Anika and Mike | Building community in your own backyard in Hayward
Cost: $165,000 | Size: 280 square feet | Type: Detached Studio
My husband Mike and I first moved to Hayward in 2015 to start our family. The city was affordable and we really valued its diversity and sense of community. We soon realized that our new backyard would be a great fit for an ADU.
Along came the pandemic which kept us at home together, trying to manage our full time jobs and the needs of our small children. Mike is a huge LEGO® fan and began collecting rare sets and connecting with other local fans. It became one of our family’s coping mechanisms. With interest bubbling over, we initially wanted to build a specialty toy store in our backyard called “Brick by Brick Toys”, but ended up finding an affordable retail space nearby and the business has grown a lot thanks to an outpouring of community support.
We instead decided to build a 280 square foot studio to rent out that we could use in the future for aging parents or other family members. At first we had some difficulties with the permitting process because of Covid-related delays. Talking to staff in person at the permit counter was extremely helpful to move the project forward.
ADUs projects are complicated! We highly recommend hiring a contractor that has experience with ADUs and talking to clients who have worked with the contractor in the past. We ended up selecting the contractor who was the most affordable and could start the soonest, which was not the best idea. Building an ADU requires a competent and experienced team since it is not your average renovation project.
After 8.5 months of construction, we love our custom-built ADU. We found a great tenant who we share coffees, chats, meals within the yard and our dogs have even become friends. It’s comforting that there is an extra set of eyes on the property and it feels good to rent to someone starting their career. It’s like building community in your own backyard.
