Housing model profileA7
Flats + backyard quad
6 homes, 2 income-restricted, existing house kept
Existing house converts to 2 affordable flats, with room for 4 townhomes behind. Nothing demolished.
Urban Acupuncture housing model
Repeatable program, parcel screening, schematic placement, and economics model — not City-pre-approved construction drawings.
- Homes
- 6
- Building type
- Two flats in the retained house plus four rear townhomes
- Existing house
- Keep + convert
- Typical new footprint
- 39 × 39 ft
- New-building height
- 3 stories
- New-home bedrooms
- 3 bedrooms
- You end up with
- 6 homes, 2 income-restricted, existing house kept. Convert the house; add a compact 39 × 39 foot backyard quad.
- You put in
- Land or development rights, plus project funding if you build yourself. An outright sale and a land-contribution partnership are different deals.
- Your role
- The existing house becomes two income-restricted flats. Staying means taking a new rear townhome under negotiated deal terms; arrange temporary housing during conversion. Choose between seller, development partner, or owner commissioning the build.
- Timeline
- Feasibility and deal terms → design, permits and tenure review → construction → individual sales. A project-specific schedule is required.
- It works when
- A wide, deep lot with the house toward the street and a clear rear yard; A workable two-flat conversion inside the existing house; The affordable-alternative regulatory path remains available to the parcel.
- Main uncertainty
- Sale prices, costs, and the path to separate ownership can change the outcome. Confirm unit-lot subdivision or another legal tenure path before assuming individual sales.
- Next step
- Ask a housing designer to test the site, then review ownership, pricing, and deal terms with appropriate professionals.
Representative site plan
New: 4 homes in a 39×39 ft pack. Drawn on a typical lot — every real lot differs, so this is illustrative, not a site-specific layout.
The program
6 homes — 2 covenant flats in the converted house + 4 market townhomes in a 39x39 backyard quad.
+5 net new homes per lot, 2 income-restricted.
Workbook-baseline economics
Compare an outright property sale budget with the separate land-contribution partnership scenario below. Neither is an offer or guaranteed owner payout.
- Modeled property acquisition budget
- $486K–$543K
- All-in project cost
- $2.98M
- Land contribution + 50/50 profit-sharing scenario
- $843K–$876K
- Option A — stay
- $243K–$276K + a quad townhome
- Option B — all cash
- $843K–$876K
- Does it pencil?
- Tight
- What to check first
- Parcel-specific inputs
Illustrative 15% developer profit on total cost, conservative through base selling costs. Existing construction financing held fixed; excludes acquisition financing and purchase closing costs. Not an expected offer.
$497K per home
Owner contributes property at modeled value, receives that contribution back, and splits positive profit 50/50 with the builder. Across conservative and base selling-cost cases; before mortgage payoff, taxes and negotiated waterfall terms.
In the 50/50 land-contribution partnership: gross cash plus one townhome taken in kind, before mortgage payoff and taxes.
In the 50/50 land-contribution partnership: gross cash at sale, before mortgage payoff and taxes.
The sale path is positive, but the resale-restricted covenant homes still need a verified affordability or down-payment-assistance solution.
Representative workbook baseline — not adjusted for a specific parcel.
Illustrative workbook baseline — a real packet adjusts these with the parcel's own assessor, market, and rent data.
Modeled property acquisition budget
$486K–$543K
Net sale proceeds ÷ (1 + target return) − costs excluding the existing contribution value. Range uses conservative and base selling costs. The 15% starting target is illustrative; set it to a prospective partner's requirement. Construction financing stays at the model amount; acquisition financing and purchase closing costs need to be deducted separately. Includes the existing property rather than only vacant land. This is a scenario budget, not an appraisal or expected offer.
Where it fits
Mid-block neighborhood-residential lots at least 49 ft wide and 110 ft deep (5,500+ sq ft), with a modest house of roughly 1,600-3,400 sq ft sitting toward the street and a clear back yard of 55 ft or more. The owner keeps living on the property throughout.
What must be true
- A wide, deep lot with the house toward the street and a clear rear yard
- A workable two-flat conversion inside the existing house
- The affordable-alternative regulatory path remains available to the parcel
Verify before relying on it
- Existing-house floor plan, egress, and conversion feasibility
- Affordability covenant, assistance, and buyer qualification assumptions
- Trees, rear access, utilities, title, and townhome pricing
Check Flats + backyard quad at a Seattle address
Choose a parcel to open this exact model in the feasibility packet. We will test its screening match, place the program schematically, and adjust the economics with parcel data.
If the plan does not pass this parcel's screening, the packet will say so and offer other paths.
Funding and programs that may apply
Programs that may pair with this plan
Matched from plan facts only. Parcel geography, income, utility territory, and owner facts can change the final list.
Home Improvement Property Tax Exemption
King County Assessor / RCW 84.36.400
Temporary property-tax exemption on qualifying added improvement value.
Exempts added value up to 30% of original structure value
Washington State HEAR Electrification Rebates
Washington Department of Commerce / local HEAR administrators
Administrator-run rebates for eligible electrification equipment and installation. Measures, amounts, coverage and available funding vary by local administrator.