MyKabin: Backyard Cottages: Eco-Friendly Investments that Provide Affordable Housing

04/06/20 • 74 min

Updated regulations in Seattle have more and more homeowners seriously considering the possibility of building a DADU (Detached Accessory Dwelling Unit) on their property.

Homeowners, renters, and the City of Seattle in general all stand to benefit from an increase in DADUs, but all too frequently, the cost of building a DADU can be prohibitively expensive.

Then MyKabin came along.

In this episode of the Rise Seattle Podcast, host Tyler Davis Jones sits down with Rob Hill from MyKabin. This innovative company is focused on building DADUs in the backyards of single-family homes in Seattle, and it all started with a change in regulations that allowed for more desperately needed affordable housing options.

AT THE HEART OF MyKabins

In the podcast episode, Rob and Tyler dive into how MyKabins came to be (the idea came to life over poker) and the problems that MyKabins works to address, the philosophy behind MyKabins, and what the community can expect.

After discussing the many frustrations involved with actually getting a DADU built, MyKabins Co-Founder Clint Jones and fellow Co-Founder Tom Todaro kept coming back to the fact that it was hard to get a straight answer from contractors about how much it would actually cost. They felt the construction industry was outdated with their whole process, and they wanted to figure out if they could put an upfront price on a DADU.

“It doesn’t matter how much you change the laws and make things easy,” says Rob. “If the cost doesn't make sense, nobody’s going to do it.”

After mulling over potential DADU designs and associated costs, they figured out that they *could* put a price point on the cabins, and from that idea, MyKabin was born.

Clint and Tom brought Rob on (Rob is Clint’s cousin) to focus on the sales and marketing side of things:

“I go out there, I educate people,” shares Rob. “We’re a couple of local guys trying to make things better for people and improve the city both from a green standpoint and from a density standpoint, and [creating a] chance for people to make some money too—I mean who doesn’t want to do all of that?”

“Any good product, you shouldn’t have to sell,” he adds. Rob focuses on providing education about MyKabins, and people see the inherent value on their own.

MINDSET SHIFTS & COMMUNITY IMPACT

What changed in the Seattle City Council to allow for these DADUs to be built so freely?

“I think that there was a big shift in the mindset,” shares Rob. He believes that the original rules surrounding DADUs were in place in part due to a fear that if the city opened up the “floodgates” to DADUs, people would take advantage of it. Many people were also afraid of what DADUs would do to their neighborhoods.

Rob calls this “pre-tech boom thinking”—at some point, Seattle had to realize that they desperately needed to address the housing crisis and increase density.

But of course, addressing these problems has not been without their growing pains, and Tyler acknowledges how challenging it has been for many people who have lived here for decades to watch their city transform.

Tyler adds that in a recent interview with Amy King from Square Peg, they talked about how people often discuss how expensive housing is in Seattle, and they discuss low-income housing, but rarely do people address solutions for affordable housing. Tyler adds that DADUs not only offer investment opportunities for people like him (self-described as an “average joe who is still privileged”) who can see outside the current system and can still make money all while benefiting the city.

“To me it’s win, win, win,” adds Tyler.

Rob also adds that adding DADUs to neighborhoods is a slower, more gradual way to add affordable housing to a neighborhood, versus putting in a big new condo building that’s going to have a much more drastic impact. For example, you can add a DADU to a property in Magnolia, and someone who could usually never afford a place in that neighborhood can suddenly afford to live there.

Rob also adds that “This actually helps with true economic diversity in my opinion, because you’re kind of sprinkling these affordable housing units all through the community... and it’s not as intrusive or impactful to the environment with cars and all of that.”

The saying “A rising tide raises all boats” definitely rings true here.

PROCESS & PRICE

So, what does it actually take to have a MyKabin DADU built on your property?

Ok, so let’s say you’re ready to do this. Rob walks us through the process step by step, which usually begins with people entering their address on the MyKabin website to see if...

Updated regulations in Seattle have more and more homeowners seriously considering the possibility of building a DADU (Detached Accessory Dwelling Unit) on their property.

Homeowners, renters, and the City of Seattle in general all stand to benefit from an increase in DADUs, but all too frequently, the cost of building a DADU can be prohibitively expensive.

Then MyKabin came along.

AT THE HEART OF MyKabins

“It doesn’t matter how much you change the laws and make things easy,” says Rob. “If the cost doesn't make sense, nobody’s going to do it.”

After mulling over potential DADU designs and associated costs, they figured out that they *could* put a price point on the cabins, and from that idea, MyKabin was born.

Clint and Tom brought Rob on (Rob is Clint’s cousin) to focus on the sales and marketing side of things:

“Any good product, you shouldn’t have to sell,” he adds. Rob focuses on providing education about MyKabins, and people see the inherent value on their own.

MINDSET SHIFTS & COMMUNITY IMPACT

What changed in the Seattle City Council to allow for these DADUs to be built so freely?

