Key facts
- Hana Brown financed the construction of a 900-square-foot ADU for her parents.
- The ADU allows Brown's parents to live rent-free.
- The total cost of the ADU construction was $400,000.
- The ADU was completed in 2021.
- Brown and her husband purchased their home in 2020 with the goal of housing her parents.
Hana Brown has provided her parents, Azra and Jasmin Catak, with a rent-free living situation by building a 900-square-foot accessory dwelling unit (ADU) on her property in Oregon. The project, completed in 2021, cost $400,000 and was financed by Brown and her husband, James Brown.
Brown, 42, and her family are originally from Bosnia-Herzegovina, having fled civil war in 1992 and spent time as refugees in Germany before immigrating to the United States. Throughout their journey, her parents, Azra, 62, and Jasmin, 73, provided for her and her brother. Brown lived with her parents intermittently as an adult before marrying James Brown and starting their own business, Gresham Grocery Outlet.
When the Browns were searching for a home in 2020, they prioritized properties with enough space to accommodate her parents. They ultimately purchased a five-bedroom, three-bathroom house on two acres of land for $945,000. Although the main house could technically house all four of them, the Browns wanted her parents to have their own distinct space. The ADU construction, which began in 2021, took a year to complete. During this time, the Cataks resided in a rental home in Vancouver, Washington. The Cataks currently spend part of the year in Bosnia, with Jasmin staying for approximately five months and Azra for three months annually.