Why and How to Downsize on your Own Land
Modern-day medicine and technology have made aging-in-place possible for elders, causing a decline in the multi-generational living field for the past 50 years. Both of these situations have added a great amount of stress to the housing market, which has not reacted quickly enough to the shifting needs of American households. Regardless of this, the main point is that both seniors and empty nesters are looking for opportunities to downsize, but they can be conflicted about it.
Downsizing is frequently the most viable choice for aging seniors, but it can also be a hard one because normally they don’t want to leave behind the family home. In most cases, there is an inherent conflict between practicality and sentimentality, especially as you start to slow down and realize that getting around the big old house is becoming more of a hassle than it’s worth. Fortunately, you no longer have to choose between selling the house to downsize or staying and trying to take care of it on your own.
Why ADUs are the Perfect Choice
There is a wide range of alternatives for your situation like living in the master suite and renting out spare bedrooms; running the place like a bed and breakfast through Airbnb; or even better, you can even effectively downsize into a senior-friendly tiny home located in your backyard, rent out the house, and be close enough to keep an eye on the old family home. How, do you ask? By building an ADU!
With an ADU you don’t have to actually go anywhere to downsize or give up some of your privacy to rent out part of your home. By building a tiny Granny Flat you can obtain the full profits from renting the main house and still live comfortably on your own property. ADUs are generally between 400 Sq. Ft. and 800 Sq. Ft. and can be built either separately from or connected to the main house. What’s so special about them is that you can build one almost anywhere because they are so small but include enough room for one or two people to live comfortably.
ADUs Commodities
Most ADUs feature one or two bedrooms, a full kitchen and dining area, a bathroom, and sometimes a laundry area. They often feature wide porches to help create more living space and are very comfortable in a spacious backyard. With the combination of a small clean space, custom ramps and handrails, and helpful smart-home integration, you can be able to enjoy your retirement quite blissfully. In other words, they are the perfect retirement apartment because you can build one right next to the home you don’t want to leave behind.
ADUs are great for a lot of different population groups but for seniors, they are the perfect put-it-anywhere retirement flat. Small and incredibly compact, the ADU will be easy to keep clean even with limited daily energy and you will never have to go up and downstairs to reach a room in the house. Even better, they can be easily designed for perfect accessibility with all the privacy and comfort of an apartment in a retirement community. For more information about ADU architecture in Los Angeles, contact us at (310) 974-3174 or schedule a free consultation.
