All Forum Posts by: David Maldonado
David Maldonado has started 50 posts and replied 152 times.
Post: California ADU business

- Rental Property Investor
- Santa Maria, CA
- Posts 158
- Votes 81
Quote from @Jeff T.:
Its a mortgage broker in CA that specializes in ADU loans.
Might be worth checking out. At least they are familiar with ADUs.
Thanks Jeff, I'll check them out!
Post: California ADU business

- Rental Property Investor
- Santa Maria, CA
- Posts 158
- Votes 81
Quote from @Chen Zhou:
Quote from @David Maldonado:
ADU Appraisal:
Hey everyone it has been a while. I'm currently getting ready for my 5th ADU build and I want to share some news:
A similar house in my neighborhood with both an ADU and a JADU sold for $1.15 million, after only being listed for a few days. Properties around my neighborhood are worth around $550,000. I was able to get a copy of the appraisal report and the comps that were used were mulit-familys (tri-plex). As of today, that house was the first and remains the only property with both an ADU and a JADU in my area.
Question:
If I were to apply for a HELOC, would that $1.15 million dollar property be the only objective comp that can be used to determine my property's value? I'd be able to quit my job and do this full-time if this can work!
Would love to know how your appraisal went.
Hey Chen,
Unfortunately, the lenders that I tried out, did not use that comp (along with 1 other additional comp), as well as not considering any value of the ADU and the JADU. It was an in-house appraisal for a 250K HELOC. The lender literally said the value was based off searching my property on Zillow (which does not have the ADU nor JADU).
I will be trying out another lender soon for another HELOC after my 1 year occupancy is up on my current househack, and I will be moving back to the property with both a ADU and JADU for a primary residence HELOC (way better LTVs).
Anyone else have better luck with their ADU appraisal?
Post: Getting a GC license as an Owner builder

- Rental Property Investor
- Santa Maria, CA
- Posts 158
- Votes 81
Hey everyone,
So I applied to test for a GC license in California, but was short on experience. My BA got me 24 months of experience and my owner builder experience only gave me 4 months. As an owner builder, I built 3 ADUs and 1 JADU (subbed out the structure build and I did all the finish work). I did qualify I quit my job last month to focus more on real estate investing, and I want a GC license so I can contract my own builds. I know that I can keep going as an owner builder, but I also want to build new construction commercial properties, as well as having the GC license for credibility when working with other investors in the future.
I love everything about construction. I first got into construction to save money on labor when I built my first ADU as an owner builder. I enjoyed the hard labor and comradery that I missed from my Navy days working in engineering.
My question is, how do I go about getting more experience on paper without having to commit to an employer/contractor for a long-term position? Are there any investors on here that got their GC license later on and went on to contract your own builds?
Post: Fresno meet ups and talking real estate

- Rental Property Investor
- Santa Maria, CA
- Posts 158
- Votes 81
Hello everyone,
Are there any real estate meet ups in Clovis or Fresno this month? I plan to invest in long-term rentals and would like to start networking with others in Fresno. Let me know if anyone is interested in talking real estate when I'm in Fresno.
Post: House Hacking and ADU Build

- Rental Property Investor
- Santa Maria, CA
- Posts 158
- Votes 81
Quote from @Ryan Thomson:
Nice David! Love a good house hack. And the ADU on the back. Smawt.
Thanks Ryan! It was worth all the blood, sweat and tears haha!
Post: Live-in-Flip / House Hacking / ADU Build

- Rental Property Investor
- Santa Maria, CA
- Posts 158
- Votes 81
Quote from @Jeff Schemmel:
what's a JADU?
Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit. It is under 500 sqft and existing space must be used for the conversion. A 2 car garage conversion into a JADU is common.
Post: Live-in-Flip / House Hacking / ADU Build

- Rental Property Investor
- Santa Maria, CA
- Posts 158
- Votes 81
Investment Info:
Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Santa Maria.
Purchase price: $455,000
Cash invested: $7,000
House Hacking Owner Occupied * In- Progress *Asking Price: 459,999 Rehab: $5000
VA Loan 0% Dow* SELLER PAID CLOSING COSTS AND $15K IN REPAIRS, NO MONEY DWN
RENT BY THE ROOM STRATEGY
PITI: $3060
Rent: $3500 ($875 per room, utilities, Wi-Fi, and Security System)
* Current Project: 300 SQFT ADU *
ADU Rent Estimate: $1800 (Includes Utilities, Wi-Fi, Security System, and private entrance, yard, and parking)Construction Budget: $20k Structure is already existing, more of a conversion
What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?
It was odd that this property was sitting on the market for 30 days when the average listing accepts an offer within a few days (EVEN WITH HIGH RATES!)
How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?
Zillow, I provided a list of all the work and cost that needed to be done to the house.
How did you finance this deal?
VA Loan
How did you add value to the deal?
In progress
What was the outcome?
Living for free (rent by the room strategy) and saving capital to build a LARGE detached 1200 sq ft ADU 4bed 4 bath in the backyard.
Current ADU build will be converted into a JADU in accordance with the (I will be adding another bedroom to increase the rent from $1800 to $2200).
Lessons learned? Challenges?
A good way to find deals (as a little guy) in an expensive and highly competitive market, is to look at the properties that have been sitting on the market the longest. Higher probability of negotiating.
Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?
Worked with an Agent. Everything else I did myself. I'm a construction enthusiast and love everything about construction and learned how to build just by practicing on my own properties and pulling permits as an owner builder.

