I'm a real estate agent building a $480,000 backyard home for my mom. I still made these costly mistakes.
A real estate agent shares lessons learned from building a backyard accessory dwelling unit (ADU) for her mother. The project faced significant delays and budget overruns due to poor contractor management and unexpected construction challenges.
Why it matters
ADUs are becoming a popular solution for multi-generational housing, but the process remains complex and financially risky for homeowners.
Shalini Karnani Bonjour in her California backyard. Courtesy of Shalini Karnani Bonjour Shalini Bonjour is building a 1,100-square-foot ADU in her backyard so her mother can age in place. The project is taking longer than she expected and is going over budget. Bonjour shared the five biggest lessons she's learned during the process with Business Insider. After her father died in 2024, real estate agent Shalini Karnani Bonjour moved her mother from Michigan to California to be closer to her and her family. "My husband and I didn't feel comfortable having her so far away, especially when it came to her day-to-day needs," Bonjour, 50, told Business Insider. Later that year, the family bought a home with a backyard large enough to build an accessory dwelling unit for her mother. In 2025, they broke ground on a 1,100-square-foot ADU.
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