Pro Spotlight: Eric Lin

Today we're speaking with Eric Lin, founder and CEO of Line Work Development, and an expert in Accessory Dwelling Units. Together we covered his path from architect to contractor, the versatility of ADUs, and how personal touches make all the difference.

How did you get started in this industry?

I knew from a fairly young age that I wanted to go into architecture. Being a Chinese American, from a Chinese immigrant background, my parents have always asked, “what are you gonna do when you grow up?” As a little kid, that wasn't exactly something that I was prepared to answer! But I was fortunate enough to have witnessed my childhood home go through a transformation. Seeing that construction process, and being able to read the plans, just drew me into this entire world.

From that point on, I did everything I could to take electives in high school and in middle school to really focus on that aspect of the world and just to really understand it. So in high school, I took architectural drafting to learn how to letter. I am still not very good at it, but it introduced me to this whole new world that wasn't reading, writing, and arithmetic. This is something completely graphics based and it really drew my attention. I went on, graduated from high school, and was fortunate enough to be accepted to USC for architecture school. 

The majority of the students there were fairly like-minded and their experiences were very much like mine. They were exposed at some point in their life to a remodel or some sort of construction, or their parents were architects. So we all kind of moved along in that direction. 

When I got out of school, I naturally gravitated towards an architectural career. I worked in commercial and residential projects. The majority of my experience has been in residential work, not only custom design homes but all the way to multifamily and walk-up condo units, to 300 unit apartment complexes. I've also dabbled in senior housing. So I have a full breadth of residential architectural layout and construction understanding. 

Unfortunately in ‘09, for me, that was when the bubble really caught up with me in the residential field. I was not able to recover because there just wasn't any work out there for that. When most people think about architecture, I think they mostly think about the pretty pictures, and drawing, and coming up with designs for the homes. 

A lot of my training as a professional is really geared towards the back end, like construction documents. What I like to explain is, when you buy IKEA furniture and you look at the pictures in the manuals, that's what I did for contractors from the architectural side. 

So I dealt with our contractors. I was the architectural representative for contractors and dealt with their questions and really understood that world. In ‘09, it just felt like a natural transition for me to move into the construction side, especially in residential. I was fortunate enough to have been hired to do a single family house. 

I didn't have any work, so I was just picking up here and there some little stuff. First as a designer on a project, then hired again just to manage the process. From there, I really just fell in love with this entire process of holistic design. Designing and being able to execute that design and build. Since then, I started my company and I've really been fortunate enough to be able to execute several of my own designs, and be able to construct and provide updated homes for a lot of my clients.

You're able to bridge that gap and see the whole thing from beginning to end.

Yes, I think ultimately, what I'm doing now really reflects on that initial experience, another home remodel. I had nothing to do with the design. But there was a set of drawings out there, and I recall at the time where the wood framing, the two by fours were up, and I walked around the space and really could imagine what it might look like, in my mind. 

Maybe that is just kind of how I'm wired. Most people are probably very smart in math or they're really intelligent in writing. But for me, I was just able to catch onto the translation from paper to 3D and be able to visually understand. 

Right now, I don't really consider myself an architect at all. I have my general contractor's license and consider myself more of a builder. Really what that means is, I know how to build it but also how to get that instructed element to actually make sense. I'm not necessarily coming in just as a contractor and just banging nails and putting stuff up, but I can express what the space planning would be, and have that full experience.

So it's not really necessarily architecture based, or general contractor based. What I'm currently doing now really does feel like, “This is what I should be doing.” It’s the whole construction experience from beginning to end.

Can you talk about the types of ADU projects that are out there? And how have you been successfully helping homeowners with their goals?

Sure. I'm gonna start from the beginning here. I was able to secure my very first ADU project before ADUs were a thing in Southern California. I think it was already popular in Oregon, and Vancouver, and some other parts of the country. I fell into a project and later on it was called an ADU. 

At the time, the client came to me and said, “Oh, we want to build a granny loft for my aging parents.” And they owned a piece of land that was zoned R2. But it was too small to be able to build the actual unit per acre, just two units. The municipality had already provided certain size requirements and size limitations to how big this thing can go, so we just worked within that framework, and were able to provide a granny flat. 

That year, right after we were done, there was a universal state law for Accessory Dwelling Units. I think it was 2018. I was actually fairly lucky in the sense that I was able to stumble upon a client that really wanted this to happen and they had the land for it. They were zoned for it and from 2018 to 2020, there are other cities and other restrictions that were overlaid on to what can be considered an ADU. 

For the most part, I think what the state was trying to do was establish two types. One is a detached unit, and the other one is an attached unit. In essence, what the state has tried to create is a system for every single-family residence, or every single-family lot, to become a duplex. If it's an Attach, it has to be less than 50% of the primary residence. That's how they're considering it as a second unit. If it's Detach, it's a maximum of 1200 square feet per residence.

