Become a Tiny Home and ADU Development Consultant

It is a niche segment of real estate, but new ADU-friendly laws in many states created homeowner demand with almost no guides to hire.

1. 1

   Master your city's ADU rules

   Read the local zoning code and your state's ADU laws until you can answer setbacks, size limits, parking rules, and owner-occupancy questions from memory. This knowledge is the entire product.

2. 2

   Walk the permit path yourself

   Sit in on a pre-application meeting, talk to the planning counter, and map every step and fee from application to certificate of occupancy. You are selling a map; go draw it.

3. 3

   Build your vendor bench

   Line up two or three ADU-experienced designers, a structural engineer, reliable general contractors, and a prefab supplier. Your referrals are half your value to a homeowner.

4. 4

   Package flat fees

   Offer a feasibility report at $500 to $1,500 (can this lot support an ADU, at what rough cost) and a full permits-through-contractor-selection package at $3,000 to $8,000.

5. 5

   Run one pilot project

   Guide a first homeowner at a reduced fee and document everything: timeline, surprises, final numbers. That case study makes every future sales conversation concrete.

6. 6

   Market where homeowners ask

   Nextdoor threads, realtor referrals, and a free 'Can your lot fit an ADU?' workshop co-hosted with a local lender. Homeowners are searching; almost no one local is answering.

Read the full step-by-step guide →