1/20 Newsletter

First– sorry for the long delay in communication. I believe it's been a month since our last newsletter went out. The reasons are both vacation (family surf trip to Ecuador) and we got inundated with several REALLY interesting project requests which I'll reveal some details about below.

As we start this new decade I decided it was time to set a solid goal to stay focused on beyond just December 31st of 2020. Over the next 5 years, we'll strive to help 1,000 homeowners build backyard homes to create space for family and/or realize the benefits of steady rental income. We'll do this by continuing to push the envelope to reduce construction cost, help cities streamline their zoning in favor of homeowners with an idea for their land, and by empowering local General Contractors to partner with us and grow their businesses. This will be no small feat, but based on the overwhelming support we saw in the first month of our outreach efforts, 1,000 backyard homes may even be a conservative goal.

12/13 – 1/20 News

If this is your first newsletter from me, I hope you find it interesting! If not, help us improve by suggesting content or simply unsubscribe at the bottom of this email.

City Updates:

Easthampton's Economic Development and Industrial Commission will discuss allowing ADUs by right today at 4:00 at 50 Payson.
Westfield and Southampton committee members have become aware of the benefits of ADUs and are beginning to discuss them in committee. If you are a resident, contact your city councilor or members of planning/zoning board to voice your support.
Great Barrington is working on updates to its zoning bylaw that may allow mobile tiny homes in backyards.
Agawam's planning board reviewed the first version of their new ADU bylaw the second week of January.

New Cities on our Backyard Homes list:

Great Barrington, Montague, Shutesbury all allow backyard homes! Shutesbury & Great Barrington allow them by right!

MORE NEWS!

Update on the Easthampton Project

We are on schedule for an early March completion date! Our home goes into production on 2/11 and we'll accept delivery by the end of February. Stay tuned for photos of the home on the production line and possibly even a breaking ground party.

Keep your fingers crossed for warm weather at the end of February so we don't have to dig through too much frozen ground.

The Polar Plunge

The polar plunge WAS AWESOME. All Out Adventures surpassed its goal and raised over $16,000 to help fund its programming.

We even got to go surfing in Western Mass:

Detached Condo Communities (micro-cottage/tiny house communities)

We had multiple people contact us about developing land that they own into small micro cottage communities. Some of the inquiries came from landowners with double in-town lots and others had 50+ acres located in a hill town. WE LOVE THIS IDEA for multiple reasons.

The landowner gets to benefit financially from the project more so than if they just sold the land
The landowner can participate in the community's design and protect key aspects of their land
The landowner can minimize the taxes they pay and still enjoy the land
The landowner decides how much money they need to make by selling the cottages which could increase the likelihood they stay affordable

If you want to learn more about the development process, download this guide.

If you might be interested in buying on of these condos, reply to this email!

Build-to-Suit Backyard Condos

Many of the town/cities that allow detached ADUs also allow them to be sold separately as condos. This means homeowners could allow somebody to build an ADU in their backyard! If you are a homeowner interested in selling part of their backyard, contact us! We have been approached by several people interested in building in someone's backyard.

Bathroom Renderings

We just finished the bathroom renderings for Jade! See all the interior shots for Jade here: https://backyardadus.com/jade-1-bedroom

Potential Northampton project!

One the properties we evaluated in the new year was PERFECT for a backyard home. It is walkable to downtown, super close to the bike path and has ample backyard space to preserve privacy. More information will come, but here is the preliminary site plan from our property report:

PS- if you want a plan like this for your home, reply to this email