I took out a second mortgage to build a tiny home in my backyard. Making money isn't the only reason it was worth it.

Elaine Yang installed an ADU in her backyard to add more housing in California. Courtesy of Elaine Yang Elaine Yang bought a house in California and built a tiny home on the property. Yang's one-bedroom, 540-square-foot ADU sits in her backyard and rents for $3,000 a month. Yang sees her ADU as a small solution to the state's housing shortage. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Elaine Yang, a strategic area and infrastructure planner based in Irvine, California, who insta...