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all of the different reasons why someone ends up being on the street.
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It's complex.
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You can't put it into one box.
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But they didn't start out that way.
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But to unravel that and to take the steps back and to understand that as many steps as it
took to get into that are gonna take to get out, and maybe that is the only choice that
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they have that day.
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Here we are, everybody, with another episode of the Builder 365 podcast joined by my very,
good friend, Amy O'Connor.
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Amy, is it OK to say very, very good friend?
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We have good friends.
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We very good friends.
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I just called you my very I should have checked with you first before I called you that.
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I was actually a little disappointed.
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There weren't three Varys, but all right.
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I'll settle for two.
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But we should actually be saying you right after.
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Is this?
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Yeah.
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Yeah, this is the.
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No, no, no, you're right.
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This is the first podcast episode since I don't know when this is going to air, but this
is the first podcast episode since returning from a 90 day sabbatical.
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Just go ahead and tell the world how much you missed me, it was painful.
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mean, we lived along, but, you know, when you came back, the sun started shining brighter
and the butterflies flew faster and, all those things.
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But, know, it was weird.
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Here's what I noticed.
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I took 90 days and I shut it down.
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mean, I actually on our team checking my emails.
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I just did nothing work-wise for 90 days.
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And to my incredible surprise, the world kept spinning.
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Even when the real estate world just kept spinning, I thought for sure it would just fly
off its axis and be lost into the atmosphere forever.
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But the world kept spinning.
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Go figure.
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Definitely gives us an ego check.
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It does indeed, yeah.
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But I missed you.
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I missed being out there with all of my friends and all the friends who are watching right
now as well.
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It is good to be back and especially good back.
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It's good to be back here during, you know what it is, it's National Learn a Foreign
Language Month.
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How excited are you, Amy?
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I gotta tell you, I think this is where other countries really beat us.
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I mean, you gotta look at Europe where every, like a four year old speaks 12 languages and
I feel little inadequate, quite frankly.
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I'm always very impressed and probably a little envious of people who speak multiple
languages and since I don't think Southern counts as its own language, although in some
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places it probably does.
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I'm just one, but you were learning French, weren't you, for your sabbatical?
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How'd go?
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Yeah, I did hire a tutor, learned enough French to be able to order at a restaurant,
essentially, and just to be polite, just to say hello.
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It's difficult to learn a language if you're not immersed in the language.
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But to me, when I'm traveling, I just I don't think I don't think it's too much to ask to
know how to say hello and please and thank you in whatever country you're in.
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And when you do that,
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It's appreciated.
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It's respected.
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know we spent, ended the, we were in France the whole time.
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We ended the trip in Paris.
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A lot of people say that Parisians are rude and I would argue that Parisians are not very
kind when you are rude.
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And when you walk into a place and you don't say bonjour and you don't say merci, that's
deemed rude in Paris.
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And you're probably not going to get treated as well, but just go, just to be able to say,
je n'ai pas pas français.
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I don't speak French.
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Just to say that.
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It didn't take me that long to learn it, but it sort of raises it.
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I don't have you.
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Have you have you wanted, to learn another language?
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No.
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Is that bad?
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No.
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It sounds really bad.
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And by the way, if I tried that phrase in Southern, it'd be Jenny, Paw, Paw, France.
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So it'd be something like that.
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That's how I heard it was Jenny, Paw, Paw, which is probably not what it is.
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But I agree with you with being in Paris and I knew nothing.
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I was much, much younger.
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And I did, we did go to a very high end restaurant one night and I walk in, you know me, I
speak to everybody and I'm like, bonjour.
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And he looks at me, he's like, bonsoir.
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And I was like, sorry.
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You're right.
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Screw that one up.
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I'm making so positive, but at least I tried.
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Maybe at least I tried.
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I got some points.
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And you get credit for trying.
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You do.
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It's just to be polite.
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But it's interesting.
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I just got this book here.
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I've only scanned it, but so far I like what I'm seeing.
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I'll put up on the screen here.
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It's the science of rapid skill acquisition.
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it's it's yeah.
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Well, it's a self published book.
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I was like, look, this is a little cheesy.
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But flipping through it, there's some actually really good stuff over here.
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And I'm incredibly impressed by polyglots, people who speak multiple languages and they
just sort of pick it up.
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And you're right.