Rob calls this “pre-tech boom thinking”—at some point, Seattle had to realize that they desperately needed to address the housing crisis and increase density.

“To me it’s win, win, win,” adds Tyler.

The saying “A rising tide raises all boats” definitely rings true here.

PROCESS & PRICE

So, what does it actually take to have a MyKabin DADU built on your property?

Ok, so let’s say you’re ready to do this. Rob walks us through the process step by step, which usually begins with people entering their address on the MyKabin website to see if...

Previous Episode

Jesse Bradley: Finding Faith in a Health Crisis

Jesse Bradley is a former professional soccer goalkeeper (played in Zimbabwe, Africa and Aberdeen, Scotland), radio host, podcaster, author, and speaker. At Dartmouth College, Jesse took an Intro to World Religions course that sparked a curiosity about faith traditions giving him a sense that there was far more to this life than what meets the eye. After surviving several close calls with death, Jesse has developed a gratitude for every new day and opportunity to encourage people in their journey.

On this episode, Tyler asks honest questions about Christianity and the church. Jesse shares his inspiring story of facing his own mortality and finding a new identity and passion. He also talks about his vision for an evolution of faith communities across the Puget Sound and beyond.

Next Episode

Dr. Dan Hartman: COVID-19: What Does the Future Look Like?

Dr. Dan Hartman is the director of Integrated Development for Global Health at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation here in Seattle, and in this episode of the Rise Seattle podcast, Dan helps us to better understand the ever-evolving situation surrounding COVID-19.

Dan and podcast host Tyler Davis Jones chat via Zoom, and Dan answers questions like:

What is the U.S. healthcare system experiencing now?
Is Washington State on the tail end of this?
When and how do you think we'll get back to normal?
What is the Gates Foundation doing in response to coronavirus?
Where did we go wrong in our response to this?
If you could wave a magic wand and make everyone know and understand one thing, what would it be?

As a physician trained in internal medicine and pulmonary critical care, Dan now works with a highly talented team in product development assisting the different disease area teams at the foundation.

Dan starts off the episode explaining some of the science behind SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (aka COVID-19):

“It’s very different than the flu... the way it's transmitted is about 2 - 3 times easier than the flu, AND it’s about 10 - 20 times more deadly,” he shares. “When you combine those 2 things together, that’s when you start seeing healthcare systems start to be crushed under the weight of this particular disease.”

As far as what the U.S. healthcare system is experiencing right now, Dan has heard from friends who still work in hospitals who are experiencing firsthand everything that’s been happening. In the past couple of weeks, COVID-19 has been hitting different parts of the country in waves, and in some places, the majority of patients that are coming into a hospital have COVID-19. Some first responders are also reporting that 90 - 100% of people they’re helping are all dealing with COVID-19.

While those who need intervention from the healthcare system are in the minority of cases, it’s still enough that in many places, it’s completely overwhelming the healthcare system. Many people can stay at home and get better, but the people who are seeking healthcare are the ones who are experiencing serious respiratory symptoms such as shortness of breath.

And of course, there are many people who are pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic but aren’t aware of it.

“What we’re learning is there are a significant number of people who are walking around without symptoms, and that’s both good and bad,” shares Dan. “It’s good that they're not having symptoms, it’s bad that they’re walking around spreading it.”

COVID-19 has a much longer incubation time than the flu, making the spread even more likely.

“I think it was a really good idea to start to request that people would wear masks if they’re going outside and are going to be close to people,” Dan says.

TREATMENT FOR COVID-19

“It’s important for people to understand that there’s no specific therapy to treat SARS-CoV-2 and it’s really just supportive care,” Dan says. There's a lot of misinformation out there right now, and there have been many reports that specific treatments are helping people get better. But anecdotal success stories are much different than actual studies.

“If you’re on a ventilator in an ICU your probability of getting off is only around 20%. And almost all of those people are getting these drugs,” Dan shares. The drugs that Dan is referring to cover a wide range of potential treatments; if a patient is in serious decline, doctors are using all of the knowledge and tools that they currently have to try their best to treat their patients. Sometimes their methods work, and sometimes they don’t.

Of course, this is not a long-term strategy, and the Gates Foundation is actively working on treatment options.

“We’re working on 10 to 15 different products that could work in this area,” shares Dan.

“It’s great working with two humanitarians like Bill and Melinda, and they jumped into this just like we jumped into Ebola,” says Dan. “For the pandemic we’re currently in the middle of—or even at the beginning of—the response was quick, and we’ve set up all kinds of different things. We have like 20 different workstreams going on looking at a whole host of different signs whether it's therapeutics, diagnostic, vaccines, the [treatments] you’ve mentioned.”

The Gates Foundation is especially focused on how they can help low-income countries deal with this in the near future. Dan paints a picture of what COVID-19 will look like in different low-income countries with fewer resources, and for many, the situation will be much more dire.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

“I think Seattle has done a really good job in terms of t...