In that two years, between 2018-2020, different municipalities have fought against having this, and some of the cities that deal with it don't necessarily see it as a positive. So there were overlays put onto it. Then you had to navigate through the different cities. 

In 2020 they amended the whole ADU rule, basically telling these other municipalities you can't do that anymore. They really created a uniform base of what you can provide on your property. 

It's called an ADU when it is a detached unit, 1200 square feet max. Then a junior ADU, which is 400 square feet max, but it's attached. In essence, it turned all single-family residences, or single-family lots that are zoned R1 into a triplex. 

The issue with that is when you have an ADU as an attachment, the state mandates that you have to be the owner occupying the primary residence. But if you have a detached unit you don't. So there's a lot of investment opportunities that people are looking into with this. 

The area that I'm working in has a lot of people coming to me for this, mostly because they want to be able to move their in-laws or parents in. It really nicely transitions into a three-generational home. A three-generational property on a single-family lot, which before 2020 was kind of a difficult thing to do. Because most people are thinking, “Okay, we're just gonna do an addition onto our home. But we really want to have a separate kitchen.” And a lot of cities looked down upon that because they're like, “Oh, what's preventing you from renting that out?” But this rule, the ADU laws made it legal. You can rent it out. That's what they want! 

That helps address the housing issue here in Los Angeles, there’s definitely a high demand and low supply.

That really is the main idea, not only in Los Angeles, but it's a statewide law. LA County was very quick to adopt ADUs but different municipalities within that district were against it. But now, in 2020 it's harder and harder for those municipalities to be going against it. So I have been getting quite a few calls to provide ADUs. 

But I think ultimately the misconception on ADUs is that it's an accessory dwelling unit, so it should come in fast and it should come in cheap. But the reality is, in essence, we're essentially providing a ground-up either a single or two-story home. Those really can't be done cheap, from a life and safety standpoint, that's not a safe way to go. And it's not allowed. A lot of people are actually very surprised at some of the costs that are coming in. It really is kind of a wild wild west in terms of what we can or cannot provide. 

The state has been able to very narrowly and uniformly provide guidelines to allow us to provide housing on our lots. We're not just throwing a doghouse, or a shed in the back and putting somebody in it. It's got to have the human comforts. In terms of construction, yes, it's cheaper than the primary residence because it's smaller. But there are still the amenities that need to be included. Windows and doors, insulation, drywall, electrical, plumbing, that all still needs to be provided. It's just provided at a smaller scale than a primary residence. 

Can you help us to understand the difference between ADUs and other units that are often referenced?

I think the most common misconception is that it is just a sort of a throwaway building right? If I take a step back, I mentioned the Attach unit which is sometimes known as a Garage Conversion. It's a junior ADU or a detached unit. 

I recently finished a project where it was a conversion of a detached garage. We had to cut that thing out and really make it livable and provide a full-size kitchen in there, and a full-size bathroom. The wife’s mom moved in, and she's really comfortable there. She gets to be closer to her grandkids and has her own dedicated space. 

We really can't do that with a pool house, right? Because you can’t have your mom shower outside, or get any of the basic necessities she needs. So, what is considered an ADU actually has a kitchenette and minimum square footages for a liveable space. You can't throw a shed out there and put somebody in it because the state is going to be regulating it very strictly. They don't want to be responsible for it becoming something that is not what they had intended.

What trends do you see going forward?

I think these will be a lot more popular. We're seeing a lot of them now. Part of the law that's built into providing ADUs is that the city cannot deny you from having one. They have to turn it around in 90 days, which means they are really pushing them and trying to get them produced. 

I think it's an opportunity for a lot of different avenues people can take. There's, from an investor standpoint, a lot of people picking up properties because they feel that they can put an ADU in the back, which then becomes income property for them. For single families, I think the excitement is that they are now able to not only bring their parents in, but maybe if they have older kids that are in and out, they have another unit for them where there is a bit of independence, but they're still in the same property. 

Most people are thinking about income, because it does take money to put in these units. It really depends on the area that the home is in. Some people want to use it as a home office and have it outfitted so they can work from home and have a dedicated office space. It’s limitless in terms of what you can do, because the law has been written so that it's a little bit more relaxed. 

I'm pretty excited because I am getting a lot more calls for them, because people are just seeing opportunities to be able to increase their square footage. Because it isn't counted towards your livable square footage, so people add as close to the max as they can on their main residence and then they're putting in an ADU.

I imagine the trend that we may also see down the road is that families will want to keep their elderly parents on the property instead of sending them to nursing homes.

I think the marketplace is going to change for this. I don't foresee it replacing nursing homes per se because there's an added level of care. However, I just recently finished an ADU, where my client was not ambulatory but she could take care of herself. So she was able to live there, and what she told me is all her friends are now coming over to see her space, and they have ideas of what they can do with their kids' garage.

