Renting "Mother In Law" Separate Living Area

[Steve W.]

Hi everyone,

I work in the Kirkland area, looking to house hack within an hour commute. One approach I am strongly considering is a house with a separate living area, mother in law (MIL) suite, additional dwelling unit (ADU), etc. What kind of pitfalls should I look out for, for the greater Seattle area (I'm mostly looking at the north Bothell, Everett, Lynwood areas), and specifically in terms of laws and regulations that could catch me off guard? I'm definitely open to all other advice as well, but am concerned about buying a property where I think I can rent out the MIL, but then hit some law that prevents me from doing so, or causes expensive alteration to meet MIL regulations.

Thanks!