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A lot of children in other countries, you know, they're from a very, very young age.
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So, yeah, yeah.
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well.
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What are you gonna do?
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But here's the good news.
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The overwhelming majority of the world was kind enough to learn how to speak English.
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Wasn't that nice of them?
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It really was.
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was.
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Yeah.
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Hey, before we get deep into it, we haven't gotten an animal update from you recently.
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What's up on the farm these days?
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I just can't even.
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My husband's gonna kill me.
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So I'm at five and a half cats and I say half because there's one that's been coming
around and I'm trying to tempt it into my lair.
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so he's a half for, for right now.
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But my last rescue, I really wasn't listening when they told me she had neurological
issues.
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and then I told Rich, was like, I didn't know that and Claire super helpful goes, yes, you
did mom.
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They told you.
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So my neurological disturbed cat has started peeing.
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she uses the litter box like 90 % of the time, but 10 % out is still a whole lot.
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And she.
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Yeah.
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And she seems to prefer riches things, his tools, his drop cloth, his clothes that he
leaves on the floor.
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All right, everyone.
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If your spouse leaves clothes on the floor, here's how you fix that.
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You get a nerly deficient cat that will pee on the clothes.
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And then that stops happening.
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but no, he's gotten so bad.
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mean, I spent hundreds of dollars on everything on Amazon.
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I've read all the articles and you're gonna, you're, you're gonna die.
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We are taking her to a behavior list veterinarian.
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Yes, that's a thing.
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It's a thing.
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And I'm paying for it.
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And you have to wait like four weeks.
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It's that popular.
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It's just insane.
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I mean, that's just and I'm sure that's really cheap.
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Right.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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yeah.
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And now I have any pet insurance.
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And sure, consulting, if we can get pet insurance like that would be a lot better for me.
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Yeah.
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We'll put that on the list of things that we'll never do.
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Sure.
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Right after the jet.
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OK.
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Good.
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Right after the jet.
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Exactly.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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All right.
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Well, thanks for the update and my best to rich.
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The man is a saint putting putting up with all of this.
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Hey, just a very special thanks to our partner for the podcast Builder 365 as always
powered by Opendoor for Builders.
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Easy sales, smooth moves.
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You can learn more about the work they do to support all home builders at opendoor.com
slash builder 365.
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So there you go.
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Hey, Amy, just
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I read something really, really interesting here in a Bloomberg article about the aging
home buying population.
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This was just absolutely fascinating to me.
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the, the average age now, the, or the median age of buyers right now, the, the median age,
56 years old.
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That's, that's crazy.
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median age of a first time buyer.
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is 37 years old.
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So man, this population is getting older and older all the time and sort of begs the
question, what are we going to do for our young people?
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It's a difficult, difficult issue.
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What's your thought on that?
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Because I was blown away when I saw these numbers.
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I read the same article as well.
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I was like, 56, are we sure?
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Let's check that source.
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And then the source looked pretty legit.
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I think it was NAR.
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So I was like, OK, well, that must be right.
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And yeah, I'm looking at the same thing.
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mean, 38, was trying to.
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How old were you when you bought your first home?
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Can you remember?
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Yeah, let's see.
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I was 27.
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was 25.
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I was 25.
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And that wasn't unusual at the time.
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mean, I had several friends who were buying homes.
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I looked at it.
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It's just what you did.
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Yeah.
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Just what you did.
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And now I to think that was five years ago.
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I mean, I get that it was 20 years ago.
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But why goodness, what a change in 20 years.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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For sure.
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And it is a
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It is gone to the point now where I think a lot of younger people are like, well, that
ship already sailed and I'm just not even going to worry about it anymore.
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I think if listen, listen, if homes were more affordable to younger people, more younger
people would be buying.
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I it's just an economics thing.
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There's no question about it in my mind.
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And when I look still at the number of lower priced homes that are being built, they're
being purchased by institutional investors.
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There is so much institutional money that's and those are the homes that they want because
they rent out, right?
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Because they get a return on that.
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And look, I tend to be more libertarian thinking in regards to my small government views,
but I'm wondering if it's in time, if it's not time to put in some kind of restrictions on
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institutional investing, because it is just it's making it very, very difficult for young
people.
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I also think it means that we might have to
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think more about flexibility of plans of being able to have homes that are smaller, but
more flexible.
