What it really costs, the rules that actually apply, what it returns, and how one team can carry the whole build — from a Backyard Check to a finished, permitted home on the city's pre-approved plans.
The one everyone quotes on the left. The one that actually stops you on the right.
What everyone argues about
$150K–200K, financing, cost per square foot — the number everyone negotiates over.
The part people negotiate.
What actually stops you
Every decision — designer, permits, contractor, financing — lands on you.
A year of your life before anything stands in the yard.
If a permit gets denied or a trade no-shows, it's on you to fix.
You could afford it. You just couldn't face doing it alone — so the backyard stays a backyard.
Turning your own backyard into a home shouldn't cost you your peace.
The second column is the one we carry — feasibility, permits, build, operations.
A Kansas City team on feasibility, permits, trades, and financing — your reviewed report back in 24 hours.
In October 2025, my father and I broke ground on a neighborhood together. He asked me for one more home — "come build me one in your backyard, so I can stop paying rent at this old folks' home and come live with you." He was 76 and still playing tennis. That fall his A/C failed, a heat stroke took him down, and within weeks he was gone.
I couldn't build him that home in time. We are building backyard homes now so close means steps, not blocks — and so it's simpler for your family than it was for mine.
The team's already assembled — licensed contractors, architects, the whole turnkey system — and I'll answer straight for anything we've learned the hard way. We're announcing now because the pieces are finally in place.
Daniel Edwards
Founder · Kansas CityA Kansas City-based team that lives here, raises families here, and works normal business hours.
Every report is checked by trade pros — from site surveyors to architects — before it reaches you.
Many of us building together on shared plans and supply — so the price drops for everyone.
Same backyard home — four different reasons to build it. Here's what each one gives back, stated plainly.
| What you're building | What it takes | What you get back |
|---|---|---|
| Generate income | ~$150K–200K | $1,200–1,800/mo in rent plus a lift to your home's value — often pays itself back. |
| Work from home | ~$150K–200K | A dedicated office or studio and a home-value lift — without renting space across town. |
| Make room for family | ~$150K–200K | Independent space for an adult child or guest — cheaper than trading up to a bigger house. |
| Keep loved ones close | ~$150K–200K | Care for a parent next door — a fraction of assisted-living cost, with a home-value lift. |
Planning ranges — your exact number comes from your Backyard Check.
New construction has a floor — you're not buying an existing home, you're building new. One-off custom is the expensive way to do it. Built together, the price comes down for everyone.
Every number here is for the white box — a complete, permitted, habitable, legal backyard home, finished above builder grade. It includes your plan set, direct labor, materials, permits, and standard finishes. Upgrades — better finishes, more square footage, the add-on Reports — are priced on top.
Your Backyard Check comes back as a feasibility study: whether your backyard can hold an ADU, exactly where it fits, what it'll cost, and what it'll return — human-verified against KCMO zoning and setbacks. A plan you can build from.
● Real output · human-verifiedOne dedicated team sits with you through the numbers and the plans, then carries the permits, the trades, and the schedule — all working from the same file, so you never re-explain your project or chase down who has it.
The same team from your first call to your keys — you're never the one carrying the story from one contractor to the next.
Rent it, live in it, build one or many, or join the economy — laid out without the jargon.
Cash, a home-equity line (HELOC), your bank's construction loan — and private financing partners where they fit. Your team walks the numbers with you. We're builders, not lenders.
You approve every number before we spend a dollar. Your team carries every step that follows.
Even our built minimum — the white box — exceeds the building-code minimum: R-29 walls and an R-60 ceiling, a tighter, better-insulated envelope than code requires.
That means lower utility bills every month you own it — and those savings add up over the whole life of your ADU.
| Together Homes White box · built minimum |
Commodity Modular | Conventional | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wall insulation | R-29 | R-21 | R-21 |
| Ceiling / attic | R-60 | R-38 | R-49 |
| Energy & comfort | Exceeds 2021 code | Barely meets 2012 code | Code-minimum |
| Monthly utility cost | Lower — tight, high-R envelope | Standard | Standard |
| Local impact | KC crews, local dollars | Out-of-state factory | Local crews |
| Quality & customization | Site-built, locally inspected, custom for the lot | Factory QA, fixed templates | Site-built, customizable |
Cost-per-square-foot intentionally left out here — final price scales with the platform.
The more of us who build, the lower it goes.
Optional add-on Reports — property-specific numbers we run on your lot. Pick the questions that matter, or take every path in one report.
$200We cover it
Free for the Founding 100
Find out if a backyard home fits your lot — zoning, setbacks, buildable area, cost, and return. We cover the $200 for the Founding 100, and the completed study is yours to keep either way.
Claim My Backyard CheckAttach any Report to your Check — just the questions you care about.
$299 all-in
Your free Backyard Check + all five Reports on your lot — value, rent, short-stay, care-at-home, and the write-off worksheet — so you see every path before you commit. Bought separately that's $705 — this saves you $406.
Get the Possibility Report — $299Each Report is an add-on to your Backyard Check. Estimates for planning — not an appraisal, and not financial or tax advice. They're a starting point to bring to your appraiser, lender, or accountant, not a promise. Founding prices, locked for the first 100.
24 hours · human-verified · we cover the $200 for the Founding 100 · the report is yours to keep, either way
Not ready? Grab the free KC guide.
Ten plain-English chapters on what's possible in your backyard — zoning, parking, what it really costs, and the shortcuts that backfire.
