A Woman Built A $400,000 Adu On Her Property So Her Parents Can Live Rent-free

Brown, 42, and her family are originally from Bosnia-Herzegovina, but they left in 1992 when civil war broke out.

They were refugees in Germany for several years before moving to the United States, where they started anew in Washington state. Through it all, Brown's parents, Azra Catak, 62, and Jasmin Catak, 73, made sure she and her brother had everything they needed.

"They took such great care of us," she said.

Brown lived with her parents on and off in adulthood, eventually moving out permanently and marrying James Brown. The couple owns the Gresham Grocery Outlet together and lives in Damascus, Oregon.

She remained close to her parents, though, seeing them as often as she could.

Now that they are older, the Cataks spend part of the year in Bosnia; Jasmin Catak is there for about five months annually, while Azra Catak is there for three months. When they're in the US, though, Brown wanted her parents to live as close to her as possible.

Brown said her husband quickly understood her parents were a big part of her life, and he wanted them to be a big part of his, too.

"He has lost his mom and dad both, but he calls my parents mom and dad," she said. "When I told James that I've always wanted my parents to live close to me, he was like, 'I love that idea.'"

In 2020, the Browns decided they were ready to buy a home and agreed to select a property with enough space that it could become a home for her parents, too.

They ended up falling in love with a five-bedroom, three-bathroom house on two acres of land. The house was originally built in 1971, but because the previous owners had remodeled it, it felt like a new home.

"What drew us here is the setting of the house," Brown said. "It's in the woods. It's just beautiful."

They paid $945,000 for the home, knowing they would create space for Brown's parents on the property as well.

The main house could technically fit all four of them, but the Browns wanted her parents to have a space of their own. After settling into their home in 2020 (with their five dogs), the Browns decided to move forward with building an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, for the Cataks in 2021.

Per local codes in the Browns' area of Oregon, ADUs are limited to 900 square feet. Brown wanted her parents' home to be as big as possible while remaining within that limit.

"We could have made the place smaller," Brown said. "I just felt like I still wanted to give them enough space to live their lives and not feel like they're cramped or tight or have to compromise."

The couple hired an architect to bring the space to life, though Brown said they knew a few elements they wanted for the ADU, including a porch with views of the greenery on their property and maximized storage wherever possible.

Brown and her husband financed the build so they could give the Cataks the home of their dreams without adding any financial stress. The Cataks lived in a rental home in Vancouver, Washington, during the yearlong renovation, when they weren't in Bosnia.

Part of the Browns' property has a steep hill at the back, so they didn't have the two full acres to use when positioning the small home. Instead, it sits just before the hill starts, so the back porch overlooks the trees in the area, which Brown's parents are big fans of.

"They just love the view where the house is located," she said.

It doesn't abut the main house directly, so each couple has private space as well.

The ADU has white siding and a metal roof per Brown's vision, a distinctly different design style from the main house.

"I told my mom, 'You're getting all the things I want,'" she said of the look.

When you walk into the Cataks' ADU, you're greeted by a mudroom-like area. It has a bench and built-in cabinetry for storing jackets, shoes, and other items they may need.

Nearby, there's a utility room with a washing machine and dryer, so the Cataks don't have to come to the main house to do their laundry.

The kitchen was designed as a focal point in the ADU, with high, vaulted ceilings, wood beams, and large windows above the sink for ample natural light.

The kitchen cabinets are white, as are the full-sized appliances, which Brown said were a splurge for the ADU.

"We went to pick out regular appliances, and my mom was very drawn to some fancy appliances," she said, which included a double oven. However, the cabinets were builder-grade, which helped offset the cost.

Rather than trying to fit a dining area and kitchen into the limited square footage, Brown and her architect decided to build a large island into the kitchen that could serve as a prep, dining, and entertaining space.

Because the green island would take up so much space, it needed to be both functional and beautiful.

Brown's builder custom-designed it so the Cataks could get everything they needed out of it.

It has drawers, a wine fridge, and a built-in microwave on one side, freeing up counter space. The other side has cabinets for more storage, and there's a hanging rack on the side for vertical storage.

The kitchen is Brown's favorite element of the ADU.

"I absolutely love their kitchen," she said. "It's got everything that I want. One of my favorite things is when I'll get home, and I'm really tired, and my mom is like, 'I'm making dinner over here tonight, so you don't have to cook.' And I do the same for her."

