All Forum Posts by: Eric Balken

I'm a SLC investor, and I've thought a lot about this. A finance friend of mine once told me that most (expensive) earthquake insurance policies don't make financial sense unless you have almost 70% equity in a house. I don't understand the mechanics behind that, but I'm interested to hear what other people think. 

Also, I know some people have been installing reinforced attachments connecting the roof to the house. Again, I don't know much about that, but I'm interested to see if we hear from any experts. 

It's only legal to rent out the mother in law if you're living in the main unit as your primary residence. In order to rent both out separately, it would have to be a legal duplex. 

Do the low-hanging fruit first: update the blinds, sand and paint cabinets (don't always need to be fully replaced), build/update fencing in yard (having a private back yard is a huge value add), paint dark rooms brighter colors, replace older floors with inexpensive and durable laminate. I did some of these mellow upgrades to my South Salt Lake house over the 4 years I lived there and sold it for 70% more than I bought it.