Questions from
the field.

An ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit) is a fully independent second home on your lot — its own kitchen, bath, and entrance, up to 1,200 sqft. A JADU (Junior ADU) is carved out of the existing house, capped at 500 sqft, and can share a bathroom with the main home. JADUs are faster to permit and cheaper, but you have to owner-occupy one of the units.

Almost certainly yes. California state law (Gov. Code §65852.2) requires every single-family and most multi-family lots to allow at least one ADU. The City of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Pasadena, Burbank, Glendale, and Santa Monica each have local ordinances on top of state law — most allow up to two ADUs (one ADU + one JADU) on single-family lots. The real questions are size, height, and setbacks, not whether you're allowed.

AB 68 (2020) and AB 2221 (2023) are the ADU laws — they cap permit timelines at 60 days, ban most parking requirements within ½ mile of transit, and force ministerial approval. SB 9 is different: it's the lot-split law that lets you put up to four units on a single-family lot. We'll tell you which path makes sense after the site walk.

Usually no. State law forbids cities from requiring replacement parking for ADUs within ½ mile of public transit, in historic districts, or when the ADU is part of an existing structure. Most parcels inside the City of LA, Santa Monica, Long Beach, Pasadena, and Glendale qualify because of Metro rail and Rapid bus lines. If you're in the hillside zones above Mulholland or out in eastern Riverside / San Bernardino, it's worth checking.

State law allows 16 ft for detached ADUs (18 ft if within ½ mile of transit, or 25 ft for two stories on multi-family lots). Side and rear setbacks are capped at 4 ft. Cities can be more permissive but not more restrictive. The City of LA allows up to 25 ft in many R1 zones; Pasadena and Santa Monica typically cap at 16–18 ft for detached ADUs.

Short answer: usually no. The City of LA's Home-Sharing Ordinance prohibits short-term rental of any ADU permitted after 2017. Santa Monica, Pasadena, and most LA County jurisdictions have similar 30-day minimums for ADUs. Long-term rental (30+ days) is fine everywhere and is what most owners do.

Realistic 2026 numbers: garage conversions start around $165k turnkey for ~400 sqft. Detached new-build ADUs run $375–$650/sqft, so a 700 sqft unit is typically $280–$455k all-in including permits, utilities, and finishes. Hillside lots in the Santa Monica Mountains or Hollywood Hills, deep foundations, or LADWP service upgrades add cost. Anyone quoting under $250/sqft for new construction is leaving something out.

State law caps it at 60 days from a complete submittal — but "complete" is the catch. Our actual averages over the last two years: City of LA (LADBS) ~9 weeks, Long Beach ~6 weeks, Pasadena ~10 weeks (design review adds time), Santa Monica ~8 weeks, unincorporated LA County (DPW) ~8 weeks. We've never had a ministerial ADU rejected.

Garage conversion almost always wins on price ($165–$260k typical) because the foundation and shell already exist. But you give up a garage, you inherit whatever the previous structure got wrong, and resale value per square foot is lower. Detached costs more but appraises higher and gives you a clean, well-insulated, modern building.

Three common paths: (1) HELOC against the main house — fastest, but rate-sensitive; (2) construction-to-perm loan through a local bank or credit union — best for ground-up; (3) ADU-specific products from lenders like Renofi or Aven that underwrite based on after-completion value. We can introduce you to two or three lenders we've worked with across LA.

Anything that touches structure (walls, beams, foundations), plumbing, electrical, gas, or the building envelope (windows, roofing, siding) needs a permit. Cosmetic work — paint, flooring, cabinets in the same footprint — usually doesn't. If you're not sure, we are. We pull permits for the gray-area stuff because unpermitted work haunts you at resale.

For a standard pull-and-replace (same footprint, new cabinets, counters, appliances): 4–6 weeks of no kitchen, usually 8–10 weeks total. If we're moving plumbing or taking down a wall, plan on 10–14 weeks. We set up a temp kitchen with the fridge, microwave, and a sink wherever it makes sense.

Any time we remove or modify a load-bearing wall, add a story, change the foundation, or expand the footprint. Also for seismic retrofits and most additions over 200 sqft. We have two LA-based engineers we work with regularly — they typically turn calcs in 2–3 weeks.

Carefully. We've done dozens of remodels on 1920s Spanish revivals in Hancock Park, Craftsman bungalows in Pasadena's Bungalow Heaven, and post-war mid-century ranches across the Valley and Long Beach. The rules are: keep the period trim if at all possible, match plaster and stucco profiles, replicate window proportions exactly. Anything in an HPOZ (Historic Preservation Overlay Zone) adds 6–10 weeks to the permit. We have a preservation architect on call when needed.

Anything pre-1978 is presumed to have lead paint. Anything pre-1980 may have asbestos in popcorn ceilings, vinyl flooring, pipe wrap, or duct mastic. We test before we demo, use SCAQMD-certified abatement subs when needed, and pass through the cost transparently. It's not optional and we won't dodge it.

Send us a note through the contact page with the address and a sentence about what you're thinking. We'll respond within two business days to schedule a free 90-minute site walk. After that, you get a one-page feasibility note within a week — no obligation, no follow-up sales calls.

