The first step in planning your ADU is analyzing your property to understand your available options and clarify your goals. You can do this research yourself with help from your local government and building officials, as well as discussing with a trusted local contractor. At blueADU, we offer a free ADU property analysis to make this process even more simple and save you time.
Our free analysis includes all of the important information you will need to 1) determine your available legal ADU options 2) decide if it is the right choice for you and your family. This includes:
- Checking local and state ADU laws and zoning regulations.
- Discussing and prioritizing your housing and financial goals, which will factor into selecting the ADU type, design, construction budget and timeline.
- Studying which types of legal ADUs are possible for your property.
- Determining the dimensional requirements applicable to your lot and possible ADU types.
- Establishing a rough design and construction budget.
- Reviewing available funding options and any local municipal or non-profit grants or incentives.
Once you request your free blueADU Property Analysis, it typically takes 2-3 days to receive the final report. Along with the report, you will also receive a proposal for our services, if an ADU can be designed for your property.
If you decide to move forward, your project is scheduled with our team. Depending on our workload, we schedule new ADU project starts for anywhere from 1-4 weeks out. Once we start your project, you can expect the design process to be complete in about 4 weeks on average. You can keep your design process smooth by making timely decisions and being responsive for feedback and design approval requests.
Factors that can extend our design time include any approvals required by the local zoning officials or historic commission. In MA, RI and much of CT, building an ADU is not required to go through zoning. New laws have made ADU approval an administrative process. However, there may be certain scenarios where zoning approval may be required or where approval is required by a historic commission for the exterior appearance of an ADU.
