Checking what the rules allow in your town.
Your property
Checking what the rules allow in your town. This takes a few seconds.
Backyard homes · New Jersey
See what you can build in your backyard.
From just your address: your approval odds, your all-in cost, and a photoreal render of your home, free. We design, permit, and build it, and help you arrange the financing that the rent helps carry, then hand you the software to rent it out. You own it.
Real approval oddsFinanced, rent helps carry itA render of your homeYou own it
Enter your address to see if it fits, the odds, and what it earns
Featured · The 400A rendering of our design, fitted to a real lot.about20,000
Jersey City lots that fit a backyard home
By right
many JC lots, no board hearing
You own it
we build it, you keep the equity
The models
Then pick the home that fits.
A short line of proven designs. Because we build the same homes again and again, they get approved faster and cost less than a one-off. Each one is fitted to your lot, then made yours: trim, color, and layout. The images are photoreal renderings of the real thing, not stock photos.
The 300The 300
A light-filled studio that fits almost any backyard.
1 bed · 1 bath · up to 536 sf
Explore The 300
The 400The 400
A true one-bedroom home, our 194 Duncan flagship.
1 bed · 1 bath · up to 720 sf
Explore The 400
The 500The 500
Two bedrooms, room for a family or a full-time rental.
2 bed · 1.5 bath · up to 928 sf
Explore The 500
The 600The 600
Our largest home: a full three-bedroom.
3 bed · 2 bath · up to 1120 sf
Explore The 600
The honest math
What it actually costs.
This matters because "free ADU" pitches are not real. Here is the truth: reading your lot is free, the build is financed with a low-cost, government-backed ADU loan, and the rent helps carry the payments. You pay $199 to start, credited back to you. That is the whole picture.
Start: $199
Step 1
Start your project
A $199 deposit, credited toward your project, opens a saved project for your home, a specialist review of your lot, and your site-plan sheet.
Financed
Step 2
A low-cost ADU loan
We show you which lenders actually funded this kind of work in your county, from the public federal lending record. We are paid nothing by any of them.
Rent carries it
Step 3
The rent helps pay it back
Once a tenant moves in, the rent helps carry the loan. The home, and the income, are yours.
Reading your lot is free. When you are ready, a $199 deposit starts your project and is fully credited toward your permitting package. The build is financed, and the rent helps carry it. No hidden costs, and we show you the full numbers before you commit.
End to end
Your project. We handle the hard parts.
Most backyard homes die in the paperwork: the design, the zoning board, the permits. That is exactly the part we do, start to finish, so your project actually gets built. You approve the plan and the numbers. We carry the rest.
STEP 1
Qualify + design
We check your lot, size the ADU, confirm it's allowed, and lock the numbers.
STEP 2
Permit prep
We assemble the full permit package, drawings, forms, and the code paperwork.
STEP 3
Zoning board review
If your lot needs it, we take it through the zoning board and get the approval.
STEP 4
Construction permits
We pull the UCC building permit plus the electrical and plumbing subcodes.
STEP 5
Build for permit
Your unit is built to the approved plans, ready to drop in.
STEP 6
Pour the slab
We prep the site and pour the foundation the unit sits on.
STEP 7
Set the unit
The finished unit is placed on the slab and connected, power, water, the works.
STEP 8
Rent it out
When you're ready to rent, we can help you place and screen a tenant and get it leased. The rent is yours.
STEP 9
It's yours
The home sits on your lot and belongs to you, the equity and the rent both. The loan is carried by the income it produces.
By town
ADU rules for your New Jersey town.
Every NJ town writes its own ADU rules. We map them (size, height, setbacks, owner-occupancy), cite the exact ordinance, then read them against your lot. It matters because a single setback line can decide whether a backyard home fits at all.
Common questions
The honest answers.
What does it cost?
Checking your lot and reading the full feasibility is free. When you are ready to move, a $199 deposit starts your project, and it is fully credited toward your permitting package. The build itself is financed with a low-cost, government-backed ADU loan. The rent helps carry the payments. It is financed, not free, and we show you the full numbers before you commit.
Do I take out a loan?
Yes. It is your loan on your property, and the rent helps carry the payments. We show you which lenders actually funded this kind of work in your county, from the public federal lending record, and we are paid nothing by any of them. Choosing a lender, and being approved, is between you and them.
Who owns the ADU?
You do, from day one. It sits on your land and is yours, the home, the equity, and the rent all belong to you.
What is the $199 deposit?
It is how you start, and it is fully credited toward your project. For a $199 deposit we open a saved ADU project for your home, put a specialist on your lot to confirm the path, and hand you your site-plan sheet with the zoning read for your lot. No obligation to go further.
Will it get approved?
We design for approval the first time and handle the entire permit ourselves. In Jersey City, many lots qualify by right, with no board hearing.
Who deals with the tenant?
When you are ready to rent, we can help you find and screen a tenant and get it leased. The rent is yours.
What if I sell my home?
The home and any financing are structured to travel with the property or be settled at closing. We walk you through the exact options before you sign anything.
How long does it take?
It depends on your lot and the approval path, so we do not quote a date until we have seen it. You get a realistic, honest timeline once we have read your lot.
We estimate about 20,000 Jersey City lots that fit a backyard home.Estimates are illustrative and subject to a free site visit, title check, and underwriting.
The space is already there.
See in ten seconds if your lot fits, and what it could earn.
Check my lotReading your lot is free. Start your project with a $199 deposit, credited toward your permitting package.