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Rent the Backyard (YC S19) wants to build a studio apartment in your yard

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Re: Rent the Backyard (YC S19) wants to build a studio apartment in your yard

#41

Post by scarejunba »

YeGoblynQueenne wrote: post #35

So this is Uber but for backyards? Any moment now someone is going to come up with Uber, but for toilets. I can see it: it'll be called something like Petey Potty, the app will let you connect with Potty Providers and you'll get to use their toilet for a fee. The company will have an ostensible plan of making money by taking a cut off the Potty User fee, and charging a standard fee to Potty Providers. It will be wild…

On Reddit when news came out that SF was building 1.2 million dollar ten-year toilets, at least one fellow offered his home toilet up for $100k / year. I suspect we may be closer to your reality than you think.

I think what’s interesting is that we’ve overbiased in our direction on standards and lots of people are better served by poorer standards for lower prices.

It’s sort of like outlawing the 7/11 in some place (or the dollar store like some cities are doing) in order to get people to eat healthy. But sometimes people can’t eat any better than what they can afford at the 7/11.

Re: Rent the Backyard (YC S19) wants to build a studio apartment in your yard

#42

Post by rorykoehler »

supernova87a wrote: post #15

If this isn't reflective of an abject failure of local/state government and public policy to plan and manage the needs of housing and population growth, I don't know what is. Tech companies now employ people, feed people, transport people, educate people, and now they house people. Pretty soon we'll be voting for which tech company governs our society. All the while gutless local city council members afraid of losing…

Is this an episode of black mirror or real life?

Re: Rent the Backyard (YC S19) wants to build a studio apartment in your yard

#43

Post by offsign »

m463 wrote: post #23
Mizza wrote: post #18

I love anything that creates more housing in the bay, but these are 30-year contracts! I can't even imagine getting into a 30 year contract with a company that might not exist in 30 months. What happens when the start-up goes under, or gets acquired, etc? Is the loan made directly to a third party bank?

I think of the long-term solar contracts that make it hard to sell a house.

this.

anything that restricts or impedes what you can do with a home is a liability, not an asset. Up in SF, even partially tenant-occupied homes typically sell for a sizable discount.

(also doubt that ~10k/year is going to make waves in the target market -- Bay Area homeowners with a back yard big enough to make this viable.)

Re: Rent the Backyard (YC S19) wants to build a studio apartment in your yard

#44

Post by kspacewalk »

smt88 wrote: post #33

The price (50% plus an ownership stake in a structure on my property ) seems absolutely insane. Does the ownership stake mean that I can't stop leasing the studio if I want to? I think most people who really want to do this will work with a local contractor instead.

You can stop leasing whenever you want to, buy the company that spent a five digit sum of money on that thing in your backyard will want to get then money back first, which is unsurprising.

Re: Rent the Backyard (YC S19) wants to build a studio apartment in your yard

#45

Post by ZhuanXia »

YeGoblynQueenne wrote: post #35

So this is Uber but for backyards? Any moment now someone is going to come up with Uber, but for toilets. I can see it: it'll be called something like Petey Potty, the app will let you connect with Potty Providers and you'll get to use their toilet for a fee. The company will have an ostensible plan of making money by taking a cut off the Potty User fee, and charging a standard fee to Potty Providers. It will be wild…

This is the comment you want to make on a board dedicated to startups?

If a startup can gain power and then lobby to change zoning laws, even if they do it in a self serving manner that locks out competition, it would be such a vast improvement it is hard to calculate.

The deadweight loss of zoning is huge.

This is a far more ambitious idea than Uber. I imagine it will fail as the majority of voters own and they vote to immiserate others so their property values remain inflated.

Your comment is gross. The sentiments within it are nothing but regressive, mocking sneers.

Re: Rent the Backyard (YC S19) wants to build a studio apartment in your yard

#46

Post by AnimalMuppet »

I see a few issues. First, the local zoning commission may not allow such units.

Second, my dog uses the backyard on my dog's schedule, not the renter's. And the renter may dislike walking through a minefield to come and go.

Third, where's the renter going to park?

Re: Rent the Backyard (YC S19) wants to build a studio apartment in your yard

#47

Post by ZhuanXia »

supernova87a wrote: post #15

If this isn't reflective of an abject failure of local/state government and public policy to plan and manage the needs of housing and population growth, I don't know what is. Tech companies now employ people, feed people, transport people, educate people, and now they house people. Pretty soon we'll be voting for which tech company governs our society. All the while gutless local city council members afraid of losing…

>Tech companies now employ people, feed people, transport people, educate people, and now they house people. Pretty soon we'll be voting for which tech company governs our society.

This seems like a good deal to me. Anytime I have interacted with government I have interacted with decay and failure.

Re: Rent the Backyard (YC S19) wants to build a studio apartment in your yard

#49

Post by [deleted] »

ZhuanXia wrote: post #45
YeGoblynQueenne wrote: post #35

So this is Uber but for backyards? Any moment now someone is going to come up with Uber, but for toilets. I can see it: it'll be called something like Petey Potty, the app will let you connect with Potty Providers and you'll get to use their toilet for a fee. The company will have an ostensible plan of making money by taking a cut off the Potty User fee, and charging a standard fee to Potty Providers. It will be wild…

This is the comment you want to make on a board dedicated to startups? If a startup can gain power and then lobby to change zoning laws, even if they do it in a self serving manner that locks out competition, it would be such a vast improvement it is hard to calculate. The deadweight loss of zoning is huge. This is a far more ambitious idea than Uber. I imagine it will fail as the majority of voters own and they vote…

[deleted]

Re: Rent the Backyard (YC S19) wants to build a studio apartment in your yard

#50

Post by nexuist »

supernova87a wrote: post #15

If this isn't reflective of an abject failure of local/state government and public policy to plan and manage the needs of housing and population growth, I don't know what is. Tech companies now employ people, feed people, transport people, educate people, and now they house people. Pretty soon we'll be voting for which tech company governs our society. All the while gutless local city council members afraid of losing…

>Tech companies now employ people, feed people, transport people, educate people, and now they house people. Pretty soon we'll be voting for which tech company governs our society.

More evidence that history repeats itself:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_scrip https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_town

We fought to get rid of this, man. People marched, rioted, and died for labor rights. It's sad that our current situation is so appalling that making your boss your landlord and mayor is seen as a reasonable thing to do.

That being said, this company is solving a real problem that will impact real people. For all our political gesturing in these comments, at least there is a recognized need for change and some people are trying to use the system to fix it.

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