Tag: Airbnb rental

4 Ways to Make Money Off Your Home Without Being a Landlord

Posted on by Living Room Realty

Written by Sorcha Porter, licensed assistant to Shannon Dooley.

One of my favorite things in the world is finding creative ways to make money. It’s part of what I love about home ownership. When you own your home you can dictate how it’s used and you can leverage it to create additional income. In fact thats kind of our team’s whole goal, to teach people how to leverage real estate to create their own Tiny Empires!

Normally people associate making money off of real estate with the following… Flipping real estate, long term rentals, short term rentals like Airbnb, and or house hacking. But many people don’t want to be landlords. Whether it’s for ethical reasons or personal landlord-ing is not for everyone. But it doesn’t mean you can’t use your home to create a side hustle and generate passive or low- work income. Here’s a few ideas to get you started! And if you’re interested in more, definitely check out my Podcast The Laddercast, on Spotify and apple podcasts for additional ideas!

1. Rent your yard by the hour as a dog park!

Idk about you buy I have 3 corgis and they are adorable nightmares. Going to the dog park is great for getting their energy out but since there’s 3 of them and they’re kind-of tiny bullies it’s very stressful. If someone there has a reactive dog, it’s dangerous. Enter Sniff-spot! It’s and app/ platform like Airbnb for your yard! You can list your back yard as a private by the hour dog park! Yah- you can RENT YOUR BACK YARD BY THE HOUR TO A CUTE PUPPY. I’d love to make $50-100 a day and watch cute puppies play in my back yard. That sounds real cool to me!

2. Have a spare parking spot? Why not rent it!?

When I worked in the corporate world I paid $180/ month for parking in an unsecured parking garage. It was bananas. I had to pay nearly 3 days wages at that time, to just come to work. That’s the story for a lot of people! I wish I’d had the option of somewhere else nearby to rent a spot especially since there were several residential properties near my office with empty driveways because many of those folks either worked elsewhere or didn’t have cars because the area was so walkable. Why not help a local worker and yourself?! got a spare driveway spot!? Rent it for $125-150, or 20-30% less than the surrounding parking garages! Throw pics of your driveway on facebook marketplace or Prked! It’s a platform that allows you to list your parking spot in your driveway. So if you live in a place where people who live/ work nearby and there is limited parking they can pay you to rent it while saving money themselves on market rates for parking spots!

3. Got RV Parking? Why not list it for locals visiting your area!

CampSpot much like other sharing economy apps provides a modem for people to rent space on their property much like airbnb to overnight campers. You can select if your space is available for tent, van, rv, etc. and people looking to stay in your area can book it online! The cool thing about Campspot and having RV parking in the city of Portland is that the nearest RV park for overnight parking to the City is actually in Troutdale over 25 mins away. So for people coming for conferences, festivals and events that’s a schlep and makes it hard to get in and out of Portland as there’s not a great public transit system near the outer region RV parks. This means on an event weekend or holiday you could easily bring in several hundred dollars just renting your empty RV parking area! SO COOL!

4. Grow a cut flower garden in your yard and sell bouquets!

I recently stumbled across the Vlog of this really rad woman at “Shifting Roots” on Youtube. She is a stay at home mom with three small children and has a small cut flower business that she started during the pandemic. She grows cut flowers in her garden and sells bouquets to neighbors, friends, and at pop ups and farmers markets. She also does flower arrangements for weddings and events. She started the business during the pandemic and very clearly breaks down the financials of her cut flower business. It also has the added bonus of making her garden look flipping incredible. The startup cost was very low, just a couple hundred dollars and she averages $15/ per bouquet and 30 bouquets per week to a 4×8 planter bed! Her first year she made $4600 profit and has grown it ever since. So if you’re someone who loves flowers, and enjoys the creative process of flower arranging or who wants to learn/get into that this is a great side hustle! If you want to check out the vlog here’s a link. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never paid less than $25 for a bouquet of flowers here in Portland, so it seems like a great opportunity for you green thumbs who would enjoy gardening with flowers anyway to make side hustle income!!

I hope these ideas have opened your mind to income possibilities that you hadn’t thought of and help you expand your horizons on the advantages of home ownership. The reality is, you can’t do a lot of these things on a normal rental lease. You can’t grow flowers at scale on an apartment garden balcony and you often can’t rent your yard as a dog park when you don’t own your yard. So if you’ve been on the fence about the cost of buying a home consider that ownership doesn’t just give you financial security of fixed monthly housing payments, or the ability to change your physical surroundings to suite your style. Home ownership gives you agency to leverage the roof over your head, and the property it sits on into tangible potentially life changing income you could not otherwise realize as a renter.

