When to Build an ADU For Your Mother-in-Law
Is it time to start considering building an ADU for your mother-in-law? These suites, sometimes referred to as MIL suites, are excellent additions to your home if you’re looking for a place for your mother-in-law to stay that doesn’t include interfering with your day-to-day life. If you want to ensure that you both have privacy and independence, it might be important to build a MIL suite in your backyard. What would a suite like this consist of? Let’s take a look at what we can expect to have to learn to ensure we get the right suite for your mother-in-law.
What is a MIL Suite?
A MIL suite, otherwise known as a mother-in-law suite, or ADU (accessory dwelling unit), is a suite designed specifically for your mother-in-law to be able to stay in that is close to your home. As an ADU, you will have to place it on your property. These suites come are legal throughout San Jose, depending on your property. There are a lot of questions that come up with an ADU build, though, like how do you finance one? What are the rules and regulations? What styles and types are available? Can I use it once my mother-in-law is done with it? Along with many more, let’s take a look at those questions now!
How to Finance One
Financing an ADU doesn’t have to be difficult, but you do need to prepare in advance to be able to do it. There are several different ways to get a MIL suite ADU financed, but there are three that are more common than not. Each of these three has its pros and cons but finding the right option for you really is the most important scenario. So take your time and look through the options below to see what you can do about building a beautiful MIL suite for your future.
Loans
Whether you’re borrowing against your home or seeking a construction loan, getting a loan is one of the most straightforward options available to you. And if you have the right credit score and credit history, you can easily prepare a loan with the right bank in order to finance an ADU. In fact, we work with a variety of banks and institutions that provide financing for ADUs. If you’re having a more difficult time securing a loan, though, you should take a look at your credit score; some people who don’t have all their credit-related ducks in a row often can get surprised when they’re told they can’t actually do what they thought they could. So take the time you need to consider this option..
Refinancing Mortgage
Refinancing your mortgage is another option available if you can’t get a loan outright for your MIL suite. In this process, you increase the amount of your loan by renegotiating the terms, which then allows you to get more money upfront so you can finance an ADU. This process is pretty straightforward and can be worked out to ensure that you can cover the cost of your ADU and just pay it back along with your mortgage, helping you secure a longer-lasting option for financing an ADU.
Family
Maybe your mom or mother-in-law are looking to sell their home to move closer to your family. In many cases, we’ve seen family sell their primary home to finance an ADU build on the property of a family member. This is a great way build connectivity with family, provide comfort for aging parents, and make sure there’s enough money around to help provide care.
Why Should You Build a MIL Suite?
There are many different reasons you should get a MIL suite. Mom is an important figure in your life, and they deserve to live a life of dignity when they get older. Your mom or mother-in-law may need to come and stay with someone that can help her as she gets older or may just want to stay closer to family in her later years. This is just one of many reasons you should get a MIL suite set up in your backyard. Let’s take a look at some more reasons you may want to invest in a MIL suite for her.
Keeps Family Close
Investing in a MIL suite to bring your mother-in-law closer to your home means keeping the family closer to her. It allows her to help with and visit her grandchildren and stay near her family members. Keeping family closer matters year-round, and having your mother-in-law close by can be incredibly beneficial for different holidays and events. If you go on a vacation, she can watch over your home, and she can help you take care of the property while you’re away for any other reason. Having family members close can be beneficial to her as well as she’ll be able to see the family grow and thrive.
Encourages Independence
Getting a MIL suite also helps encourage independence in those that need to be near someone due to an older age. They still have their own space and can continue living their own lives with little to no impact from moving to a new home. You’ll also be close to them so they can get any help they may need as they get older, helping them continue being independent with the additional support of having family nearby if they need it. Keeping independence is incredibly important to people of all ages, and getting a MIL suite helps.
Increases Privacy
Not only does a MIL suite help with maintaining independence in your older age, but it also helps by increasing the privacy your mother-in-law may desire. If she has her own space outside of your home, there is a good chance that she can maintain the privacy that she wants while still having you close. This privacy is not only incredibly desirable but possible with a MIL suite installed in your backyard. These suites are designed to be incredibly similar to houses, so built in the right way, your mother-in-law will have all the privacy she could ever want.