The site walk and feasibility note are free. A real, line-item estimate requires schematic drawings (usually $4–8k of design work) because anything else is fiction. We're transparent about that upfront.

We do. That's part of our scope on every project. You'll never sit in a planning department line at LADBS, Long Beach Development Services, or any LA County office. We handle plan-check corrections, structural sign-offs, Title 24 energy compliance, and final inspections.

CA License #1094832, fully bonded, $2M general liability, $1M auto, full workers' comp on a W-2 crew. Every project carries a 12-month workmanship warranty plus our 10-year structural and waterproofing warranty. We answer the phone in year three.

If your house was built before 1978 and sits on a raised foundation with a cripple wall, the answer is almost always yes. The City of LA's Soft-Story Retrofit Program already mandates retrofits for many wood-frame multifamily buildings with tuck-under parking. A typical single-family bolt-and-brace retrofit is $5–15k and pays back the moment the next quake hits. We bundle it into remodels at cost.

Yes, and we have. Anything inside an LA Hillside Ordinance (BHO) area requires a soils engineer, often deeper foundations (drilled piers or grade beams), Hillside Construction Regulations export-haul plans, and adds 15–30% to the cost. The view is usually worth it. We'll tell you honestly after the site walk if a lot isn't worth building on.

HPOZs (Hancock Park, Windsor Square, Bungalow Heaven in Pasadena, etc.) add 6–12 weeks to permit and may restrict materials, window types, or roof profiles. HOAs vary wildly, especially in planned communities like Westlake Village or Coto de Caza. We've worked through both — send us your HOA's CC&Rs and we'll read them before the site walk.

Utility service upgrades and new ADU meter sets are the most common timeline killer in Greater LA — we plan for 10–18 weeks from application for LADWP, 8–14 weeks for SoCal Edison and SoCalGas. We start the utility paperwork the same day we submit for permits to keep them on parallel tracks.

Six steps, in order: (1) pre-application research with LA Planning (ZIMAS lookup) to confirm zoning, hillside / HPOZ / Coastal flags, and any neighborhood notification requirements; (2) schematic + structural drawings stamped by a CA-licensed engineer; (3) Title 24 energy compliance calcs; (4) electronic submittal through LADBS ePlan; (5) plan-check corrections (typically 2–3 rounds); (6) permit issuance and fee payment. We handle every step so you never sit in a planner's queue.

State law caps ministerial ADU review at 60 days from a complete submittal. Our actual City of LA average over the past 24 months is 8–11 weeks, plus 2–4 weeks of pre-submittal prep. Whole-home remodels with structural changes run 14–22 weeks. The main delays are plan-check rounds (usually 2) and LADBS structural reviewer queue.

Most ADUs and interior remodels are ministerial — LADBS only, no Planning hearing. You hit Planning when you exceed allowable height, expand the building footprint beyond zoning, touch an HPOZ contributor, build inside the Coastal Zone (Venice west of Lincoln, Marina Peninsula, Pacific Palisades), or need a Site Plan Review. Pasadena, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica also have separate design review boards. A discretionary hearing adds 4–8 months. We design to avoid it whenever possible.

City of LA requires notification within 100–500 ft for most discretionary cases (variances, CUPs, ZADs). Ministerial ADUs and standard remodels don't trigger noticing. HPOZ projects post a sign on-site for 30 days. The trick is talking to the neighbors before any notice goes out — we coach owners through that conversation.

After issuance, expect 6–10 inspections depending on scope: foundation, framing, rough plumbing, rough electrical, mechanical, insulation, drywall nail, and final. LADBS typically schedules within 48–72 hours. Each one needs to pass before the next phase can be covered up. We coordinate them all and are on-site for every inspection.

Plan-check, building permit, school fees, LADWP water/power connection, and LAFD review usually run $13k–$26k for a typical 600–800 sqft ADU. Add ~$3–6k if LADWP needs a new meter set or service upgrade. We itemize all city and utility fees on the proposal — they're a pass-through, never marked up.

Core service area: City of Los Angeles (Westside, Hollywood, Mid-City, Eastside, Valley), Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Culver City, Pasadena, South Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank, Long Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, El Segundo, and most of Orange County north of Irvine. We also take projects in Ventura County (Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Camarillo) when scheduling allows.

Selectively. Riverside, San Bernardino, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, and Corona are at the edge of our drive radius. We'll consider projects of $400k+ where the schedule supports a single dedicated crew. For smaller scopes out there, we'll point you to two or three IE shops we trust.

Yes — we regularly work in Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Irvine, and Tustin. South of Irvine (Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, San Clemente) is case-by-case based on scope. The drive matters more than the mileage on weekday mornings.

Yes, all of those plus Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Woodland Hills, and Calabasas are well within our service area. The Valley is one of our busiest submarkets — lots of post-war ranches that are perfect candidates for whole-home remodels and detached ADUs.

Drive time eats project quality. Our crew leads run 8-hour days on-site; if 2 of those are in the truck, the project suffers and you pay for it. We'd rather refer a Bakersfield, Palm Springs, or San Diego project to a local builder we respect than stretch ourselves thin.

Our framing, finish carpentry, project management, and supervision are all W-2 employees of Alpha Dream. Trades like electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and tile are licensed subcontractors we've worked with for 5+ years on average. The same people who start your project finish it.