Has anyone reviewed S2A modular? Just doing my diligence

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Has anyone reviewed S2A modular? Just doing my diligence

Mark Caudill
Investor · Elizabeth, CO · Member since 2016 · 32 posts · 29 votes

There is a new green modular company out of hemet, ca. S2A Modular Went thru their presentation yesterday. Just wanted to see if anyone else has looked into them. Supposedly they can build a custom or one of their predesigned floor plans with tesla powerwall, graphene solar panels for a "net-zero" or "net-positive" house for $165 a sq ft. First units out by 2021.

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Artur Madej
Investor · Orlando, FL · Member since 2016 · 6 posts · 36 votes
6y

Please do your DD carefully. There are many companies out there offering similar solutions and ideas. I almost invested in a near identical scenario in Orlando a few years back. I listened to this particular webinar and it was a deja-vu experience, it was surreal. The company I evaluated in orlando claimed to be able to build "ecco homes" using pre-fabricated pieces with solar panels. They actually had a production line set up and I visited it. The concept was brilliant and exciting. The numbers looked too good to be true. However, I'm a seasoned investor and business man and have learnt over the years to be very skeptical of people with grand visions but not much of a track record, but great presentations. The company that I was seriously considering folded within a few months and there were accusations of nepotism, embezzlement, usurping of projects... the list goes on. Needless to say the house of cards collapsed and not a single house was built. I believe they are mired in lawsuits now. But oh my, what a great sales pitch they had!

Now... take a look at the webinar and look between the PR fluff. The tech guy knows his stuff but does the webinar from a bedroom with the bed right behind him. What professional person does that ? I get it that we are in a Covid induced environment and we are all working from home.... but how can you possibly think that is a positive image that gives the audience comfort? What does it say about his judgement?

A quick google search shows for S2A shows the following:

S2A Investments 2, LLC raised $300,000 from 2 investors on 2020-06-08.

S2A Investments 2, LLC Filings

DateFiling TypeOfferedSoldRemainingMin. investmentInvest. countExemption / Exlusions
2020-06-08New Form D$15,000,000$300,000$14,700,000$150,000206c[SEC Filing]

S2A Investments 2, LLC raised $300,000 in total.


So they managed to get 300k by mid June.
Look up the registered address for the LLC



This is where their registered office is.

Do you really want to send your 150k investment here?
Do you really believe it will be worth 2m in 5 years?

Now... they many be legit and I may be watering the wrong tree..BUT... I could write a book on all the shenanigans and screws up I have seen in my 30 years of adult life in a business setting. In reading some of the innocent comments from fellow investors I felt very strongly in posting this comment. I've seen this play out - in a bad way - too many times.

Proceed with great caution.
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  • Jonathan Silberstein
    Member since 2020 · 2 posts · 2 votes
    5y

    A great thread from all. Reminds me of college case studies but in reality.  As an insurance broker for over 20 years, if you get a lead or a referral, you jump on it.  I too was on a call and was interested in building a vacation home and invest.  I received the investment docs and a follow up call the next day.  I'm still waiting for a sales person to call.  Also, my limited research on other manufactures typically only produce 100 -200 projects a year.  Their numbers are based on 500?  Odd.  I do believe this concept will evolve and will be more common in the near future. Wallstreet needs to get excited.  - just like the insurance industry Lemonade.com.  Just my thoughts

    0Reply
  • Jan Vandenberg
    Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2016 · 5 posts · 0 votes
    5y

    I too sat through the webinar and much of it sounds too good to be true. Following to see where this goes and will certainly do my own DD as a potential investor and user as well.. Very informative thread.. Thank you all!

    0Reply
  • Marty Clemons
    Member since 2020 · 1 post · 1 vote
    5y

    I invested in their Patterson, CA factory.  It broke ground last week.  I initially heard about the company from one of their bankers who is a work associate and very sharp business woman.  I have been impressed with everyone I have dealt with in the company.  
     
    The one thing no one is discussing is how they have a built in pipeline for each factory from developing Bahia Villages (55+ community).  

    We need to build net zero houses at scale, not one offs.  I hope they are successful.  

    My understanding is that they got Patterson permitted and construction started even though Hemet was planned first.  

    It will be a feat to roll out a national footprint, but I am impressed with the team, their experience and their authenticity in wanting to make the world a better place.

    Risky to disrupt the building industry status quo?  You bet.  


