As we approach the 10-month mark since the Eaton Fire erupted, destroying 6,000 homes in Altadena and the surrounding areas, the clock is ticking for survivors to figure out their next move – and Genesis Builders hopes to assist.
A joint venture between Century City-based real estate investment manager Cityview and Calabasas-based Montage Development, Genesis Builders seeks to provide solutions for the Altadena community offering a start-to-finish rebuild process with fixed pricing and a 16-month guarantee including pre-construction work.
“Genesis is the start of something new… We’re really trying to help people start over,” Sean Burton, chief executive of Cityview, said.
With six pre-approved home plans, available in four architectural styles – Mediterranean, traditional, craftsman and bungalow – Genesis has 24 options for homeowners. Genesis also oversees site surveys with geotechnical reports and civic plans specific to each homeowner’s lot.
In surveying all the homes destroyed in the Eaton Fire, Genesis determined that about two-thirds were between 1,000 square feet and 2,500 square feet. Thus, they created their designs to range from 1,250 square feet to 2,200 square feet.
“(Our designs) were really based on an understanding of what was destroyed and the lot configurations in Altadena,” Devang Shah, principal at Genesis, said. “That shaped and informed our product development.”
Shah also stressed that pre-approved does not mean there’s zero flexibility in a homeowner’s plan, noting that Genesis will work with clients to maximize what’s important to them within reason.
Cost and timeline
Also paramount to Genesis’ strategy was creating fixed pricing and timelines. Base prices range from $670,000 to $880,000, or $400 to $536 per square foot.
With programs like mortgage forbearance ending and relocation assistance running out, a strict and quick rebuild timeline with transparent pricing gives people “security,” said Rebecca Zandovskis, senior director of business development at Genesis.
This includes herself, as Zandovskis lost her Altadena home in the fire and is rebuilding with Genesis. Previously working at one of Cityview’s lease-ups for the last few years, Zandovskis transitioned to Genesis earlier this year.
“The silver lining of this tragedy is that I get to be a part of rebuilding my community,” she said.
Like many, Zandovskis said she explored the custom rebuilding route but ultimately compared it to “being thrown into a financial whirlwind.” Through Genesis’ program, she is able to cover her rebuild through a combination of her insurance payout, an SBA disaster loan and just a portion of her savings.
“My home was my retirement. I don’t come from wealth so it was everything for me, for my future,” Zandovskis said. “… I don’t think my co-workers realized they literally saved my future; they saved (my) retirement.”
Genesis employs a few strategies to keep pricing low. The company works Cityview and Montage’s relationships with their long-term subcontractor bases to reduce margins, stressing the social good aspect of rebuilding. It also collaborates with state and local leaders on waiving permit fees and loosening certain requirements such as including battery backup and solar due to the high cost; and it simply benefits from building in bulk.
“As opposed to building one unit at a time, we’re able to bring pricing down by building multiple units at a time and getting those economies of scale and savings that we’re able to pass on to the homeowner,” Burton said.
Working with L.A. County to get the home plans pre-approved is another factor for expediting the process, saving time and therefore money, Shah said.
It was important to ensure current homeowners weren’t forced to sell their lots at a time when homeownership is vanishing in the county, said Stephen Ross, president and chief executive of Montage Development.
One of Ross’ biggest grievances throughout the rebuild process has been observing firms making promises on pricing in the early stages but adding more costs for homeowners along the way.
“A lot of people that we picked up as clients started with a design build, and they were told X price per square foot. Now it’s X plus $100 and then there’s another $50, and they just can’t afford it,” he said. “So I don’t want them to sell their land because they think they can’t afford to buy a house.”
Fire resistance and ADUs
While timeline and cost are definitely top of mind for those rebuilding, Ross said the No. 1 concern when talking to residents was fire resistance and ensuring that something like this would not happen to them again.
Fire-resistant techniques embedded into Genesis’ home plans include “class A fire rated roofing materials and flashing; fire sprinklers; fire and ember resistant eaves, gutters and foundation vents; dual-glazed windows; fire resistant and non-combustible exterior finishes, decks, patios and porches; 5 feet of defensible space around the home; stucco siding and concrete slabs,” according to its site.
“Our mentality with everything was to make sure that we do our best to rebuild a home that will hopefully not burn down again,” Ross said.
Shah noted that these plans “exceed California code” when it comes to fire safety.
In addition to its home plans, Genesis also has plans for two 800-square-foot accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and one 528-square-foot ADU, also available in each architectural style, with costs of about $240 per square foot for a two bedroom and $350 for a one bedroom.
As of last week, Genesis had eight contracts signed for rebuilding – four of which opted for an ADU. Of the more than two dozen households working with Genesis who have not signed yet, about two-thirds expressed interest in adding an ADU, with Ross calling the demand for them “tremendous.”
This demand is not exclusive to those rebuilding but has been increasing among homeowners for about five years, according to Oren Amir, owner of Pasadena-based contractor Go Home Builders which specializes in ADUs.
He pointed out that in 2018, the number of permits pulled in L.A. County to build an ADU was between 1,000 and 2,000. Meanwhile, there have already been 14,000 so far this year. Used to generate rental income, to house family members or as flex space, ADUs increase property value, Amir said, because its square footage counts toward the overall footprint of someone’s property. For those already embarking on a rebuild, he said adding an ADU is a “no-brainer.”
“If you’re already going through a rebuild, that means you already have material and labor (at your expense) so it makes sense to build an ADU at the same time because the price will decrease compared to doing it separately,” Amir said. “It’s a no-brainer to have this investment, put it behind the house and actually gain some value out of it.”
Design quality
As part of its efforts to connect with the Altadena community, Genesis is soon opening a local storefront where clients can come in, speak with team members and explore samples of options for finishes, countertops, appliances and more.
“Rebuilding a home from a fire is one of the biggest decisions with an emotional backing attached to it too,” Zandovskis said. “So we want people to see us, shake our hands, sit down and have a conversation with us… and we want to be able to bring that to the community, rather than (ask them to come to us).”
Zandovskis also thinks clients will find value in getting to see and touch design elements in person, emphasizing the carefully sourced materials including engineered wood as opposed to vinyl and high-end Spanish tile.
“It’s one thing to see something on paper or on a computer screen. It’s another thing to actually see it live and in person,” she said. “…That’s a big part of it, to see the quality and that Genesis isn’t just fast and inexpensive, but it’s also very well built, and it’s nicer than anything I’ve ever had in any of my homes.”
Both Zandovskis and Ross said they anticipate clients will be pleasantly surprised by the options for materials.
“Our focus has been to drive the cost of building these homes as low as we can without sacrificing quality and fire resistance standards,” Shah said. “…The impetus really started from wanting to reverse engineer the challenges and the pitfalls of typical construction.”
Read more: https://labusinessjournal.com/special-reports/real-estate-quarterly-building-with-the-right-plan/
