All Forum Posts by: Tracey Lane

I know that for the City of LA you can only do a STR in your primary residence and you have to be living there. An ADU or empty duplex unit, according to the ordinance is not eligible for registration. I also know that Airbnb won't publish a listing without a valid reg #. It's a big bummer. Not sure about other platforms or how to best "evade" the system. People seem to be figuring it out somehow as I still see listings in areas near me (Venice) that supposedly wouldn't qualify. Not sure what applies to unincorporated areas.

https://planning.lacity.org/or...

We used to utilize Cozy for collecting rent payments. Loved their interface and everything always went smooth. Unfortunately, Apartments.com acquired them and is just not the greatest. I really don't like the way their website works and when we tried to post a recent apartment for rent, the listing never went live and my email to their customer service went unanswered completely. In contrast, we got a great response from our listing on Zillow. The Apartments.com site really just is very poorly built. We're considering moving our rent collection process to Zillow and we're wondering if anyone has done the same and has any issues. Also, do you think utilizing their state-specific lease is a bad idea? We're a small operation and only need to manage 4 units on one property. Thanks in advance.

We're working on planning for one right now—doing it to provide extra income from our property. We're simply converting a 2-car garage, adding no extra square footage. Estimates we've received range from $125K-$150K. These are from companies that do the whole project from design and permitting all the way through to your occupancy cert. These prices also include all finishes and appliances (cabinets, vanity, shower enclosure, stove, hood, fridge, W&D, mini-split, tankless hot water heater, etc.), basically providing a rent-ready space. 

There seems to be some specific issues that come up for permitting an ADU (i.e. DWP Encroachment) and getting it approved so I'd recommend using someone with specific ADU experience. A lot of builders are jumping on the bandwagon because so many people want them right now as the City of LA is favorable to them to increase housing inventory.

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YouTube has a lot of video walk-throughs and advice for garage conversions to get a feel for layouts, looks, and process. I'm pleasantly surprised how spacious and nice of a space a garage can be turned into.

I used Target and Amazon a lot for basics, like linens and kitchen stuff. For bed linens we had at least 3 sets per bed. Not only did this make turnovers faster and easier (didn't have to wait for laundry to be done), but it also seemed like the sheets were the quickest items to get soiled or stained. Having extra sets ready to go just eliminated a lot of stress and was worth the upfront costs. Guests want a nice clean bed!

Here in CA so many cities are limiting STRs, unfortunately. We had to stop running ours completely. My input would be to fully research all local laws and ordinances about STRs before deciding where to invest.

@Dave Foster Thank you for the excellent input and also for some new things to think about. Appreciate it so much!

Looking for some input from the BP community.

We're thinking of selling a triplex in Venice, CA soon. The property is owned 50/50 between my husband and me and my parents. For various reasons we have decided to sell and part ways in this investment.

One idea we have is to 1031 our half of the proceeds and purchase a SFR in Ventura, CA. We would rent it out as an investment property for 3-4 years then move into it. Our primary here in LA would then be rented and become our investment property.

Based on the research we've done on house prices and rents in Ventura, we most likely will be able to accomplish a small cash flow situation, however, the main goal is to lay the foundation for us to be able to move out of the city and not lose the gains we've achieved in our Venice property.

My main question has to do with how, and if, the 1031 deferred taxes owed get transitioned when the investment becomes our primary. We have made a great gain on the Venice property so paying the taxes upfront would be a pretty big hit. 

Triplex bought for: $1.1 mil

Hoping to sell for: $1.8 mil

Current mortgage: $655,000 (recently refied)

Many thanks!