Spring Clean your ADU Plans
It can be hard to know where to begin with our accessory dwelling unit plans, and sometimes that means that the process turns into a bit of a project management morass. After all, where do you even start with such a big (and exciting) project? (Hint: Check out page 13 of our ADU Workbook).
Here at Napa Sonoma ADU, we talk to a lot of homeowners who start by contacting an architect, designer, or builder as Step 1. Still others start with purchasing a new property where they plan to build an ADU. And some – dreamers like us – start with a Pinterest board of interior or exterior design elements we hope to one day incorporate into our dream unit.
This season is a good one to take a moment to pause and give your ADU plans a good old spring cleaning. Before you embark on your ADU journey make sure that you have your ducks in order – before you begin expending significant time, energy and resources on this large and important investment.
As a first step, educate yourself about the reality – not just the dream (although that’s vital as well!) – of your ADU project. Ask yourself key questions, like: What are my short- and long-term ADU goals? What is my realistic budget? What financing options are out there for me? How much will it *actually* cost? How long will this project take to complete? Is my property even eligible to build an ADU or Junior ADU? (Most likely yes, but some properties have complications.)
The Napa Sonoma ADU Center is here to help you with what we call “Step Zero” of the ADU journey:
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Start off by checking out our key ADU tools, such as our ADU Workbook, ADU Calculator, Address Lookup Tool, and Local ADU Rules for all 16 Napa and Sonoma County jurisdictions.
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From there, check out some of our on-demand recorded webinars, such as any webinar that is specific to your jurisdiction, our ADUs 101 webinar, Building ADUs webinar, and How to Finance Your ADU webinar. It doesn’t hurt to peruse our handy blog posts as well.
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Once you’ve got this crucial information under your belt, if you have any questions feel free to reach out to us anytime with your ADU questions via our Contact Us page, or sign up for a customized ADU Feasibility Consult to get yourself started on the right foot with your ADU plans.
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For more background information, feel free to check out this post about Napa Sonoma ADU from local nonprofit Our Town St. Helena and this month’s Napa Sonoma ADU blog posts, below. Plus – join us for our next live webinar on May 6, Accessory Dwelling Unit Design Roundtable with Local Experts (register here today).
Until then, Happy Spring Cleaning! And remember – we’re here to help.
Warmly,
The Napa Sonoma ADU Center
