I Remodel Garages Into Leases so Householders Can Make Passive Earnings

Rebecca Möller said she started her modular ADU business, Symbihom, after realizing how difficult it was to build homes in the Bay Area that ordinary people could afford. Suszi Lurie McFadden

• Rebecca Möller said it seemed “impossible” to build homes in the Bay Area that people could afford.
• She started a company, Symbihom, that transforms otherwise industrial garages into livable spaces.
• She described how the homes both add much-needed rental housing and help homeowners make money.

This essay is based on a conversation with Rebecca Möller, 64, founder of Symbihom, a company that converts garages in the San Francisco Bay Area into apartments that homeowners can then rent to renters. In this part of California, these units are often referred to as additional residential units, or ADUs, because they are additional dwellings built on the same lot as the primary residence.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

I started my company in 2020 after coming across a BBC article about how Berlin and London are trying to solve their housing shortage by converting garages into apartments.

I saw an opportunity to create a replicable, scalable model. So I designed a modular product that would fit in a garage and San Jose pre-approved it.

I got my first investors in May 2021 and then I built my first model. The walls are proprietary modular panels built externally by a prefab factory, with electrical and plumbing already installed. They snap onto a concrete floor and are then strapped on top. I use electricity and water from the house itself.

All elements that go into the unit, except for the walls, are then taken to a warehouse where they are combined into a capsule. Then they are transported to the location of the garage along with the wall panels and installed in the garage. All in all, once approved, it takes no more than four weeks to put the whole thing together.

My units have sold for $150,000 to $220,000. So far I’ve built four units — five more in the pipeline — across San Jose, San Mateo, and Mountain View.

Möller in one of the garages that have been converted into residential buildings. Suszi Lurie McFadden

My previous jobs prepared me to lead a real estate startup

I was born in North Texas. I went to the University of Texas-Arlington to get my bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, but didn’t become a professional engineer. Instead, I started my real estate career in construction at a global cost consulting firm in Fort Worth. There I did an apprenticeship as a mass expert and calculator.

The first contractor I worked with was the largest in Dallas. I assembled 55-story buildings, mixed-use properties and hotels. Years later, I moved to Philadelphia to join the largest contractor in the metro area, working on data centers, operations centers, and hospitals.

I wrote all of the purchase agreements, cost controls and claims on the field at the Wells Fargo Center, home of the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers and the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers. In 1997 I started my own business to oversee the interests of Fortune 500 companies and have worked for large corporations such as IBM and Verizon.

My career in commercial has taught me how to write a contract, hold people accountable and be fair. It’s really important to understand what needs to go into a number estimate. You really need someone at the table who has the knowledge to make a realistic estimate.

I moved to the Bay Area

I came to the Bay Area in 2017 to oversee some high rise residential projects for a commercial developer. Then I was brought in to do a feasibility study at a university that had been given a building by the state. The university planned to set up the project for its teachers and staff. It is a detailed analysis of a project, how much it will cost and how likely it is to be successful.

I realized that the project would cost about $1 million per unit to build, which could not generate a below-market solution for the university. Put simply, the rents didn’t pay for the project. In addition, I realized that the teachers and staff earned less than the region’s median income of $160,000 a year.

The exterior of one of Symbihom’s garage ADUs. Suszi Lurie McFadden

That was my aha moment. I started thinking about what I could do. That’s how it all started.

The living spaces I install are unique to each garage

To start, I go out and visit a homeowner, do an appraisal and take measurements on the garage. I have a really fancy laser scanning the room. Once we’re gone I’ll take an as-is of the inside of the garage to share with all my professionals.

My studio living unit is between 170 square feet and 400 square feet for a one car garage or a small two car garage. My one and two bedroom ADU can range from a 420 square foot unit in a large two car garage to a 1,200 square foot unit in a three car garage.

A representation of one of the two-room apartments that Symbihom is building. Courtesy of Rebecca Möller /Symbihom

All units have a full bathroom with shower, vanity and toilet. You also have a kitchen with a large fridge freezer, extractor hood and hob, quartz worktops, convection oven and sink.

The shower walls are also made of quartz, and there are dimmer switches in every room. The floors are cork and bamboo and the units have solid core barn doors.

There is also an 18-inch dishwasher in the kitchen and a tower washer-dryer in the one- and two-bedroom units.

I love building something beautiful and adding apartments at the same time

The most rewarding part of my business is making a quality product that allows my clients to earn extra income by renting out the unit.

I really started doing this to solve a problem. Sure, my goal is to sell units, but on the side I’m helping solve a problem while making a profit.

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