I purchased my home in Las Vegas in 2021 for 450K. I don’t love it, but it’s functional for my family. It’s a basic newer-ish 3bd/2.5 ba ~1800 sq ft two story home. My rate is good at 2.99%, so I’m kind of stuck. I wish I bought a 4 bedroom house, but it’s too late now. I did spend a little money upgrading the kitchen and landscaping it when I moved so I do like it. The location is super convenient for my work and my mother’s job, and it’s just a good location in general.
My mom is selling her house in neighboring state and moving here to help with my teenage kids and will be working for at least a few more years. She hates renting, especially apartments/shared walls (she had a terrible condo experience in the past). She could rent a small home for around $2,000+ a month, but she does have a dog so that makes it a little tricky. If she rented my kids would have to stay over there or vice versa as I will be traveling for work. So that would be a slight hassle.
My house is too small for her to live in it as I have two kids and there’s no spare room for her. My mother also has some health issues and having a bedroom and bath on the main floor is what she needs. There’s no space in my house for that on the main level. I could convert my upstairs loft to a bedroom, but it would involve relocating the laundry room and IDK if it makes sense. Plus it would still be upstairs and would have to share the hall bathroom with my two teens, so not ideal.
I have just enough room in my backyard to put in a small casita/ADU. It would be a basic 1 bd/1ba with a kitchenette and a w/d. There is a local company that builds them quickly, handles everything and they have good reviews. Looks like it would be around 125K. ADUs are permitted in my neighborhood, but I would need HOA approval.
I like this idea because it keeps my mom close, but still gives everyone space and privacy. Everything would be on the main level for my mom. It would take up most of my backyard space, buts it’s under utilized anyway and with a cute little casita it would look like a nice courtyard. When I’m away for work my kids wouldn’t have to go anywhere and she wouldn’t have to go anywhere so it would simply that.
If she stayed 4-5 years (she does contemplate moving back east once my kids graduate) it would be at the break even point in terms of what she would have spent on rent. There’s also the added benefit of being on my property in the event she needs more assistance down the line. Plus it avoids the issues for her that she foresees with renting.
There are 4 bedroom homes around 500-600K that would work for us if I were to sell my home, but I would just break even if my house managed to sell. Homes are just sitting in my neighborhood at the moment so I don’t even know if I can sell. I also don’t want a higher mortgage payment and if she decides to move after 4-5 years I’d have a hard time managing the payment. I’m also not committed to living here past 4-5 years myself, though I have no plans to relocate. It
seems that my current housing expense is about as good as it’s going be as anywhere given my rate, and I don’t have to downsize or move to a less desirable area. So I may just stay here long-term.
Down the road if my mom moved out I could potentially rent the unit to a coworker or friend. I would not want to rent out part of my main house, but I’d be okay renting out the ADU. I’m not sure how much the unit would add in terms of resale value if I were to sell. Casitas are not uncommon in Vegas, but I’m not sure if there are any in my specific neighborhood as about 3/4 of the homes in the neighborhood don’t have large enough lots. Mine is just big enough.
I’m just wondering if this make sense financially and if there are any considerations I’ve missed?
TL;DR: Does it make sense to build a 125K casita for my mom? I’m stuck in my house due to my 2.99 rate and I don’t want a higher mortgage payment. She has the cash to fund it and I have some as well to contribute potentially.
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1vfhzdk/golden_handcuff_situation_does_it_make_sense_to/
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