Say hello to the
Two Households, One Property:
A Planning Guide for Multigenerational Compounds, ADUs & In-Law Suites
Site planning, utilities, budgets, legal agreements, and the conversations nobody tells you to have.
Let’s get real for a second
I've lived in three multigenerational homes over 16 years. Built compounds for clients. Navigated divorce, aging parents, shared kitchens, and conversations nobody wanted to have. What I know for certain: the families who get this right aren't the ones who love each other the most. They're the ones who planned the most. This is the plan.
A 30-minute call with a contractor won't cover the legal agreements. An estate attorney won't cover the site planning. And neither of them will cover the relationship conversations that determine whether this actually works. For $47, this guide covers all of it.
Good?
Whether you're building a compound or merging households, winging it is the most expensive plan of all.
What's Inside:
Section 1: Compound or attached in-law? A six-question decision framework that cuts through the noise and tells you which option actually fits your family.
Section 2: Zoning, permits & feasibility Every permit you'll need, the timeline reality nobody warns you about, and why your town hall matters more than Google.
Section 3: Site planning Where everything goes on the property — and why getting it wrong affects privacy, cost, and daily life for decades.
Section 4: Utility infrastructure Septic, well, electrical, propane, the expensive decisions explained with real numbers before you finalize anything.
Section 5: Budget planning What a compound actually costs, where to splurge, where to save, and why 15% contingency isn't optional.
Section 6: Aging-in-place design What to build in now for almost nothing and what it costs to retrofit later when you wish you had.
Section 7: Estate planning & financial agreements The ADU is deeded to your property and here's what that means legally, financially, and in worst-case scenarios.
Section 8: The relationship Who decides what, how much togetherness is realistic, and the money conversations to have before anyone writes a check.
Section 9: Adding an ADU to an existing property What's different, what's harder, and what to assess before you design a single thing.
Section 10: Case study A real Massachusetts compound and real decisions, real numbers, real lessons.