- Joined
- Oct 24, 2007
- Messages
- 2,289
Thomas I noticed you posted your thoughts in a couple threads and I thought I would create a new one so that interested investors can more easily engage the conversation.
[quote user=ThomasBeyer]Why ?
All the hoopla is grossly over-rated. It costs a lot of money to build a
legal suite and there is no return on the $s invested, as you will get
almost the same rent as an "illegal" one.
For the most
part I agree with you. I own and my company manages several perfectly safe 'illegal' suites
that perform very well. But legalizing does reduce risk, most noteably
that in most places all it takes is one phone call from an unhappy
neighbor or previous tenant and you are now faced with the prospect of
losing nearly half the income from the property.
Some investors - however silly the laws might be - simply do not want to do anything outside of the lines. These are the ones that choose to legalize off the hop.
Our company has embraced the legalization concept in the last six months, mostly due to investor demand. I will say that the suites we have retrofitted are doing much better than I anticipated. $1225 + utilities for an ~800ft two bedroom basement suite in ranchlands being our latest example. Time will tell, but I suspect that tenants may ultimately place a premium on legalized suites.
[quote user=ThomasBeyer]Why ?
All the hoopla is grossly over-rated. It costs a lot of money to build a
legal suite and there is no return on the $s invested, as you will get
almost the same rent as an "illegal" one.
For the most
part I agree with you. I own and my company manages several perfectly safe 'illegal' suites
that perform very well. But legalizing does reduce risk, most noteably
that in most places all it takes is one phone call from an unhappy
neighbor or previous tenant and you are now faced with the prospect of
losing nearly half the income from the property.
Some investors - however silly the laws might be - simply do not want to do anything outside of the lines. These are the ones that choose to legalize off the hop.
Our company has embraced the legalization concept in the last six months, mostly due to investor demand. I will say that the suites we have retrofitted are doing much better than I anticipated. $1225 + utilities for an ~800ft two bedroom basement suite in ranchlands being our latest example. Time will tell, but I suspect that tenants may ultimately place a premium on legalized suites.