All Forum Posts by: Caitlin Bigelow

@Jo-Ann Lapin I'd love to get connected to the San Diego ADU group as well! :)

@Jim Meehan if you're going through the cost to build you should build to the max size allowed by building code. There are so many fixed costs (like sewer and water connection fees ) that adding on 300 extra sq ft isn't that material toward the cost. You wouldn't save much in the building cost by cutting down sq footage.

There was a study done in Portland on ADU size, which limits size to 800 sq ft and showed what % of homeowners built to the full max capacity, and it was above 80%. If you decide to build smaller than ~600 sq ft you're probably looking at renting to just a single person vs. couple.

There's a lot of debate about what the ROI is on an ADU, the general rule of thumb, although it differs greatly, and I'd expect this number to increase as people become more aware of ADUs and the value they bring, is ~70%ROI on investment. So great for long term investments, not awesome for quick flips.

@JingJing He if you're going through the cost to build you should build to the max size allowed by building code. There are so many fixed costs (like permitting) that adding on 300 extra sq ft isn't that material toward the cost. You wouldn't save much by cutting sq footage. 

@Harish Maiya you can check out www.myHousable.com they have a break even calculator that helps give you an idea of cash flow, break even point, etc. Would help you evaluate your options relative to investing in that 50K elsewhere. 

I think if you plan to stay on the property/own the property long term that's when ADU's start to make a lot of financial sense. Not sure what owner occupancy rules exist in Newark.

@Tyler Work can you elaborate on this? This owner occupancy thing is insane, so I'd love to understand this a little better. Also, would this be the case in other cities?

When comparing comps -- do you think you could compare it to houses with the new amount of sq footage? 

Ex: My house was 1700 sq ft. I built an ADU that's 800 sq ft. I can look at value of houses in my neighborhood that are ~2500 sq ft. Or is that flawed logic? There just isn't a lot of ADU data.

@Luis Felix I know I've been reading they're best for creating long term wealth not short term $. Anyone have any info on how much value / ROI brings to a property by adding an ADU (either through a garage conversion - or stand alone)

For example, if you put in 100K into an ADU would your property value increase by 70K?

Does anyone have any research on how much ROI an accessory dwelling unit brings to the property? For example, if my house is worth 600K, and I invests 100K in the project, and turn around and sells it tomorrow -- what would an estimated increase look like? I've heard 70% ROI thrown out there and I'm just curious what BP community's experience has been. I realize that ADU's are best for long term investments, just trying to crunch some numbers.

My mom lives in San Diego (suburbs - La Mesa specifically) and she has a granny flat attached to her garage. It was like this when she bought the house in the early 90s. I've been discussing with her converting the full garage and instead of having a teeny 250 sq ft granny flat converting it to 800 sq ft apartment and renting it out. Currently, she's using it for her home office (and losing out on the rental income!) Even as it stands it looks like she could rent this for at least $700/mo. 

With the sweeping legislation overhaul in Jan 2016 some LA ADU owners are going through the process of getting their illegal units permitted. (It's estimated that there are 50,000+ illegal ADUs in LA alone). The big thing the city cares about is that it's been built to code.