Medical Necessity
Some people decide to build a MIL suite out of medical necessity. If it’s necessary for someone to be close to other people because of the medical issues they may be having, then building a MIL suite is a great idea. This gives the person with the medical issues the support of being near family and friends in case they need assistance with their medical issues. It also helps the family of those who may have medical problems because they’ll be able to check in on and help the people they love more easily because they’re closer to home.
Long-Term Investment
A MIL suite is a long-term investment that will outlast the situation that calls for it more often than not. If your mother-in-law decides to go live with someone else, you don’t have a full suite in your backyard that is useless! You can repurpose a MIL suite into so many different things that can serve you in different ways. By doing this, you can invite more family to come to visit or live near you; you can build a space just for yourself, or depending on the area you live in, you might be able to make a little bit of money while it increases your property value.
Repurpose into Guest House
Repurposing a MIL suite into a guest house really is as easy as cleaning the MIL suite and turning over the sheets in the bed. Doing this will leave your house open for any guests that come to stay for any reason. They could need a place to crash after a bad breakup, or they could need to stay at your guest house while they visit you for the holidays. Regardless of why they may need to stay at your guest house, the opportunity to stay in a guest house is a luxury that many people strive to be able to do.
Personal Sanctuary
If you don’t want to turn your MIL suite into a guest house, you can easily turn it into a personalized sanctuary. This sanctuary can be filled with books, hobbies, games, workout equipment, or anything at all that you may want to use it for. The ability to use your personal sanctuary however you want is incredibly important, and the bigger your MIL suite, the more space you’ll have to do things you love. So take the time to think about the kind of sanctuary you may want to have if you’re repurposing a MIL suite anytime soon.
Home Office
Another one of the many options that you can consider if you decide to repurpose a MIL suite in the future is a home office. Home offices are a great option for people that work from home in a long-term role. After COVID-19, many of us are working from home for longer periods of time, multiple days per week, or even in some cases, permanently! A home office allows you to work diligently in a space that has minimal distractions. Keeping you away from the housework and other distractions that keep you from paying complete attention to the work at hand. Offices are options that work well when you’re trying to repurpose a MIL suite because of the flexibility that comes with building an ADU.
Rent it Out
Renting out your ADU is only going to be possible for some people in certain areas because of how different laws are set up for different areas. If you are allowed to rent out your ADU, you can do so on any terms that you want to. You can also use companies like AirBnB to offer your ADU temporarily to travelers. Renting out an ADU after using it as a MIL suite is a great way to get a little money every month while ensuring that your ADU doesn’t go to waste.
Alternative Uses
There are many alternative uses for an ADU after it was done being a MIL suite! From home offices to renting it out and more. Let your imagination run wild with the possibilities; if you can think of a way to use your ADU that isn’t listed here, don’t be afraid to give it a try. ADUs are incredibly versatile options for homes, and when you work hard to upkeep and maintain them, you can use them for a wide variety of purposes. Take the time to think about how you want to use your ADU once it no longer serves you as a MIL suite.
Different Styles of ADU
Different styles of ADU are important as well as some people prefer specific styles of homes. If you’re trying to build a MIL suite, take into consideration the different requirements she may have. For example, maybe she can’t manage stairs very well, or maybe she has a difficult time with doorways. Taking this into account will help you design a style of ADU that works well for your mother-in-law to ensure she’s comfortable and capable of taking care of herself while she lives as comfortably as possible in the ADU.
Ranch
A ranch-style home sits low and flat on the ground, making it easier to build with an open floor plan for people that want the illusion of a much larger space. This style of ADU is fantastic for people who have a hard time with stairs, doorways, or entryways because it minimizes the need for all of those things. Ranch-style homes are comfortable and stylish, making it easier for your mother-in-law to get used to over time. If you’re looking for a different kind of home, though, you can always take a look into different ADU plans.