    1Reply
  • David Astemborski
    Member since 2020 · 3 posts · 2 votes
    5y

    Most what I read in this thread is about the smart home technology not being ready from S2A Modular. 
    Has anyone in this thread bought a modular home from S2A modular?

    0Reply
  • Matt Devincenzo
    Investor · Clairemont, CA · Member since 2011 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @David Astemborski:

    Most what I read in this thread is about the smart home technology not being ready from S2A Modular. 
    Has anyone in this thread bought a modular home from S2A modular?

    I don't think they are doing any sales yet...they have factories under construction or potentially ready for construction so they are probably another year out from any sort of a product rolling off the line. 

    1Reply
  • David Astemborski
    Member since 2020 · 3 posts · 2 votes
    5y

    So with S2A modular not having any plants up and running, does anyone on this thread know of good and reliable MODULAR home companies up and running? We are planning on buying a home in early spring (March / April) time frame.

    0Reply
  • Frank Edwards
    Rental Property Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2020 · 4 posts · 4 votes
    5y
    Check out Prefab Review, they have good articles and resources that will help find Prefab manufuctures in your area. They also have a Prefab Concierge service that might be of use to you (I'm actually planning to use them in the next month or so). Dwell is another good recourse for finding Prefab manufuctures in your area.

    Originally posted by @David Astemborski:

    So with S2A modular not having any plants up and running, does anyone on this thread know of good and reliable MODULAR home companies up and running? We are planning on buying a home in early spring (March / April) time frame.

    0Reply
  • Raisa Rodriguez
    Member since 2020 · 7 posts · 1 vote
    5y

    @Frank Edwards Thanks for the recommendation. I had a great conversation with the Prefab Concierge today. Let's see where it leads. I'll let you know next week after our follow up meeting.  Seems to good to be true at the moment.  Checking out Dwell now. 

    @David Astemborski Depends on your location.  Apparently, the Prefab Concierge can help you answer that question but perhaps we can too.  

    1Reply
  • Paul Doer
    Member since 2020 · 14 posts · 17 votes
    5y

    Everybody listen to Arthur Madej, he is a smart man. If you look at their presentation you would think they have been doing this for years. Guess what, they haven't even built one unit. They don't even have a completed factory. The video with Rowland looks like he is standing in one of their factory's. ITS A GREEN SCREEN ! So to me they are trying to use fancy marketing to deceive you. As Arthur points out they need over $14 million more funding just to complete the 1st factory. They sucked 2 in for $300,000 , good luck with that who ever you are. Are you kidding? They are way behind. One of them clowns even talks like they are exploding with expansion all over the country. Hello, they don't even have the first one done yet or sold not one home yet.

    If you look up one of the co-founders you will see a lot of sketchy publicity on him when he had a company in Chicago. Since then he has had two other auction companies and investment companies just disappear after they were complete busts. They also talk like they are partners with Elon Musk, come on now. Call any of the companies Rowlands mentions and ask if they have any business relationships with them. What he means is they will be buying the products to use in their designs if they even make it that far.  I think these guys are trying to get rich with other peoples money. Thats my opinions.

    DO YOUR OWN DD before you do anything. I wouldnt touch this with a 10ft pole. 



    3Reply
  • Paul Meyer
    Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2020 · 23 posts · 7 votes
    5y

    Thanks for all of the input in this informative thread. I too was looking at both purchasing an S2A modular house and investing. I also thought their presentation was too good to be true. Their valuations seem way off as they have not even built a single home yet. I very much want a company like theirs to be successful for many reasons (environmental, cost, and beautiful architecture). Looking forward to seeing updates about them on this thread. 

    2Reply
  • Mark CaudillPro Member
    Pensacola, FL · Member since 2018 · 51 posts · 32 votes
    5y

    In order to keep the train on the proverbial track, S2A Modular has not produced a product to date. I am more interested in how this will play out and see this as an opportunity could benefit us all. It has been beneficial to see the different opinions on how to analyze S2A modular. My humblest thanks to those who used their valuable time to look at it. I will update as I find more info.

    1Reply
  • Bryan Samson
    Member since 2020 · 1 post · 2 votes
    5y


    Thanks for the great conversation on this topic. I too participated in an investor presentation in Aug 2020 and remain skeptical. One thing that was discussed is their use of 3rd party factories while waiting for their factory to be completed. I know a number of you mentioned they haven't built anything yet. Which is true, but their designs should be standing somewhere if they used a 3rd party facility, right? They talked about completed homes, but I have yet to receive info on those locations after asking for a follow-up.

