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On May 23 the Santa Cruz County Planning Department approved a new planning guide for homeowners that encourages the building of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) as part of an effort to address the housing shortage and affordability crisis throughout the county. Gordon Rudy, real estate agent at Schwarzbach Associates in Boulder Creek, California, said this is a step in the right direction and a win-win for both homeowners and renters.
More information can be found at the Rudy Realtor’s website at https://rudyrealtors.com/.
As housing prices in Santa Cruz County rise due to its increasing population, partly due to its increasing popularity among Silicon Valley’s well-to-do, the availability of affordable housing is decreasing. To address the lack of affordable housing, the county has recently issued new guidelines that relax certain building code restrictions, making the building of ADUs more attractive to the county’s homeowners.
Gordon Rudy is pleased with the new, relaxed guidelines, saying that there are several advantages to owning a property that has a “granny unit” or “in-law unit,” as they’re sometimes called. In-law units assist more people to own real estate because of the mortgage relief one can get from the rental income. It also allows people to own a better piece of property. That’s because homeowners can qualify for a larger loan from the bank when they can show a potential rental income from the property.
Furthermore, ADUs allow homeowners greater flexibility during transitions in later life. For example, homeowners who become empty-nesters can down-size into the in-law unit and receive a substantial income from renting out the main house. This allows people to be able to retire earlier and to travel, if they so desire.
Gordon Rudy, who has had positive personal experience with ADUs, said, “I was able to purchase a house when I was in my early twenties because my mother had arranged to sell me an investment that had a small apartment unit on the property. This enabled me to be able to afford the mortgage. The loosening of ADU guidelines is the greatest thing for the county and is another strategy that will allow people to not live as slaves to their real estate.” His mother, Joyce Rudy, has been in the real estate business since 1968, when Gordon was seven years old. Today, they make up the Rudy Realtors team.
An ADU is a smaller, secondary dwelling unit on the same lot or within a house or attached house. ADUs may be up to 1200 square feet depending on the size of the property and where it’s located. They may be built as a freestanding unit, over a garage, or as an addition to the main house. They may be created by converting all or part of an existing structure, or by building a new living space.
For more information on ADUs, visit the Rudy Realtors website at https://rudyrealtors.com/ where a blog post on the pros and cons of ADUs can be found, including a link to the County’s Accessory Unit Development Guide.
About Rudy Realtors:
Rudy Realtors are a mother and son team of real estate agents based in Santa Cruz and Boulder Creek, California. Joyce Rudy started in real estate in 1968, with seven-year-old Gordon in tow. Today, they still work together out of the Schwarzbach Associates office, which has been in the real estate business since 1955.
Release ID: 373733