Determining ADU Design

[Ryan Russel]

I am lucky to own a property in the Bay Area with plenty of land to take advantage fo the new ADU laws to build a rental property in my backyard. Funding is secured, but I'm still at a loss for what to build for the best ROI. My city has steep permitting/impact fee increases after 750sq ft, so I'm not sure if I should go for a 1BR 749sq ft, 2BR 749sq ft, or pay the hefty fees and jump up to 1,000+sq ft with 2BR.

If you have experience building an ADU, I would love to understand your thought process on the design you chose and what you recommend to someone with a blank canvas and plenty of space for up to about 1,200sq ft.

The second sticking point is how to determine who to designs the ADU. On one had, there is a cheap design firm that can knock out a simple ADU blueprints for about $11k, whereas there is a phenomenal Architect who will hand-hold and manage the whole process for around $30k. I know going with the cheapest is never a good idea, but is an Architect really worth 3x for what seems to be a pretty straightforward project?

I'm a bit lost on what route to take and appreciate any wisdom you may have. Thank you in advance!