Approved Feasibility Study Provider · MHP Accessory Dwelling Unit Incentive Program
Can you build an ADU on your property?
Find out at no cost to you.
Southcoast Building LLC performs Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Feasibility Studies under the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) Accessory Dwelling Unit Incentive Program. Providers are permitted to charge property owners up to $500 for a study. We charge $0.
A licensed Massachusetts builder walks your property, checks your zoning, your utilities, your access and grading, and what you want to spend — then tells you straight whether an ADU works here, and what it would take.
We answer every inquiry the same day or the next business day.
What this costs you
Free ADU feasibility study in Bristol and Plymouth County, Massachusetts
MHP pays approved Providers $500 for each completed and approved study. Providers are then permitted to bill the property owner up to $500 more on top of that. Southcoast Building LLC does not. The MHP payment is the entire fee for your study.
What you pay us
$0
Your cost for a Feasibility Study with Southcoast Building LLC. Not a deposit, not a credit toward a build — zero.
What we waive
$500
The additional amount Providers are permitted to charge property owners on top of the MHP payment. We don’t charge it.
How fast we turn it around
7 days
The MHP ADU Incentive Program allows 30. Michael Bicho or Roy Cabral handles your study personally, start to finish.
Do you qualify?
Three things, and most Massachusetts homeowners meet all three
A property owner qualifies for a Feasibility Study on any property that:
- ✓
Is located in MassachusettsThat is the MHP criterion. Southcoast Building LLC performs studies across Bristol and Plymouth counties — Westport, Dartmouth, Acushnet, Mattapoisett, Fairhaven, Freetown, Fall River, New Bedford, Assonet, Raynham, Bridgewater, Wareham, Attleboro, Brockton and the surrounding towns.
- ✓
Is located in a zoning district that allows residential useIf you live in the house, this is almost certainly yes. We confirm it against your town’s adopted bylaw as part of the study.
- ✓
Has not previously received a Feasibility Study under the MHP Accessory Dwelling Unit Incentive ProgramOne study per property. We check your parcel against the MHP records before we begin, so there are no surprises later.
Inside the study
What a licensed builder actually looks at
A working assessment by the people who would build it. Roy Cabral walks the property and measures; Michael Bicho reviews the zoning and the numbers. It covers all six components the MHP ADU Incentive Program requires.
How big a unit you’re allowed
The state formula caps a protected-use ADU at the smaller of 900 sq ft or half your home’s gross floor area. We measure from interior faces rather than estimate — and basements count toward your home’s GFA at compliant ceiling height, which is where most people get caught.
The site and the lot
Where the unit could physically go, how it sits against the existing house, and what setbacks, wetlands, flood zone and the lot itself will and won’t allow.
Access, clearing and grading
Getting equipment in, getting people in, and what the slope of your land does to the cost.
Zoning read from the adopted bylaw
Your town’s actual requirements read against your actual parcel, including whether yours is a Protected Use ADU — not a general summary of state law.
Water, sewer or septic, and electrical
Whether your existing systems can carry a second dwelling, and what it would cost to upgrade them if they cannot. This is the most common source of unexpected ADU cost.
Preliminary design and a real budget
Detached cottage, garage conversion or attached suite — which one your property points toward, and a high-level cost range set against what you told us you want to spend. If those two numbers don’t meet, you’ll hear it from us.
How fast
The MHP ADU Incentive Program allows 30 days. We routinely finish in 7.
What the week actually looks like
Day 1
First call. We identify the owners of record and send the authorization form.
Day 2
Signed form back. We open your file with the MHP ADU Incentive Program.
Day 3
Pre-visit consultation — your property, your vision, our questions.
Day 4–5
Site visit. Roy walks the property, measures and photographs.
Day 6–7
Report written and submitted.
The pace is set by how quickly you can sign and how quickly we can get on your property. The research, the report and the submission are on us, and they do not hold things up. Seven days is what we can do, not something we ask of you — if life is busier than that, nothing is lost. MHP’s review follows on their timetable, and we handle any questions they send back.
The paperwork burden
Your part is five things. We do the rest.
| You | We | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tell us the property and what you’re imagining | Confirm the property qualifies and identify the owners of record |
| 2 | Sign one electronic form — every owner on the deed | Open your file with the MHP ADU Incentive Program |
| 3 | Give us 30 minutes by phone or video | Do the research first, so the call is about your specifics rather than basics |
| 4 | Meet us at the property | Measure, photograph and assess |
| 5 | Read the report and ask questions | Walk you through it and answer what comes up |
You receive a written feasibility study you own outright and can take anywhere — to a lender, an architect, or another builder — plus a walkthrough call to go over the findings.