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What are you thinking?
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Yeah.
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I mean, I don't think there's a choice here.
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I mean, if we're going to do anything with affordability, it's going to have to have cost
reduction.
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We're to have to think about land positioning.
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And if you're going to go smaller, you have to flex a lot more.
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Yeah.
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You know, it's one thing.
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to say, well, this room could be a bedroom or a den.
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I think we're to have to get far more creative than that.
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I think we're going to have to look at things like movable walls, sliding walls and hidden
furniture and and rooms that double as one thing during the day and another thing at
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night.
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and we're going to have to find ways to get really super creative.
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And if we are being honest, we really haven't.
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You know, we we've.
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We've gotten a little bit more creative on how to squeeze more square footage onto the
footprint of a home site, but I think it's going to have to go deeper than that in order
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to, and maybe there are lessons from Asia to be able to pick up on this.
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Exactly what I was thinking.
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It's not like we have to invent it.
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It's already been done.
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I mean, there's plenty of high density areas that have had to figure this out.
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So yeah, yeah.
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I mean, I think it's interesting.
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You start talking about things like sliding walls though.
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And I started to go, well, that's cost.
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So, know, I don't know.
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I get it.
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I get it.
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Yeah, there's no question.
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And so maybe there is an answer there just in regards to the technology of the way that
the walls are being built and your robotics and everything else.
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So there's got to be this convergence here because I think, you know, people sort of toss
the word crisis out there pretty liberally.
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But I do think that we're coming up on that moment where when we're thinking about where
we're going to house our young people,
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The word crisis might very well coming come into play here.
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So, yeah.
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Well, speaking of housing, people who need housing just really thrilled here to have sat
down with my very, very special guest and Scott Larson from HomeAid and talk about the
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wonderful things they're doing to make sure that everybody who needs a place to sleep gets
one.
240
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And this industry, think I think when you listen to the interview, you're going to walk
away.
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with a really warm feeling about our industry, about the altruistic nature of our
industry, the philanthropic nature of our industry, and the fact that we really are
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serious about taking care of people who really need housing the most.
243
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Here's my interview with Scott Wollstein.
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Scott Larson, so glad to have you with us.
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We've known each other for some time, but I wanted the great privilege of sharing you with
our audience.
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So let's just start here.
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Tell us about Home Aid.
248
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Tell us what the organization does and your role inside the organization.
249
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No, Jeff, thank you for allowing me to be here today.
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Yeah, I'm the CEO for Home Aid and I've been in this national role for about five years.
251
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But prior to being in this national role overseeing the overall work of HomeAid, I ran the
Orange County affiliate of HomeAid for over 20 years.
252
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And that's where it all began.
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35 years ago, the building industry saw an opportunity and a need to step into the complex
issue of homelessness.
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And the concept was, as people in the building industry, what do we do best?
255
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We build.
256
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And we build homes and what a better connection to take the resources of the intellectual
capital, the physical resources and to pour those into such a critical issues such as
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homelessness.
258
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Who better than people that build housing for a living to step into such an important
cause of looking to end homelessness in their community.
259
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Yeah, it's so true.
260
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The symmetry there cannot be denied.
261
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The opportunity that we build homes to help people have a place to live.
262
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Well, how about the people who need a place to live the most?
263
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Tell us some of your favorite homemade moments and or projects over the years, Scott.
264
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You know, there's a variety of different things that that are both personal as well as,
you know, the physical structures, because I I truly believe that what.
265
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We do as homebuilt is people in the home building industry.
266
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It's a noble thing.
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As you were talking about, we're building homes and that is, that is underscored with the
nobility of building for those that are either at risk or marginalized with their housing.
268
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And I look at time and time again, projects that have been completed.
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I'm thinking specifically of a project that I was involved with in Santa Ana, California
called Emmanuel house, a very challenged street.
270
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You know, it's a straight that you wouldn't walk down at night.
271
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And what was built was a project for people at the time that were going to be dying from
HIV and AIDS.
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Very controversial.
273
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The project was designed to be a hospice and had to overcome a lot of barriers in the
community, oppositions, people were afraid.
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But what was built was just an amazing physical product designed by an amazing architect
built by an amazing builder.
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It changed that street.
276
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It changed the physical environment, but it also changed the hearts and minds of the
people in that community.
