RSVP to this webinar for free

In the economic uncertainty of 2020, millions of Californians want to make sure they can retire in their own homes and continue paying their mortgages.

You're invited to meet a special guest, Carrie Shores Diller, who has been working on this issue for over a decade.

Carrie has practiced architecture for 17 years, and spent over a decade specialized in ADUs and Aging in Place.

Her work on ADUs has taken her to the stage of Dwell on Design in LA, and she and her clients have been interviewed for the Wall Street Journal, SF Chronicle, CNBC, and Forbes.

Carrie is a LEED accredited professional, Certified Age-in-place Specialist, and recently has joined Kol Peterson and the Earth Advantage team as and ADU Specialist to teach “All About ADUs” in the Bay Area.

After a brief presentation about the state of the housing shortage and how ADUs might prevent the housing crisis from turning into a housing catastrophe, Carrie will be available for questions from attendees.

Carrie's a really knowledgable speaker and I'm excited to have the opportunity for How To ADU subscribers to benefit from chatting with her in a casual zoom setting.

Note: This webinar has already happened, but you can book a one on one call with the mortgage expert

There are many ways to finance your ADU, and we'll help you pick the right one.

Right now, "Cash out refinancing" is exceptionally good because you get to do two things at once:
1. Lock in a better mortgage rate
2. Finance your ADU in cash

Our expert panelist is rockstar California mortgage specialist, Shaun Weekes from Innovation Lending Solutions.

He's been in the business for 17 years and closed over 1,500 loans. And what makes him especially interesting is that he has extensive background on the back-end processing of loans - and that's why he knows what Underwriters are looking for.

We'll do a Q&A where you can bring any specific finance questions you have, and Shaun will do a brief presentation on why this is the best time we've ever seen to do a cash out refinance to build your ADU.

We usually do a short 15 minute presentation to get the gears turning, and then we hand it over to YOU in the audience to ask specific questions about financing YOUR accessory dwelling unit. We’ll answer everything we can for free.

ADU experts talk to us about ADU Construction costs and host a Q&A

Every Accessory Dwelling Unit is unique, and you have specific questions you want answers to.

Note: If you missed the webinar but have your own questions, BuildZig also offers in-person visits where they can assess your site and help your ADU project move forward

Our panelists are ADU specialists from BuildZig. They have planned, permitted, designed and built dozens of Accessory Dwelling Units in California so they’re well equipped to answer your specific questions.

They did a short presentation on ADU costs to get the gears turning, and then we handed it over to the audience to ask specific questions about their ADU projects.

Get your copy of Conor’s book today

If you've ever wondered how housing got so messed up in California, or why it's so hard to get a permit, Conor wrote a whole book about it.

This Oakland-based New York Times economics reporter is coming to How To ADU to talk about the housing crisis and your ADU project.

Every home we build for somebody to live in helps alleviate the housing shortage. Whether you rent it out or move a family member in, you're creating housing. And in that sense ADUs allow homeowners to build wealth and build community at the same time.

That's why the state is removing so many barriers for homeowners who want to build a secondary home on their property.

We usually have very pragmatic webinars - the site is called "How To" ADU after all. But I read Golden Gates and I loved it. It gave me the perspective to understand why everything seems so crazy in Californian housing.

Now, I have the context to defend my ADU projects because I know that they serve an important role in the story of Californian housing. And you're part of that too now!

And somehow, Conor's made the very dry topic of housing policy and zoning regulation very funny. It's like Parks and Recreation, but it's real. And now that you're building an ADU, you're in this world too!

So come by, and enjoy the lively discussion. I never thought a book about housing policy could be so fun.

I wanted to put a few book reviews in here but what struck me is that nobody really captured how entertaining and absurdly funny this book is. I laughed out loud, and I choked up a bit, at various intervals. This isn’t just about housing - it’s about the people that live in those houses and the things we do to each other while we try to make it in this world.

Here are some dry book reviews:

“A compelling and accessible overview of California’s housing crisis” —Wall Street Journal

“Why the fight for affodable housing is so hard” —Curbed SF

“Time and again, in this sweeping account of San Francisco’s housing crisis, warring constituencies—tenants, techies, homeowners, builders, and activists—talk past one another often with loudspeakers.” —The New Yorker

You can order a copy of the book here.

Lastly everybody who RSVPs will get a link to a free chapter from the book.

Meet the author of the definitive guide to ADU Construction, "Backdoor Revolution". Kol Peterson is wildly knowledgable about ADUs and has lead the charge in Portland, Oregon. ADU adoption is higher in Portland than any other city in America, largely thanks to Kol's work!

• Kol is the editor of accessorydwellings.org a free resource about ADUs

• the author of Backdoor Revolution

• a graduate of the Harvard School of Design

• the organizer of Portland's amazing ADU Open House events

• AND he's built his own backyard ADU so he practices what he preaches!

He's a wealth of knowledge and we'll break down some of the useful information in his book.

We'll also talk about which parts of the book apply to California and which parts you can apply with some clever tricks like applying cap rates or modifiers for construction.

You can order an e-copy or a physical copy of the book if you like. While a lot of it is specific to Portland, I promise it’s got lots of valuable information in it!

And I'll be giving away one physical copy of the book for FREE at the event!

Lastly everybody who RSVPs will get a digital copy of one my favorite charts from the book built with data from the National Association of Home Builders.

Every ADU is unique so we host regular question and answer sessions with expert panelists.

Carlos Plazola from BuildZig came by and did a brief presentation on sample costs, and our subscribers followed up with a whole range of questions.

Building an Accessory Dwelling Unit is an expensive project with a wide range of possible costs.

ADU construction expert Carlos prepared an ADU Cost one pager for How To ADU subscribers to understand how to think about costs and ROI for different types of ADU builds. Please keep in mind the rental, valuation and net equity columns are just one way to think about the value you’re creating - a lot of real estate markets don’t have enough ADU inventory to guarantee a cap rate for ADUs yet. This is a good starting point for thinking about your project, not a number written in stone.

You have specific questions about your project and these ADU webinars are the perfect time to come in and get answers.

Our expert panel has planned, permitted and built dozens of ADU and construction projects and can address all your questions.

 We've got an expert with years of experience in planning and construction in California, Laura Blair.

Laura can answer your questions because she is a member of the California Bar and the COO of a company with decades of experience in planning and construction services.

And most importantly for you, Laura knows all the ins and outs of ADU construction.

We're very grateful that Laura is sharing her experience with our subscribers, and we hope you'll take advantage of the opportunity to advance your own ADU project.