Rental and Additions Question in Orange County, CA

[Nicholas Matthew Coca]

Hi guys, so I love in Orange County CA where the market is just outrageously high right now. I’m looking into alternative methods to house having and MFH run for $700k+ out here. At the moment, I live in a detached garage converted into a 600sf 1bd/1bth. Since the 700k price point for a duplex with max 3bd/2bth unit to rent it out of question for me, I was thinking of the possibility of picking up a smaller house with the possibility of converting a garage or building a separate addition that my wife and I would then be able to live in while renting the main house. I know CA is becoming very favorable towards ADU’s now a days and was wondering on if this could qualify as a primary residence for myself as well as me be able to use potential rental income for me to be able to qualify for a loan. Still new to BP and REI, I couldn’t find a google answer on this, so any help would be appreciated. Thanks!