The fine print, in one place.

Everything the HousUp website would otherwise say in small type: who we are, what the free report is and is not, the three kinds of project, how cost figures are sourced, financing, Realtor referrals, privacy, and photographs.

Who we are

HousUp is a Realtor-partnered feasibility program for home expansion — backyard homes, additions and garage conversions — serving Snohomish County, King County and the greater Puget Sound region. HousUp is operated by [Legal entity — pending], Washington [UBI — pending], principal office [Address — pending], [Phone — pending].

Construction is performed under a written contract with [Builder of record — pending], a general contractor registered, bonded and insured with the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries as required by RCW 18.27, contractor registration [WA contractor reg. no. — pending]. That registration number appears on every proposal and on every page of this site. Verify any Washington contractor at secure.lni.wa.gov/verify.

The report

A HousUp preliminary feasibility report is a desk study prepared from public records: county parcel data, adopted zoning and development codes, FEMA flood maps, and mapped critical areas. It is generated by our system and delivered within the hour. Any report the system is not sure of — an unclear parcel, a mapped hazard, a jurisdiction we have not confirmed — is held for a person to look at before it goes out, and we tell you when that happens.

It is a preliminary estimate only. It is not a survey, an appraisal, a permit, a guarantee of approval or buildability, a statement of value or rent, or a construction price. Conditions a desk study cannot see — utility capacity, easements not of record, tree health, soils, driveway width on the ground, the condition of an existing foundation, homeowner-association covenants — may change the conclusion. A professional review, including a site visit, comes before any scope or price is proposed.

The report may name a size range and show which of the program's designs may fit. It does not recommend a specific design, and you are free to use any designer or contractor, including one with no connection to HousUp.

Three kinds of project

A backyard home is a detached accessory dwelling unit and follows your city's accessory-dwelling-unit rules under Washington's HB 1337 (RCW 36.70A.681). An addition follows the rules for the house itself — lot coverage, impervious surface, height, setbacks and stormwater — and there is no pre-approved shortcut. An in-law suite, or a garage converted with its own entrance and kitchen, is an attached accessory dwelling unit and follows the accessory-dwelling-unit rules. The report tells you which set of rules your project is under. Homeowner-association covenants are private agreements the city does not enforce; the report cannot read them, and many prohibit garage conversions.

Cost figures

Cost ranges shown on this site are published regional market ranges for backyard homes, home additions and garage conversions in Snohomish and King County as of September 2026, expressed as all-in project cost with their source and date. They are not quotes. A report gives a range specific to your parcel with each rate sourced and dated. Where recent proposal prices are shown, they are working figures from 2026 proposals for comparable homes in this region, stated as quoted; every one excludes permits, utility connection fees and Washington sales tax. A fixed price is produced only through the design and engineering phase and a signed construction agreement.

The design and engineering phase

If you go ahead, the next step is a design and engineering phase covering survey, site visit, architectural, civil and structural engineering and coordination, ending in a fixed-price proposal. In the builder’s current proposals that phase is a line of the total project price, not a fee in addition to it. It does not include permits, taxes or utility fees. Its amount and payment schedule are stated in the development agreement before you sign. [pending: amount — $25,000 in the April 2026 proposals, $30,000 in the August estimates — and payment schedule — Victor, Tim, Irina]

Financing

Any discussion of cash, home equity lines of credit, construction loans or refinancing on this site is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Neither HousUp nor [Legal entity — pending] is a lender or a mortgage broker; neither arranges loans nor receives compensation from any lender for a referral. Talk to your own lender and tax professional before borrowing.

Rate figures cited on this site are attributed to their source and date and change frequently.

Realtor referrals

Referral fees under the HousUp partnership are paid to the referring real estate brokerage firm, on a signed construction contract, against a W-9. No fee is paid to an individual licensee. The fee is paid by HousUp or by the builder named in your proposal, as stated in your written disclosure. This structure follows RCW 18.85.361(19), under which a licensee may accept compensation for licensed activity only from their own firm. The same structure applies to backyard homes, additions and conversions.

Before signing a development or construction agreement, a referred client receives and signs a written disclosure stating that a referral relationship exists, that the brokerage may be compensated, and that the client is free to use any contractor. The partnership agreement is provided to the Designated Broker for review and signature. [pending: attorney review of the fee structure, agreement and disclosure — no fee is paid until it clears]

The one-hour class offered to brokerage offices is informational and is not approved for Washington real estate continuing-education credit.

Privacy and contact

When you request a report, a sample report, or partner enrollment, we collect the details you enter (name, contact information, property address, and anything you tell us about the property). We use them to prepare and deliver your report, to issue a partner login, and to contact you about your request. We do not sell your information. With a Realtor-submitted request, the report is shared with the submitting broker.

You may ask us to delete your information at any time by emailing hello@housup.com. Partner logins are issued by HousUp after enrollment; the partner portal carries these same disclosures.

Photographs

Photographs on this site are generated placeholders unless captioned with a project name, city and year. Uncaptioned photographs do not depict real projects. Captioned photographs of completed homes name the builder that built them; HousUp does not claim to have built a home unless [Legal entity — pending] was the contractor of record. Site-plan drawings and before-and-after pairs are illustrations of a hypothetical lot and not renderings of any specific property.