Looking to buy or create an ADU (MIL) in Seattle

[Trevor Ramos]

I’m finally ready to tell the leap and buy a house, but because I live in an expensive Greater Seattle Area market, a mortgage on a quality home will consume a large chunk of my income. I’m looking for a creative house-hack to kickstart our real-estate journey.

My wife and I have a child in elementary school so we don't want to share our living quarters with strangers, and most multi-family properties here are either way over our budget or less quality of living than we'd prefer. With that being said, our compromise is to find a house with an ADU or mother-in-law apartment in the basement that can be rented to offset a large chunk of the mortgage.

We’re currently pre-approved and have been looking at properties that are matching our criteria. On some of the good properties they are already built in, these are less common but still out there. However, others are good houses that need to add the 2nd kitchen downstairs and a 2nd washer/dryer hookup somewhere else in the house so we can execute our strategy. When dealing with the latter we are looking for houses with basements with conforming room(s) and a separate entrance, with plumbing easily accessible to add the kitchen sink and extra spots on the electrical panel for more appliances.

My questions are related to the ‘adding the amenities to an existing basement’ houses.

1. I’m anticipating ~10-12k for the costs to add kitchen/laundry... Does that sound about right?

2. What permits do I need to have? ADU? Plumbing and electrical? Does the contractor I choose help me with that or do I do it on my own and bring it to them?

3. What kind of preliminary work can I do before I close on a property? I would like to get it built shortly after closing and move in/rent ASAP.

4. Anything else I’m not thinking of?

I would love to connect with people who have worked through the ADU process in the Seattle or King County area. Any information helps!