All Forum Posts by: Sandra S bello

@Whitney Hill Thanks for your comments and advice. We did consider going the 750 SF route, and may possibly still do that to avoid impact fees but when we talked to a couple GC's it seems that it actually seems to increase the per foot cost because you still have the big ticket items like kitchen and 2 bathrooms. The extra few hundred hundred feet are larger living space and bedroom, which are "cheaper" space to build. the $250 was the lowest bid I got with 1200 SF, they were mostly around $300-$350 out of the 4. 

If I was building a home, I wouldn't think these numbers were bad at all. I think what is making this a tough one is the fact that ADU's do not get back the $ or appraise for what you spend on them, and Im looking at this as an investment and not as my forever home or home I'm living in.

Good point as to companies that specialize in ADU's will have expertise and points to bring out, such as the one you mention. I will keep that in mind. Fortunately, we have such a large footprint that the plan was to leave so much space around the ADU (which I know in a spot near the coast where every square foot is extremely value an utilized I can see how 18" makes such a huge difference). Being in Mt Helix, San Diego, our lot and those nearby are all over half an acre each.

So appreciative of the insight and points you all are making and would love to see if anyone has any experience actually building these and dealing with the pitfalls/positives.

@Dan H. That sounds like it was a nightmare, but I totally understand and accept that delays/extra costs/pure stupidity on my part/less discounts not being a GC are all risks taken on.  How does one go about getting workmens comp/liability insurance for any issues or accidents that could happen onsite? I know GC's usually carry it, but can an individual owner buy it?>

@Colin L. Do you work on plans for ADU's?

First off, thanks for any and all feedback guys, this is great!

Prefab in my research hasn't been a huge savings as I thought it would.

Because we are thinking to do this to other properties nearby I am more motivated to learn how to GC it and do for future projects for long haul savings. 

I do understand the caveats of going the OB route, as we have GC'ed some major remodeling in our home and dealt with some not so fun project management issues. However, I was able to get what I was quoted $150k by 3 GC's for around $85k (completely renovated our entire house and made our upstairs super luxurious, including a Mr. Steam shower-total splurge) and tons of marble. I would have not been able to afford those finishes if I had used the GC's who told me around double that  for my vision 3 years ago. I did end up with some delay, and could have potentially saved more if I did not fire one of the subs (plumber) halfway through his work.

Unfortunately, the guy that did a lot of the work for me moved back to Texas during COVID, so I don't really have a lot of contacts here in San Diego for good reasonable work (hence me getting quotes for crazy numbers). 

I have a property with a large lot in East San Diego. SFH go for about $300 a SF in my area. Homes with ADU's are not getting appraised as the ADU being worth $300 a SF, more like its an amenity. So even though builders are charging $300 a SF to build, the value add is very minimal and its a negative investment out the gate if you sell property.

Since I am keeping my home long term as a rental, and I could probably get $1500-$2000 for a 1000 SF ADU, I was looking into options for building. All the builders I have contacted and contractors are quoting about $250k to $300k. I think that is nuts to be honest when looking at ROI. At the end of the day, this is an investment. Even if we make $2k net in month in rent (after accounting for property tax increases), to be negative out the get go doesn't seem too smart to me.

Then I read here that some people go the Owner builder route and sub it out. Anyone here successful with that in San Diego and willing to share resources? Anything will help, whether its a checklist of costs, subs you used, things to keep in mind, etc. We have already looked at the county and preapproved plans and one actually might work perfectly for the space and just needs an architect to review and do the site plan, Title 24, etc....

We have talked to the county and are under County Jurisdiction, and have plenty of room for the ADU in a newly excavated part of the property.

Thank you all in advance for any advice or help in San Diego you can give!