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And nowadays people aren't overtly dying from, you know, it's not an over depth sentence,
but it's, it's an opportunity to live.
278
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And this project gives those residents that are there an opportunity to get their, get
their next step in their life.
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And that's what, that's what projects are all about is.
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transforming a physical community, transforming people's lives, and giving hope and
optimism.
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On a very personal level, at one point I walked up to a project and there was a gentleman
finishing the sidewalk in front of it.
282
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Get out of my car and walk up and I said, do you know what you're doing?
283
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And he looked at me like, you're an idiot.
284
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Of course I know what I'm doing.
285
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I'm finishing the sidewalk and I said, no, no, no, no.
286
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Do you know what you're doing?
287
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And, and do you know what this project is about?
288
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And it was a, home for people fleeing domestic violence.
289
00:16:35,492 --> 00:16:40,657
And I went on to describe kind of the purpose and the nature of that project.
290
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And he paused and he looked at me and he said, you know, Scott, I now can go home and tell
my wife that I did something of value today.
291
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Not that what he did.
292
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didn't do that, but we underscored his his trade, his ability is finishing a sidewalk with
a deeper meaning and purpose than maybe he had thought about before.
293
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And that's the heart of who we are.
294
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That's the heart of who HomeMade is.
295
00:17:06,964 --> 00:17:08,125
Yeah, I love it.
296
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I love it.
297
00:17:09,305 --> 00:17:12,316
But you mentioned that this is not always an easy task.
298
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And, you know, I'm on the board of directors for an organization called The Gathering Inn.
299
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It's our local public private partnership up here in Placer County.
300
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And we wanted to build this whole very secure campus that was going to allow people at all
stages to sort of elevate from just needing a bed first to career counseling and maybe
301
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mental health care up into tiny homes and then eventually out into places on their own.
302
00:17:42,071 --> 00:17:46,494
We have this beautiful parcel of land across the street from a prison.
303
00:17:46,860 --> 00:17:52,793
And it didn't matter, neighbors that were a couple miles away on the other side of the
freeway went absolutely nuts.
304
00:17:52,793 --> 00:17:56,425
And so when we see this, this is a real issue.
305
00:17:56,425 --> 00:18:02,159
Everyone wants a solution as long as they perceive that it has zero impact on their lives.
306
00:18:02,159 --> 00:18:03,239
What do you do with that?
307
00:18:03,239 --> 00:18:09,763
Because you have these sometimes called the bananas build absolutely nothing anywhere near
anyone else.
308
00:18:10,063 --> 00:18:11,164
How do you fight that?
309
00:18:11,164 --> 00:18:15,610
What do you do to try and help people with the cause that is sometimes
310
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Everybody understands, nobody really wants to be an active participant in.
311
00:18:19,952 --> 00:18:27,755
You know, it's and that's where a lot of the skills and expertise from the from the
industry come in play because they battle these types of things on a lot of their regular
312
00:18:27,755 --> 00:18:28,456
developments.
313
00:18:28,456 --> 00:18:38,100
And so as we pulled our consultants into these projects, first off, we have to acknowledge
that that the fear is real.
314
00:18:38,100 --> 00:18:43,392
may not be that it may not be reality, but we have to acknowledge that.
315
00:18:43,436 --> 00:18:50,148
the concerns that these residents and the neighbors of a potential project, we can't
dismiss them.
316
00:18:50,328 --> 00:19:02,111
And, you know, there's a lot of conversations and trying to bring home the fact that a lot
of these individuals are one or two people away, a lot of community meetings, aspects of
317
00:19:02,111 --> 00:19:06,272
meeting with elected officials who ultimately make some of these decisions.
318
00:19:06,453 --> 00:19:12,034
But one of the things that we bring people back to, if it's in a community where we built
before,
319
00:19:12,314 --> 00:19:14,314
is look at what we've done.
320
00:19:14,915 --> 00:19:17,255
Look at the existing developments.
321
00:19:17,255 --> 00:19:22,097
And I think that you'll see that the fears are gone away.
322
00:19:22,097 --> 00:19:30,979
So the project that I referenced earlier, related to a manual house, it led to an
opportunity to build two more projects directly across the street.
323
00:19:31,099 --> 00:19:42,222
And then right now here in December, a 17 unit apartment building will be dedicated a
block away under all the same guys and purpose.
