Knock Down Garage for rental income or Preserve for Refinancing

[Matthew Miller]

I am perplexed...I own a house in Oakland CA which has an attached studio that I rent on Airbnb. When times are tight I will rent the front house as well. In my backyard is a single car garage that was built in 1959 via permit after the construction of the house in 1924.

Due to the consistent and successful Airbnb income, I am contemplating tearing down the garage to put in an Airstream which I am pretty certain will rent comparably to my studio for $2k gross/mo.

I am doing all of this to pay down debt, increase lending options and eventually refinance my home to pay off debt and invest in another property.

The downside is that my mortgage broker stated a 'non-confirming' property, as a property would be defined if it's garage no longer existed within a neighborhood of homes with garages, is harder to refinance and may cause issues when the time comes.

Do I knock down the garage to take rental cash flow while I can (I have a great deal with an owner of a new Airstream who will Rent the Airstream to me for $500/mo.) Or Preserve the eventual financing opportunity?

Has anyone had a similar experience? I appreciate any insights out there. Many thanks!

[Mike Giallanza]

Can you convert the garage into living space? Is this allowed in your area, and if so, what would the cost be to get plumbing and more power into the garage. I would personally want to compare the cost of converting the garage vs buying an airstream.