All Forum Posts by: Chen Zhou

@Caitlin Bigelow

The $170k covers the cost of the entire 800 sqft addition (all new addition) project, including basic furnishing including air-conditioning and oven. $500/sqft is a rip-off.

At least for San Jose, starting from July 2018, owners now can rent out both units without living in the property. With more relaxed rules from July 2018, it makes a lot more economic sense to invest into building an ADU: http://www.sanjoseca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/78534

@Bob Johnson

Consider San Jose. Approval process is much faster and rules are much more relaxed.

I recently got permit approval in SJ (Willow Glen) for a 630 sqft attached ADU + 170 sqft addition to the existing unit. It took me about 4 months to get my permit and now I'm 3 months away from completion of the construction.

Here's the cost breakdown:

@Daisy Chou

You can do it for less for 1 and 2, I think. 3 would definitely cost less.

I recently got permit approval in SJ (Willow Glen) for a 630 sqft attached ADU + 170 sqft addition to the existing unit. Here's my cost breakdown:

Let me know if you need referrals for contractors. Good luck with your project!

@JaNae Anderson

I recently got permit approval in SJ (Willow Glen) for a 630 sqft attached ADU + 170 sqft addition to the existing unit. I'm happy to share my experience working with architect, the city, and contractors here. It took me about 4 months to get my permit and now I'm 3 months away from completion of the construction. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

I do want to point out that starting from July 2018, owners now can rent out both units without living in the property. With more relaxed rules from July 2018, it makes a lot more economic sense to invest into building an ADU: http://www.sanjoseca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/78534

Here's the cost breakdown of my project:

Good luck with your project!

@Brian Larson

I'm still in the middle of construction, so I'm not necessarily aware of all the pitfalls yet. I would say that 

1) it's important to start talking to contractors experienced in building ADUs in the design phase as you would know what everything is going to cost in your design and can iterate your design based on costs. For a lot of people, ADU is going to be used as rental, so it might not make sense to have skylights/bay windows/etc. unless these features are really going to help you increase rental income.

2) don't underestimate the costs associated with getting the permit. Here's my breakdown of the overall project costs - you can see a big chunk of it goes into just getting the permit...

Happy to share more tips as the project goes. Good luck with your project!

@Rhyna Orillaneda 

I would echo with Brian that it's better to find a company that specializes in ADU building project. Here's the overall cost of my project:

PM me if you are interested in getting contacts for my architect and contractor.

Hello @Rhyna Orillaneda, I recently got permit approval in SJ (Willow Glen) for a 630 sqft attached ADU + 170 sqft addition to the existing unit. I'm happy to share my experience working with architect, the city, and contractors here. It took me about 4 months to get my permit and now I'm 3 months away from completion of the construction. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

I do want to point out that starting from July 2018, owners now can rent out both units without living in the property. With more relaxed rules from July 2018, it makes a lot more economic sense to invest into building an ADU: http://www.sanjoseca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/78534

Hello everyone, I recently got permit approval in SJ (Willow Glen) for a 630 sqft attached ADU + 170 sqft addition to the existing unit. I'm happy to share my experience working with architect, the city, and contractors here. It took me about 4 months to get my permit and now I'm 3 months away from completion of the construction. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

I do want to point out that starting from July 2018, owners now can rent out both units without living in the property. With more relaxed rules from July 2018, it makes a lot more economic sense to invest into building an ADU: http://www.sanjoseca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/78534

Hello everyone, I recently got permit approval in SJ (Willow Glen) for a 630 sqft attached ADU + 170 sqft addition to the existing unit. I'm happy to share my experience working with architect, the city, and contractors here. It took me about 4 months to get my permit and now I'm 3 months away from completion of the construction. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

I do want to point out that starting from July 2018, owners now can rent out both units without living in the property. With more relaxed rules from July 2018, it makes a lot more economic sense to invest into building an ADU: http://www.sanjoseca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/78534