All Forum Posts by: Bradford Li

I am trying to get my neighbor to sign off on a remodeling job I am going to start. The work requires the owner and occupants of the neighboring property to sign off on my set of floor plans. The tenants are OK with the job but I am having a difficult time obtaining the address of the owners as they do NOT live in San Francisco. I was wondering where I should send the notification letter and floor plans. I read that I need to send to the owners' tax billing address. Does this mean the address the property tax? OR the mailing address of where their property tax bill gets sent to? 

@Aileen Mitchell Could you actually look up the tax billing address for me please? I would greatly appreciate it =]

Would anyone benefit from a marketplace of contractors and repairmen integrated to their property management app/website? Been thinking about asking some engineers to help build a website that would allow landlords to collect rent from tenants as well as submit issues that need to be fixed within the property. These issues can be placed in the marketplace for contractors and repairmen to provide quotes for the job. The goal would be for the entire property management process to be as seamless as possible

@Aileen Mitchell Thank you so much for the reply! I am currently reading some documentation I found online regarding this exact scenario (Lightwell section - #10 - option B). Seems like I can submit a permit to the city and a "10-day" letter will be sent to the appropriate parties involved. My guess is tenant and property owners. I think if no one voices any concerns, I am free to do what I want as long as the city approves. Not sure how up to date this document is though. It's been difficult getting information from general contractors because I would get literally different answers/solutions from different contractors. I'm sure each of them have had difference experiences which is why they all had different suggestions. 

Hello BiggerPockets!

Looking to learn more about the process to remodel my home the way I want to! My property is located in San Francisco's Sunset District. This is a property I helped purchase so my parents can retire comfortably in their desired neighborhood. Sunset homes are humble in size so I am trying to maximize the living space inside.  I have a light well within my home that is attached to my neighbors home. Currently, the light well has my set of windows as well as my neighbors window. 

This is the current floor plan. Imagine the neighbor's window is located at the text "14'-10".

This is the DESIRED floor plan. As you can see, the neighbor still has their window space.

I am hoping to infill/remove the light well so only a small gap exists on the neighbor's side with their window.

The issue is that the home next door is occupied by tenants. I haven't been able to reach the property owners to get their permission to infill the light well. The current tenants are all for the light well infill because it provides them with more privacy as well as removing noise traveling through their window. I casually asked the property manager of the neighboring home but she gave me a quick "No". Seeing as she is NOT the property owner, I wrote a letter to the property owners if we have permission for the light well infill. I asked the property manager if she could forward this letter to the actual owners but the property manager has been unresponsive. I'm not sure if the property manager actually asked the owners for permission which is why I want to get an answer from the owners directly. 

I was wondering what type of actions I can do to achieve the desired floor plan legally. 

• - If I am unable to receive an answer from the property owners, what course of action could I take to have the light well infilled if at all possible (going to court?). 
• - What can I do if the property owners say NO, I can't proceed with the light well infill. What can I do legally inside my own home?

This project has been a bit daunting as I am new to this process. I was also wondering if someone could point me to the documentation or laws where I can learn more about the remodel process in SF as well as the laws I need to abide.

Thanks for looking into this! Really appreciate all the help! =D