She Bought an Unpermitted ADU (and the city found out...)

[@dbgwang]

Can you do a video on California amnesty bill AB 2533

[@HowToADU]

Preparing one now. Although the really good videos will be as cities start implementing, seeing what kind of processes homeowners are going through because there's still a lot open to interpretation/implementation. Same with the Coastal Commission bill that went through this year (and some others).

[@benp7402]

Look forward to that video…. Health and Safety can be interpreted so many ways …

[@suziewong2181]

I love your channel! You really cover real issues. Many channels don’t go past the outer layer of a issue and you do a deep dive. Thank you for your work and thoughtfulness. 🙏🏻💖🥰

[@HowToADU]

You’re too sweet. I really appreciate it!

[@ralphramirez1979]

Demo only item clear inspection maybe 1k. Update jdu when you have funds or laws change😊

[@AGonzo108]

$200k for a 400sq ft ADU is pretty steep. Would have probably been cheaper to convert it back to a garage. Getting that money back on a well performing rental will take at least 7 years now. Good lesson to learn from.

[@HowToADU]

Yeah, it's interesting how often homeowners will look at it as a cashflow thing instead of an ROI calculation. Thanks for watching!

[@amyfall1521]

Yeah, it's a horrific situation. Thankfully, it wasn't a tenant living there who reported it. They could get moving assistance and all the rent they've paid up to 3 years. The moving assistance is around 18,000 plus all the rent. That's LA. And yes it was down to the studs except the garage drywall. In LA don't need their own sewer line.

[@HowToADU]

Thanks for sharing - wild how expensive moving assistance gets!

[@bigchelis]

This is horrific story and for the wrong family can bankrupt or for to sell. I know living in the Bay Area a complete home from foundation to roof and about 1200sq/ft cost in materials alone only about $75K to $100K. Than for labor easily another $100K to $200K. Than for a contractor to pick it up another ~$300K. Hence when you are done its a $700K house from scratch or there about when it only has about $100K at most in materials. This I have seen first hand several times and it is why housing is un-affordable for people in the Bay Area and I imagine anywhere in California. Add to that the permit fees and fines depending on how far along you are.

[@mozme_UP]

Easy.....sue your real estate agent for not doing his due diligence.

[@HowToADU]

Ooh, have you done that? Sounds spicy.

[@mozme_UP]

@@HowToADU AB 2960 passed in 2022.. Helps new buyers with predotory real estate agents.

[@amyfall1521]

I legalized my attached garage into an jadu as owner builder for $85,000 and $20,000 was upgraded cabinets, custom tiled bathroom, and new appliances.

[@HowToADU]

Niiiice

[@RoniLA310]

What area?

[@amyfall1521]

@@RoniLA310 Los Angeles, the valley.

[@jazzmantrent]

You got ripped off but it’s common you are not along

[@bigchelis]

Yikes. I did my entire Kitchen cabinets or about 30 kitchen boxes with drawers and cabinets upper and lowers for about $2K from Home Deopot.

[@thanhly2530]

Hi...I live in San Bernardino. Im trying to convert my garage to an ADU. U know any contractor u can refer to me? Thanks

[@HowToADU]

Realm can help you find builders for the garage conversion! l.realmhome.com/how-to-adu (sponsored)

[@josephulloa626]

Same

[@sherwoodla6535]

Nothing happens until you get the CofO.

[@AK-kl7pg]

Hope she sued the seller.

[@capricemadrid5353]

Did she not know there were going to be questions?

[@HowToADU]

This is my "fault"! As a host, I tell homeowners to relax and be natural. A lot of people aren't super detail oriented, and they still get their projects done. It's good for other homeowners to see that you can do this even if you're not the kind of person who keeps rigorous track of costs and timing.

