A Brief Overview of Accessory Dwellings and Their Uses

Do you have a detached garage that you don’t even store your vehicles in? Maybe your kids are grown, have moved out and your house seems too big now? It may even be a case where you are looking for a way to make a little extra income. Whatever your individual reason may be, building an accessory dwelling on your property may be a solution to many different circumstances you find yourself in.

In this article will talk about the different types of accessory buildings and some of the most common uses for them.

Accessory Dwelling Types

There are three main ways that accessory buildings are usually created. Here is a brief description of them.

Detached
This is an accessory dwelling that’s completely separate from your home. It may be a structure you build from scratch on your property or something like a garage you convert into an accessory dwelling.

Interior
With this type of accessory dwelling it involves doing something to the interior of your existing home. If your home is too big you may section it in half for yourself and use half for your new accessory dwelling. A finished basement or attic can also be made into an accessory dwelling.

Attached
This is something like an addition you put on your home but it has no entrances that directly connect to the existing home itself (otherwise it would be termed an addition). That way whoever uses it has total privacy just like if they had rented a small apartment or home.

Potential Uses for Your Accessory Building

Here are some of the most common reasons that people decide to go ahead and create their own accessory dwellings on their property.

  • It can be a great source for generating extra rental income.
  • Many use them as a place for elderly parents or in-laws to live where you can keep a close eye on them.
  • They can be used to introduce your older children to being independent without giving them total freedom.
  • You can move into the accessory dwelling yourself thus using your oversized existing home to help you generate even larger rental income.
  • An accessory dwelling can be used as a place to entertain guests without sacrificing much of your own privacy.

There really is no set list of purposes that your accessory dwelling can be used for. It all depends on your own individual needs.

How to Create Your Own Accessory Dwelling On Your Property

So what’s the best way to convert the unused space on your property into an accessory dwelling? We recommend you start by contacting an experienced and reputable local renovations contractor. Contractors such as Evergreen Renovations & Roofing out of Beaverton, Oregon will sit down with you and go over the best way to create an accessory dwelling on your property. They will usually even come to your home for free and take a look at your individual situation too. The ideas these renovations contractors can supply you with will help you create the perfect accessory dwelling for the purpose you intend to use it for.

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