ADU - Garage Conversion Opportunity

[Naven Meas]

Hi BP community! First of all, I'd like to say thank you to everyone out there for providing great content and feedback on these forums and blogs. I've definitely learned a ton just by reading and listening to the BP podcasts and I figured its time to finally Jump in and get started! 

So I came across this great opportunity in the City of Long Beach, which has a detached garage that im looking to convert to an ADU. I checked the city ADU guidelines, and the property does meet all the requirements. My question is, what exactly should i expect in terms of the construction costs, timeline and permitting process? I know this may be a lot to answer but any ball-park answers will by much appreciated.

Thanks!

[Will Barnard]

Originally posted by @Jaron Walling:

Just because you can doesn't mean you should. What are other local investors doing? What would the ADU rent for? How does it improve the cash-flow?

In my market nobody has ADUs. It would kill my property value to add one in most situations. 

This is true generally speaking but keep in mind your opinion stems from your location far away from CA and LA specifically. Here we have the largest home shortage in the US and has been getting increasingly worse for 20 plus years. The new law changes are Sacramento’s tardy response to this increasingly growing problem and will only touch the surface of it.

To answer the original poster's question, as of Jan 1, 2020, no city in CA can legally stop you from building an ADU on your single family zoned lot. In fact, you can now build not just the ADU, but also a junior ADU. The city MUST approve or deny your submitted plans within 60 days or your plans are considered "approved". So the process of getting your permit is dramatically reduced (cut in half). Costs to build will depend on if it is a garage conversion or new construction, what your finishes are and the architectural and structural engineering of your specific plans. The size also plays a role as a 500sf ADU will cost more per SF than a 1200 SF ADU. But you should expect somewhere in the $200 per SF range by averages for Los Angeles.

Happy to answer any other specific questions on this topic.