What actually happens, and how long it takes.
Feasibility
You send the address and pay $250. We return a written report on what the parcel allows.
Design
Site plan, floor plans, elevations, structural, and Title 24. Two rounds of revisions included.
Plan check
We submit and handle corrections. Corrections are normal; a complete submittal is what keeps the count low.
Construction
Six to ten months on site for a typical detached unit, then final inspection and certificate of occupancy.
Questions we get every week
Do I need to own the home outright?
No. A mortgage does not prevent you from building an ADU. It does matter for financing and for AB 1033 condo conversion, where your lender has to consent.
How do people pay for construction?
Most commonly a cash-out refinance, a HELOC, or a renovation loan underwritten on the after-completion value. Our construction estimate is formatted for lender submission.
Will my property taxes go up?
The new construction is assessed and added; the existing house is not reassessed. Ask a tax professional about your specific situation — we are not one.
Can my neighbors block it?
Not on an ADU. Approval is ministerial — if the drawings meet objective standards, there is no hearing at which anyone gets to object.
How many correction cycles should I expect?
At least one. Plan check almost always comes back with comments, and anyone promising otherwise is selling. Our job is to keep the list short and turn it around fast.
I already built something without a permit.
Often legalizable, and worth doing — unpermitted square footage does not appraise and can complicate a sale. We assess it in the feasibility report.
Do I have to build with you?
No. We are licensed to build and happy to, but the stamped drawings are yours and you are free to bid them out to any contractor.
What if the report says no?
Then you spent $250 to avoid spending $250,000 badly. That is a good outcome and we will say so plainly.
We have gotten plans approved on parcels where other firms could not. It starts with an honest read of the lot.
Start a report — $250