Case study
Makara ADU · accessory dwelling unit builder, DC metro
An instant “Can I build an ADU?” checker that turns homeowners into booked consults.
Makara sells accessory dwelling units across Washington DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia. The hardest part of their funnel was the first question every homeowner asks: can I even build one on my lot? We built the tool that answers it in seconds, and the website and lead pipeline around it.
The checker
Four steps from “I wonder if I could” to a consult on the calendar.
It runs as a widget on the main site and as a standalone page at checker.makarabuilders.com, so Makara can link to it from ads, emails and social posts.
Enter an address
The homeowner types their address on the website or the standalone checker page. No account, no PDF download, no waiting for a callback.
We look up the property
The checker finds the parcel and its zoning, then runs it against the rules for that county, city or town.
Instant answer and report
Eligible, needs review, or not in our area, with a plain-English report they can keep and share.
Book the consult
One click books time with the right Makara team member. The lead already knows they qualify, so the call starts further down the funnel.
jurisdictions, each with its own rules
Washington DC, 27 Maryland counties, cities and towns, and 15 in Northern Virginia, down to zone-level rules in Arlington, Rockville and Montgomery County. Commercial and industrial parcels are rejected, townhomes are flagged for review, and addresses outside the service area get a clear “not in our area” instead of a confusing “not eligible.”
What Makara got
A sales funnel that qualifies itself.
Qualified before the first call
Sales talks to homeowners who already know their property is eligible. Out-of-area and commercial parcels never reach the pipeline.
Follow-up branches automatically
Each check writes its eligibility result and report link onto the HubSpot contact, so Makara's workflows can treat eligible and ineligible leads differently without anyone sorting them by hand.
Booked with the right person
Consult links route to the owner assigned in HubSpot, and new or unassigned leads get the default owner. Nothing bounces around.
Ads that count real leads
Checker leads report to the same Google Ads conversion as the main site, so campaign numbers reflect validated homeowners, not form spam.
More coverage than before
It replaced a WordPress plugin and added Washington DC, the City of Fairfax and the City of Alexandria, plus zoning checks the plugin never had.
Built to stay up
Bot protection, rate limiting and a lead path that fails loudly rather than silently. Audited for reliability after launch.
The website around it
Off WordPress, nothing lost, and changes live in days.
The checker needed a home that could keep up with it. Makara's site was on WordPress and Elementor: slow to load, risky to edit, and dependent on an outside agency for every change. We rebuilt it page for page so the brand and search rankings stayed intact, then took over as Makara's engineering team.
- Every page, blog post, landing page and URL carried over from WordPress with search rankings intact
- Inquiries land in HubSpot and the inbox within seconds, with spam filtered out
- New offers shipped as the business grew: ADU financing hub, Where We Build, Aging in Place, Giving Back
- No more plugin updates, broken page builders or hosting surprises
- The owner asks for a change on a call and it is live within days
- Makara owns the site, the code and the data outright
What changed for the business
Makara stopped managing a website and went back to building homes.
Homeowners get an answer the moment they are curious, instead of waiting for a callback. Sales starts every conversation with a qualified lead and a report in hand. Marketing ideas ship the week they come up. And the site keeps pace with new offers instead of holding them back.
Want this for your business?
Any business that qualifies leads by property, location or eligibility can run the same play.
Solar, roofing, remodeling, home services, insurance, financing. If your sales team spends the first call finding out whether someone qualifies, a checker on your website does that work before they pick up the phone.
Or email hello@askquala.com · Arlington, VA