Modern
A modern-style ADU is an elegant but functional addition to your property that many people would love to live in. This style is sure to function as a MIL suite easily and can be customized depending on the needs of you and your family. Keeping a modern design focus is an excellent way to ensure that your design fits in with the different designs of homes around you while still being unique and beautiful. You don’t have to sacrifice beauty to ensure that your MIL suite is a comfortable place to live and use going forward.
Customized Design
If you would prefer a customized design, there are many companies like here at Acton ADU that can help you with that. We can help you come up with the design that you would prefer depending on your MIL suite needs. This can include accessibility options such as wheelchair ramps along with many other options for whatever you may need. Customization even continues with the different designs of the different rooms and can be so detailed you can even customize the color. Take the time to think about the depth that you’d like to customize because customization can be a very involved process.
Customization
When you’re customizing your MIL suite, you need to think about the overall size of the ADU along with the size of each of the rooms. There are certain restrictions depending on where you live that you’ll have to take care of. From there, you need to figure out where you want certain things in the home, such as a refrigerator and stove. There are plenty of things you need to consider when it comes to the color and design of the property, but ADUs can have fully involved customization that you have complete control over.
Personal Hobbies
If you’re no longer using your MIL suite as a suite for your mother-in-law, you can instead use it for a completely different purpose. Once your mother-in-law moves out, you can move whatever you want in. Your personal hobbies can finally have a safe space for you to enjoy them with limited distractions. Your personal hobbies are incredibly important to you, and having a space where you can enjoy them away from the bustle of day-to-day life really is a luxurious experience that few people get to have. Take a look at just a few you may be able to consider.
Gardening
If you like gardening but hate having rows of seedlings in your house or dirt on your floors, using your MIL suite as a starting place for your garden is a great idea. It’s easy to work on your garden without feeling guilty if you can stress out less about the different ways you could mess up your house. Instead of worrying about bringing dirt, grime, and bugs into your home, you can worry instead about how well your seedlings are growing and how successful your garden is about to be. Take the time to think about how you may use an ADU to help you start up your seeds.
Reading
Reading is a huge hobby that people take incredibly seriously, especially those that read fantasy novels. Escapism is a great way to spend your time, and reading as a hobby can easily take over an entire ADU. The best part is that if you’re converting your reading space from a MIL suite, there won’t be a lot of things you’ll need to adjust for. You’ll likely need extra shelving to house all of your books, but that’s about it. Imagine it, a giant library just for you, but if you’re not into reading, your personal library sanctuary can be almost anything you’d want.
Permanent Suite
A permanent MIL suite is designed for your mother-in-law to be able to live there for the rest of her life. That can be a scary thing for some people to take into consideration, but for some people, it’s the best decision they could make. A permanent residence is often a great decision for someone who has been misplaced, needs medical assistance, or is elderly, and with the previously spoken about customization ability with ADU, you can easily mold the ADU you want for your MIL suite into the kind of suite she will need.
Vacation Suite
If you’re looking for a MIL suite for a mother-in-law that doesn’t need to be near you because they’re elderly or they have medical needs, this may be your best option. A vacation suite allows your mother-in-law to come and go as necessary and as they need to. This option is ideal for someone who wants to come over for holidays, birthdays, and vacations but has their own home and space to themselves that they prefer to be. Regardless of your reasoning, though, getting a MIL suite is an excellent idea.
San Jose Requirements
San Jose does allow ADUs, which is why Acton ADU services the San Jose area, but our great city does have some requirements you have to meet to be able to put an ADU on your property. If you don’t meet these requirements, then you don’t have the ability to put an ADU on the property. Thankfully most properties in the San Jose area do meet the requirements to put an ADU on the property, and at Acton ADU, we know exactly what the requirements are, so when we show up to survey the area, we can let you know either way.
ADU Regulations
ADUs have specific regulations that they have to follow in order to be accepted on the property. These regulations do have some constraints, but we are confident that we can work with them to ensure we build a safe MIL suite for your family to use now and in the future. Suites like these are simple and straightforward for us, considering we make ADUs full-time. Once you take the regulations into consideration, you do need to qualify to get an ADU put in on your property. This is not something that we can do for you.
