good luck.

Great question. I think Aircover is more for small damages. I have not yet heard about airbnb paying off big #'s from it. Under 10k ok. If it's a STR at an adu you can strike them from each other and carry a short term for adu and main house have a landlord policy. They won't usually write a primary if you have an str on site.

American modern is OK. Foremost is usually good for str. I found some str policies called "seasonal" won't cover you if you rent in a vacation area in peak season. Interestingly with some insurance companies if you have pure str policy there's a bit of a grey area whether the owner would be covered if they themselves stayed, that would require a seasonal policy in which case...can't rent it in peak. Important to have the right insurance as well as enough insurance. If the str is in an ADU make sure you account for that as well it can change things.

in general CA portfolios...Check out Costco connect they only operate in CA great pricepoint.

I've done multiple ADU's in CA and have 2 in process( one is a triplex turning into a 4 plex). You can get clearances to get past square footage and other things that pop up. You need to push back and work with someone who will push back at the local level. I think it's worth building the extra unit and they will likely roll back the owner occupy regulation at some point if it is even something they enforce now. The cashflow is worth it as you already own the property so the numbers should work easily compared to acquiring a new property in the area. It's almost easier to compare a JR adu to buying a condo than other asset classes. You could get it done for around 35-50k there's not a condo in CA for that price.

Contractors want to know you have cash and for you to pay partially upfront, they do not want to put hours into paperwork and be accountable to a bank if they can't perform what they quoted. They do not want to discover you don't have the ability to get the loan after they've put work in to set it up. Plenty of other people have done cash out refi or other strategies to have cash on hand and they will get priority every time. Most contractors can barely keep their own books organized much less yours. Most are great at estimate and then the job starts and all bets are off, they take on a few more projects and can't even keep the labour #'s straight between their own projects, much less your personal situation. I would explore other finance options if possible for a project this size.

You can do it for 1-4 units NP. Many will tell you not to do it. I think it is actually quite easy to do. Get a stable of handymen. Find a housekeeper. Legal if needed. It's not complicated and no one is going to care as much as you about the property. 

10k you could do Airbnb rental arbitrage. Save 50k then level up.

What's your budget? That should dictate your search. Start with a hard truth on your current situation and go from there. Make sure you are willing to buy what you can afford. Many people want what they cannot afford and end up doing nothing within that exercise. Don't reverse engineer it, get serious about your financial picture and your search criteria will reveal itself including states/cities/and asset class.

I've done this in Asheville, NC.  Decide 1st if you need to permit it or if it is a "granny flat" you are creating as a homeowner. The difference in many city code is the size of the kitchen sink in the granny flat. May save you a ton of money and time in permitting. That is in context of a househack, it will not be added to your square footage unless you permit it. Some basements were already partially permitted square footage, if it had been used as a laundry/rec room by previous owners. If not adding that added square footage will give you a boost when you go to refinance. Find a prop that already has a basement egress installed and ideally code egress window where bedrooms wil go, those two things are expensive excavations if you are below grade. The small basement windows won't cut it for fire code. 
 

Depends on the county. I have a few higher end str's in California, some of which I've had to switch to mid term as laws change. I think it's important that the deal makes sense as Mid term as well as STR in case things change. Cashflow is incredible on STR. Riverside county is ok(though not beach). LA county is now restrictive unless it's a single family home and declared your primary residence or you build a ADU behind a SFR and claim that as your primary. Topanga you can actually do STR no problem. San Diego is largely restricted. We would need to go county by county to isolate. I have a short list if you want it DM me.