How can I find a house with an in-law suite?

Factual Questions
1

My dad has Alzheimer’s and although he and my mom live alone right now, it looks like the best future solution would be to get a house with an in-law suite. My family could have the main house and my mom & dad could live with us, but still apart. My mom wants her own kitchen but otherwise we are pretty flexible.

I’ve tried searching through the Google but I guess I’m not using the right search terms. I haven’t contacted a realtor yet, as I’m not sure of the timing, but thought if I started looking now I could get an idea of what is available and pricing.

Any ideas? I would think that a lot of families would be interested in a home like that, but maybe not. Our other option would be to build a custom home, but they all seem to be McMansions and we really don’t need a humungous place.

Help!

2

Guest house?

3

Look for basement apartments. They are very popular sources of income. Buy a house and have rental income too.

They are also great free apartments for relatives.

Or, buy a house with a basement that can be renovated into an apartment. There’s a HGTV show called Income Property that does this every week.

4

in-law suite, mother-in-law suite, MIL suite

Here’s a Search on in-law suite In Law Suite for Rent - Search

5

I was just going to say that this is what they are called and advertised as in Seattle Portland and then I saw China Guy’s location— So I don’t know how widespread the terms are. Additionally they seem to be common around the PNW due to the conversion of basement (or underhouse) garages into living space.

6

In AZ, they tend to be called “casita”, guest house or “MIL quarters” is probably a better search.

7

Around here, they’re often called “granny units”.

8

Look for a second kitchen. Better yet, let an agent do the work for you. If someone called me about this kind of dwelling, I could suggest a handful even before doing a computer search. I just showed one like that today, in fact.

9

Two-on-a-lot is what we call them here, or “back house”

10

I’ve heard them called mother-daughter houses.

11

Or, search for a place with a large back yard and add a unit. Here are some interesting links:

http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/01/in-the-backyard-grandmas-new-apartment/

http://www.medcottage.com/index.php

12

Not available in all zoning areas. Check with the local authorities before purchase.

For that matter, check with zoning before purchasing an existing house with a 2nd unit. It might not have been constructed legally and the buyer might have to foot the bill to remove it.