    2Reply
  • Jerry Hsieh
    Member since 2020 · 2 posts · 0 votes
    5y

    Anyone here got the notice about the investment requirement jumps from 150k to 200k for 0.5% ownership?  

    0Reply
  • David Astemborski
    Member since 2020 · 3 posts · 2 votes
    5y

    I have also asked for a call back as a buyer and never have received any call back. I have also sent emails to several individuals on there team, and No reply. We are pretty much done with this firm, moving on to other companies in Colorado. Starting our research all over again. 

    2Reply
  • Paul Doer
    Member since 2020 · 14 posts · 17 votes
    5y

    David, Smart by letting this one go.  Yeah,  this is not a professional company at all. A few months ago I saw a presentation on Vimeo which was ridiculous. This Brian Kuzdas character is a complete snake oil man in my opinion. He takes credit for being a CEO and co founder of this company. The way he tries to talk to investors about how fast you will get your money back in your pocket is just plain ridiculous. This is the most ridiculous presentation I have ever listened too. This is someone Tom Nash should be made aware of. 

    https://vimeo.com/432313246

    2Reply
  • X McDonald
    Member since 2020 · 1 post · 1 vote
    5y

    interested investor and consumer, but skeptical...waiting for the first one to be produced.  

    1Reply
  • Jonathan Silberstein
    Member since 2020 · 2 posts · 2 votes
    5y

    I agree with David. Unfortunately they were onto something but execution was faltering.  Too slick marketing. I'm still waiting for a rep to call me about building a home for about 2 months. Thanks for everyone's input

    2Reply
  • Paul Doer
    Member since 2020 · 14 posts · 17 votes
    5y

    Jonathan they wont call you back because they cant. They don't have a factory, they never had a factory, nor do they have access to a factory. Heck I even watched a video they reposted trying to take credit for showing a built home with a Tesla in the garage. Guess what...its NOT theirs !!!! They are trying to suck in investors to slowly piece meal their company together. Then they have the gall to say the have factories going up all over the country! This guy is the Trevor Milton of the fabricated home. A complete farce. Stay far far away !

    1Reply
  • Raul Lara
    Member since 2020 · 4 posts · 4 votes
    5y

    Hoping to revive this thread as it's been great reading so far. I'm interested in using modular to build relatively soon. I've been in contact with one of their sales people and they respond at least once per day. She emailed me the catalog and to be honest everything looks pretty amazing. I'm taking a trip soon to check out another modular company in northern cali who is more established and VERY responsive and the s2A location in Patterson happens to be on my way. Anyone have any recs on what to look for to make sure it's not a dummy location? A couple observations. 

    1. HVAC is traditionally a big ticket item. I noticed that mini split systems are included in the per sq foot price. I'm not sure how I feel about them. There's definitely pluses and minuses but in my eyes I lean more towards having ducting for a traditional whole-house system.

    2. Use of graphene solar panels. Doing some research on this it seems like graphene is expensive and not yet widely used. Is anyone concerned about this technology? The FAQs do point out that their panels have a 30 year warranty. This sounds great except would prove useless if the company goes under or gets sold unless there is explicit protections in the contract. Regarding this, googling "FreeVolt PV Graf" (which is the product they would be using) gives me results with lots of random websites that essentially have the same word-for-word story about how s2a is the only company that uses these: https://solarbuildermag.com/ne...; https://www.renewableenergymag...; https://powerlinks.news/solar-... etc etc etc. Do these websites basically just use what gets sent to them from the companies?

    Anyway, this seems to be early in the game. Not in a terrible hurry to build so will have some time to do some research. Has anyone had a chance to check out their Hemet Mega Factory? Thank you all for your time and input.

    0Reply
  • Sendhil Krishnan
    Investor · Orange County, CA · Member since 2013 · 119 posts · 127 votes
    5y

    @Raul Lara

    would you mind sharing the details of the other modular company in Northern California that you are visiting? Are they willing to build multi families out of state, namely in Phoenix?  I currently owned land near downtown Phoenix and if I find a suitable modular company would certainly utilize their services if the appropriate price per square-foot is achievable

    0Reply
  • Raul Lara
    Member since 2020 · 4 posts · 4 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Sendhil Krishnan:

