Kim Lisa TaylorSecurities Attorney, Founder, Syndication Attorneys, PLLC · Corporate Securities Attorney, 2x Best-Selling Author, Nationwide Speaker | Private Placement

Why ADU Design Matters for Resale Value

30 Jan 2025 · 1 min

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In this short discussion, the two speakers critique accessory dwelling units (ADUs) that are built without regard for the surrounding neighborhood’s architectural character. Speaker A describes “atrocious” examples—tall, skinny structures with narrow footprints that clash with single‑family home streetscapes, calling the design environment a “wild, wild west.” Speaker B warns owners that such eyesore‑like ADUs can depress future resale value because potential buyers will be deterred by the visual mismatch. The conversation underscores that thoughtful, context‑sensitive design is essential if homeowners want to preserve or enhance the marketability of their property.

Chapters

And some of it, it's atrocious. Some of it is atrocious. These buildings they're just throwing up, um, and it does not comply, it does not conform to the style or taste of the neighborhood. And you're seeing these really funky designs, and, you know, really, you have like maybe a really narrow footprint, uh, building envelope that you can build. And so they go really tall, like these tall skinny buildings in a neighborhood peppered with single-family homes. But yeah, with these ADUs, it seems to be the wild, wild west as far as design is concerned. And we have seen— I've seen some eyesores go up.
And I've also seen some others that Well, and I think the caution there for the people that are, you know, the owners that are putting up these ADUs is you're not going to maximize resale if you've got an eyesore next to something that's just completely different. You know, if you're trying to make it blend, it's, it's probably going to be worth more later on to somebody else who, who, you know, because a lot of people are just going to look at that and say, I'm not buying that. Yeah.