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New legislation is inspiring a burst of innovative architecture

Street Shock: How ADUs and SB-9 Are Changing California Neighborhoods

New CA legislation on ADUs and sub-divisions under SB-9 is inspiring a burst of innovative architecture that can be financially rewarding for local homeowners.

Can a home built tomorrow be loved as much as one that was built decades ago?

It’s a question that is more relevant today – especially in California – than ever before, where a spate of recent legislation has made it easier than ever to build new homes. SB9 allows homeowners to subdivide their property in order to construct new rental units, while a revision to the California Health and Safety Code requires that cities and counties develop programs that incentivize the creation of ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units). Both are part of a wider effort to address the housing shortage in the state and create affordable homes for middle and lower-income families.

Yes, these laws are controversial, and many are opposed. But Belong believes that new houses can be instantly lovable, and that these laws create opportunities for innovation in the housing industry. Indeed, we’re already seeing an architectural revolution – a creative renaissance – that is partially enabled by these legislative changes.

One company that is turning ADUs into homes worthy of veneration is a start-up called Abodu that creates pre-fab units to deliver on the company’s promise: Backyard homes worth living in.

These backyard homes can be delivered in 6 months or less at a cost of around $200,000.  The buildings have a mid-century meets industrial vibe, and can quickly generate an unexpected level of affection: their Instagram feed demonstrates their cute covetability. Their website notes that they “…teamed up with world-renowned architects, Koto, to create beautiful, pre-approved spaces with enough custom design elements to make them your own. Every square inch is engineered to maximize the living potential of every yard.”

It’s an innovative model that others are also pursuing, given that the regulatory environment is so immensely favorable. ADU projects must be approved within 60 days of a permit being submitted. And cities are prevented from restrictions that might limit their proliferation: they cannot impose a minimum lot size requirement of an ADU structure, or off-street parking requirements. To help the process  along, the company says it has “pre-approved its structural engineering with California state-level agencies to ensure its units can be built statewide…”

Mayberry Workshop, an architecture firm with a commitment to building community through commercial and residential architecture in San Jose, believes that great design should be accessible to everyone. That's why although they specialise in custom work, they designed 30 pre-designed, pre-approved ADU plans so you can reduce costs and select your favourite. We quite like the way they describe the potential uses of these structures: “In-Law Unit. Home Office. Man Cave. Pool House. Shop. She Shed. Rental Unit.”  That about covers it, dontcha think? 

Last but certainly not least, Belong works with Modal to provide pre-fab ADUs to homeowners on their platform. Beautifully detailed and on-trend, these modernist-inspired homes can be quickly installed on-site by one of our thousands of vetted and trusted contractors for all qualified homeowners.

The Mercury News asks “what comes next” after the Bay Area’s single-family neighborhoods evolve. From 3,000 miles away, the New York Times writes that we are looking at what will be “A very different California.” But we are optimistic about where the combination of a pioneering law and frontier innovation will take us. 

It is a dramatic change, as neighborhoods built on the paradigm of the single-family house will become denser. The Times writes that last year:

“California cities issued about 13,000 permits for accessory units in 2020, which is a little over 10 percent of the state’s new housing stock …  up from less than 1 percent eight years ago. The effect is already visible …  four-unit buildings rising behind one-story bungalows; prefabricated studio apartments being hoisted into backyards via crane; blocks where a new front-yard apartment sits across the street from a new backyard apartment down the way from a new side-yard apartment.”

Read more about how new laws are changing Californian communities for the better

Change in urban areas is recognized as inevitable. The suburbs have been fixed in time, but that’s also changing in California – and will elsewhere. Density adds a sense of community and extends the sense of belonging – which our company is built on – to more people. 

As there are more homes to be loved, and more people to love them, neighborhoods and communities – families, too – will grow stronger and more connected, as extended families can live in warm proximity.

More local retailers – cherished bookstores and bakeries and butcher shops – will be started and supported.

There will be some challenges, for sure, but we are convinced that in a decade, or even less, we will look back at ADUs as a force for good.

How ADUs and SB-9 Are Changing California Neighborhoods

Before you pick the first on the list of "best property manager in X city", get some invaluable tips for digging deep and making an informed choice.

Looking for Good Property Managers? Search Beyond Google Listings

If you’re looking for information on anything today, the first place you turn is Google. Which is understandable – after all, Google is the gateway to the world’s information. It’s also risky, though, whether you’re looking for the best pizza, or the best property manager. Learn more about how to find the right information. 

That’s because the ability to show up as one of the top listings – or even on the first page – is subject to manipulation.   

