Retirement and Travel with a Backyard Home

A MyKabin Home in West Seattle is just what was needed to get set up for retirement.

Looking Toward the Future: Two Homes and the Road

Brian Burns and his partner had always dreamed of an early retirement that would allow them to travel the world. So they decided to build a smaller, sustainable home in their backyard. The idea? They realized they could use the backyard home as secondary rental income while they continued to live in their main house, and then when they retired and started traveling, they could move into the backyard home and rent out their main house.

“As we were looking toward retirement, we really wanted to spend more time traveling and didn’t need a big home,” Brian said. “As we get older and find the right time to retire, we’re just going to move into the backyard home and use the main house for a long-term rental. And as we start traveling, we can rent out the backyard cottage while we’re gone. Short-term rentals for corporate folks or people like traveling nurses, whatever makes sense. Just not a permanent tenant. This way we’re still receiving extra income, covering the bills, fulfilling our desire to travel, and have a home to come back to when we return.”

The Initial Challenges

Brian started the long and arduous process of understanding what it would take to build a DADU.

“We talked to a lot of different folks,” Brian said. “General contractors, plumbers, electricians. We must have gotten bids from 15 different groups! Not any one person could build the entire unit.”

“There were these huge gaps in estimates from one contractor to another,” Brian said. “We received bids from $6,000 to $60,000 just to do the plumbing.”

Too Good to Be True?

Brian discovered MyKabin and was surprised.

“We honestly looked at them and thought it was too good to be true!”

Brian was surprised that one company would handle everything, from the permitting, to the electrical, to the plumbing, to the cleanup. And for one price.

“It was all included. Everything,” he said. “And the price was a lot less than what we were estimating for the total build of what we were looking at with a much smaller home using other contractors.”

“When people ask for my advice about building a backyard home, I just tell them to call MyKabin. They’ll work with you and discuss all of your options. It’s a great company and they are all engaged in their work.”

Brian Burns | West Seattle

“The Ease of it”

Brian felt like MyKabin was the best choice for one main reason: “The ease of it,” he stated. “How easy it ended up being. It’s a one stop shop. You go in and you pick out your finishes and then you pick out your house and they do everything else.”

“Clint and his team were very friendly and professional,” Brian said. “What I appreciated was their ability to keep us on track with reality. When we were trying to build the home, they weren’t trying to upsell us. They were really solid about what they could do and always provided alternatives when what we wanted couldn’t be done.”

A Solid Home and Plan for the Future

Brian and his partner feel like they have a great second home that will work for their long-term vision, as well as provide extra income.

“The home exceeds my expectations. The quality of finishes they offer are superb. The unit feels like a home rather than a little mother-in-law or an afterthought.”

“We joke that we’re going to buy some property somewhere at a fun vacation spot and have MyKabin build on it!”

Want to Set up for Your Retirement?

We’ll send you a no-obligation feasibility assessment for your property.

We will never spam, sell, or share your personal information with any third party (we hate that too).

Interested in something else?
Give us a call or send us an email.

(425) 643-9124
sales@mykabin.com