An accessory dwelling unit is a secondary, self-contained living unit on the same lot as a primary home, a detached backyard cottage, a converted garage, a basement apartment, or an attached in-law suite.
Log in to followMy house sits on a corner lot with room behind the garage, and two different builders have told me a small detached unit would rent for something like $1,600 here. The income part…
I've been talking to a few homeowners about their backyard unit plans and I keep ending up as the person who calls the building department, collects contractor bids and keeps the…
I've got a few rentals and I'm hitting a wall on down payments, so the ADU thing looks like a way to add a unit without buying more dirt. My own house has a detached two-car garag…
Priced a 700 sq ft detached at $150,000 hard cost, which I was comfortable with. Then the site work came in. Existing 4 inch clay lateral, plumber won't tie a second dwelling into…
My mortgage broker mentioned in passing that starting in 2026 I can use projected rent from an ADU to help qualify for the loan on the house I'd be living in. I do a lot of due di…
I called my insurance agent to ask what happens when the backyard unit is done and she said the current homeowners policy won't cover a rented second dwelling, that we'd need to r…
Getting quotes on the paper stage for a detached unit behind a house I already own and the soft costs are stacking up faster than I expected. Feasibility and zoning review $2,500.…
I own a couple of small buildings and I've started looking at a single-family house down the street that has a finished basement with its own entrance, a kitchenette and a full ba…
Numbers on a build I've been scoping, and I want someone to tell me what's wrong with them. Lot is mine, primary residence, no mortgage constraint issue. Detached 640 sq ft one be…
Reading through three different ordinances in my metro and the thing that keeps changing the math isn't setbacks or size caps, it's the owner-occupancy condition. Two of the three…
Detached 700 sq ft going behind the house, plans are close to done. The electrician priced a second electric service and meter at about $9,000 including the trench and a new subpa…
The model I keep circling: a homeowner has the lot and the zoning but no capital and no appetite for permitting. I have the crew and can carry the build. I put up the ADU, I hold…
Detached 780 sq ft, permitted, separately metered, own address, currently leased at $1,850. All in around $190,000 including the site work. Went for a cash-out refinance and the a…