How to improve back yard

Question

Hi everyone,

First time owning a property/landlording... I am currently living in one unit that I house hacked, and have two other tenants on the property. I plan to move in the near future and find another multi family... Anyways, you can see how the yard is two teirred, I installed a fence between the two levels so everyone has a private space. Originally, I had hopes of adding an ADU in the backyard there, but the permitting process in LA has proven to make that impossible. The 1/1 already has a nice private patio on the front side, and it seems like all this extra space in the back is a bit of an overkill for a smaller unit. I'm just curious if anyone has ideas on the smartest value add opportunity here. Do I install a communal pool? A communal fire pit area? Just leave it as a massive backyard for the 1/1?

TLDR: What is the ultimate ROI addition that can be put in a backyard? And is it better to have it be a communal space for 3 tenants or make it private for just one?

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

Dan H. · Answer

Pools have real high cap ex, add far less value than the cost to add the pool, require weekly maintenance, and are a safety item.

Some STRs can justify the pool costs, but for LTR they cannot collect enough additional rent to cover their operating costs.

I do not believe the communal fire pit will add value greater than the cost but it may help you retain good tenants. Also I suspect the cost is not high. I have 2 fire pits at rentals. One is communal and shared by 4 units (2 STR and 2 LTR). The other is for use be a single STR. They are different types of fire pits both purchased at Costco on sale. One is barrel shaped (for a small area) and the other is low chest shaped. I also added gas timers to both (highly recommend doing this) after they were left on to drain the propane tank. I purchased the gas timer at Amazon but for one I needed some extra components.

Value adds are a challenge. Most improvements do not add more value than they cost. However, if they can help retain good tenants that has a value.

Good luck

How to improve back yard

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