324
00:19:42,963 --> 00:19:55,913
because they're seeing the effectiveness, they're seeing the changes in their community,
but it just takes persistence, takes listening ear, care and concern.
325
00:19:56,014 --> 00:20:08,164
And there have been times where projects haven't been approved, but I think the spirit and
intent is to just keep working and listening and showing that what we do is a benefit and
326
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an asset in their local community.
327
00:20:10,774 --> 00:20:20,198
Yeah, it's interesting because as we look at at the homeless today or you were talking
about this project that was for people who had HIV, people who had who had HIV and had a
328
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death sentence at the time were stigmatized by that.
329
00:20:22,879 --> 00:20:26,181
And people didn't want to be around it because they didn't understand it.
330
00:20:26,181 --> 00:20:27,881
And I think it's the same thing with homelessness.
331
00:20:27,881 --> 00:20:28,091
Right.
332
00:20:28,091 --> 00:20:32,403
We tend to look at it and say with homelessness and say the homelessness is the problem.
333
00:20:32,403 --> 00:20:36,365
No, the homelessness is the symptom of any number of different problems.
334
00:20:36,365 --> 00:20:39,382
And to be able to put everybody in the same bucket and say,
335
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I think I understand who these people are.
336
00:20:41,233 --> 00:20:45,577
And then you end up with what I think are silly comments like people want to be homeless.
337
00:20:45,577 --> 00:20:47,388
They want to live on the street.
338
00:20:47,468 --> 00:20:54,654
the percentage of people that want to live on the street, very, very, nobody sets out for
that, right?
339
00:20:54,654 --> 00:20:55,684
Yeah, very, very few.
340
00:20:55,684 --> 00:21:02,600
And even those that at the time, you know, in interacting may have chosen that.
341
00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:04,461
What led to that choice?
342
00:21:04,581 --> 00:21:05,550
It wasn't.
343
00:21:05,550 --> 00:21:11,130
Yeah, it's a series of events and it's a series of broken promises and relationships.
344
00:21:11,130 --> 00:21:18,550
There's a tremendous book that we've distributed amongst our team nationally called When
You Walk By.
345
00:21:18,550 --> 00:21:25,630
And it's written by a gentleman who runs an organization in the San Francisco Bay Area.
346
00:21:25,730 --> 00:21:31,150
And all of the different reasons why someone ends up being on the street, it's complex.
347
00:21:31,170 --> 00:21:33,774
You can't put it into one box.
348
00:21:33,932 --> 00:21:44,585
But they didn't start out that way, but to unravel that and to take, take the steps back
and to understand that as many steps as it took to get into that are going to take to get
349
00:21:44,585 --> 00:21:45,005
out.
350
00:21:45,005 --> 00:21:48,706
And maybe that is the only choice that they have that day.
351
00:21:48,706 --> 00:21:49,056
Yeah.
352
00:21:49,056 --> 00:22:00,910
But do we have the, do we have the compassion without it being, you know, parental with
these individuals and families that are on the street are coming in from a, know better
353
00:22:00,910 --> 00:22:02,030
mentality.
354
00:22:02,030 --> 00:22:02,350
Right.
355
00:22:02,350 --> 00:22:14,499
have an opportunity to really walk alongside them and not walk by and really understand
the circumstances that led them and and and listen and try to see what solutions there are
356
00:22:14,499 --> 00:22:17,141
to have the have it be different.
357
00:22:17,221 --> 00:22:19,193
Deep down, these are real human beings.
358
00:22:19,193 --> 00:22:25,767
have real lives and and it would behoove us to want to know more about the people in our
communities.
359
00:22:26,388 --> 00:22:29,670
You and I have been in this industry for a long time and I
360
00:22:29,804 --> 00:22:38,977
I've never asked you the question, but I have to believe that you feel as I do heart
warmed by the philanthropic nature of the home building industry.
361
00:22:38,977 --> 00:22:41,277
I assume you feel the same way about that.
362
00:22:41,277 --> 00:22:55,472
know, I there's not a more compassionate entrepreneurial group that I could that I can
point to any business sector in this country that is that is embodies what the home
363
00:22:55,472 --> 00:22:56,922
building industry does.
