Affordable ADUs

Dweller builds and installs prefab accessory dwelling units ("ADUs") in a low cost, efficient manner to allow as many homeowners as possible to benefit from this source of extra income and desperately needed housing.

Dweller plans to develop their next eight ADUs in Portland, Oregon over a 12-month period. “The number of households adding ADUs to residential properties has quickly grown during the pandemic” according to Planetizen. And Dweller plans to address that surge. ADUs are legal housing units, typically in the backyards of existing single-family properties and either attached to or detached from the primary residence. The advantages of ADUs include:

• No land acquisition cost
• No additional infrastructure
• Dispersion of new housing units in existing neighborhoods
• Minimal environmental footprint

Because of these advantages, states and cities throughout the United States have updated zoning and building codes to encourage the development of ADUs. While fee and permitting hassles remain, nearly all property owners on the West Coast have the legal right to develop an ADU on their residentially zoned properties.

Dweller’s approach to developing ADUs offers an opportunity to invest in affordable housing built at a cost-effective price. Dweller’s units will be constructed at an average cost of $115,000 compared to the average costof a new affordable rental unit in Portland, OR of $225,000. This lower development cost creates a financially sustainable model for building affordable housing.

In addition, Dweller’s model will assist homeowners currently unable to afford the purchase of an income earning ADU. Home equity financing is the primary means for homeowners to finance the purchase of an ADU, leaving homeowners without significant equity on the sidelines. Connecting homeowners without equity to this income earning opportunity is particularly important in helping ADUs achieve their potential for assisting low- and moderate-income homeowners.

By investing the value of its existing ADU portfolio into this transaction, Dweller is providing predictable cash flow at the beginning of this investment while the eight new units are being developed and rented. This early cash flow allows for the payment of an immediate preferred return to investors.

Dweller was founded in 2017 to revolutionize how accessory dwelling units (ADUs) are developed and financed, and has developed more ADUs under residential ground leases than any other company in the U.S. Dweller’s innovative model for broadening access to ADUs has been recognized nationally, and as a result, Dweller was selected in 2019 by the Terner Center at UC Berkeley to participate in the first cohort of Housing Lab, the Center’s housing innovation accelerator. Dweller is managed by the team of Patrick Quinton and Brian Lynott, two seasoned executives with a unique combination of complementary skills. Dweller CEO Patrick Quinton served for over five years as the Executive Director of the Portland Development Commission (PDC), the economic development and urban renewal agency for Portland OR. In this role, Patrick managed a staff of over 100 employees and an annual budget of $150 million. Prior to his tenure at PDC, Patrick served in leadership roles in both the commercial finance and community banking industries.

Patrick earned a Master of Arts in Public Policy from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Dartmouth College.

Brian Lynott, an experienced entrepreneur with backgrounds in the real estate, construction, and technology industries, serves as Dweller’s VP of Development. He is the founder of Better World Homes, Inc., Always Faithful Construction and HomePro Management, a diversified family of companies in the residential property development industry. Lynott is also the Founder and Chairman of TeleSmart and ATL Communications, both successful telecom software businesses.

Brian is a retired Infantry Officer in the U.S. Army and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in planning, public policy, and management from the University of Oregon.

In addition to Dweller’s in-house staff, Dweller works with a team of contractors experienced in site preparation and installation of prefab ADUs. Dweller’s primary contractor is Always Faithful Construction, a company-owned by Brian Lynott, one of Dweller’s co-founders. Always Faithful is separately licensed and staffed and operates independent of Dweller management and ownership.

Dweller works with third party property managers to manage the marketing and maintenance of our units. In Portland, Dweller has worked exclusively with Living Room Property Management, which is an affiliate of Living Room Realty, a well-established real estate firm in the Portland metro region.

Price per Share: $1.00

Immediate distributions

Investment type: preferred equity

5% annual preferred return

Return of investment

80% profit share

10 year term