All Forum Posts by: Rajat M.

Hi Brian, I just finished building an ADU in Alameda county. Let me know if you have specifics questions. I am happy to share my experience and also provide referrals based on your needs.
cheers,

Rajat 

There are other costs besides builder cost like design, permit, landscaping etc. these add up to be significant. For CA, $200/sq-ft  seem optimistic. But I don’t know your area and laws etc. One big issue I saw was need to pay for a real blue print, that is approved by city to get realistic $/sq-ft numbers. What if your foundation is special, or need to upgrade the electrical panel. These can easily add $$$ to your cost. 

Hey there, homeowners looking to add an ADU! Gather 'round and let me regale you with the epic tale of our electrical upgrade adventure. It's a story filled with trenching, tricky licenses, and unexpected expenses. Buckle up, because this electrifying tale is about to take you on a hilarious rollercoaster ride!

So, picture this: our house needed an upgrade from a measly 100A electrical connection to a powerful 200A. But here's the kicker - our electrical junction box was chilling on the other side of the street, which meant we had to get down and dirty with some trenching. Goodbye, manicured lawn dreams!

Now, we had two options on the table: pay PG&E, the electric company, to do the upgrade for us, or hire our trusty contractor to tackle the task. Simple, right? Well, not quite. Turns out, this upgrade required a contractor with a fancy Type-A license because it involved work on city streets. Apparently, a general contractor license wasn't going to cut it. Who knew being a homeowner would require us to decipher contractor hieroglyphics?

Being the savvy and budget-conscious homeowners we are, we decided to get multiple bids. But let me tell you, finding a builder for a small project like this was like trying to teach a cat to tap dance - nearly impossible! It seemed like all the big contractors were too busy for us, snubbing their noses at anything below the $100k mark. Ouch!

But fear not, my friends, for there were two intriguing options before us. Option one: the good ol' open pit trench work. This involved digging a two-feet-deep trench across the street and laying the necessary conduit and wires. Option two: the flashy new kid on the block, trenchless technology. With this marvel of innovation, special machines would drill a horizontal hole in the ground, magically avoiding the need for a deep trench. And to sweeten the deal, it was 50% cheaper than trenching!

Ah, but here's where the fun really begins. Little did we know, this modern marvel came with its own set of quirks. Cue the dramatic music! Dun dun dun! It required a hefty $15k camera inspection both before and after the cabling, just to ensure we weren't inadvertently wrecking any existing pipes or sewers. Surprise, surprise! Nobody mentioned this little detail until we received quotes from three different companies. Oh, and guess what? PG&E also charged us a cool $8k for their own inspection, thanks to those county requirements. Isn't life just full of pleasant surprises?

After two months of back-and-forth, it finally hit us like a bolt of lightning: trenchless wasn't economically viable for our situation. We had to wave goodbye to our dreams of an effortless upgrade and embrace the trenching with open arms (and shovels).

But wait, there's more! In our quest for electrical enlightenment, we discovered some fascinating tidbits. Turns out, the quote from PG&E for trenching was the lowest cost we could find. However, we soon realized that a whopping 40% of that cost was due to taxes and fees that the county demanded PG&E to pay. It's like a never-ending cycle of taxes, fees, and more taxes! Who knew upgrading utilities could be such a financially taxing experience?

Despite the chaos and unexpected expenses, there was a silver lining in our electrifying escapade. PG&E assigned us a superhero-like project manager who guided us through the entire process. She was responsive, patient, and even willing to explain the intricate details when we bombarded her with questions. Hallelujah! Thanks to her, the work is finally complete, and we can move forward with our ADU project. Phew!

So, my fellow ADU builders, take heed of the lessons from our wild journey. And to all you investors analyzing the cost of rehab for residential properties, here's a tip: overhead power lines are a much cheaper upgrade option than going underground. Trust me, you'll save yourself from a shocking financial ordeal!

Now, go forth, brave homeowners, and may your ADU dreams be electrifyingly successful (without the need for excessive trenching)!

