Building Vacation Rentals in California

[Joshua Stewart]

Hi everyone, I currently live in North Carolina where I run a small residential design studio but my wife and I own an acre of raw, undeveloped land in the mountains of northern California (we are originally from the West Coast). Our plan is to eventually relocate there and build a contemporary off-grid cabin where I will run my studio.

There is additional acreage nearby that we can purchase. Being a residential designer and wanting to start doing design-build development, I see this as an opportunity to build small, off-grid cabins that can be vacation rentals. There is a Property Owners Association, and the director has told me they are interested in developing a tiny house community.

My plan is to use both the land we already own and acquire additional property to start building these cabins. I believe this will appeal to people looking for a quiet weekend getaway or week-long vacation, as well as the growing number of people interested in tiny houses and homesteading as it could be used as demonstration sites to be rented out per visit.

Ideally I would like to find private investors who can provide the capital to build the first cabins I design, leaving us the option to re-finance and purchase ourselves within 18-24 months with a 20% return. For example, the private investor provides $250k to build the first 3-5 cabins and we re-finance to pay the investor $300k within 18-24 months after the initial investment.

Any feedback is appreciated, especially from any private investors who may be interested.