She Couldn't Afford L.a. Rent After Law School. Her Parents' Adu Came To The Rescue

When Tina LaMonica and Warren Wellen purchased their South Pasadena Craftsman location successful 2001, nan one-car car shed dated backmost to 1917, a clip erstwhile group parked their constrictive Ford Model T cars wrong garages for illustration this one.

“We bought it for $650,000,” LaMonica says of nan house. “Of course, we could ne'er spend to bargain it now.”

The mates moved successful erstwhile their daughters, Sophie and Ruby Wellen, were little, and their tree-lined thoroughfare was afloat of families pinch young kids who rode their scooters passim nan neighborhood.

“We each grew up together and had artifact parties,” says Sophie, 30. Now, she adds, “There are nary caller families moving in. No 1 left. Why would they?”

Tina LaMonica and Warren Wellen beryllium connected nan patio pinch their daughter, Sophie Wellen, and their dog, Hazelnut, adjacent to nan 230-square-foot ADU wherever Sophie lived for 2 years. Her younger sister is now surviving successful nan ADU.

Music was ever a portion of their home, Sophie says, acknowledgment to her father, Warren, 65, who is some an lawyer and a musician successful nan replacement stone set Brahms’ Third Racket.

“He plays everything,” Sophie says. “Throughout my full childhood, he was ever making music.”

LaMonica adds, “It tin beryllium disruptive.”

So successful 2021, nan mates pulled together money from different sources, including a statement of credit, and turned nan car shed into a mini 230-square-foot accessory dwelling unit, aliases ADU, for Warren to usage arsenic a euphony studio.

“It was intended to beryllium a imaginative space, not a home,” says LaMonica, 64, who is simply a commercialized existent property broker. “The full costs was astir $125,000, including permits, building and each systems — a important investment, but 1 that ended up serving our family successful unexpected ways.”

The car shed before, left, during, right, and after, below, construction. (Tina LaMonica)

A fewer months aft utilizing his caller euphony studio, Sophie, who had been successful rule schoolhouse astatine nan University of Michigan, moved backmost to Los Angeles aft being distant for 10 years.

“She wasn’t moving correct away, and for illustration galore caller grads, she had student indebtedness and in installments paper indebtedness from getting done school,” says LaMonica. “Market rent successful nan Los Angeles area wasn’t realistic, moreover pinch a occupation connection lined up. So, nan workplace became her first home. It gave her stableness and independency during a awesome transition.”

Sophie, who describes her narration pinch her parents arsenic close, says nan ADU was ever meant to beryllium impermanent and she’s grateful for it.

“At 28, I didn’t cognize wherever I wanted to unrecorded successful L.A.,” she says. “I had only grown up successful Pasadena, which is simply a mini community. I felt fortunate to beryllium capable to unrecorded successful this small location successful nan backmost and research nan metropolis to find nan correct spot for me, alternatively of rushing to drawback nan first spot I could, for illustration truthful galore of my associates had to do. It was correct aft nan barroom exam, and I was really stressed.”

The ADU features a Murphy furniture and and a nice-sized kitchenette.

The kitchenette has a compact aerial fryer-toaster oven from Our Place, and a slim, Classic retro-style refrigerator.

After clerking for a judge successful Washington, D.C., Sophie’s fellow William Lang moved to Los Angeles and joined her and her canine successful nan ADU, bringing his 2 cats pinch him.

“It was a afloat house,” Sophie says, laughing. “And yes, they were indoor cats! But we made it work. Finding a rental was hard. I couldn’t really spend a bully flat successful L.A. I had to prevention up and hold until my fellow sewage present truthful we had 2 incomes.”

It’s nary astonishment they felt astatine home. Although it’s small, nan portion is sunny and bright, pinch a sounded tile and a large image model overlooking nan lush backyard and swimming pool. (The blinds tin beryllium closed for privacy.)

There’s a Murphy furniture that turns into a emotion spot erstwhile pulled down, which saves space, and classical black-and-white checkerboard porcelain tile from Mission Tile successful South Pasadena that gives nan surviving spaces a astonishing consciousness of fun. The portion besides has a bath pinch a shower, a closet and a retention nook supra nan bathroom.

The ADU has room for a desk, flat-screen TV and comfy chair.

There’s besides room for a desk, a flat-screen TV connected nan wall and a comfortable chair. Not having a eating room isn’t a problem because there’s a welcoming patio conscionable extracurricular nan French doors, pinch 2 chairs, a sofa and a java table.

“The backyard was our redeeming grace,” says Sophie. “Most of nan time, William sat astatine nan small table. It was cozy and nice. I sewage to beryllium adjacent my parents, and they sewage to cognize my partner better.”

The ADU has a roomy kitchenette pinch achromatic cabinets and countertops, a compact aerial fryer-toaster oven from Our Place, and a slim retro-style refrigerator from Unique. “You tin bake, broil and fry pinch nan mini Wonder Oven,” LaMonica says. “Ruby uses it each nan time.” There’s besides a mini-split strategy for heating and cooling, and if needed, a stackable washer and dryer tin beryllium added later.

A patio area provides different surviving abstraction steps extracurricular nan ADU.

Soon aft Sophie moved out, having lived successful nan backmost location for 2 years, her 27-year-old sister Ruby moved in. “She useful successful Torrance and can’t spend to rent an flat adjacent to her job,” her mother says. “The ADU gives her a chance to unrecorded affordably, enactment safe and beryllium adjacent family, while building financial footing connected her ain terms.”

LaMonica is happy pinch nan ADU, though she wishes they could person added a 2nd floor, which nan metropolis of South Pasadena didn’t let astatine nan time.

She imagines a early successful which 1 of her daughters lives successful nan main house, and she and her hubby unrecorded successful nan ADU. “I deliberation an ADU is simply a awesome semipermanent solution,” she says. “It keeps group from moving retired of California. With an ADU, astatine slightest you tin support your family connected site.”

In immoderate ways, nan mini ADU is much than conscionable a solution for young group who can’t spend to unrecorded successful Los Angeles. A 2025 study found that Los Angeles classed 2nd among nan 50 largest U.S. metros for its stock of moving adults (ages 25 to 40) surviving pinch parents.

Backyard homes tin besides thief group link pinch their community.

“The bully point astir nan ADU is that it tin springiness you a consciousness of organization that’s difficult to find correct now because group are truthful isolated,” says Sophie, who now rents a two-bedroom duplex successful Hancock Park pinch Lang for $4,500 a month. “We’re some lawyers astatine backstage rule firms and doing well, but I still don’t consciousness for illustration I could person a kid correct now and springiness them nan life I want. It’s difficult to make large life decisions successful L.A., particularly if you person student debt. It was really bully to person meal pinch my parents each erstwhile successful a while. They didn’t want William and I to leave.”

The bath wrong nan ADU.

As Southern California gets much crowded and lodging costs rise, young group person to look for options different from those their parents had erstwhile they were increasing up.

LaMonica says she and her hubby ne'er thought they would location some daughters successful a converted garage. “But successful a spot for illustration Los Angeles,” she says, “the mini ADU turned into a elastic and basal lifeline for our family, not conscionable erstwhile but twice.”

And possibly 1 day, Warren will yet get his euphony studio.