Essentially it's on its way to becoming a nest egg. I mean, in the past, they sold their primary residence and moved into assisted living or into an independent care facility. And then the grandkids come and visit when they can. Now you can be in a situation where you can live on the same property and see the grandkids more often.

I think for me, coming from Chinese culture, senior homes are not something that were really considered. I think there is a sense of community, you live in the same house and take care of each other. So this definitely opens up the opportunity to do that. 

Not to say that all my clients have been Chinese or Asian. I've done ADUs where they want to have a space for the parents to come visit but not necessarily stay. Or they want to use the space as sort of a flex space for the kids to play in, but not necessarily be in the main house. So they can have a bathroom, they can outfit it as a theater, or have all their kids' friends come over. It can double as a pool house if you have a pool. 

There are just so many options. I think this law has been pretty smart in the sense that it creates an influx of opportunities for you to really add onto your property, and onto the value of it without being penalized or having to go through laborious Planning Commission, or some sort of design review. If you have that in your city, that's all it does. It creates a great opportunity for everybody to be able to add square footage to their house.

If the homeowner is interested in pursuing this. What would you recommend they do? What are the top 3 things they need to do first?

That's funny you bring that up because I just got a call for that. The first thing is you need to be able to hire a competent designer. That will be able to help you navigate through the process. The ADU law has been set up so that you can build as close as four feet to your rear yard or side property. If you're taking over a garage, then that rule just goes out the window. What you need to do is have your property surveyed, so you know exactly where your boundaries are and know where to place it.

Secondly, after a plan has been created, you have to go through the city. I mentioned before it's the law, and there’s a 90 day turnaround. You're not allowed to hold this up in any way. A lot of cities are backlogged in their “normal” work, and normal projects because they have to push it back to address all the ADU projects that are coming through.

Once you have the design down then you contact the contractor to get estimates and move forward. Really understand what you would like to have in that ADU going into it. 

I had spoken with another client, he has a huge backyard and great opportunity, but it's full of trees. His goal is to be able to house his kid when she comes back from college. She's a music major, so the space needs to have a music room for practice, hopefully soundproofed, as well as amenities, such as a bathroom and kitchenette. They still wanted to maintain their garage. 

So ultimately I said, “Hey, add on to your garage, you know you have 1200 square feet, that's a lot of house. You can put a two-bedroom one-bath in there with a great room. You can do a lot more if you want.”

The very first ADU I mentioned was 650 square feet, in which we put two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a great room in the front section. It was a two-story so it stacked on top of a three-car garage, and they got everything they wanted. They wanted covered parking, laundry space in the garage, and livable space upstairs. You could do a lot with 1200 square feet. So there's a lot of opportunity. But you have to do the homework first. Survey the property and engage a competent designer.

Many times I go into client meetings and they will show me a tile color they like, and I appreciate the fact that there's a color palette already ready to go in. But we really need to know how much space we can use, how the planning is going to be, what you want to achieve. What do you really want to get out of this space? There's a lot of pre-planning involved prior to just jumping into a project. Colors and style are important, but it's only a part of what needs to be done before the project starts.

How do the requirements vary from unit to unit?

It's a very versatile space, because ultimately, at the end of the day it's a rectangle. It could be an L shape, it could be just a bar. But a lot of that planning needs to be thought through so that we can create the best space for you. Because not all lots in California or in Southern California are the same. At least the area that I work in, I haven't been able to repeat too much from one project to another.

What is a happy story from your line of work?

You see these TV shows, with their big reveal, all that stuff. Unfortunately, I'm not really able to experience that because the clients usually live in the house we’re building on, so there's really no big reveal. I actually kind of feel bad for some of these clients because it's tiring to be in that mess.

But this last ADU I finished, I had a big reveal. And the client's mom was so thankful and grateful. She actually started crying. I felt really happy to be able to have provided that space for her.

For her project, we were trying to make it as light and airy as possible, so this project had a vaulted ceiling. She had mentioned that the home she had lived in for 40 years all had vaulted ceilings. The kitchen had enough cabinetry space for all of her priceless china that she's accumulated throughout the years. She just felt like it just was an extension of her own home. I was very happy to be able to provide that for them. It really validates the kind of work that I'm doing. It's not just clocking in day after day, I'm providing an environment that’s home for these people. That was a very heartwarming experience, it really touched my heart.

During training, we learn a lot about commercial architecture, but there is really something unique about residential architecture because it touches people in a different way.

It's very personal. I’ve found through working on different projects it really is a very personal endeavor. I can probably talk about space planning and layout til the cows come home. But at the end of the day, it really is just the personal touches, the emotional draw, to certain areas of the home. How it’s presented, and how they see their kids growing up in it, or how it's going to be used. That's not something that we see in commercial projects or institutional projects, it really is a very special space that we're in.

At the end of the day I can't claim these projects to be mine because they're not. They’re clients’ homes. I'm really just kind of a facilitator to help execute their vision. I've always set that as part of my goal and I'm happy to be able to provide that service.