If you’re reading this, and that excites you, and you want to connect with our team at Tiny Empire group please feel free to give us a call or shoot us an email.

ADUs in Portland – Understanding More & Getting Started

Posted on by Kat Gilpatrick
   Ideas for ADU Design
Photo Credit: Urbanology Designs, https://www.urbanologydesigns.com/

ADUs are a hot topic because we’re rethinking the way we live.

If you’re considering buying a home with an ADU or one that has potential for adding/improving an existing ADU, or creating one for your existing property, read on. Maybe you like the idea of offsetting that mortgage with a bit of rental income? Not only do conforming loan guidelines now allow buyers to use rental income to qualify for homes with ADU’s, there are more reasons to get educated on ADUs than you can shake a stick at.  My hope is to provide you with a concise and usable guide to the latest in modular building (ADU’s, Income Units, etc.)

Why, and who’s doing this? ADUs can build wealth, create in-fill housing, reduce displacement, and enhance neighborhood resilience. People are building ADUs on their property to:– Expand living space for the family or extended family (ie. a place for a parent to live so they can be nearby but not living in the room next door, or a place for the grown child to return to after college without having to be right on top of each other).
– Downsize to a smaller living space without giving up your property rights.
– Have an office or studio workspace easily accessible and close to home.
– Offset or pay for mortgage.  Some owners opt to remain in the house and use rental income from the ADU to help offset mortgage while others choose to move into the ADU and let the renter pay for most of or even the entire mortgage.

What is an ADU?

The term ADU stands for Accessory Dwelling Unit. ADUs are secondary homes built on a single family residential lot. It can be tricky to understand the differences between tiny houses, granny flats, and backyard cottages–and that’s simply because all of those structures can serve as an ADU, whose purpose is what defines it.  What an ADU provides is a flexible living arrangement that can extend the value of a home, and the purpose of it is to serve as a complete residence, everything you need to live, basically: to-code places to sleep, cook, and bathe.

Ways to ADU:

ADUs can be many forms: detached garage, basement conversion, prefab unit — an addition to an existing home, or even a detached addition to a primary residence.

So let’s first consider: for what use? Multi-gen use for housing family? Use it as a place for in-laws or college-age kids to stay? Or creating a space to house the occasional guest?  Whether creating or buying existing, having additional office or studio space that could be converted to a short term or year lease to provide rental income later —  is a very good idea, and there are tons of ways to approach it.

All this factors on your goals, of course. Do you want more internal space (i.e. basement use) or do you want more yard space?  Rental income? Downsize and live permanently in the ADU and rent out the main house?

There are other types of Detached Accessory Structures: Guest Suites or Home Studios, for example and though they look and feel like ADUs, they are easier and faster to build and permit. The key difference is they can only have one sink. So let’s keep this discussion to simply ADUs.

 

What are the rules?

A detached ADU cannot exceed 20 feet in height. Coverage of the ADU can’t exceed that of the primary residence. The ADU is not permitted to occupy more than 15% of the site’s total area. The unit must either be set back 40 feet from the front of the lot line or behind the rear wall of the main residence.

In Portland, an Accessory Dwelling Unit is defined, technically, as “any smaller, secondary dwelling unit which can be legally added either on the same lot or within a house, attached house or manufactured home in residential zones”.  Legally, an ADU is part of the same property as the main home. It’s not (typically) bought or sold separately.

Permitting and What To Expect, Depending On Use:

For long term rentals, Portland currently has a program that waives the extensive building permits associated with building some ADUs. Portland has some clauses that help with building ADUs for long-term rentals as well.

That said, as far as Short Term rentals (STRs), most homeowners go the Airbnb route. Portland is among the stricter cities when it comes to short-term Airbnb rules and regulations.

But for all ADU structures, you’ll need to get a permit from Portland’s Central Planning Bureau, which can honestly be a bit of a pain. You’ll also need to get the permit approved by Portland City Council and then you’ll usually need approval from the Zoning Administrator as well. The process can take days or months, depending on how busy they are.

Most proper1es in Portland are able to accommodate an ADU. Please note that there are requirements for open space – you’ll need to leave an area that is 250 sqH and 12’ x 12’ minimum and you can’t have it in the front yard. Tree protec1on and setbacks also influence where your ADU can be placed. Additionally your ADU must be at least 40’ behind the front property line or behind the rear wall of the exis1ng house. So, best to get some help. But who? Finding the intersection of affordability with quality and sustainability is key in hiring your project partners. Who to start a conversation with for Design/Build? Or maybe look into prefab units like those offered by Cover?

