ADUs are accessory living units from a main house–they can be attached or detached and they can be a female homeowner’s best friend.
1. ADUs can generate rental income–passive income that many women fail to generate.
2. The expense to build a secondary residence is low, given the lot is, in a sense, free.
3. Rents for ADUs tend to be slightly more than for apartments, but they often represent the only affordable rental choices in single-family neighborhoods, which typically contain no studio or one-bedroom housing options at all. Constructing an ADU is how we can help others, often women.
4. ADUs offer young people entry-level housing choices. These are great ways for us to help our adult children, without enabling, much.
5. ADUs enable women to effectively work from home– have work/home space with no commute.
6. Women live longer than men and often are owners of their homes, alone. ADUs provide older women the option of moving into a smaller space while renting out their larger house or letting an adult child and family reside in it.
7. ADUs are just the right size—At 600 and 1,000 square feet, ADUs work well for the one and two-bedroom homes needed by today’s smaller, childless households (which are 2/3rds of us now.)
8. ADUs are good for the environment, as most tiny houses are.
9. ADUs are age and disability friendly. For example, garage conversions are among the easiest and least expensive ADU solutions since they’re preexisting structures and generally have no-step entries. They are community friendly—with minimal visual impact and do not add sprawl.
10. New laws make the ADU process quicker, less expensive and there’s even grants and fee waivers available. (Ask us!)
The ADU Benefit:
With inflation rising, and interest rates still historically low, ADUs may be one of the safest and best investments a (female) homeowner can make. ADUs increase the residential square footage and value of the property while providing steady financial returns. It’s one way women can take more control of their lives, neighborhoods and help others.
Elizabeth Kromer
Co-Founder VADU
Content provided by Women Belong member Elizabeth Kromer
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