Note: Remember, this story has been spiced up with humor and creativity to keep you entertained. Always consult professionals and follow the appropriate guidelines for your specific situation. Happy home improvement adventures!

Hi, I am building an ADU in bay area and here are my thoughts based on experience

1. Besides the cost difference, make sure to consider the ADU's impact on your quality of life, with having to share your yard and driveway with a renter.

- If you study the city building guidelines, you can determine the setbacks for your lot size (zone) easily. A survey is not officially needed, but good to have. A good architect/planner should be able to help with your setback questions.

- $3000 is on the higher side. If you don't need an official report, a simple assessment should be less than 1k

2. It varies from low $300 to $$$. Comparing bids is tricky as they are in different formats and detail levels. Also, due to varying cost of material, some bids exclude material which makes $/sqft comparison hard. None of them include the cost of electrical plan upgrade, etc.

3. Total cost depends on what type of foundation you need, the quality of construction you choose, if you plan to have independent heating/cooling, if your existing electrical connection will suffice, if your sewer connection needs an update etc, etc. The cost of electric/water/sewer could be significant as well.

4. In my learning, having a team that works together is essential to optimize costs. Have your builder review the building plans before approval. The common path is the architect makes the plan, you send it to the city for approval, pay the architect, and then the builder builds it. But by the time you get a building quote, it's too late to make design to cost trade offs. I have seen the building plan use non-standard sizes that look great, but add to the cost significantly. E.g. If you know the costs of different window and door sizes, you might choose them differently.

Additionally, there are different types of foundations that vary in cost. The designer does not know/tell you the cost. A good builder/general contractor can help choose the foundation that is common for your area to save you $$$.

Hope this helps.

They use $1500 as deposit to start the quote. At end of quote, they calculate the hrs used to generate the quote based on project complexity etc. So as next step, they refund you part of unused deposit. Or they send you a bill if they need more than deposit. Hope that helps. 

@Justin F. It is an attached ADU. The proposal I got from PG&E was after I paid them $1500. The cost is for trenching across the street, to the existing electrical meter. PGE will do the work to get the wires/conduit in. The meter installation and wiring to the ADU from exiting main panel, would be done by my electrician, at my cost.

Even, if I don't have to add a 200A main panel, ADU will need a sub panel. We need to run a wire in crawl space to connect the existing main panel to ADU's subpanel.

 @Account Closed your plan sounds excellent. I wanted to do something similar. But, in my case I would still need to do the trenching to get conduit in to allow for 200A capacity. It's a 70s built house, and we have wire directly in dirt. The new code requires conduit and hence the need for expensive trenching. 

Hi, I am in Alameda county with exact same dilemma for adding ADU to existing single family home. I did spend the $1500 and they came back with $36k quote.
   I did the math for electrical load and don’t see the need to go beyond 100A. The contracts, do recommend 200A upgrade off the bat, but they did not support the need based on calculations. I hired an electrician to help validate my load calculations. It is dependent on the appliances in the house, a pool, type of heating, etc etc. you can get a template load calculator sheet off the web. 

  $36k is due to trenching across the street. The panel upgrade cost are in addition to this trenching effort. 
cheers,

Rajat 

Welcome Nate, that's a good start. Minh Le , I see the rents stabilize, if not cool off yet as compared to mid yr 2015. With so many apartments built around Milpitas BART area, some apartments are offering discounts on 1 yr lease. This was unheard of a year back. Sfr rentals seem to still have an upward Trend. Thanks, Rajat

Hi Grazyna Rygiel, 

   Based on other podcasts and my experience you might look at following aspects of the deal. 

1. As @Steve Vaughan said, know how motivated is your seller and what are her motivations. You have already begun on this path, but need to find out more. 

2. Once you have decent understanding, it might be worth it to negotiate in person. If she likes you as a person, she will be more likely to work with you. 

3. Find out what things, besides price are negotiable. Some things like, ability to rent back, length of closing time, etc might help you close the deal. 

4. Know you walk away price, the max you are willing to pay. 

Classic negotiation saying, know your BATNA - best alternative to negotiated agreement. 

Best of luck.