Design & Build? Or maybe just fix up/convert? Consider a consultation with The Portland area best:

  1. Mark Allen with Peg Construction
  2. SQFT Studios
  3. Living Room Realty FIXERS – Maybe your space is ready to go outside of some repairs/renovations – maybe just need to add an egress or little kitchen area? LRR Fixer crew are masters.

What style? Here’s some of the usual suspects:

  • Apartment over garage
  • Garage conversion
  • Back yard cottage
  • Granny flats
  • Mother in law quarters
  • Prefab detached unit

Investment: Ballpark costs to build

For a detached Portland ADU new build, all in with permits and build is roughly $150 a square foot (builders general cost), or assuming about 200-250k minimum from scratch; 150K for a minimum viable type deal for a smaller budget.

Figure out financing – there are tons of options, and Portland’s got some of the sharpest loan professionals around who specialize in ADU and can customize your loan options accordingly. Check out the ones we love the most, and their favorite products:

  1. James Adair, Neo Loans
  2. Craft3 Loans Craft3 is enthusiastic about the many benefits of ADUs. They offer hard-to-find financing, with two affordable and convenient ADU loans, providing options for investing in your property and your community. Both loans are available in Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas Counties, Oregon.
  3. Your existing resource – credit union, lender you’re working with, or just simply have a conversation with me – I’m no lender, but I specialize in connecting the right people to find the perfect match in products and expertise.

Return: Estimating the ROI on your proposed ADU project. How much money can this generate monthly?

ADUs are an ideal source of passive income, and they keep getting more lucrative. A detached ADU adds the most value to your property; next in value is an ADU attached to the main house.

An ADU converted from existing space within the primary house, like a master bedroom suite, attic, or basement, adds the least value to your property, but it still adds value.

Let’s look at how an ADU can generate passive income, save you money, increase your personal options, and maximize your property’s value both now and in the future.

To get a sense of the income an ADU in your area could generate, research local rents on rentcafe, craigslist, AirBNB, or vrbo. ADUs offer more privacy than apartments, and many have their own outdoor areas, which makes them more appealing to a lot of tenants.

And finally, ask yourself – do you need professional property management services or go it on your own?

Maybe just a conversation with someone who’s doing this now? It’s exciting to hear both the ups and downs. Or maybe you’re thinking you might want to sell your current place or rent it out? Find an ADU of your own? I’d love to talk to you about all aspects of this, so give me a call, I’ve got experience on all sides of this fascinating, very sweet way of living now, being creative and practical. Looking forward to hearing from you!

 

 

 

 

 

Just Listed! Quaint and Purple!

Posted on by Leanne Bach

27 S Arthur St

Portland, Oregon, 97201

Located minutes away from the heart of Portland, this newly renovated Victorian home has a solid rental history, both as long term rental and as an Air BnB. The house sits in an ideal location with easy access to the core of downtown, South Waterfront District, OHSU/Doernbecher/VA Hospital and the Portland Streetcar/MAXA. In addition to the location, you’ll also enjoy your own driveway and fenced backyard, which is almost unheard of this close to the city! The daylight basement has been converted to a studio apartment with its own private entrance and upstairs, there are four bedrooms and two full bathrooms. The main floor has two bedrooms and a full bath and the other two bedrooms and bathroom are upstairs on the third floor. As an Air BnB, the house comfortably sleeps eight adults and two kids. It is the perfect situation for an owner occupied investment property or to rent out both spaces! All work was fully permitted, and all furnishings are negotiable!

OFFERED AT $599,000

4 BEDROOM | 3 BATH | 2,057 SQFT

MLS# 21266237 | TAXES:  $5,949.70

Vacation Homes Surge During the Pandemic

Posted on by Living Room Realty

Just as the trumpeting of Canadian geese can be heard flying South, there is a pandemic migration happening to outlying area’s outside of Portland. Some of our past clients are beginning to ring saying they are looking for more greenery, less traffic, less city crime; they need  a place to help unload their minds and breathe.  Buyers are ready to take the leap off the fence and plunk some money into the Gorge, the Oregon coast or the rolling hills of wine country.  They want to find something in their favorite small town – “a town that always makes us feel happy when visit it,” said our most recent clients.

Dundee Oregon, with a population of about 3000 folks and 29 surrounding wineries was the leap for Erin and Jason.  This view — This can be found all over the hillsides of Dundee.