The living area is in the center of the open-concept main room. Brown didn't fill it with smaller furniture; instead, she chose bigger items that her parents could get a lot of use out of, like a large couch and coffee table.

"My parents' favorite spot is their living room," Brown said. "They love their fireplace."

The covered deck has high ceilings and extends the living space, so the Cataks can enjoy the outdoor space year-round. Brown said the deck was a pricier feature of the ADU, but it was worth it to make it last.

"We have pine trees that are 75 feet tall, and it's either pitch, pine needles, pine cones, or branches coming off those trees all the time," she said. "Durability was really important out there."

Like the living room, the bedroom has a doorway that leads to the deck, so the Cataks can access it from either room.

Their bedroom fits a queen-sized bed, and it has a walk-in closet. A green wall adds a pop of color to the space while feeling natural.

Brown selected a high-end laminate floor for the home that would resist dirt and mud.

"We definitely splurged on flooring because we wanted to go with something very durable," she said.

The bathroom is accessible through the living room and the bedroom, so it's convenient for the Cataks no matter where they are in their home.

It has a shower but no bathtub, as well as a vanity with built-in cabinetry. Brown hopes for her parents to live in the ADU for the rest of their lives, but it isn't completely set up for aging in place. For instance, the shower has a raised rim and no grab bar, so it would be a tricky space if Brown's parents needed a more accessible bathroom. However, she said the space was built so additions can be made easily if needed.

"We've set it up so that if we need to install things in the future, we can do that," Brown said. "It fits for what they need right now."

Because the ADU was built onto a property with an existing house, some aspects of the build proved more challenging than the Browns anticipated.

For instance, when the fire marshal inspected the property, they told the Browns they would need to create a fire access road to the ADU because it wasn't accessible from the Browns' driveway. Likewise, they had to either add a fire hydrant to their property or install a self-contained sprinkler system to be up to code. They opted for the latter because it was the more affordable option, but it was still pricey. They also faced some additional costs because of permit delays and local code changes.

"These are all expenses that we didn't really plan for," Brown said.

All in, the ADU cost about $400,000 to build. Though it was pricey, Brown felt good about that investment because of the resale value it adds to her home, and most importantly, because of what it provides her parents.

"This is the perfect place for my parents to live," she said. "This is what we wanted to do. And if we overpaid by $30 to $50,000 because things took longer or we missed steps or whatever, then that just is what it is."

Jasmin Catak was heading to Bosnia for an extended stay a few weeks before construction on the ADU was finished in 2024, but that didn't stop his family from celebrating the new home before he left.

"We went over there one day with a bottle of sparkling wine and toasted," Brown said, describing the moment as "super emotional."

"I think my parents thanked us a thousand times," she added.

Her mom officially moved in a few weeks later, and the Cataks have been living in their multigenerational home when they're in the US ever since.

The Cataks don't pay rent or utilities, which is important to Brown.

"My parents had a full-on life in Bosnia, and they were very happy there until the war broke out," she said. "They essentially gave up 20 years of their lives to make sure that my brother and I had a good life. They worked three jobs at a time. They did everything they could to make sure that our childhood was not any different than anyone else's."

"To me, this is kind of like my little piece of repayment," Brown continued. "If they cannot worry about paying electricity or paying the water bill or whatever, if they can take that time and money and enjoy their lives and get some of that back, that's what matters to me."

Now that they live in the ADU, Brown sees her parents daily. Azra Catak helps the Browns at their store, and Jasmin Catak visits his daughter's dogs daily. She takes walks with her parents several days a week, and her husband plays pickleball with her dad.

When it comes to sharing space, Brown and her parents have a literal open-door policy.

"Our back deck door, I leave open all the time because of the dogs, and I always tell them, 'If it's closed, I'm taking a nap, or I'm taking a shower. If the door's open, you can come in,'" she said. Brown and her parents also often FaceTime each other, checking in about what the other is doing before going into each other's spaces.

Brown said she feels lucky to live so close to her parents.

"I am so thankful for every minute I get to spend with them, especially now as I'm seeing them age and get older," Brown said. "I feel like every minute is extremely precious, and the fact that I get to spend so much time with them has, for me, really been life-changing."