McGhee, 21, and her fiancé had been living in an apartment together in Gilbert, Arizona, for two and a half years with their dog, Zeus. McGhee works in real-estate finance and is getting her degree from Arizona State University online.

When her fiancé graduated from Justice University in May, his plans were up in the air. He was deciding whether to start looking for a job or play basketball with his additional year of eligibility at a different university.

"There were just a lot of questions when he graduated," McGhee said. "Do we want to stay in the city? Do we want to move closer to where I work? Does he want to use that eligibility?"

Due to the uncertainty, McGhee and her fiancé were unsure whether to renew their lease when it expired in June. They didn't want to be locked into a lease since they were considering moving in a matter of months.

Then, McGhee's dad had an idea.

McGhee's parents live in the Phoenix area with her sister in a home they built in 2022.

McGhee lived with her family in that home for about nine months in 2022, but she then moved out to get some independence as she started adulthood.

The house had a bedroom on the main floor right next to the garage, which McGhee's parents thought could be a perfect apartment for McGhee and her fiancé, with a little work. They didn't want McGhee or her fiancé to feel like they didn't have their own space.

"I feel like a lot of kids when they move back home with their parents, maybe after college or for whatever reason, it's like they move into their childhood bedroom," she said. "My parents didn't want to give that experience to me, my fiancé, and our dog."

McGhee's father used to own a contracting company, so he was able to transform a portion of the home to make it more private for McGhee on his own. He ended up turning the garage, a bedroom, and a bathroom into a private area.

"They wanted to create a bigger space for us so that we could be there comfortably," McGhee said. "They didn't want us to have any feelings of like, 'We need to get out of here.'"

The bedroom on the main floor of the home had a bathroom next to it in a hallway, and it shared a wall with the garage.

To create an apartment-like area, McGhee's father removed the original door from the bedroom and relocated it to the end of the hallway, separating the space from the main house. When you walk into the hallway, you'll see two doorways, one that leads to the bathroom and one that leads to the bedroom.

The hallway door can also be easily removed if McGhee's parents want to revert the space once their daughter moves out.

The bathroom has all the essentials, including a bathtub, toilet, and vanity area.

Although it's separated from the main house through a door and hallway, McGhee's bathroom is the only one on the main floor. Her family still uses it sometimes, particularly if McGhee isn't home. However, she said her family always knocks before entering the apartment area, as part of an agreement they made when she moved into the space.

"I don't knock when I go into the main house, but they do knock when they get into my space," she said.

"We did have a conversation before we moved in about boundaries, chores, responsibilities, things like that," McGhee said. "I always think that being prepared is better than letting things surprise you, because things can go sideways that way."

In addition to the door that connects the bedroom to the apartment's entry hall, McGhee's father built a second door for the bedroom that leads to the garage.

McGhee previously lived in the bedroom on the main floor of the house in 2022, so she was already familiar with the space.

It's fairly small, but it has room for a bed and a nightstand. The space also has a closet and windows to bring in some natural light.

"All of that furniture we brought from our apartment," McGhee said.

When you walk through McGhee's bedroom, you end up in the garage, which has been transformed into a living area that McGhee fondly refers to as the "four corners."

Insulation covers the garage door to keep it temperature-controlled, and McGhee's father outfitted the apartment with AC.

McGhee said the AC addition was the most expensive aspect of the renovation, which cost around $700. Her dad already had tools and a lot of material on hand, so it only took him a few more hundred dollars to get the space ready for McGhee.

McGhee's parents also provided her with some furniture.

"My parents had recently acquired some antique furniture from a family friend who was downsizing their home," she said. "They had this wardrobe and dining table that was of no use."

McGhee was more than happy to take it off their hands.

"I designed and decorated the space around those two antique pieces of furniture," McGhee said. For instance, she turned the wardrobe into an open closet.

Although parts of the space still look like a garage, such as the insulated door, McGhee has made it cozy with touches like a rug, an inviting couch, and wall decor.

There's a second door in the garage that leads outside, allowing McGhee to come and go without entering the main house.

"They closed in that side yard for us," McGhee said. "Our dog gets to run around. He can go in the main backyard too, but when he just wants to run around and do his thing, he just is able to go out there."

Like the entrance to the bedroom, McGhee's dad can easily remove the patio area and screen if necessary.

"We put a temporary screen door on it, so that can easily be done away with unless they just want to keep it," she said.

McGhee cooks and does laundry in the main house, and the whole family eats together most nights. McGhee created a cooking schedule for the family to ensure it stays fair.

"I'm pretty type A, so I was like, 'Guys, listen, we have to sit down and talk about all this,'" she said.

McGhee and her fiancé also contribute to the household by paying for their own groceries and covering the extra utilities that their presence in the house generates.

"We pay for the difference in utilities that comes with leaving the AC running all the time in the garage, which obviously is a little bit more than just keeping the house cool," she said.

Still, those costs are minimal compared to what she used to pay for her apartment. McGhee said that living with her parents saves her hundreds of dollars each month.

"When we lived in Gilbert, Arizona, rent was about $2,000," she said. "At my parents', it's a few hundred dollars."

Saving money has been hugely beneficial, particularly because McGhee's fiancé ended up moving to Connecticut to play basketball at another college in August.

McGhee and her parents agreed to revisit the arrangement if she was still living with them six months after she moved in, discussing whether she should pay rent or more in utilities. McGhee is still figuring out when she will move out of her parents' house, but having the safety net of their home has made this in-between time much easier for her.

Even though McGhee lives in the same house as her family, she told Business Insider that she still spends plenty of time alone in her private space.

"When I come home from work, I stay in my own area until it's dinner," she said. "On the weekends, I'm in the main house and just hanging around with them, but on weekdays, I like my routine."

McGhee said that her parents' respect for her independence after she moved in made the transition easier.

"As an adult, they have always been very supportive and very hands-off," she said. "They approach everything the same way, even me living in their house."

"I didn't expect the adjustment to be as seamless," she added.

Still, she recommends that anyone moving in with their family have direct conversations about boundaries and expectations.

"When you're moving back in with your parents, you're an adult now, so what you may need and what you may want from your parents could look totally different," she said. "It's so important to just let them know, like, 'Thank you so much for giving me the space to do this. Is there a way we can go about it where we're respecting each other's boundaries?'"

"I know not everybody has the opportunity to do that, but if you could, I think that definitely makes a difference," she said.