How to find houses with granny flat?

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Submitted by Ren on September 15, 2007 - 11:49am

I'm not sure if this is the right forum to ask this, but my wife and I are looking into buying a house with a granny flat for the inlaws in about 2 years. Without involving a realtor just yet, is there a way to search for this specific feature? I didn't see that option on realtor.com. So far I've just been looking at endless listings, which is much too time consuming.

If searching the MLS isn't possible, does anyone know of a manufacturer or neighborhood in Oceanside or Carlsbad whos floor plans commonly include a separate apartment with its own entrance (not a duplex)? I know these are typically higher-end homes.

Thanks in advance!

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They are usually referred to
Submitted by sogon on September 15, 2007 - 1:30pm.

They are usually referred to as an MIL (Mother in Law), or sometimes as a non-permit duplex.

Most places that have granny
Submitted by SD Realtor on September 15, 2007 - 2:07pm.

Most places that have granny flats will say so. Thus if you are looking in Zip or Realtor.com just check the details and it should say. On the MLS realtors will always put in the comments if there is a granny flat. There is not really a granny flat field. There is an optional field for an extra room, but generally realtors will enter granny flat or detached studio in the comments section. It does make the search somewhat manual. When a listing is imported from realtor.com from an MLS service since there is no seperate granny flat field in the MLS, there is no granny flat field in realtor.com either.

SD Realtor

Ren, check out Rancho
Submitted by CarlsbadMtnBiker on September 16, 2007 - 1:33am.

Ren, check out Rancho Carrillo in Carlsbad .. 92009.

A couple of different floor plans with exactly what you are looking for. $700K+

Surprised you are not getting hammered on this site for being a potential buyer. Sure to come shortly ...

"getting hammered", its
Submitted by sogon on September 16, 2007 - 2:55am.

"getting hammered", its interesting that buying a depreciating asset such as a house is considered by many a horrible idea. But how many of the people on this site buy a new car?? probably all of us. Even a used car depreciates in value, only a speculator would really care about the value of the house he/she intends to reside in, if its for the long term, who cares.

Have you thought about
Submitted by mmwmd on September 16, 2007 - 8:24am.

Have you thought about building a granny flat? Lowe's and other builders have have been marketing a pre-fab house called the Katrina House, named for the post-Katrina survivor's housing needs. They are small houses starting I think at about 1500 square feet, everything included (bath/kitchen/living and sleeping rooms or areas). They send you all the materials, you obtain a contracter that builds and permits it, then you're done.

It's probably less risky doing this on your own property than venturing out into this collapsing market.

mmwmd

Ren, carlsbad has numerous
Submitted by sdrealtor on September 16, 2007 - 9:36am.

Ren,
carlsbad has numerous communities with Granny Flats. As CMB mentioned, Rancho Carillo is one good example. The granny flats were built in relatively large numbers to help the city comply with moderate housing unit requirements. Find yourself a good local realtor and they should be able to point you in lots of good directions.

sdr

Thanks to everyone for the
Submitted by Ren on September 16, 2007 - 10:01am.

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I'll look into Rancho Carrillo.

I'm not actually a potential buyer yet. In fact, I was the one who talked my wife out of buying now (not easy with someone in a nesting mode). I'm looking at the fall of 2009 at the earliest. This being a huge decision, I just want to get started now and make sure we know what's available. I don't want any regrets after this purchase.

I'm looking at houses in the 800k-1m range, hoping they will be at a more manageable 500-700k in a few years.

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