Let us explain what that means. There are two ways to show up on Google; one is to pay for the listing, a process you might have heard about. Those listings will have the word “Ad” next to the search result. Even so, most people don’t pay attention to that and assume the listing is more objective because it is not sponsored. Research shows that two-thirds of people don’t know the difference, in fact! You might be one of them, clicking on the results for “Best property manager” without realizing that someone is paying to capture your eyeballs.

But it’s also important to understand that just because you’re not seeing “ad” next to a Google listing, it doesn’t mean it is the universal truth in the pizza or property management category. 

Although Google goes out of its way to make the point that its listings cannot be manipulated, indeed there is an entire industry called SEO – or search-engine optimization – whose purpose is to outsmart Google and get the listings of certain merchants as high in the search results as possible.

Deep diver when researching property managers

Now that we’ve given you a lesson in Google 101 – and you’ve learned why you should resist the search reflex we’ve been trained for – the logical question is “Okay, how do I find the property manager that’s right for me?”

The answer to that lies in knowing what to look for. Here are four key areas to investigate and questions to resolve; these are critical facts and signals about what it will be like to work with one property manager over another. The only way to gain these insights, as we say above, is to search on websites, not on Google.

Google won’t tell you if a property manager can handle everything from staging the house and doing any necessary repairs – to showing it and handling the move-in.

Google won’t point out if a property manager charges for photography and the creation of video tours.

Google doesn’t let you know if a property manager offers a 24/7 concierge, to handle matters large and small – and in between – with swift responsiveness and loving attention.

There’s a lot more about the search for the best property manager that, ironically, you won’t discover by searching. Some other examples include whether a property manager will charge you a fee even when your place is not rented … or if they will charge you a termination fee if you are not happy with their service. Both of those fall into the bucket of Not Very Good Days.

Also be on the lookout for hidden set-up fees – which can be as much as $500. 

In fact, unless you have some background on property management, and have done some research, it’s likely you don’t know enough to ask the right questions! Like, do I even need a property manager? What are the alternatives?

Belong is not a property management company, but could be the solution you need

Belong is dedicated to taking the mystery, misinformation, and mediocrity out of property management. So much so that we've thrown the old model of property management out the window.

Guaranteeing rent for homeowners (regardless of when it’s paid by residents)

Providing cutting-edge marketing and video tours to everyone, not just those who pay the most

Not charging hidden fees like setup costs and lease renewal charges

Offering real 24/7 concierge-level support, not just logging maintenance emergencies 

Offering financial solutions for managing cash-flow on your terms, even covering homeowners during vacancies — or providing a full year’s rent upfront 

Going beyond the owner portal for maintenance logging with two unique mobile apps designed for homeowners and residents to manage their entire renting experience

Using true market data and real-time interest from potential residents to maximize the value of your home

Connecting homeowners to an extensive vendor network of over 10,000 contractors for maintenance and repairs 

If you still want to view Google's top-rated property management companies in Washington, California or Miami, we have found them. Compare the rest or use the calculator below to see why you'd be better off with Belong. 

Discover the surprising connection between the most physical of assets, and the most virtual of them.

Cryptocurrency and The Security Of Belonging

We discovered a surprising connection between the most physical of assets - the home - and the most virtual of them, cryptocurrency. Everyone is looking for a sense of security and belonging. 

Here at Belong, we think there is a reason that the word “real” comes before “estate.”  We believe in the power of home.  The value of a tangible investment.  

A lot of people agree with us: At this point in American history, more than 67 percent of us own our own homes. This is up from 47 percent at the beginning of the 20th century, which is especially impressive, considering the nature of the economy back then.

But at the same time, homeownership is not for everyone. As we say in our Vision:

“There is more than one American Dream. Owning your own home and loving it is one of those dreams... But there are other American Dreams.

Some of these dreams are about living differently than previous generations — for whom owning was everything. We may want to use the cash to start a business — perhaps the next Belong-. We may want to experience new places. We may not have the money yet for homeownership, but still, dream of living in a glorious home where we can put down roots and experience the sense of belonging.”

We’ve quoted John Allen before, who is the author of the book Home. (The book is subtitled “How Habitat Made Us Human,” which we think cuts to the quick of the matter.)	In the book Allen poignantly writes that “We know we have been successful in creating a new home when a dwelling feels like the one place in the world that belongs to us more than anyone else."

We’ve never found a better description, anywhere, of what Belong does. How it makes people feel. People don’t need a deed to experience a deep down sense of belonging.

So, home matters. Concreteness matters. But at the same time, let’s talk for a moment – just as everyone else is doing – about cryptocurrency.  There’s nothing more intangible than a $60,000 digital asset, backed only by the fact that someone is willing to pay $60,001 for it. 

And while crypto ownership is generally pegged at 14% of Americans (some estimates have it at nearly 50%, although that is debatable), that’s still a lot of people who’ve decided to invest in a virtual currency that was scoffed at even less than a decade ago.

