That Is, as Long as They Are Legal.
If you’re a multi-family property owner, you may be leaving money on the table by not maximizing the number of rentable units you own. Accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, are an ideal way in which to increase your cash flow in the immediate term. What’s more, they can expand and protect the ability of your rental real estate portfolio to generate revenue in the long-term.
First, however, you have to make sure your rental units are legal. A unit is NOT legal when it has not been built with the appropriate permits. If the unit has not received a certificate of occupancy from your local jurisdiction, it is considered illegal. If a unit has a ceiling height that is lower than code allows, it is illegal. And so on.
How would you know which of your units are legal and which are illegal? In a city like San Francisco with all of its beautiful, old Victoria and Edwardian homes, you could have purchased a multi-family property that was built without permits many years ago. Reasons vary but include not using a licensed contractor, a change in zoning regulations since ADUs have come into existence, or simply cutting corners to save on costs.
A smart rental property owner partners with an ADU specialist that follows the law and understands how to assess, plan, design and build legal ADUs. That resource should also know how to legalize existing rental units when they are not.
Minimizing Your Multi-Family ADU Risks Leads to Maximizing Your Rewards.
Most rental property owners can’t afford (or stomach) running into legal problems that could result in losing a considerable amount of money by not engaging the right ADU specialists for guidance. Renting illegal units can get you sued by your residents. Illegal units may not be covered by insurance. If you decide to sell your multifamily, a property with illegal units will almost always sell for less money.
Reduce your risk of getting embroiled in a lawsuit by hiring an expert in legalizing units, like Oakland-based Adapt Dwellings. We are California’s full-service ADU resource. When we say “full-service,” we mean that we provide guidance on every single facet of ADUs. Yes, we can design and build your ADU. In addition, our extensive knowledge of building codes and permitting puts us in a unique position to responsibly manage your legalizations and bring your illegal units up to code.
At Adapt Dwellings, we will thoroughly assess your multi-family property through an initial Adapt Feasibility Study. Afterward, we evaluate any unit that is deemed to be illegal and determine what will be required to course correct. “Full-service” also means that we have a California state-licensed architect on our staff who will design a precise set of plans and partner with our internal building inspector to make sure you get the appropriate approvals.
Our number one focus when legalizing a rental unit is to ensure that it is safe to inhabit. That’s because it’s the right thing to do, and that is what we stand behind.
Multi-Family ADU Property Owners Have Options When Legalizing Their Units.
Another way in which we add value for our clients is to present options for consideration that they may not be aware exist. As an example, say you own a multifamily in which you have five legal units and one illegal unit. If there is a current resident in the illegal unit, we will help you analyze whether it is more prudent to use a buyout to move the tenant versus relocating the resident to one of your legal units that may be vacant if it is a softer rental market. We also point you to qualified legal counsel to help with the legal side of the issue.
Why Partner With Adapt Dwellings? Because We Hold the Key to Your Legalized Multi-family ADU Success.
Our clients want to work with us because of our deep expertise in building, converting and legalizing ADUs in the California. They also want to work with us because we know how best to avoid problems and how to fix those you may have been unaware of after they have been identified.
Our clients also benefit from the fact that we are real estate investors ourselves. That means we know how investors think when it comes to optimizing the return on investment and full potential of their multi-family properties.