    @Raul Lara

    would you mind sharing the details of the other modular company in Northern California that you are visiting? Are they willing to build multi families out of state, namely in Phoenix?  I currently owned land near downtown Phoenix and if I find a suitable modular company would certainly utilize their services if the appropriate price per square-foot is achievable

    Cutting Edge Homes. They have been incredibly helpful and communicative, have even helped me with bids for topo and soil studies. the owner and his wife came out personally to my lot as part of the feasibility study and this was only $500 which is credited if I go with them. Their factory is in Woodland, CA (20 min north of Sacramento) and they are very transparent and willing to do factory tours. I'm looking to build a SFH for now so unfortunately I can't answer your questions about building out of state multi-family but they will get back to you very quickly if you contact them. Not sure if it will help me in anyway or not, but I wouldn't mind if you dropped my name if you do!

    0Reply
  • Sendhil Krishnan
    Investor · Orange County, CA · Member since 2013 · 119 posts · 127 votes
    5y

    @Raul Lara

    thanks for the information. I will definitely drop your name and hopefully that can help you out. I’ll connect with them tomorrow :)

    1Reply
  • Paul Doer
    Member since 2020 · 14 posts · 17 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Raul Lara:

    Hoping to revive this thread as it's been great reading so far. I'm interested in using modular to build relatively soon. I've been in contact with one of their sales people and they respond at least once per day. She emailed me the catalog and to be honest everything looks pretty amazing. I'm taking a trip soon to check out another modular company in northern cali who is more established and VERY responsive and the s2A location in Patterson happens to be on my way. Anyone have any recs on what to look for to make sure it's not a dummy location? A couple observations. 

    1. HVAC is traditionally a big ticket item. I noticed that mini split systems are included in the per sq foot price. I'm not sure how I feel about them. There's definitely pluses and minuses but in my eyes I lean more towards having ducting for a traditional whole-house system.

    2. Use of graphene solar panels. Doing some research on this it seems like graphene is expensive and not yet widely used. Is anyone concerned about this technology? The FAQs do point out that their panels have a 30 year warranty. This sounds great except would prove useless if the company goes under or gets sold unless there is explicit protections in the contract. Regarding this, googling "FreeVolt PV Graf" (which is the product they would be using) gives me results with lots of random websites that essentially have the same word-for-word story about how s2a is the only company that uses these: https://solarbuildermag.com/ne...; https://www.renewableenergymag...; https://powerlinks.news/solar-... etc etc etc. Do these websites basically just use what gets sent to them from the companies?

    Anyway, this seems to be early in the game. Not in a terrible hurry to build so will have some time to do some research. Has anyone had a chance to check out their Hemet Mega Factory? Thank you all for your time and input.

    I would say this, I have noticed that this company tries to create its own "buzz" around a media release. In fact I believe they actually do a lot of their own press at these free blogs. Ask yourself this, what solar panel company that is striving to be successful would put their hard working eggs into one basket.  Why would they limit themselves to be involved with one source who is not even selling product at this time instead of being used on a global basis with other companies that are up and running already? Just doesn't make any sense to me. Good luck to you on the other company. Let us know how far S2A modulars graded lot looks , I believe that's all they have done so far with the funds they have available.

    Also when it comes to "Graphene" I found this interesting. Right now its SUPER expensive, but by no means will this company be the only one using it. Come on already.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QJzBW4lJ74

    1Reply
  • Raul Lara
    Member since 2020 · 4 posts · 4 votes
    5y
    You were right, @Paul Doer. mostly grading at this point.


    4Reply
  • Paul Doer
    Member since 2020 · 14 posts · 17 votes
    5y

    @Raul Lara Thank you for taking the time and confirming what I think we all knew. Unless they can sucker other people into investing they are at a stand still. They need to quit making huge claims. Like I said they are the Trevor Milton of modular. If nobody knows who Trevor Milton is, hes easy to research. Cheers Raul !!!

    Here is a post from the CEO back in June , talk about ********:


    "S2A Modular is now taking orders at our MegaFactory in Hemet, CA located at 1321 State St. As phase one and two completes, we'll have about 240,000 sq ft of build-out (2-100,000+ sq. ft. factories, 2-12,500 sq. ft. manufacturing facilities, 1-5,000-sq. ft. showroom and 5-model homes). The MegaFactory is equipped with 700-graphene solar panels along with a Tesla PowerPack storage facility making it the first of its kind netZero (NZEB) facility.We build renewable energy smart ADU's, single family, apt bldgs., hotels and commercial mixed-use, using the modular method of construction."



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