For those of you that do not know much about A soft-story building I will share with you what I have learned. A soft-story building is a structure in which has a weaker first floor and is no longer able  carry all of the weight of the rest of the stories above it when an earthquake happens.

Retrofit is an improvement that is made to a structure to make it much stronger. The cost of these improvements can be very expensive. The average cost for a single building can range at an estimated cost between $10,000 – $80, 000. where an apartment building can run you an estimated cost of $80,000 to $350,000. Although these prices are high these are just estimates they have different ways to fix this I am sure depending on the condition of the building. One of the ways that this can be fixed is so that it does not collapse or some use the word pancake, might involve them adding some steel moment frames, shear walls, diagonal bracing, or even fusing.

Most of the soft-story building were built before the 1980’s and the used skinny poles to build things. These poles are very weak especially now because so much time has passes that in an earthquake they will snap and crush the first floor.

Have you ever heard some talk about an ADU well if you are like me I have not until this point. This is very interesting to learn about. What is an ADU well it is an abbreviation for Accessory dwelling unit. They have other names that they are associated with such as being called granny flats, in-law units, backyard cottages. These accessory dwelling units are basically a way to have a second unit that is more affordable and is a very effective way to add much needed housing.

While the cost can be lower depending on what you are looking to add it can be a positive income for you. The ADU will generate extra income which in turn end up paying for its self. With doing some research I have learned that there is two types of ADU’s. The first is a regular on that on average is 1200 sq feet and they have a junior ADU which averages about 500 sq feet. The most come reason choose to do an ADU is to keep family closer such as their elder parents. Its hard for your parents to completely give up their independence, but with having an ADU on your property they can have their own space still. You will still be able to help them when needed you assistance.

When you are planning to build an ADU their is a lot of planning that has to be done. You need to make sure that you get the proper permits and stay within the zoning regulations before you even begin. You will also always want to keep the neighbors in your mind. If you build something that maybe considered an eye sore the neighbors may give you a hard time. The reason they may do this is because they may think that it will drive down the price of their property.