Qualifying
You need to get a permit to qualify your property for an ADU. This permit is a requirement, and we will not be able to begin construction without it. You can reach out to your local codes enforcer to help you with the necessary paperwork and steps to get a permit to build an ADU on your property. You should do this in tandem with trying to set up the finances to ensure that you can move as quickly as possible to get the ADU built fast. Once you get qualified and you have your permit, you should be able to reach out, and we can get started.
Specialists
Finding an ADU specialist that can help you is actually incredibly important. At Acton ADU, we specialize in making accessory dwelling units that can be stylized and customized for your needs. We take pride in our work and have crafted everything from remote working environments to maximized ADUs for families. Being an ADU specialist that focuses on the San Jose and greater Bay Area, allows us to be knowledgeable about what is and is not allowed in the area, ensuring that no matter what happens, we know exactly how to construct your ADU right the first time.
Standards
ADUs have required standards per the rules San Jose has set, and we work to ensure that we meet and often surpass those standards. Those standards can be a headache for someone without experience to try to navigate, but we work within the standards and parameters set by the San Jose area all the time. We can navigate the standards that must be met, and we work hard to ensure your project’s success. The last thing you need is an unsure ADU builder coming in and making mistakes on your property that will get you in trouble in the long run.
Restrictions
Every building has building restrictions that come with it, and there are a lot of different things you need to take into account when they do. When it comes to ADU, there are a lot of restrictions that tell you what you can and what you can’t do. These restrictions can make building an ADU a hard job for a less experienced individual, and they can make it frustrating for homeowners. If, for example, San Jose doesn’t allow three-bedroom ADU, we can’t build them, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.
Setback Requirements
Depending on the size of your property and the size of the ADU you want, you may be infringing on your setback requirements. These requirements dictate how far back your building can be set on your property to ensure it comfortably establishes the property line without pushing boundaries. This is important to ensure that you don’t get too close to your neighbor’s property and that you don’t cause them discomfort in the placement of your ADU. If your property isn’t large enough to account for a setback requirement and put an ADU on it, you can’t have an ADU placed on your property.
Size Limitations
Size limitations are also a part of the restrictions you’ll get when building a MIL suite on your property. An ADU is only permitted so many rooms and can only be so large before it becomes less of an ADU and more of a house. If you’re building your MIL suite for just one person, there is a good chance that you will have more than enough space to accommodate your mother-in-law. You should always take the size of your home into consideration with the pitch of the roof and the laws of San Jose to ensure you can build the ADU that you actually want.
Detached or Attached
You can have your ADU for your MIL suite attached to your home or completely detached from it! In San Jose, it does not matter if you attached an ADU or if you keep it separate from your home, making it easier on the homeowner when making this decision. Most ADUs are separate from the house because it can be more cost effective, and eliminate complexity when tearing open walls in your main home but they don’t have to be. Think about if you’d like your ADU to be attached or completely separate from your own home and the different aspects like electric, sewer, and water that would need to be taken into account either way.
Solar Power?
Solar power is a big option that we provide here at Acton ADU! Solar power is a green energy advancement that helps you turn the sun’s rays into energy, and they are required with every no home build (even ADUs). Solar panels are a great addition to a property; helping people get and maintain energy in a safe and environmentally productive way is something we have taken pride in for years.
Made for Mom
When you’re building a MIL suite, make sure you remember the real reason you’re building the suite. There are a lot of perks to it once your mother-in-law is not using it anymore, but regardless of those, you’re building this for her. Make sure to take her consideration into account when you are setting up different parts of the home she’ll be living in. If she doesn’t like a color or design, think it over, she’s the one living there full time, and you want her to be happy, so let her make some decisions about the place she’s going to live in.
Regardless of your reasoning for building a MIL suite, you can be sure that building one is absolutely possible. Building one on your own is much more difficult, though, than reaching out and hiring a contractor. At Acton ADU, we know the ins and outs of building ADUs in the San Jose area, and we’re always ready for a challenge. If you’re looking for a company that can help you build a MIL suite for your mother-in-law on your property, feel free to reach out to us or head over to our website to learn more!
