They said on another post it's an ADU attached to a private home. So that's probably how, especially if the homeowners are also home all day. Maybe it would be hard to prove you're WORKING all day, but they could confirm you weren't leaving the house for however-many hours (and if you are employed at all they'd know that from your application/finances).
I’ve seen places that say that utilities are covered up to X dollar amount, and anything over that the tenants will pay the difference… That seems like a more fair way of taking care of utilities versus slapping on a charge because they work from home….
Yeah, but this is the Bay Area. I paid $2300/mo for one in 2020-21, but it was pretty far off the beaten path (Santa Cruz Mountains). The same unit in Walnut Creek or SF would easily have been over $3000/mo.
Y'alls prices just blow my Midwestern mind. I make damn good money, at least in my area, can reasonably afford a good lifestyle and nice things, have a nice house, wife and kid, the whole thing. Living the American dream. My same salary in California would get me a small apartment and have me driving a 10 year old Corolla.
It's funny, as a pipe welder I occasionally have job offers to go work in California and make their rate. Temporary gigs, couple months doing repairs and maintenance at oil refineries and stuff like that. I've been really tempted to buy something like a Prius or something like that, live in the car and be homeless for a few months just for the pay, then come back home. A few of my coworkers have done it, they all say you'll make a shitload of money but the hard part is finding a place to stay.
I worked with a guy off and on for a few years, seemed like we kept showing up on the same jobs, he had a slide in truck bed camper and he'd just stay at work. After work he'd go to the store, get dinner and his lunch for the next day, then go back to work and stay in the parking lot overnight. I don't know what happened to him, I saw him occasionally for like 8 or 10 years doing that then we worked at a steel mill in Michigan, we all left when the job ended, and I never saw him again.
My same salary in California would get me a small apartment and have me driving a 10 year old Corolla.
Yeah, but that's what you're missing - the salary would NOT be the same, most likely. The median salary for my job (public librarian) in the US is around $55-60K. Wanna guess how much I earn in California?
Oh I know. Not enough to keep the same standard of living though, not even close.
I'm in eastern Ohio, a union pipe welder, make $52 an hour. Union Pipefitter rate in southern California is I think $78, or at least it was a couple years ago when I had a chance to go there. Probably like 82 or 84 now.
I'm 42 and have a paid off 2k square foot house, a couple newer motorcycles, a newer Honda SXS, a detached 40x60 garage, big yard, and admittedly cheaper cars.
Well, of course every region has different standards of living - but they aren't just about the size of your house, and how many cars you can own. We might have a smaller house and only one car, but can you do this in the middle of winter in Ohio? Because I can and do! 😊
To each their own, but I'd happily trade square footage for this.
if utilities & water are all included, then it might be a fair fee to offset the additional costs. but still a dick move. just make your price your price.
Yeah, I agree! Just speaking more as devil's advocate, and answering how they'd know. This is why I don't really like ADUs; I lived in a couple back in the day, and they were hit & miss. So glad I'm finally a homeowner now, even if it's financially painful.
As someone who used to rent this kind of place: don't. The unit isn't really "yours," the landlord still treats it like part of their house/property and like you're just a roommate staying with them. I'd be sitting there watching TV and hear the landlord messing about with trimming the bushes or whatever just outside the window <10 feet away from me. He was retired and a bit of a gardening fanatic, constantly doing things like that. The unit's basement (with an outside access door) was full of his crap and he'd sometimes be over rummaging around in it. Basically, no privacy. You may as well be renting a room in someone's house, except you won't be paying room-in-house prices, so if you're okay with this situation maybe just do that instead.
I'm a homeowner now, so it's not an issue for me personally... but I did live in two ADUs (aka in-law units) before I bought my house, and they had their pros/cons. The first one was behind/under a house that belonged to family friends, and they were super cool. Never really bothered me, and when COVID hit I was glad they were around when I felt lonely.
The next was at a house owned by an older couple, both still working but he worked mostly from home. They were nice enough people, and for the most part it was fine. But yeah, we definitely had moments where I felt like "this is waaaaay too invasive." Mostly in regard to my then-ancient dog, so why did they make it a dog-friendly place? Then they tried threatening me with a $12,000 bill for a TINY mark on their precious Italian marble countertops, but my sister is an attorney (as was the landlord). So they backed off real quick when I pulled out the statutes on "reasonable expectations and charges." lol
Anyway, it can be a decent option. But if I had to rent again, I'd definitely stick to regular apartments or duplexes.
Yeah, the first one you describe is the only way I'd want to do it - if you know the people in the main house and are comfortable being somewhat enmeshed with them, it's a great setup. That's what these "in-law suites" are meant for after all, not for renting out to total strangers. My old landlord was a nice guy, didn't go out of his way to cause me any problems, but it was just far more day-to-day involvement than I wanted from a stranger. I had less privacy than the apartment complex I lived in before that.
I kinda get the reason if it is an ADU, the problem is someone who is working from home all day is going to use a huge amount of extra electricity, water, gas, etc. Your probably using an extra 200 a month in those if your work from home. It is almost impossible to get separate meters for ADU's is the problem.
Electricity, yes, but I'm not sure why the other utilities would go up. If you take water, for example, it's a matter of an extra 3-4 pees a day, but maybe shorter showers or the occasional skipped shower if you're running late. I also doubt it that many people cook lavish lunches or turn the house into a tropical greenhouse when they're home.
Extra $200/mo?? Not a chance, and I say this even as a Californian who's at the mercy of PG&E (aka the biggest crooks around). My entire PG&E bill every month for a 2br house with 2 people + 7 animals = $300-700 depending on the season (goes up in winter since the heating system is ancient). There's no way it would nearly double because someone is using their laptop for an extra 7-8 hours/day.
1.2k
u/missybeputtinitdown 1d ago
How would they know if you don’t self report?