Benefits of Accessory Dwelling Units · Increased Property Value. While ADUs are a substantial investment, it does add value to your property.
What is an ADU?
ADU is short for ADU, or Accessory Dwelling Unit. These are the ADUs we are building, or are working on, at Chateau Fabuleux and they are listed in the gallery below. ADUs are a small residential building located on the property of a single-family home.
They can be used as a separate unit, or they may be added to the existing house. ADUs typically range from 600 square feet to 800 square feet in size, though some are even larger than 1,000 square feet. These smaller homes are more affordable and allow for more individualized living arrangements in a single unit.
Where can I build an ADU? If you are building an ADU on your property, there are many different zoning regulations in the City of Denver for accessory dwelling units.
Benefits of Accessory Dwelling Units
Plus, ADUs can increase the value of the area to which they are attached.
- Owners often enjoy being involved in the design and operation of their homes.
- Flexibility.
- ADUs are very versatile.
- You can convert them to a tiny home, live in the home yourself, rent out the unit or convert the unit to a rental.
- Time of Use.
- The approval process for an ADU does not include energy charges.
How to Build an ADU
D.R. Horton, a homebuilder, has created a resource to teach the process of constructing an ADU. One of the most well-known Realtors, Javier Vivas, uses an example in his ebook of a home he lives in which is a very small ADU.
He says, “My house was 1,500 square feet when I bought it. After adding the ADU, it was 2,400 square feet. I rented the entire apartment for $2,400 a month and saved $14,000 on my mortgage.”
D.R. Horton has created a video on their site that explains how they helped someone convert a large detached garage into an ADU and use it as his garage/gym. Like this article?
Can You Have an Accessory Dwelling Unit on Your Property?
In almost all cases, yes. You will have to look into the planning laws for the town or city that you live in.
Most towns or cities will allow you to set up an ADU inside of your property without permission. There may be some usage requirements in place, though. For example, in some towns and cities, the owner will actually have to be living inside the bulk of the property. They can’t, for instance, split down a house into three different flats and leave it. They would actually need permission for that.
If you are planning on building an ADU on your property i.e. an external ADU, then you will probably need planning permission for that building. You may need to state what you plan to use that building for when you apply for planning permission. However, once again, it is all going to be dependent on what the requirements for your town or city are.
Will it Decrease the Value of Your Property?
In theory, you are splitting the property up into multiple properties. The idea is to have one part of the property completely inaccessible to the other. This means that if you do sell your property, the value may be ever so slightly reduced. However, if you are not planning on selling your property, then you will be able to benefit from the extra income that having an ADU offers. In fact, that is going to be the main advantage of an ADU.
Some people do complain that more ADUs will bring down the value of properties in the surrounding area. As a result, many communities are not really happy about the number of ADUs. However, there is the major benefit of ensuring affordable housing for everybody.
Conclusion:
There are many questions to consider when considering accessory dwelling units. To get started, contact your local housing authority to get information on potentially available units in your area and what restrictions apply to different types of dwelling units.