Straight answer
What a Feasibility Study is not
It is not a design
You get considerations and direction, not stamped drawings. If you move forward, design, survey and engineering are a separate step, priced separately.
It is not a permit
Nothing in the study authorizes construction. Permitting is its own process with your town.
It is not a guarantee
Some properties don’t work, and no study guarantees your town will approve a specific plan. Where a figure can’t be verified against an adopted bylaw or a measured condition, the report says so rather than guessing.
It is not a construction contract
The study is a $0 engagement under the MHP ADU Incentive Program. Building an ADU is a separate agreement with Southcoast Building LLC, entered into only if you decide to build — and choosing a contractor is entirely your decision.
Who shows up
Two people. Both of them build.
Southcoast Building LLC is a family-owned Massachusetts builder working in Bristol and Plymouth counties. The work on your property is performed by our own employees — Michael Bicho and Roy Cabral. We do not subcontract feasibility work; the person who assesses your property is the person who would build on it.
We build ADUs across Southeastern Massachusetts — detached cottages, above-garage conversions and attached in-law suites. That is the experience your study is based on. See our finished work, or read what an ADU actually costs around here.
MA Home Improvement Contractor #203047
Fully insured
Family-owned
Serving Southeastern Massachusetts since 2020
About the initiative
The MHP Accessory Dwelling Unit Incentive Program
The ADU Incentive Program is a statewide initiative administered by the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, in collaboration with the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.
The first phase of the MHP Accessory Dwelling Unit Incentive Program will help property owners get started by providing a directory of professional Feasibility Study Providers who have agreed to charge property owners no more than $500 for performing feasibility studies.
Questions
What homeowners ask us first
Is it really free?
Yes. MHP pays Southcoast Building LLC $500 for each completed and approved study. The MHP ADU Incentive Program also permits Providers to charge property owners up to an additional $500, which is why you will see that stated in the disclaimer at the bottom of this page. Southcoast Building LLC does not charge it. Your cost is $0.
Do I have to build with Southcoast Building LLC afterward?
No, and there is no obligation of any kind. The Feasibility Study is a standalone $0 engagement. If you decide to build, choosing a contractor is entirely your decision, and any construction would be a separate agreement with the contractor you select.
How big can my ADU be?
A protected-use ADU is capped at the smaller of 900 square feet or one half of your home’s gross floor area. The catch is that gross floor area includes basements at compliant ceiling height, finished or not, which is why homes that look large enough often are not. We measure from interior faces and put the calculation on the sheet.
How long does it take?
The MHP ADU Incentive Program allows 30 days. We routinely finish in seven. We answer inquiries the same day or the next business day, and the pace after that is set by how quickly you can sign the authorization form and how quickly we can get on your property.
What is an ADU?
An Accessory Dwelling Unit is a smaller, self-contained home on the same lot as a single-family house — with its own kitchen, bath and entrance. A detached cottage in the yard, a converted space above the garage, or an attached suite with its own front door all count.
What do I need to have ready?
Nothing in advance. It helps if you know roughly what you’re picturing and roughly what you want to spend, but plenty of homeowners start the conversation with neither.
What if my property doesn’t work for an ADU?
Then the study tells you that, with the reasons. Knowing early costs you nothing here and saves you real money later.
Can more than one study be done on my property?
No. One feasibility study per property is available under the MHP ADU Incentive Program. Tell us early if you think a prior owner may have had one done and we’ll check before we start.
Start your free Feasibility Study
Tell us where the property is and what you’re thinking. We’ll confirm you qualify and get a date on the calendar.
Request your study
No cost, no obligation
Before you read the disclaimer below
It states that Providers may charge property owners up to an additional $500 for a Feasibility Study. The MHP ADU Incentive Program permits that charge. Southcoast Building LLC does not charge it. Your cost for a Feasibility Study is $0.
As a participating Feasibility Study Provider (Provider) in the MHP Accessory Dwelling Unit Incentive Program, we provide property owners with Feasibility Studies and are paid $500 for each completed study by the program. Providers may charge property owners up to an additional $500 for the Feasibility Study. Feasibility Studies help property owners understand the considerations in building an accessory dwelling unit on their property. Other services beyond Feasibility Studies may be offered for which contractor selection is solely at the property owner’s discretion.
The MHP Accessory Dwelling Unit Incentive Program is a statewide initiative administered by the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, in collaboration with and on behalf of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. Eligibility, restrictions, and offers are subject to change or cancellation. Please visit mhp.net/ADU for full details.