One thought I had was to put up a tall privacy fence to block that view.

I house-hacked a single-family home that had separate entrances; this allowed for the comfortability of living with privacy while also getting the benefit of rental income and qualifies you for the perks of owner-occupied loans.

The privacy Act requires procedural safeguards to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of PII. 

Although I have a feeling that any interior cameras in a STR house that is not occupied by Chris Klingemann is going to be a violation of privacy laws. 

Mine isn’t exactly a glamorous business office as it’s the only space I could set aside in the house for some privacy.  

I wouldn't love giving up my privacy (in this scenario I'd move into the new downstairs master suite, sharing the kitchen with a renter; my other concern is just renting a room would max out at close to $1,000 month) but if the renovation costs are way cheaper and the resale price would be that much higher I might consider it - I'd love your thoughts on that.FYI the home is small at 869 sf so the max the ADU could be is about 425sf, so I wouldn't add the staircase to downstairs if I build the ADU since that would take up too many square feet.I did a quick search in El Cerrito and didn't find any recently sold homes with ADUs but interestingly enough there are 3 listings that include 'potential for ADU!'

I am excited to say that after a several years of studying, saving, and sitting on the sidelines (talking about real estate) I've actually done something and put my first deal under contract.I'm hesitant to post too much detail because the deal involves several different parties whose privacy I respect - friends, business partners, and even the seller in this case.Some high level information is that the deal involves more than one multi-family buildings in a market that is not quite at parity (re: pre-recession price levels ) as many of the other larger markets.

They added an uneven facade (which you couldn't do due to roof line) , different colors, 2'x6" for privacy for each entrance and bamboo in front, as well as other landscaping. 

It also depends on whether you prefer the cookie-cutter entity which or if you are also looking for more privacy.

A spouse can also participate in the same plan, there are additional tax benefits compared to an IRA, and there is generally greater privacy.