The price of housing in Central Oregon is going up. Rents are increasing, the Urban Growth Boundary isn’t expanding and developmental codes aren’t changing to accommodate the demand for smaller homes. This is an issue that is causing a stir locally, luckily, there is new a housing product that is being embraced around the area and starting to spread like wildfire.
In the past the English description was Cottage, the French used Chalet, and the Spanish said Casita or Cabana. The city of Bend defines these back yard apartments as “An accessory dwelling unit (ADU) or a small dwelling on a property that contains a larger single-family dwelling for the primary use.” To everyone else they are often called “mother-in-law apartments”, “granny flats”, “garage apartments” or “live overs.” Whatever you may call them, there are almost as many uses for these cozy retreats as there are names.
Other uses could include :
Home office
Art studio
Man cave
Guest house
Vacation rental
Monthly rental
A downsize from your primary home.
more freedom to do what YOU want.
Now to the nuts and bolts of these little gems. Since the city of Bend and other municipalities have embraced the ADU, they seem to be popping up all over town. The average price of construction runs between $100,000 – $150,000, if you want to get it to your liking. At first glance this seems like a lot but when you do the math on the loan payment, it really starts to look like a bargain compared to the cost of rent .
Here at VPM some of our clients have added ADUs to their properties and are quite happy with their return on investment. If this is something gets your motor running, give us a call at 541-322-0183 and see how Vernon Property Management can help you with your ADU needs.