u/BackyardTalksApex

Had a conversation with a homeowner this week who was debating between a one-bedroom and a two-bedroom ADU.

Their thinking was simple: if they're already spending the money, maybe it makes sense to go a little bigger. But they were also wondering if the extra cost would actually translate into higher rent.

Honestly, it's one of those questions where the answer seems to vary depending on the area.

For anyone who's rented out an ADU, did the extra square footage end up being worth it?

We were chatting with a homeowner recently who admitted they were almost more nervous about their neighbors than the construction itself. They kept wondering if someone would complain once work began or if it would create tension on the block.

It was interesting because nothing had actually happened yet, it was just one of those "what if" worries that kept coming up as they planned the project.

It made us realize that people spend a lot of time preparing for permits and budgets, but not as much thinking about the social side of building.

For anyone who's gone through it, how did your neighbors react once your ADU project got underway?

Hey everyone,

Coming from the builder side, I see a lot of hype online making ADUs sound like instant passive income or free equity. But in reality, the financial picture is way more nuanced than just "build for X, then rent for Y."

For anyone here who has completed a build or is currently running the math, what’s a tabood or uncomfortable financial reality you ran into?

No fluff—just want to hear the actual financial trade-offs people faced and how you handled them:>>

We've seen growing interest in SB 9 as homeowners explore ways to maximize their property's potential.

If your property qualified, would you move forward with a lot split, or would you leave it as is?

What factors would influence your decision? We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

We had a homeowner recently who started the process because they wanted a place for their parents. Pretty common reason for building an ADU.

But by the time construction was finished, plans had changed and the family situation was different. Now they're considering renting it out instead.

Made me curious how often that happens.

Do most people end up using their ADU for the purpose they originally planned, or does it change over time?
Would love to hear how things played out for others.

We were looking at a property recently where there were a few possible locations for the ADU.

The homeowner was mostly focused on maximizing backyard space, but it got us talking about privacy, parking, sunlight, and how the space would actually function day to day.

It seems like placement is one of those decisions that's easy to overlook early on.

For those who have already built, are you happy with where your ADU ended up? Or would you put it somewhere else if you could do it again?

We talk to a lot of homeowners who have a number in mind before they start researching.

Then they get quotes, learn more about site conditions, utilities, permits, and all the other pieces that go into a project.

Sometimes the budget ends up pretty close. Other times it's not even in the same ballpark.

For those who've completed an ADU, how close was your final cost compared to what you originally expected? What ended up having the biggest impact on the budget?

A handful of homeowners we talk to aren't really real estate investors. They're just looking for a way to generate some extra income, and an ADU ends up being their first rental property.

We're always running ROI projections and looking at the numbers, but I'm curious how things played out in real life for people who were pretty new to investing when they decided to build an ADU.

How much did the project end up costing, what kind of rent are you getting today, and has the rental income been covering what you expected it would?

Now that you've had it for a while (maybe a year or two), do you feel like it was worth it? And if you were starting over, is there anything you'd do differently?

Would love to hear some real experiences from Bay Area homeowners. But input from other areas are welcome to share too. :))

We had a client recently that originally wanted a normal one-story ADU in the back of their property. Pretty straightforward at first.

Then after looking at the lot a little more, they realized the footprint was going to take up way more backyard space than they expected. They still wanted room for their kids to be outside, so they started asking about going vertical instead.

What they ended up doing was kinda interesting. They used one of our one-story ADU layouts for the upstairs, then made the entire bottom floor a garage/storage area.

Sounded like an easy adjustment, kinda just putting our typical floor plan on top of a garage. But it definitely became a different project once engineering got involved. Suddenly we were talking about stair placement, ceiling heights, structural loads, city height limits, all that stuff.

Honestly though, once it was done, it fit the property way better than the original plan. They kept most of the yard and still got a full living space upstairs.

Made me curious how many people would actually choose a 2-story ADU if they had the option. Seems like more people are doing it lately, especially on tighter lots.