All Forum Posts by: Derek Daun

I've done LVP (Luxury Vinyl Plank) on two rentals, and am very happy with it. So far it has shown to be very durrable (~ 4 years). We'll see if it holds up in the long term. I prefer it to tile due to a warmer, softer feel, and cheaper/easier install. Plus it's waterproof compared to laminate. Hopefully the resale value isn't take a hit two much.

@Daria B. The concern has nothing to do with a tenant contacting the permitting office. 

The concern is that the tenant takes you to court claiming you didn't provide them with appropriate housing, i.e. a house with a kitchen. Is that possible? I have no idea. Would they get away with it since there is in fact a kitchen? I have no idea. 

Mental note. If I'm ever selling a house to a buyer that ends up being really difficult to deal with, leave a box of ashes from the firepit in a box labeled 'grandma', in the attic.

This could be to your advantage, depending on if there were other offers.

Take a trip to design review of your city's permitting process. Explain the situation, and ask what would be required to bring it up to code. The clerk won't be able to give you any guarantees, but could probably have a fairly general idea.

With that in hand, ask for a discount in price.

One more thing; it can definitely affact the appraisal though. Lenders might have an issue when the appraisal comes back saying there isn't a kitchen, but hey, the garage is super nice!

I own a couple of properties with unpermitted improvements, and it doesn't bother me. (Although maybe it should?) I'd be interested in hearing other people's opinions. 

Here are the things I consider:

1) What is the age of the properties and the neighborhood? Do they date back to a time before proper records were kept? In my case, my properties are over a 100 years old, and it is common for many houses to have had undocumented improvements throughout the years. It can be difficult for the permitting department to care that much, if it's unclear what was or wasn't grandfathered in. For example, I have a bathroom in my basement. I have no idea when it was built. Even though the fixtures are newer, it's possible they were installed to replace older fixures. It's not included on the square footage, so I won't be able to count it when I sell it, but the city likely won't make me take it out. This would be a totally different case if it's a modern house. Most modern developement have much stricter acceptance standards, with both the city and home owners expecting everything to be on the up and up.

2) What is the quality of the build. If it's unsafe, poor workmanship, or not up to code, then it could be problematic. This can come into play if the city finds out and want's resolution, and they could require it taken down. If it's done correctly though, it might just be matter of paying the permit costs (and penalty fees), and getting it permitted. You might have to take down some drywall to expose some plumbing and electrically depending on the inspector and region. For example, I have a bungalow with a master suite added in the attic which was not permitted. This is a common addition in the neighborhood. The build quality is very high though, and everything was done up to code. They even put on new siding with OSB sheer walls installed to make the 2nd story earthquake compliant (this is in CA). I bought it in this condition, and likely wouldn't have a problem selling it like this. I would likely be able to get it permitted, if I wanted to go through the hassle.

3) 'Does a renter not have to pay rent if the a space is unpermitted?'  I generally wouldn't be worried about that; however, since this is the kitchen, it could potentially make a difference. Most cities have some minimum standards for the rental properties, of which a kitchen could conceivable be one such standard in your city. If the entire kitchen is in the unpermitted space, then the property technically doesn't have a kitchen. An unscrupulous tenant could potentially try to take advantage of that.

I have a similar situation on a house I just closed on.

The neighbors seem nice enough, but the place is trashed, and they have 4 small dogs that go crazy as soon as we enter our back yard. They have a broken down truck parked on street in front of the house which parking enforcement has tagged, but it looks like the move it back and forth a couple of feet so tire chalk moves. None of the landscaping is maintained.

The first thing we did was upgrade the fence so it can't be seen through; which definitely helped with the dogs. 

The next step I plan on is contacting the owner (I'm fairly confident the occupiers are renters), and seeing if he wants to sell. I know he bought it at the bottom of the market. This house is THE trashy house left on the block, so if I can get it for a good deal, I could increase the value of both properties by cleaning it up.

5.5 years, same tenants, always paid on time? It sounds like you got a good deal.

I wouldn't go after the cost of the carpet and installation, as that isn't an unexpected cost after five years. However, the hassle of dealing with sealing the floor is understandably annoying. I'd put together a very reasonable bill for that. Nothing more than the original security deposit. 

Like mentioned above, make sure to use killz, or some other sealant to cover the subfloor. You shouldn't have to replace anything unless the wood is phsically warped or rotted. Some else mentioned Nature's Miracle. That stuff works well, but I've found vinegar and water is almost just as good. You still need to seal it though. Also make sure to check under the lip of the baseboard if you can see into the wall

I'm a big fan of vinyle plank floors, since they are almost industructible, and water proof. Laminate flooring can easily be damaged by pets as well. I was just replacing a section of laminate in house where animal urine had soaked in to the crack, causing the particle board backing to swell up like sponge push through to the surface.

Sacramento has been pretty cyclical the last couple of years, so this doesn't surprise me. I'm guessing we got at least one more nice Spring increase to look forward to in the central Sacramento areas.

@Minka Sha

On a related topic, I've been trying to figure out something about the midtown market for a while now, and I was wondering if you might be able to shed a little insight.

I realized the other day that I don't actually know anyone that still lives in Midtown any more. Most of us have settled down in close ring suburbs (East Sac/Land Park Arden/Natomas/South Sac) I'm also involved with a local theater company where I meet a lot of people in their mid to late 20s. These are the types of people who would have all lived in Midtown 10 years ago when I lived there. None of them do now. A lot of them are living in Oak Park, Arden, or with their parents.

So what I'm wondering, is where are all these 20 something year olds living in Midtown getting the money to spend on $1500 apartments (or $1095 apartments)? Where do they work? Are they commuting out to other areas for work? Are the jobs located downtown? State workers? Living beyond their means? Mom and Dad money?