SELL · A PRACTICAL GUIDE
Show buyers the ADU—and the information behind it.
Extra living space can raise useful possibilities and important questions. Let's prepare both the property and its records before it goes on the market.
Start a property file before the photo shoot.
Gather the plans, permit records, inspection documents and improvement receipts you have. Note anything you can't locate. We can help identify the agency or professional to contact rather than guess what an older document means.
Keep the main home and the additional space clearly identified in your notes. Buyers may ask about access, parking, utilities and how each area is used. Accurate information helps us explain the property without making a separate structure sound like something its records don't support.
Describe what exists, not every possible use.
A future buyer might see space for family, a home office or a rental. Their intended use still needs its own review. We should distinguish the current documented use from an idea about what could happen after a purchase.
If the space has rental history, organize the actual records you are permitted to share and identify any assumptions separately. Don't turn a hoped-for rent into established income. A lender or buyer may evaluate that information differently, and your listing should leave room for those checks.
Make the relationship between the spaces easy to see.
Photography and video can show how the main home and ADU relate: entrances, outdoor areas and the route between them. We can plan the shoot so buyers understand the arrangement instead of guessing from disconnected interior photos.
Before filming, talk through occupied spaces, access and privacy. Remove personal paperwork and anything that shouldn't be visible. If an area can't be shown, let's address that in the marketing plan rather than imply that every image represents a space buyers will be able to inspect immediately.
Value the whole property carefully.
A home with an ADU may not have a perfect comparable sale nearby. We'll explain which comparisons are useful and where important differences remain. Adding the construction cost to a previous home estimate does not establish a market value.
For general ADU background, California's HCD handbook is a starting resource; the local agency is the place to check property-specific records. Bring us your address, available documents and sale timing. We can help connect the valuation, presentation and buyer questions into one sale plan.
A useful next step.
What Is My Central Coast Home Worth? Comparable Sales →
Preparing for listing photos and video →
ADU Property Feasibility: Central Coast Planning Questions →
Published October 18, 2026. Local resources can change; check current requirements for your property with the relevant agency or professional.