Adding an ADU in Northern California

[Kyle Rosseau]

Hello BP’ers,

My wife and I have decided to keep our fixer upper in Marin CA. The town we are moving to allows for ADU units and our property is a good size. Our thought is, we would be able to build an ADU quicker than remodeling the house and this would allow us to live on the property while the main unit is being remodeled. This will also allow us to add an additional 1,000 square feet as the town has limits to the number of square footage added to a property (20%) based on total square footage of the property (doesn't include an ADU). My questions are around the permitting process and the actual build. We have been looking into modular ADU's where the construction is less than a new build. Any advice or experience would be greatly appreciated. I have spoken with a couple contractors and they have given me this idea. Is this crazy? I really haven't done any construction like this before.

Thanks BP!