Wouldn’t it be nice if your home paid for itself? Every month, you throw a substantial sum of money towards your rent or mortgage payment, but what if you could live mortgage-free? With ADU investments, it’s more than possible. Michael Russell used an ADU (accessory dwelling unit) to make an extra $1,400/month off of his pricey California home. Combined with a bit of house hacking, Michael was getting PAID to live in one of the nation’s most expensive states. And he did it all on an average salary!

So, how do YOU use ADUs to lower your cost of living and turn your home into a cash-flowing investment? Today, Michael walks us through exactly how he did it, how much it cost, how long it took, and how much money he ended up making.

With high interest rates, will the ADU investing strategy still work in today’s market? How hard is it to build an ADU? And what’s the one mistake Michael wishes he hadn’t made before he built his ADU? We’re answering all these questions in this episode and showing you how to slash your mortgage payment, even if you live in a costly housing market!

In This Episode We Cover

ADU investing explained and how much it costs to build an accessory dwelling unit

Why more local and state governments WANT homeowners to build ADUs

How to get paid to live (even in a high-cost-of-living area) with ADUs and house hacking

The one mistake that cost Michael months of time (and rent) that you can’t afford to repeat

Finding homes with ADU potential and the investor-friendly agent you NEED to spot these opportunities

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group

Network with Other Investors on The Path to FIRE Through the BiggerPockets Forums

Finance Review Guest Onboarding

Join BiggerPockets for FREE

Mindy on BiggerPockets

Scott on BiggePockets

Listen to All Your Favorite BiggerPockets Podcasts in One Place

Apply to Be a Guest on The Money Show

Podcast Talent Search!

Find an Investor-Friendly Agent in Your Area

Find Investor-Friendly Lenders

Property Manager Finder

Work with Michael

BiggerPockets Real Estate 356 - 30+ Rentals (in a Pricy Market) Through BRRRR and Section 8 with Joe Asamoah

BiggerPockets Real Estate 575 - Killer Cash Flow with This “Tenant-First” Section 8 Rental Strategy w/Joe Asamoah

BiggerPockets Money 37 - Paying Off Student Loan Debt with a Median Income and Two Kids in Northern California with Kyle Renke

00:00 Intro

01:19 Money Snapshot

04:17 Home Run House Hack 

06:01 Smart Money Moves Early On

10:47 Surviving on $36K/Year 

12:40 Building the ADU

22:12 How Long Did it Take?

24:55 ADU Investing with High Rates 

33:37 Starting ADU Side Hustles

37:40 The Right Type of Agent 

45:58 Connect with Michael! 

46:59 The Housing Solution?

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-550

Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices