Turn “an ADU could fit” into a worked-through plan.
ADU investing in California starts with a property you can evaluate, a scope you can price, and numbers you can test. Work through those decisions before committing to construction.
Explore the matching classADU investing in California: start with your address
A garage, spare room, or open lot is your starting point.
Get specific: jurisdiction, existing permits, utility capacity, access, and proposed use. Confirm current requirements with the local planning and building departments, then use those answers to shape the design.
Know what the construction quote leaves out
I want you looking at the whole budget: design, engineering, permits, site work, utilities, construction, financing costs, and contingency.
Ask each contractor to identify what is included and excluded. Compare a conversion with a detached build using YOUR property's scope.
Put the missing work on paper before choosing a bid.
Map the money from construction through rental
Separate construction funding from the financing you expect to keep afterward. List the fees, payments, cash required, and cost of a longer build.
Planning to refinance? Identify the qualification and valuation assumptions to verify.
The class's Finance lesson gives you a place to start before discussing current terms and eligibility with your lender.
Test your ADU cash flow before you build
Use comparable rentals to set your rent assumption. Include vacancy, maintenance, insurance, taxes, owner-paid utilities, and debt payments.
Then lower the rent, raise the costs, and move the rental start date back.
See which changes matter most to your projection, with the assumptions in front of you.
Get the free analyzer kitStart with actual plans, not a blank page
I'm Rich Rice. In the ADU class at the FIRE Center, I walk through Design and Plans; Costs, Permits, & Contractors; and Finance.
Examine garage-conversion and den-conversion floor plans, project cost comparisons, a permit-process checklist, and property-screening criteria.
Use those materials to organize the questions you need answered about your own property.
Explore the matching classMeet Rich RiceSee how the ADU fits the whole property
Put the ADU budget beside your purchase terms, existing debt, repair needs, and available cash. Evaluate them together.
The learning hub connects ADU education with deal analysis, so you can keep working through the property decision without treating the addition as a separate project on paper.
Explore the learning hubInstructor: Rich Rice. Test the lot, rules, costs, permits, and pro forma before you build an ADU.
Drop in an address for a quick first look: recent nearby sales, an after repair value (ARV) range, repair estimates and a maximum allowable offer.
Articles on finding, funding, analyzing and fixing deals, written for investors who want to check the numbers before they commit.
Eight topics, each paired with a class and a tool. Pick the next question you need answered.
Gather the address, existing permits, proposed use, and site details. Confirm current requirements with the local planning and building departments before committing to a design.
Define the scope, get current property-specific estimates, and include design, permits, utilities, construction, financing costs, and contingency. Compare bids by what they include and exclude.
Account for operating expenses, vacancy, maintenance, and debt payments in your rent projection. Test lower rent, higher costs, and a later completion date to see how the numbers change.
The class includes conversion floor plans, project cost comparisons, a permit-process checklist, and property-screening criteria. These put specific examples beside the decisions you are learning to evaluate.
I do, Rich Rice. Lessons cover design and plans, costs, permits, contractors, and finance.
Give your ADU idea a working plan.
Explore the class and use its floor plans, cost comparisons, and financing lessons to work through your property's next questions.
Explore the matching classYour first Wednesday is free
Visit the FIRE Center in Riverside or join Deal Room and FOCUS on Zoom.