All Forum Posts by: Jenifer Levini

@Rick H. youre funny. Old men who only want to horde business to other old men is why I get a lot of business. Its a fresh, exciting world where women have leveled the playing field. I get about 2 clients/week who want to work with a woman who is knowledgeable, answers the phone and returns calls. Thanks for the compliment though. I'm probably older than you guessed, but definitely not a curmudgeon.

Good question. My understanding is that since real estate licenses are issued by individual states, the license is good only for that state. It would be interesting to know which/if states have reciprocity in respecting each other's licenses. Or, if each/every state makes you go through the educational and testing procedure to get your license.

For law licenses (lawyers) some states have reciprocity and some dont. A lot of the east coast states honor each other's licenses. California doesnt have reciprocity with anyone.

Hi @Michael A., I'm a lawyer in California and a long time ago I was a mortgage originator in New York. Thus, I have some insight into this from both perspectives.

Here's the deal. If you intend to use a property as a business, not owner occupied, then there will be a higher interest rate, and the underwriting guidelines will be different. Generally commercial property requites 20-50% down payment, and loan terms like amortization over 10-15 years. If you do the math this means your monthly payments will probably be double what they are for a residential mortgage.

At a bank there is no one who checks to see who is occupying a property. Once a loan is processed, and approved, then the next people who deal with it are the loan servicers who make sure your payments are received.

However, this only works once. Because you can only be occupying one property as your primary residence. If you go to buy a second property without selling the first one, the mortgage payments will be on your credit report. People's needs change and they decide to move. Banks understand this. Then it depends on the terms written into your loan agreement.  It is commonly known that people decide to move and rent out their primary residence. Then they buy a new home as their primary residence. These purchases should be separated by a year or two. If youre buying a lot of homes, such as a flipper, you cant get residential mortgages from banks. People who do this get private loans.

Hi @Catherine Decker, I'm a lawyer. I can help you with your neighbors. A lot of the advice here touches on the correct path toward fixing your problem. We can talk about all the options.

And I'm also developing tiny home villages. So I can help you navigate that too. 

BP wont allow me to leave my phone number or email address here in the forums. Please message me and we can exchange contact info there.

Jen

Thanks @Naseer Khan! i was just reading the FTB guidelines and the penalties for failing to pay the California taxes on the FTB website. Unfortunately, there isnt a saving, as far as taxes, by doing an out-of-state series LLC. Its unfortunate because there could be other organizational benefits for having an umbrella entity and sub-entities. And, after talking to a lawyer in Delaware about it, the paperwork for sub-entities is less too, plus the Delaware Court of Chancery is much more business friendly than California courts.
Another idea tested and discarded. Oh well!

Has anyone started up and run a Delaware Series LLC in California? What are the pros and cons? It looks like having the "series" which allows many LLCs to be operated under one umbrella LLC would be much more economical than operating a bunch of California LLCs, in terms of paying taxes on each LLC, accounting time and fees, etc. Since California does not provide for formation of series LLCs but does recognize foreign series LLCs, is this the best way to own many different properties, each in a seperate shielded entity under an umbrella shielded entity? Or do you end up paying taxes in Delaware and California making it more expensive?
Thanks in advance for sharing your experience on this.

PS. I'm a lawyer, experienced in forming California LLCs, and Delaware C-Corps. Just not this other entity. So I dont need basics explained.

anyone still interested in this topic, please see my June 20, 2016 post
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/517/topics/324006-funding-for-tiny-home-village-in-california

The Opportunity

The San Francisco and Monterey Bay Areas have some of the most impacted housing markets in the world. This has caused rental prices to skyrocket as demand for housing far exceeds supply. Building housing is difficult because soaring real estate prices and very restrictive zoning laws make it cost prohibitive to create enough housing to keep up with demand when only one large home can be built on each lot. There is a solution - Tiny Homes in villages. Tiny Homes offer people the chance to own custom homes that they move into a community. In the community or village, each home owner pays a space rent & maintains his/her own home.

This model of housing, which is a new type of RV/mobile home park, has not been built in California since the 1970’s. Those who knew how to build these parks have retired.

The History

The reason mobile homes fell out of favor is because the manufacturers built low quality, dangerous housing. For safety, cities and counties created zoning laws to prevent building new parks which could become slums. But times and sensibilities have changed. Now, that the low quality has been replaced by the tiny home builders using high quality, natural materials. Many people want the opportunity to live this sustainable lifestyle. My company, Wishomes, already has a waiting list with hundreds of people who want to live in tiny homes.

Who We Are

Very few people will be able to build these parks because of the amount of legal work and red tape. I’m a real estate lawyer. Ive already put in 1200 hours going through county, city and state regulations to find the exceptions and which zoning areas will allow parks to be built. Ive also researched the law suits that jurisdictions have fought (and lost) for not providing affordable housing, which is mandated by state law. My partner is a retired mobile home park inspector and general contractor. He has the relationships within the California State Housing & Community Development Department to get responses from the staff. Our third Partner is a real estate developer who has successfully developed multifamily housing in this market. We are moving full steam ahead with building these parks. I believe that we are the only team who will be able to bring this development to fruition with the least number of problems.

The Plan

Our first parks will be in Santa Cruz County. Currently we are meeting with planning commissioners and looking at real estate. We have identified potential properties, and intend to get something under contract within 6 weeks. One planning commissioner has offered us complete cooperation from his city, including favorable treatment on water, sewer, electric hookup, and zoning changes, if necessary. We have a complete business plan, prospectus and financial spread sheet available.

Investment Details

We are looking for accredited investors. The total investment for each park is  $3M for a MAXIMUM of 10 investors with a minimum investment of $300K each. Active investors with experience developing either multifamily housing or on rural land, as well as passive investors, are welcome.

Do This Now

If you are an accredited investor interested in learning more about this opportunity, please contact me here on BP. I will send you an NDA, after that is signed, our business plan which explains the opportunity for both cash flow and appreciation, and the risks will follow.

Thank you in advance for following up on this opportunity immediately.

Jenifer Levini, Esq.

President

Wishomes

Website: Wishomes.us

@Shay Reynolds

Hi, I'm moving forward to do the same thing in California. I'm developing tiny home villages in the most expensive housing market in the country according to the Wall Street Journal, Santa Cruz, CA.
Dont worry about the nay sayers. That's why visionaries are visionary. Once ordinary people learn more about tiny houses, walk through and experience them, and see the types of communities that develop around a lifestyle where bigger is not better, they'll come around. Adding another type of housing to the housing mix is the only way to solve the housing problem. It wont be solved by doing the same things that created the problem.
In California, zoning rules control the  way each parcel of land is used. Zoning rules are created in each city or county by the local government. There is an overlay of the State government, called Housing & Community Development that also controls occupiable dwellings. You'll need to get familiar or find someone who is familiar with the rules where you want to develop. 

Also, here, the price to develop the community is $3-4million for a village of 100 tiny homes. That includes buying the land, the government application and entitlement process, building the infrastructure (water, sewer, electric, solar...). Do you have the money or investors? If, after researching, you are seriously going to do something, let's connect.