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, who builds, how cost figures are sourced, financing, who pays HousUp, agent referrals, privacy, and photographs.

Who we are

HousUp is a homeowner-first service: a free preliminary report on the property you already own and an introduction to a licensed participating builder for your area, who may reach out about it — free, no obligation. HousUp is operated by HousUp LLC, Washington UBI 606 307 303, principal office 1010 SE Everett Mall Way, Ste 102, Everett, WA 98208, (206) 419-6266 or (206) 941-5967. Now in Washington. More states coming.

Who builds

HousUp does not build anything and does not claim to. Design and construction are offered by the partner builder for your area under its own written contract. Every Washington contractor must be registered, bonded and insured with the Department of Labor & Industries (RCW 18.27); your builder's name and registration number appear on the report's builder page and on every proposal. Verify any Washington contractor at secure.lni.wa.gov/verify.

The report

The HousUp property report is a preliminary 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 a few hours, without waiting on a manual review. Anything the system could not confirm from a desk — a county record that did not answer, a rule we have not re-verified, a mapped hazard — is listed in the report as a point to confirm with the builder, with the question to ask. If we cannot find your parcel from the address, we email you for one thing before the report is built.

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. If something you hoped for won't fit, the report says so and shows what might.

The report may name a size range and show which plan sizes may fit. It does not choose a builder for you, and you are free to use any designer or contractor, including one with no connection to HousUp.

Upgrades

Kitchens, baths and whole-home remodels don't need a report. HousUp collects a few details, a person calls, and if you want to go further, HousUp introduces the partner builder for your area.

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 figures for backyard homes, home additions and garage conversions in Snohomish and King County, each shown with its source and date. They are not quotes. A report gives a range specific to your parcel with each rate sourced and dated. Published figures generally exclude permits, utility connection fees and Washington sales tax. A fixed price comes only from a builder's design and engineering phase and a signed construction agreement, whose amount and payment schedule the builder states in writing before you sign.

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 its partner builders are lenders or mortgage brokers; none arranges loans, and none pays or receives compensation for a lender 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.

Who pays HousUp

HousUp is free to homeowners. When a homeowner HousUp introduces signs a contract with a participating builder, the builder pays HousUp a program fee. If a real estate agent referred you, a referral fee is paid to that agent's brokerage firm out of what the builder pays — never by you — and the agent is paid through their firm (RCW 18.85.361(19)). HousUp never pays a real estate licensee directly. HousUp is free to you. Any price you are quoted comes from the builder's written proposal and construction agreement, and you are free to use any contractor.

Before you sign a design or construction agreement, you receive and sign a written disclosure that says who is paid, states any ownership HousUp and the builder share, and confirms you are free to use any contractor.

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 ask for a report, an upgrade call, the waitlist 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 answer your request, to issue a partner login, and to contact you about your request. The participating builder for your area receives the details it needs to review a property and to contact you about your report, as you agree on the request form (a request your real estate agent sends waits for your own confirmation). You can stop that contact any time from your project page. We do not sell your information. With an agent-submitted request, the report is shared with that agent. The full privacy policy has the rest.

You may ask us to delete your information at any time by emailing [email protected].

Photographs

Photographs of finished homes on this site are real projects in the Puget Sound area, captioned by place, built by HousUp's partner builder for Washington. Illustrations and renderings are labeled as such. No photograph shows your property or promises what can be built on it.