Should You Buy 2 Homes?

Housing prices are on the rise, but buying 2 homes might still be the better option. How? 2 words: Granny flats.

So, what’s a granny flat?

Otherwise known as an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU), a granny flat is defined by LA County as a dwelling unit with a full kitchen and bathroom, which is an accessory use to a primary or main single family residence. Hence “accessory dwelling.” It can be used as a rental, but can’t be sold separately from the main house.

Why granny flats?

Across America, a new wave of home remodeling is taking hold. People are purchasing land to build a main home and adding a granny flat to their backyard or above their garage.

A major reason why people are suddenly in favor of granny flats is the collective resolve to escape from the rising home prices across the United States. According to LAAlmanac.com, the median sales price in 2010 in Los Angeles was $391,300 and is now a whopping $629,500! That’s more than half a million reasons to build a granny flat. For some perspective, Realtor.com states the median sales price in 2010 in San Francisco was $520,958. Now it’s $930,000. It stands to mention that San Francisco is now the most expensive city to own a home in the nation. Zillow says New York City median home prices are $672,400.

But it’s not all bad news. Realtor.com reports that new construction is increasing, keeping rent prices at bay. And with that, there are places in the country like California and Oregon where Accessory Dwelling Unit rules have become much more relaxed. Now homeowners and homebuyers have a better opportunity to add granny flats to their space.

The good news doesn’t stop there…

Having a granny flat means extra space. Extra space can mean extra income. And normally renting out space in your home requires you to compromise privacy. But with an accessory dwelling unit, privacy: maintained!

If you’re privy to thinking outside the box (literally in this sense) some families are opting to move into their granny flat and rent out their main house!

Another option is to rent it out as an  Airbnb. To learn more, read all about it here!