[@fsoileau]

I have designed 3 ADUs in the City of LA. I am also a Licensed B1 in California. As a contractor, I would not elect to pull the permit. The reason is that a shady contractor built it. As a GC I am responsible for building per plans and building standards. How would I check the nailing or the sheathing with 4 nails holding it down? The City, Insurance, and CSLB would hold me 100% responsible for any failure because I should have checked. Also, LA SAN would require a connection to be tapped at the existing city lateral. A new street lateral would be required if you were discharging something like 10,000-20,000 gals a day.

[@HowToADU]

Thanks for sharing - I do think this is why it was so challenging to find a good GC for her project. I also agree that the sewer connection seems like something she could have fought. I've seen crazy exactions like this before from smaller jurisdictions but this one surprised me!

[@Somber39]

I would like help. I had hire a company who made a contract had us meet with architect gave us several samples of floor layout, They pulled the permits, 1 year later NEVER had a permit from city. According to the contractor the city was taka long time because of Covid restrictions (2021) fast forward 2022 we wanted a refund since they couldn't pull permits, they refused because they had money invested in permits. I continued to wait and someone told us to go to the city and find out what the delay was. ONLY TO FIND OUT MY ADDRESS had ZERO permits requested. Called out the contractor and he went silent, hired a lawyer and it's 2024 now that attorney doesn't respond. Last I heard they were unable to serve this contractor. WHAT CSN I DO? I want my money back. I'm down $60k with the contract deposit and lawyer retainer

[@HowToADU]

I'm so sorry to hear all that. I can't give you specific advice. Generally speaking, it's always a red flag if a person's lawyer isn't speaking to them. When lawyers are paid by the hour, they're generally pretty happy to pick up the phone. Depending on the details of a homeowner's situation, they may want to contact the CSLB, local law enforcement, and a good contract attorney.

[@douglas165453d]

Thats why people Build with no permits because they are scare of expensive contractors and cities sometimes they lie to home owner to get them in more problems and make them spend more money everything is money for them they don’t care if the construction is safe the just want to collect money from very expensive permits

[@Manohman-fx2jq]

Go to the city and go to the county assessor they will have records if it’s permitted . Do your home work if in doubt.

[@HowToADU]

In my experience, this is often only true for work done after the digitization of records in the mid 90's. But it's free to ask so not a bad idea in any case!

[@denicelopez9467]

Wow she really didn’t remember much. Maybe a good idea would have been to jot some stuff down before the interview/video?

[@HowToADU]

Thanks for the feedback - this is mostly my "fault" ! When I'm doing deeply researched videos, it's important for me to get lots of details and costs done. When I'm doing homeowner interviews, I think it's good for folks to see that normal people lose track of all these details like costs, timing, etc. And they still get their projects done.

[@78gao420]

laches law. should have fought it. could have saved you all that time & money

[@HowToADU]

That's interesting - can you share more about how laches might apply here?

[@78gao420]

@@HowToADU U can also just google laches defense

[@ebrownjadebug]

Unfortunately, for my family the contractor that we chose through Realm was one of those contractors that told us to get our permits. We found out two months into our construction that he was bogus and the guy who he had doing our work license was dissolved last week by the Secretary State Contractors State Licensing Board. Our project has been on hold for two months now. Working with Realms Director of Supply Operations to get this problem resolved.

[@HowToADU]

Oh my gosh, thank you for letting me know! Please keep me in the loop on how it gets resolved and let me know if I can help.

[@wiltongal1044]

My gosh, so much liability involved in this. First off, the realtor and the seller are liable for not disclosing unpermitted building on the property. Second, if she had not upgraded it with a permit, if the renters got injured, her insurance company would not cover that injury and she'd be on the hook, as insurance companies look for any excuse to not cover a claim..... And a structure with no building permits is one way the insurance company would deny a claim. Lastly ., spending $150,000 on a rebuild? Ridiculous. Clueless about costs. Cheaper would be to demolish the building, plop down a used modular for 50,000. Done.

[@Booblickoff]

Unbearably dumb

[@HowToADU]

Some people bear me 😅

[@wiltongal1044]

Some people learn the hard way unfortunately