North End Back Bedroom

We had a chance to sit down to talk with the homeowner of a recently completed Sprout in Halifax’s North End. He selected our Back Bedroom model built with our Mid-Century Modern design package.

Thank you for taking some time with us today. Diving into it, we’d love to know what gave you the idea to invest in an accessory dwelling unit in the first place?

It's something I've been thinking about for a long while. When I was buying my house, one of the considerations as I was searching was looking for houses that either had a second unit already or had the potential to add a second unit. So it's something that's been on my mind for the past two-and-a-half or three years.

So obviously the interest was there. Where did you go to find information on what was possible? We’re curious from both a by-law perspective and also how you went about looking for potential builders.

Yeah, for sure. I'm a Planner, so I know the ins and outs of the rules and checking the by-laws was one of the key things I did when I was looking at houses. At the time, they didn't have the current accessory dwelling unit by-laws in place, but my lot was big enough that I could have done a second unit anyway. HRM has since updated the by-laws that make it possible pretty much anywhere in the city. So I did that part of it on my own. Originally, I was also planning on handling the whole development side of it myself. I had plans drawn up for a design and tried to take that out for quotes from builders, but everybody was just so busy. I only received one back, and it was steep, so that kind of put a pin in my idea until I found Sprout.

Very cool. It sounds like that was always part of the long-term vision.

Yeah. I had that first call with Sprout and after you explained your vision and your whole product, I was pretty sold right away. Then it was a matter of looking at the details of financing and making sure it worked. But once that was done, I was raring to go.

You've already partially answered this, but what made you finally decide on Sprout Dwellings to build your accessory dwelling unit?

A couple of reasons. One, I really, really, really like the product you're offering. When I look back at the plans that I had designed, it's kind of what I was thinking. But you guys have put so much thought into all the little details, which made it really exciting. I get people stopping me on the street when I'm in the front yard saying how beautiful the Sprout is and how much they love it, and I agree with that. So that was part of it, but a big part was the simplicity. After going out on my own, trying to contact builders and get pricing from them, it was kind of a headache. I have a pretty busy life and to have you guys show up with a package, make a couple of basic choices, sign on the dotted line, and a couple months later I had a Sprout. That was pretty awesome. The third part was cost. You guys have done the work to figure out a design that works and is repeatable and the details are sorted out. Basically, I was pricing a custom build for when I was going in alone. So having your complete package made that much more feasible.

That's awesome, thank you. So what exactly do you hope your Sprout will do for you and your family? We’re aware of some of your initial plans, but looking long term, is it purely for income or the flexibility of a growing family or aging family or anything else like that?

In the short term it'll be a rental property, and that extra income is huge. I think the Sprout is really good for that. It's a one bedroom, but it is a standalone unit and it's a really attractive option for people. So I expect it to be really good on that income front and I'll do that for the foreseeable future. Long term, there's the possibility of my parents moving into it. Maybe long-long term I'll move into it when it's just me and I don't need the big house but want to stay in the neighborhood. The other good thing is that there's less lawn that I have to mow!

To add to that last answer, it sounds like you really are planning on holding onto that lot for a long time and see yourself really growing into the space in various ways through its existence. It's not something that you had built to have an immediate impact on your property value that you could then flip, right?

Absolutely. Yeah, I love the neighbourhood. I love the property. My daughter loves the area and her school and everything. I plan to be there, hoping this is a forever house. And that was why, to go back to your earlier question about "why Sprout", the level of quality was really important for me. Because it is something that I'm going to be living with in my yard for the next... well, hopefully forever. So yes, that was really important to me.

How has your experience been so far, working with Sprout?

Oh, it's been amazing. I signed on the dotted line and barely had to think about it the whole way. I could trust that you guys took a lot of pride in what it was you were building, that you wanted to get the details right and really build something special. You and your team have really done that. You have really paid attention to the details, and have been courteous. This hasn't been a disruption, as construction can often be so disruptive to your life, especially when it's on your own property. And I haven't really noticed. I come home at the end of the day and I'm like, "oh, look, some things have happened, things are moving along and it looks great." And that's the extent of it for me... It's been really, really, really easy.

Fantastic. That’s a good segue to the final question, would you recommend Sprout to friends and family looking for a similar housing solution?

Yeah, 100%. And I have, to multiple friends who I've shown around the property and said, "you guys need to do this." It's been easy and the end result has been wonderful. I couldn't recommend it enough.

Many thanks to this homeowner. We, at Sprout, love to see such commitment to family and community and are thrilled to support that.