How, then, do we reconcile the need for something tangible and the acceptance of a currency that has nothing of physical substance behind it?

The answer comes back to our name. Although Bitcoin is decentralized, as an article in the Financial Times writes, it is a network “defined by distinctive rituals, symbols and creation myths.” The article goes on to quote Mick Morucci, an anthropologist working in crypto, who writes that “Bitcoin community’s value systems and rituals . . . have helped to establish it as money (whose price is shaped) by community, beliefs and a sense of belonging.”

Looking at it through his clarifying lens, the same human emotion that draws people to the safety and security of home – and to the neighborhoods and communities where we live – attracts them to the shared values and community that exists in CryptoWorld. 

A blog post by Suhitesh Das – a venture capitalist and advisor – makes a similar point.  He argues that “Belonging can be easily related to cryptocurrency” because it is encrypted, noting that the same “sense of security is what people also experience with belongingness.”

We are now more inspired than ever to extend the state of belonging that exists between people and their homes, to a state of connections that flourishes within the larger Belong community.  Importantly, Das also writes that “Belonging is actually about recognizing oneself as a member of a community, and the higher-quality relationships that come with it.”

That community also connects everyone who works at Belong and shares the same mission – to our homeowners and residents. 

Fascinating, isn’t it, that whether you invest in a modern home or a modern currency, a desire to belong is behind it all.

If you're asking yourself "should I invest in a rental property", you also need to consider "am I cut out to be a landlord?" If not, help is here.

Investing in Rental Property Is Easy, Managing It Isn't

With housing shortages biting and rental prices increases, many are asking "should I invest in a rental property?". With that comes another question: are you ready to take on the responsibility of being a landlord? 

When you have some money to invest, it's natural to start looking at whether to invest in property vs. the stock market. It's a subject long debated by financial professionals around the globe. Sadly, there's no easy answer. 

This article from Forbes says it well: “It’s impossible to adequately compare the returns of privately held individual real estate investments to the broad-based stock market.” MillionAcres makes the same point: “This question of real estate vs. stocks is tough to answer. There’s no way to reliably gauge individual investment property returns on a wide scale.”

What we can say reliably is that when it comes to analyzing the pros and cons of investing in real estate, one thing that always comes up is the stress and strain of being a landlord. Many homeowners new to rental ownership consider managing a property themselves to save money, without necessarily understanding the level of work that is required. 

Property management is not a simple task. Just take a look at Investopedia’s entry on the subject of rental property ownership: they ask “ Do you know your way around a toolbox? How are you at repairing drywall or unclogging a toilet?". Landlords need to respond to tenants whenever problems arise, even when it's inconvenient. Then there's the economic impact of vacancies between tenants and collecting overdue rent. If you're not well prepared or don't have a lot of time on your hands, it can get very stressful, very quickly. 

The alternative to self-managing a rental property

What if there was a way you could remove all of the stress of being a landlord, without forking over tons of your hard-earned cash to a traditional property management company? Would it make the decision easier? 

Here are some of the many ways that Belong is making things easy, by creating a simple, tech-forward option for those self-managing with the option to outsource all the hard work, too: 

Guaranteeing rent for homeowners, regardless of when it’s paid by residents



Providing real 24/7 customer support for both homeowners and residents (not just logging maintenance emergencies)



Not charging hidden fees like setup costs and lease renewal charges



Providing cutting-edge marketing and video tours at no extra cost



Taking a human approach to placing the right long-term residents that match your home



Shielding owners from costly evictions if we ever place the wrong people



An app that puts everything at your fingertips — from documentation and cash flow insights to finance and insurance solutions 



Connecting you with the most expansive, vetted vendor network of more than 10,000 professionals that can handle everything from regular repairs to full renovations



Offering insurance solutions that protect you, your home, and your residents



Innovating financial solutions for managing cash-flow on your terms, letting you split the cost of repairs, maintenance, and even your placement fee



Using true market data and real-time interest from potential residents to maximize the value of your home


While making a real estate investment requires a thorough analysis on your personal financial situation, with Belong’s ability to take the time and complexity out of being a landlord, you can definitely take those frustrations out of your decision process. Learn more about how Belong is making long-term renting lovable in cities like San Diego, Oakland, Redmond and Tampa. 

Adam Hanft

Adam is a futurist - co-author of "Dictionary of the Future" - brand strategist, public-company board member, former comedy-writer (but he hasn't stopped being vaguely amusing), and an investor in Belong.

Tyler Infelise

Flora Fiorillo

Tamara Epelbaum

Jane Allison Gunn

Lucas Hanft

Tyler Infelise

Flora Fiorillo

Tamara Epelbaum

Jane Allison Gunn

Lucas Hanft