March News from the Napa Sonoma ADU Center
Author: Renée J. Schomp, Director, Napa Sonoma ADU Center
Your ADU build: One tiny nail at a time
It’s been a busy and exciting year so far here at the Napa Sonoma ADU Center, between our work with all of the many homeowners across Napa and Sonoma Counties seeking to build accessory dwelling units, plus collaboration with our local government agencies focused on improving ADU permitting processes. We’ve been taking it one tiny nail at a time, and so far – thanks to all of you – we are going strong!
Join us for a webinar next Tuesday, March 29 to Learn How You Can Pay for Your ADU Build with Redwood Credit Union! We’ll cover ADUs 101 plus multiple ways you can finance your ADU including through a new ADU-specific loan product that opens up financing to folks with lower incomes or equity in their existing home. Register here today!
Here’s a quick snapshot of what we’ve been up to:
Advising local government on ADU policies: Providing recommendations and feedback to our local governments across Napa and Sonoma Counties about how they can continue to improve their ADU planning, permitting and building processes over the course of the upcoming eight-year Housing Element cycle. Check out our full set of ADU recommendations to our 16 local jurisdictions – and to learn more about what the Housing Element is all about, see this helpful video from local nonprofit Generation Housing and learn more about the process in Napa and Sonoma Counties here.
Our local jurisdictions are in the midst of soliciting feedback and insights from community members like you to inform their Housing Element plans, so if you want to share your thoughts, now is the time to reach out to your city or county about how you can do so!
Conducting a Field Study on ADUs & Latino/x Homeowners: Speaking with local Latino/x homeowners about how we can help them with ADU projects. The goal of the field study is to inform the Napa Sonoma ADU Center about how we can further deepen our support for Latino/x homeowners interested in building ADUs across the 16 jurisdictions in Napa and Sonoma Counties – check out the findings right here. And stay tuned for a webinar we’ll be holding as a result of the findings, which will be exclusively in Spanish and focused on ADUs 101 and ADU financing – coming up May 17!
¡Estén atentos para un seminario web exclusivamente en español el 17 de mayo que se enfoca en unidades de vivienda accesorias y financiamiento! Este boletín completo y todas las publicaciones del blog se pueden traducir al español en nuestro sitio web.
Helping you track your ADU budget: Making it easier to track your finances throughout your ADU project. When it comes down to it, we know the bottom line really guides the way for your ADU build. We’ve created this handy editable ADU budget tracker to help you stay on top of bids, payouts to your professional team, and more. It’s also a super useful reference list of all the possible line items that may add up to your total ADU build cost. Used in conjunction with our ADU Calculator tool, the budget tracker will help you assess and update your projected and actual costs from Day 1 up until Move-in Day!
Helping you finance your ADU project: Napa Valley Community Foundation (home of the Napa Sonoma ADU Center) and Redwood Credit Union have entered a first-of-its-kind partnership that aims to accelerate the adoption of ADUs in Napa and Sonoma Counties. The result is an innovative ADU construction loan product that will enable more homeowners to borrow the capital they need to construct second units. To learn more, register here for our ADU financing webinar next Tuesday, March 29 at 6:00 pm – and we can answer your questions, live!
Interested in a compelling & educational ADU presentation curated for YOUR target audience? The Napa Sonoma ADU Center is available to give talks educating your customers or any other audience on accessory dwelling units – whether it’s your local Rotary Club, realty office, or other group. Contact Us today to learn more!
So far 2022 has brought a lot of challenges for humanity, both globally and locally. These days I’m reminded of a Mary Oliver poem:
“Now in the spring I kneel, I put my face into the packets of violets, the dampness, the freshness, the sense of ever-ness.
Something is wrong, I know it, if I don't keep my attention on eternity. May I be the tiniest nail in the house of the universe, tiny but useful.
May I stay forever in the stream.”
Here at the Napa Sonoma ADU Center we are grateful for the opportunity to be useful to you, homeowners here in Napa and Sonoma Counties, to help raise more roofs for our friends, family, and those who work here and need a home: One tiny nail at a time. Sign up for an ADU feasibility consult and let’s get started today!
Warmly,
Renée J. Schomp
Director, Napa Sonoma ADU Center
PS - Follow us on social media to stay in touch and to hear as we roll out new free ADU resources and tools for homeowners!
PPS - Este boletín completo y todas las publicaciones del blog se pueden traducir al español en nuestro sitio web! // The full newsletter and all blog posts can be translated to Spanish on our website here!
Join Maxable in a virtual walk-through of this incredible tractor barn to accessory dwelling unit transformation!
“Your [Vendor Registry], from designer to builders, is solid gold! I don’t think I would even have gotten started without it. Having [your ADU Expert] come out and personally review the site also encouraged me. He was very professional and cleared up some important points that helped get the project off the ground.”
Give to Napa Valley Community Foundation
If you would like to support our nonprofit program’s continued efforts to help homeowners in Napa and Sonoma Counties, please feel free to do so at this link (to our fiscal sponsor, Napa Valley Community Foundation) where you can designate it to the Napa Sonoma ADU Center.