So today, Lincoln, we are talking about casitas, additions, add-ons, ways we can add square footage to our homes, what are the advantages, how we add value to that, what are some of the pitfalls, what are some reasons why people don’t do more of them, why are they challenging for some people?

Lots of people right now are actually calling us and wanting us to do these additions and casitas because the next generation’s getting older, they have money, and they want a downsize.

And so we’re getting a lot of requests from our clients and we’ve realized that we’ve been able to really help them in a way, because in Las Vegas, in Clark County, it’s really hard to pull permits, to get plans, to get architects to answer their phones, to get the MP&E people to answer their phone.

So we’re able to have a one-stop shop, that’s why we’re a design-build firm, that we’re able to get from start A to Z and really be able to hone in the experience of building a casita or adding an addition to the home and establishing value and doing it in a cost-effective way.

Yeah, because the alternative of not going through a process like ours, you’re having to piecemeal all these different disciplines.

So it’s gonna take an architect for the architectural set.

You gotta have structural engineering for the structural set.

Mechanical, plumbing, and electrical, that’s a different engineer, that’s a different contract.

You’re spending all that money on all those different disciplines.

And then trying to get everybody to orchestrate at the same time, get in a submittal.

When mistakes happen, you know, there’s always finger-pointing, soil samples.

In the event that you’re adding a significant load to the electrical, you’ve gotta go get additional permissions from NV Energy.

So there’s all these challenges that you gotta navigate, and by being design-build, that’s all in one house, like you said, and we’re carrying that project start to finish.

Yeah, I mean, even HOA submittals.

There is so much complexity to just doing a simplistic casita here in Clark County.

For us, to be able to have this ability to help our clients in this way and add so much value, save so much time and energy and stress, and to be able to do it cost-effectively because of the volume that we do, it’s been an amazing experience for our clients.

Yeah, so if I came to you as a customer, what type of timeline would, let’s say I knew exactly what I want, I just want a 20 by 20 extra building in this corner of my lot, and I want it to open up to the pool, what type of timeline would I be looking at?

I think a design would take between two to three months, depending on how decisive you are, and the actual build itself is between three to four months.

It’s a really quick process if you know what you want.

If you know what you want, and I would say, and then depending on if you’re in county or city, and which city, if you’re in Henderson or Vegas, some of those timelines can get dragged on based on submittals and the back and forth with them, but from start to finish, as long as there’s no major hiccups, within six to seven months, you can have that done.

Yeah, and a lot of people ask, what does it cost?

And it all just depends, right?

Like, if we’re taking a ton of underground utilities and going through the backyard and there’s a pool in the way, obviously that could be very expensive, and we can talk our clients and kind of help them, guide them on, hey, I would build it here instead because it’s gonna save you a lot more in costs, but typically talking, I mean, it ranges between about $175 a square foot to $250 a square foot, just depends.

Yeah, so let’s talk about some of the economics because a lot of homes in the Valley, and at least in the Beltway areas, these homes are two, three, 400, $500 a square foot in some places.

When you spend another 180 to 200, and if you make it really nice, maybe 250, there’s immediate equity right there.

Yeah, you can build value right away.

So we have a client right now, we’re getting ready to build 1,000 square feet of loft conversion for them.

It’s 1,000 square feet, which is a lot.

Yeah, on these two-story homes.

Yeah, and it’s a really nice neighborhood.

It’s fascinating because I went back and looked, I’m like, okay, I wanna see some comps here, I wanna see what this value’s at.

And I looked at it, I’m like, oh my gosh, this place is worth about 3 1⁄2 to 4 million when we get finished with this place.

It’s about 400, 500 bucks a square foot, and it’s costing our clients about 200 bucks a foot.

So they’re doubling their, it’s a great investment.

Yeah, and there’s a ton of those builders in that era where you enter the home and it’s floor to ceiling all the way to that second floor, and those loft infills are really easy just to throw some beams across there.

It’s engineered and it’s structurally sound.

And sometimes it happens on the backside.

A loft infill is even a more cost-effective way.

What are some other uses that people are putting in the construction?

We just did a recent addition with one of our clients, and they had us fill in like a courtyard area, and we ended up putting a CrossFit gym in there for them.

So that was kinda cool, that’s a fun one.

And movie theaters and certain things like that that everybody who has a specific, or an office, for instance, like there’s an office, gym, movie theater, or a place for their mother-in-law, whatever it may be, there’s a lot of reasons to have that extra space.

I’d say particularly also after COVID, so many people are now working from home or there’s some sort of blend of a home-office work arrangement.

And it can be really challenging to work from home because there’s distractions at home, and you’re pulled in different directions.

So being able to have a place where you can close the door and still be available, you’re on property, but there’s some distance, helps a lot of people get work done.

Casitas, additions, conversions of lofts, all these things add value, and that’s what’s so powerful about Kingdom & Co. is that we can bring that value to our clients.

It’s so nice to be able to meet with one team and have transparency throughout the whole process, and it’s a one-stop shop rather than, again, we’ve had some clients actually hire us after they’ve been in the middle of the process for six, seven, eight months, going, I can’t get a guy to answer his phone.

I’m like, well, yeah, Jerry, it’s because, the reason why is because you’re the little guy, you’re doing a little project, and these architects don’t wanna work with a guy like you.

Yeah, it’s almost like an architect can’t charge enough to make it worth his time because he’s getting other phone calls for a five, six, seven, 10,000-square-foot home or a building or commercial work, and it’s like, how much am I gonna have to charge to actually make it worth my time?

And then the complexity of doing it yourself, and then they start doing it themselves, and they’re like, I didn’t realize this, I didn’t realize this, I didn’t realize how to do this, and then I got this done, and then I couldn’t do this because the county said this, and the setbacks were wrong, and suddenly you’re like, I’m seven months into this project, I don’t have time, I got a career, I’ve got this, I’ve got that, my mother-in-law needs to move in here, and they’re pulling out their hair, so we’re able to go in there and say, guys, let us take it over, let us meet with our team, our design team, and we can really put this together quickly and effectively, and then Brian and the team can just knock it out of the park.

It’s two, three, four months sometimes, so it’s not that long.

In the future, if you are looking for any sort of add-on, casita, or infill project, consider Keenum & Co. and let us show you how advantageous our process is.