Post: Live-in-Flip / House Hacking / ADU Build

- Rental Property Investor
- Santa Maria, CA
- Posts 158
- Votes 81
Investment Info:
Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Santa Maria.
Purchase price: $455,000
Cash invested: $7,000
House Hacking Owner Occupied * In- Progress *Asking Price: 459,999 Rehab: $5000
VA Loan 0% Dow* SELLER PAID CLOSING COSTS AND $15K IN REPAIRS, NO MONEY OUT OF POCKET*
RENT BY THE ROOM STRATEGY
PITI: $3060
Rent: $3500 ($875 per room, utilities, Wi-Fi, and Security System)
* Current Project: 300 SQFT ADU *
ADU Rent Estimate: $1800 (Includes Utilities, Wi-Fi, Security System, and private entrance, yard, and parking)Construction Budget: $20k Structure is already existing, more of a conversion
What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?
It was odd that this property was sitting on the market for 30 days when the average listing accepts an offer within a few days (EVEN WITH HIGH RATES!)
How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?
Zillow, I provided a list of all the work and cost that needed to be done to the house.
How did you finance this deal?
VA Loan
How did you add value to the deal?
In progress
What was the outcome?
Living for free (rent by the room strategy) and saving capital to build a LARGE detached 1200 sq ft ADU 4bed 4 bath in the backyard.
Current ADU build will be converted into a JADU in accordance with the (I will be adding another bedroom to increase the rent from $1800 to $2200).
Lessons learned? Challenges?
A good way to find deals (as a little guy) in an expensive and highly competitive market, is to look at the properties that have been sitting on the market the longest. Higher probability of negotiating.
Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?
Worked with an Agent. Everything else I did myself. I'm a construction enthusiast and love everything about construction and learned how to build just by practicing on my own properties and pulling permits as an owner builder.

Post: Live-in-Flip / House Hacking / ADU Build

- Rental Property Investor
- Santa Maria, CA
- Posts 158
- Votes 81
Investment Info:
Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Santa Maria.
Purchase price: $455,000
Cash invested: $7,000
House Hacking Owner Occupied * In- Progress *Asking Price: 459,999 Rehab: $5000
VA Loan 0% Dow* SELLER PAID CLOSING COSTS AND $15K IN REPAIRS, NO MONEY OUT OF POCKET*
RENT BY THE ROOM STRATEGY
PITI: $3060
Rent: $3500 ($875 per room, utilities, Wi-Fi, and Security System)
* Current Project: 300 SQFT ADU *
ADU Rent Estimate: $1800 (Includes Utilities, Wi-Fi, Security System, and private entrance, yard, and parking)Construction Budget: $20k (Structure is already existing, more of a conversion)
What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?
It was odd that this property was sitting on the market for 30 days when the average listing accepts an offer within a few days (EVEN WITH HIGH RATES!)
How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?
Zillow, I provided a list of all the work and cost that needed to be done to the house.
How did you finance this deal?
VA Loan
How did you add value to the deal?
In progress
What was the outcome?
Living for free (rent by the room strategy) and saving capital to build a LARGE detached 1200 sq ft ADU 4bed 4 bath in the backyard.
Current ADU build will be converted into a JADU in accordance with the (I will be adding another bedroom to increase the rent from $1800 to $2200).
Lessons learned? Challenges?
A good way to find deals (as a little guy) in an expensive and highly competitive market, is to look at the properties that have been sitting on the market the longest. Higher probability of negotiating.
Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?
Worked with an Agent. Everything else I did myself. I'm a construction enthusiast and love everything about construction and learned how to build just by practicing on my own properties and pulling permits as an owner builder.

Post: Live-in-Flip / House Hacking / ADU Build

- Rental Property Investor
- Santa Maria, CA
- Posts 158
- Votes 81
Investment Info:
Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Santa Maria.
Purchase price: $455,000
Cash invested: $7,000
House Hacking / Live in Flip / Owner Occupied / * In- Progress *
Asking Price: 459,999
Main House Rehab: $5000
VA Loan 0% Down
* SELLER PAID CLOSING COSTS AND $15K IN REPAIRS, NO MONEY OUT OF POCKET TO SECURE PROPERTY *
* RENT BY THE ROOM STRATEGY: Currently live in 1 of the 5 bedrooms in the main house (converted dining room and portion of the living room into 2 8x10 bedrooms for additional cash flow) *
PITI: $3060
Rent Total: $3500 ($875 per room, includes utilities, Wi-Fi, and Security System)
* Current Project: 300 SQFT ADU *
ADU Rent Estimate: $1800 (Includes Utilities, Wi-Fi, Security System, and private entrance, yard, and parking)
Construction Budget: $20k (Structure is already existing, more of a conversion)
Will Post Finish Pictures/ Videos When Finished with renovation and ADU Conversion.
What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?
It was odd that this property was sitting on the market for 30 days when the average listing accepts an offer within a few days (EVEN WITH HIGH RATES!)
How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?
Zillow, I provided a list of all the work and cost that needed to be done to the house.
How did you finance this deal?
VA Loan
How did you add value to the deal?
In progress
What was the outcome?
Living for free (rent by the room strategy) and saving capital to build a LARGE detached 1200 sq ft ADU 4bed 4 bath in the backyard.
Current ADU build will be converted into a JADU in accordance with the (I will be adding another bedroom to increase the rent from $1800 to $2200).
Lessons learned? Challenges?
A good way to find deals (as a little guy) in an expensive and highly competitive market, is to look at the properties that have been sitting on the market the longest. Higher probability of negotiating.
Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?
Worked with an Agent. Everything else I did myself. I'm a construction enthusiast and love everything about construction and learned how to build just by practicing on my own properties and pulling permits as an owner builder.
