The quietest rental in a lot of families is a converted garage housing a relative

A common pattern worth studying: parents convert the back half of a garage into a one bedroom ADU when a family member's rent becomes unaffordable elsewhere. Permitted and inspected, a project like that often takes around seven months and costs somewhere in the $90k range, which even a few years ago was inexpensive and today would not be. Rent charged to family in situations like this often runs well under market, say $900 against a market rate closer to $1,500. Most families in that position don't view the gap as a mistake. The relative in the unit often handles small things: taking in mail during travel, noticing a water heater making noise, being present for shared meals a few nights a week. The building itself doesn't care what it's used for, though. Over several years a unit like this might see one repair, something as minor as a wax ring on a toilet. No turnover, no listing, no screening, no vacancy. When the property eventually sells, an appraiser sees a legal second unit on a single family lot, and that shows up directly in the price. That kind of uneventful outcome is one of the more reliably available results in an ADU project, as long as the seven months or so of construction gets survived first.