All Forum Posts by: Rachel W.

I’m relocating to the Spokane area and have been looking at homes primarily in the valley.  I’ve been working with an agent who has been very helpful in the search process, but is not an investor himself.  I am considering putting an offer in on a house in Liberty lake that has good potential for renting out a basement apartment while I live upstairs.  

I've read through the local ADU regulations and think that meeting them for this property will be feasible, though I still need to price out the required modifications (adding a kitchenette and a separate heating source). I will have to decide whether to rent it as a STR, medium term furnished rental, or LTR. I cannot find any specific regulations pertaining to STRs in Liberty lake specifically - is anyone familiar and is this simply because there are no regulations on them, or does it fall under county or state requirements? I'm purchasing for what fits my needs/wants for my primary home first, but want to know all of my options for bringing in some income from the additional space that comes with it.

I currently house hack a 3/1 SFH in Canyon Rim with roommates covering the majority of my mortgage. The house has an attached garage that was partially converted to living space and never finished. I'm considering converting it to a master suite and turning the house into a 4/2. However, it's a small (1,600 sf) slab built house with no basement, so converting the garage would leave very little storage space. My main motivation for the conversion is my own enjoyment of the house - I plan to continue renting rooms for at least the next few years and having a separate area with my own bathroom makes the prospect more appealing. I'd also probably add a backyard shed for tool/lawnmower/bike storage. However, there's a real chance I may only be in the area for another 4-5 years and I don't want to adversely affect the value of the house when it comes time to sell. It does have covered parking with a 2 car carport. Any thoughts on whether a master suite offsets no garage for property values in the area? I'm not a real estate investor, just a local homeowner trying to make reasonable decisions on where to put my money.

And in case the numbers are relevant:  I currently rent the 2 rooms for $700/month each.  I have not gotten bids for finishing the conversion yet (needs HVAC/plumbing so it won't be cheap) but would be willing to move forward if I can keep it under $25k.  The house is probably worth about $375k right now.