Mom, I'm coming home.

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Why this whole adventure started:
Mom and me in WIlliamsburg around 1964
               After a 30 year (I will call it an) adventure to the North Carolina coast, I decided it was time to go back home to San Diego. My Mother has been on her own for a few years now since the passing of my Father, and my son had already moved back to San Diego years ago. I wanted to be there for them, spend time with them and be closer to the rest of my family. (most of my immediate family lives in So Cal)
              Plenty of events have happened in the year that I have been back home. One of them is I found the perfect man, and married him. We found a place to rent, which is not the easiest with 2 big dogs. (my kids, Zeus and Yin-Yang came back with me from Carolina as well)  Rental prices are not cheap in San Diego County and with me restarting my business here there is a bit of a lull in my income, leaving our income a bit tight. The house we rented is a bit farther from my Mom than she would have liked, but it was where it was affordable and convenient for my husbands work.
               The big thing was that the lease was only for one year. Now, we knew that we would have to make a decision as to what to do when the lease was up. Do we buy, where to we buy, what to we buy, or do we continue to rent somewhere else? Then my Mom suggested that we move into her house and we could pay the rent on a place for her to live. Sweet of her to offer. She has a lifetime of memories and other things. How in the world is she going to downsize all of that into a smaller place? 
              I had an idea. I talked it over with my husband and then presented the idea to my Mom. Why don't we build onto the small storage garage on your property and turn it into a Casita? It has plumbing, and a toilet? We can live there. We can be close to help you and to go on adventures with you.  Mom was completely on board. Now all the work and research begins. What do I need to do? Read up on county codes for building a Casita, Granny Flat or ADU. Find a Architect or blue printer to draw up the plans. Find a contractor. Get a mortgage. Here is a BIG one, what do we want in our home? Ideas! We need ideas. All of this and, can we get it built before our lease is up on our current residence?
What if we can't get it built before our lease is up?

Mom and me Escondido 1985
               So, we press on. We have secured a mortgage (we had a few hiccups, but we got it done). Now we have a mortgage and a lease payment every month. We have a contractor with a good reputation, and we have some one doing the drawings who is also going to secure the permits we need to start the build. Other things we have found out, we have to run the plans past a structural engineer, get a Title 24 clearance (has to do with energy efficiency, I believe), and have to have a fire sprinkling system for inside the house. A few things we found out about the restrictions for our new home: The Casita can not be larger than one half of the size of the main house. That restricts our home to 980 sq ft. It needs to have the same style of roofing and roof pitch as the main house( for better resale value and cohesiveness). The roof height is restricted to 15 ft, if there is without a fireplace. It can be a bit taller if there is a fireplace. This is all fine. We can work within the restrictions.

San Diego County is currently changing its restrictions and codes for ADU builds. I need to get more information.
Well that is the beginning of our adventure more to come....


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