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Peter Amador
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  • San Diego & NYC
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ADU Appraisal Value in San Diego

Peter Amador
  • Investor
  • San Diego & NYC
Posted Oct 27 2021, 18:38

I am building an ADU on one of my rental properties and looking to maximize the appraisal value. The ADU will not be attached to the primary home and will have a separate entrance with parking.

How have appraisers been valuing stand-alone properties? For example, if comps for the primary home are $500 sq ft, are ADUs in the San Diego market being valued at $250 sq ft? I believe a duplex comp is most appropriate but I am trying to get an estimation on what the appraisal could come back under worse case scenarios. Any insights shared about ADU appraisals would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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Brian Larson
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  • Investor
  • San Jose, CA
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Brian Larson
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  • Investor
  • San Jose, CA
Replied Oct 27 2021, 22:14

Good luck.  From the posts that I have read on BP and Facebook, appraisals in California are all over the place.

In my personal situation, they appraised the ADU as an addition, even though it is detached and above a garage. And despite the fact that there are multiple duplexes on my street. It was pretty bad. I hope you have a better experience.

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Jesse Rivera
  • Lender
  • Long Beach, CA
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Jesse Rivera
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  • Long Beach, CA
Replied Oct 29 2021, 09:16

Comps will always be the biggest problem - finding comps that are similar that the appraiser can use. And it depends on how good the appraiser is as well. I would get with a GREAT realtor (I have referrals) that can find the comps, and don't be afraid to fight for your value, if you think the appraisal value is off. I've gone many rounds with appraisers. Won some and lost some.

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Peter Amador
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Peter Amador
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  • San Diego & NYC
Replied Oct 29 2021, 12:55
Originally posted by @Jesse Rivera:

Comps will always be the biggest problem - finding comps that are similar that the appraiser can use. And it depends on how good the appraiser is as well. I would get with a GREAT realtor (I have referrals) that can find the comps, and don't be afraid to fight for your value, if you think the appraisal value is off. I've gone many rounds with appraisers. Won some and lost some.

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Peter Amador
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Peter Amador
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  • San Diego & NYC
Replied Oct 29 2021, 12:56

Thanks, Jesse! Appreciate the feedback. 

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Peter Amador
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Peter Amador
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  • San Diego & NYC
Replied Oct 29 2021, 12:59
Originally posted by @Brian Larson:

Good luck.  From the posts that I have read on BP and Facebook, appraisals in California are all over the place.

In my personal situation, they appraised the ADU as an addition, even though it is detached and above a garage. And despite the fact that there are multiple duplexes on my street. It was pretty bad. I hope you have a better experience.

Thank you, Brian! It will be interesting to see what feedback I receive.

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Replied Nov 20 2021, 11:10

@Peter Amador very interesting question. Unfortunately I cannot answer them for I am also thinking of doing a garage conversion this January. May I ask which contractor or company you went with? I have spoken to three companies already. Thank you

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Peter Amador
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Peter Amador
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  • San Diego & NYC
Replied Nov 20 2021, 11:21
Originally posted by @Jonard Lopez:

@Peter Amador very interesting question. Unfortunately I cannot answer them for I am also thinking of doing a garage conversion this January. May I ask which contractor or company you went with? I have spoken to three companies already. Thank you

I am going with Murray Lampert. My top three were Murray Lampert, SD Casitas and ADU Geeks. Murray Lampert had the best option for me with their Design and Build team since I don't live in San Diego. SD Casitas offers design and build options too. They were great and it was a tough decision. I may have gone with SD Casitas if I lived in SD. ADU Geeks is a really good team and I think they might specialize in garage conversions. Would recommend giving them a call. Good luck with your efforts!

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Replied Nov 20 2021, 11:26

@Peter Amador thank you so much. I will definitely give them a call this week this Monday. I already have spoken to Lars and multitaskr. But of course, I am still canvassing.

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Peter Amador
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Peter Amador
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Replied Nov 20 2021, 11:33
Originally posted by @Jonard Lopez:

@Peter Amador thank you so much. I will definitely give them a call this week this Monday. I already have spoken to Lars and multitaskr. But of course, I am still canvassing.

Good luck! Feel free to tell them I referred you.

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Greg R.
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  • Dallas, TX
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Greg R.
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  • Dallas, TX
Replied Mar 4 2022, 17:34

Hey @Peter Amador, I know this is an older post, but I am in this exact situation right now. Got an unthinkable appraisal for my home w/ attached ADU in SD. Check out my latest post to see the details. I'd be curious to know if you ever moved on this or you ended up doing?

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Peter Amador
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Peter Amador
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  • San Diego & NYC
Replied Mar 7 2022, 11:33
Quote from @Greg R.:

Hey @Peter Amador, I know this is an older post, but I am in this exact situation right now. Got an unthinkable appraisal for my home w/ attached ADU in SD. Check out my latest post to see the details. I'd be curious to know if you ever moved on this or you ended up doing?

Hey @Greg R.thanks for the note. We haven't gone through the appraisal process. We are using a home renovation loan which is tapping into existing equity of the primary house. Our ADU is going to be 1,100 sqft and detached. There have been a few recent home sales in the area with a ADU which have received favorable prices and hoping to use those as points of reference. Best of luck with your efforts!

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Replied Oct 22 2022, 08:08
Quote from @Peter Amador:

I am building an ADU on one of my rental properties and looking to maximize the appraisal value. The ADU will not be attached to the primary home and will have a separate entrance with parking.

How have appraisers been valuing stand-alone properties? For example, if comps for the primary home are $500 sq ft, are ADUs in the San Diego market being valued at $250 sq ft? I believe a duplex comp is most appropriate but I am trying to get an estimation on what the appraisal could come back under worse case scenarios. Any insights shared about ADU appraisals would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


Hey there- Congrats on your ADU! Would be great to connect as I just purchased a SFH in Oceanside & plan to convert the attached garage to a JADU and build an attached ADU in the backyard later. Plan to rent the units eventually. Rents for 1 BRs in my area are $2200. Curious if you can recommend any ADU designers or contractors by the way. Also curious to hear how the process has gone for you thus far. Thx so much!

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Replied Oct 22 2022, 08:13
Quote from @Peter Amador:
Originally posted by @Jonard Lopez:

@Peter Amador very interesting question. Unfortunately I cannot answer them for I am also thinking of doing a garage conversion this January. May I ask which contractor or company you went with? I have spoken to three companies already. Thank you

I am going with Murray Lampert. My top three were Murray Lampert, SD Casitas and ADU Geeks. Murray Lampert had the best option for me with their Design and Build team since I don't live in San Diego. SD Casitas offers design and build options too. They were great and it was a tough decision. I may have gone with SD Casitas if I lived in SD. ADU Geeks is a really good team and I think they might specialize in garage conversions. Would recommend giving them a call. Good luck with your efforts!

Interesting. How’d you like working with Murray Lampert? For me, they came in really expensive / the most expensive quote out of all. Something like $250k to start for a garage conversion lol. Ridiculous. Laughable, really 

ADU Geeks are responsive but they cost more than just going with an individual designer for plans obviously. ADU Geeks quoted $13k+ just for designs + getting the permits whereas I have multiple designers offering $5k only for plans. Part of the reason is bc ADU Geeks acts as a third party intermediary with engineering, etc., which adds to costs vs me just managing individuals on my own.