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House Hacking

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Gadde Saikumar
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Advice on Converting a two level home into two units in Brentwood

Gadde Saikumar
Posted Feb 2 2023, 14:06

Hi, I tried to buy a huge single level single family home which has a floor plan where it can be converted into two units very easily. A small wall and a new kitchen. But I couldn't get that deal. Now I am looking at equally bigger house but on two levels and 100k less. The only addition I need to do is add a new kitchen and reroute steps. 2 bed 1 bath on the ground floor and 3 bed 2 bath on the top floor. Apart from the permissions, Do I need to consider something else ? I am looking in SF bay area. 

When I call the county, they say that I need to send a proposal by architect in order judge whether it can be done. But for that, I need to purchase the property. I am a bit confused on what to do. Really appreciate your feedback, help.

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Taylor Dasch
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Temple, TX
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Taylor Dasch
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Temple, TX
Replied Feb 3 2023, 07:57

You would also have to keep in mind that you will likely be responsible for the utilities since it is likely on one meter. There is one in my market that did this then tried to sell and it really brought the resale value down - this would be market dependent though. 

If you would need to purchase the property to get permission from the city, I would pass on it because it isnt guaranteed they will give you permission and then your plan A is down the drain.

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Sean Walton
  • Wholetailer & Architect
  • San Francisco, CA
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Sean Walton
  • Wholetailer & Architect
  • San Francisco, CA
Replied Feb 5 2023, 21:58

California has passed a law where any home can build a junior ADU. So they can't stop you from a zoning standpoint or even a minimum parking standpoint assuming you are under the area limit. I think some cities it is 500 sf some it is 750sf. I think even if it is over those areas they can require things like school impact fees, and minimum parking spaces.

They can require life safety things like all bedrooms need a window with a minimum 5.7sf of opening so firefighters can get in to rescue people. If you close off or reroute the stair can everyone still exit the house safely in an emergency? 

You may not really know yet but if the home is slab on grade downstairs adding a kitchen can be costly because you need to potentially run new sewer line for the drain to tap into the existing line. I had to do this when I added a kitchen downstairs in my home. 

Once you have a property under contract I wouldn't mind answering some more questions

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