Walk-out basement househack in Durham NC

[Annchen Knodt]

Hi BP, I'm looking to connect with other investors who have experience converting a walk-out basement in a SFH into an ADU for house-hacking, especially in the Raleigh/Durham areas in NC. I'd love to purchase a house where I can live on the main level and rent out the bottom level / basement, ideally as a short term rental / AirBNB, but also potentially as long- or mid-term rental as backup strategies.

My main questions for this are:

* How do I get all the information that I need on regulations, both for code in converting the basement (e.g. if I need to add a kitchen, move the laundry area, etc) as well as for occupancy (e.g. do i need multifamily zoning etc) and STR regulations. Do I just contact the city?

* Exit strategy: I hope to repeat this process, i.e. move out in a year or so and purchase another house hack while renting the first one out. I'm trying to think about whether it would work best to then rent out the top and bottom units separately via STR and/or LTR, or perhaps rent out the whole house?

* Are there any areas of Durham that are more or less conducive to this strategy? (in particular, STR demand)

Thanks for any advice - always love connecting with other investors!