All Forum Posts by: Jenifer Levini

Hi All,

Our tiny home village group is having a meetup on Saturday, June 18th, 7PM at 

Mountain Mike's Pizza (party room) 
3715 Portola Dr
Santa Cruz

Please register via our meetup group 
http://www.meetup.com/We-are-developing-a-tiny-hom...

The topic of conversation is assessing interest in a tiny home village development in Watsonville, along with other information about the steps we are taking to develop the village. 
Yes, its  really happening! This will be of interest to people who are interested in living in tiny homes, and investors who are seeking investments in residential/commercial affordable housing communities.

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 Now, that the low quality has been replaced by the tiny home builders using high quality, natural materials.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. 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 just under $3M for a MAXIMUM of 10 investors with a minimum investment of $290K 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

Hi @Account Closed, Youre right tiny homes are one of the answers to providing housing in constrained markets. Being energy efficient, providing a type of sustainable living, portability and a lot of other features make them super attractive. I am not familiar with the hosing codes or zoning laws in Oregon or Portland. But i can tell you a little about California. In California what you are proposing would be illegal for a couple of reasons. First, the local zoning. In this state there is only one county that allows tiny homes to be placed on a lot along with a residence. to have a second dwelling (a.k.a. an accessory dwelling unit or ADU) it must meet a variety of size, plumbing, and other requirements that tiny homes dont meet. Also you mentioned that your home is in an industrial zone. Many places dont allow residential dwellings in industrial zones. That would be a matter of checking the zoning details in your city, to find out. Generally, City's dont want peole pulling vehicles onto their property and allowing other people to live in them. Historically this created "trailer" blight so lots of towns have rules against this sort of living arrangement. That was before beautiful tiny homes came along.
In California, the State has said they will forbid people from occupying these dwellings by basically forcing you to unplug and disconnect the hose. (i.e. youre allowed to park your RV in your driveway, but not to live in it.) Ive found some legal ways to make tiny home living work in California. And I am hoping to break ground on building our first village within a year. What's Oregon doing about this?

@J. Martin I would be interested in speaking about tiny homes and tiny home villages at this event. People are really excited about the concept of a new type of housing added to the housing mix. But no one can figure out how to do this, until now. As a real estate lawyer, Ive been reading the regulation for the State of California to find out what is and isnt occupiable housing. In fact, the HCD recently published internal guidelines about what is a tiny house and how they will prosecute those who occupy or sale dwellings that dont meet the guidelines. Its fairly complicated but I feel confident I can explain it. Ive also been reading the general plans of some of the counties to determine which ones will allow Tiny Home Villages and how difficult it will be to bring this vision to fruition. Give me a call for more info and to discuss. 

@Meghan O'Connor xoxox!

I'm leading a meetup about tiny homes in Santa Cruz on June 18. here is the link:

http://www.meetup.com/We-are-developing-a-tiny-hom...

The meetup location is tbd. We are looking for some place bigger than our last packed one. I'll be down there for the weekend. Let's connect.

Jen

Hi Matthew, Welcome to BP. We have a Sonoma County real estate investor meetup, once a month on first Tuesday of the month. Here is the link:

http://www.meetup.com/Sonoma-County-Real-Estate-In...

See ya there.

Jen

Hi Travis, Welcome to BP. If youre looking for a group in Sonoma County, there is a real estate investor group that meets once a month in Petaluma. The meetings are on Tuesday nights at Wahoe House. There is no charge to attend but you should buy your dinner to support the free space (good burgers). Investors and vendors from all around Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Sonoma, Marin County to Lake County attend the meetup. Here is the link:

http://www.meetup.com/Sonoma-County-Real-Estate-In...

The organizer is 

Jen

And, the fact that this is a legally complex concept, establishes the value of lawyers. We are here to help people. there may be a website out there that lets you create an LLC for $1.50. But not understanding what youre doing, and not getting the advice of someone who was educated to help you with these situations, isnt doing yourself any favors. Its not saving money. A good lawyer not only files the papers, she listens to your situation and creates the operating guidelines that fit your situation and then she educates you on how you need to manage this legal entity to keep your business in compliance. Its a whole process. Its creation of a team. And when something goes wrong, there is someone out there who knows the intricacies of your business who you can call.

Hi@Ron B.

To answer your question

'Can you please clarify what you meant by

"Likewise, insurance doesnt protect and partition off your personal assets if someone is injured on your property...""

An LLC is not a form of insurance. An LLC is an entity. A person is an entity. A corporation is an entity. an LLC is a type of corporation. The reason that an LLC protects one's personal assets takes a few steps to explain. My analogy for this is that its like having a child. Imagine that you have a child (magically born at the age of 18 so she can own property), then buy a property and make that child the owner of the property. Can you see that since the child is the owner, the child is responsible for the property, and your assets, like your home and other investments are not on the line if something goes wrong on the property? That is one of the benefits of having an LLC, its an entity without having to give birth.

An LLC has all the powers of a natural person in carrying out its business activities. These powers include an LLC's power to transact its business and carry on its operations; to sue and be sued; to make contracts and guaranties; to purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire real and personal property; to sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of its property; to borrow money; to issue notes and bonds; and to pledge and mortgage its assets. The powers also include the power to be a promoter, stockholder, partner, member, manager, or agent of any person.

Can you see this is nothing like the benefit that comes from owning insurance? Creating an LLC is giving birth to an entity. One of the many things that entity can do is purchase insurance policies to protect itself from errors and omissions, professional liability, and lots of other types of insurance, just like a person could purchase the insurance.

Hi All,

I'm sorry I wasnt able to meetup with you. When is the next meeting? Is there a regular schedule? Woo Hoo for my fellow party animal women! Now that's a great resource.

Jen