364
00:22:57,240 --> 00:23:11,821
Whether or not it's homemade or many other philanthropic efforts, this is a group like no
other and a talented, passionate, highly skilled, and they put as much effort into
365
00:23:11,821 --> 00:23:15,784
changing communities and their philanthropy as I've ever seen.
366
00:23:15,784 --> 00:23:20,228
And I did have the opportunity to work for a couple of nonprofits prior to homemade.
367
00:23:20,228 --> 00:23:23,438
And I, I love this industry.
368
00:23:23,438 --> 00:23:29,178
I wanted to be a custom home builder when I was in high school and to a degree, that's a
little bit of what we do now.
369
00:23:29,378 --> 00:23:38,698
But it's it's a tremendous group of people, people that I mentioned that I get to work
with the best in the building industry and I get to work with the best in the nonprofit
370
00:23:38,698 --> 00:23:40,898
sector for the people we build for.
371
00:23:40,898 --> 00:23:41,498
Right.
372
00:23:41,498 --> 00:23:43,298
Yeah, absolutely.
373
00:23:43,298 --> 00:23:43,868
All right.
374
00:23:43,868 --> 00:23:49,098
Scott, can I ask you and I'm going to ask you anyway, and if you don't want to answer it,
well, we'll just edit this question out.
375
00:23:49,098 --> 00:23:51,880
Can I ask you about your recent personal
376
00:23:51,914 --> 00:23:55,216
journey, because it's it's it's quite a story.
377
00:23:55,377 --> 00:23:56,968
You know, thanks for asking.
378
00:23:56,968 --> 00:23:59,579
And I do want people to ask.
379
00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:09,968
The last six months has been a journey where I was diagnosed and successfully navigated a
cancer diagnosis on back earlier in the year.
380
00:24:09,968 --> 00:24:18,614
I began to not feel very well, and it led to a cancer diagnosis of lymphoma.
381
00:24:18,658 --> 00:24:28,605
but for a period of time, is a very curable form of cancer, you still have to go through
chemo and you have to have the care and attention, but there was a brief period of time
382
00:24:28,605 --> 00:24:36,970
where it was very acute, where they thought it was only months that I potentially had to
live.
383
00:24:37,051 --> 00:24:43,295
And not to focus on that part of it, but to focus on things like this could happen to
anybody at any time.
384
00:24:43,295 --> 00:24:46,777
And someone recently asked me,
385
00:24:47,244 --> 00:24:49,936
So, well, Scott, how has this changed your outlook on life?
386
00:24:49,936 --> 00:24:59,314
And well, first off, I, I'm extremely grateful to the city of hope here in Southern
California, which is another organization that has been strongly supported by the building
387
00:24:59,314 --> 00:25:00,745
industry.
388
00:25:01,606 --> 00:25:06,610
construction industry Alliance, which I have become familiar with and intimate with.
389
00:25:06,651 --> 00:25:15,638
But this, this diagnosis didn't necessarily change my perspective, but it deepened my
perspective on life and.
390
00:25:15,846 --> 00:25:19,047
I'm very driven by purpose, very driven by my faith.
391
00:25:19,427 --> 00:25:33,311
But it underscored the need to continue to value every moment, every relationship as if
it's either the first or the last.
392
00:25:33,311 --> 00:25:44,634
because things happen in people's lives, and I'm extremely grateful that I was given the
care and prayers and concern of many, people over the last couple of months.
393
00:25:45,450 --> 00:25:47,191
I don't take that lightly.
394
00:25:47,351 --> 00:25:51,844
I know everyone's cancer journey is not the same.
395
00:25:51,844 --> 00:25:58,578
And I want to be there for to be listening to your end to share my story.
396
00:25:58,578 --> 00:26:04,362
but yeah, I, I physically, I feel really well for those that have been aware of the last
six months.
397
00:26:04,362 --> 00:26:11,326
And I'm, I'm excited for more conversations with people, but about it.
398
00:26:11,626 --> 00:26:12,546
It's fantastic.
399
00:26:12,546 --> 00:26:19,789
You know, it's it's one of those things where, you know, when you look at cancer, it's
just it's a knock on the door.
400
00:26:20,029 --> 00:26:26,782
It's not, you know, a lot of our health issues are to some extent might be preventable,
but cancer is one of those things.
401
00:26:26,782 --> 00:26:29,283
It's just it's you just never know.
402
00:26:29,283 --> 00:26:29,633
Right.
403
00:26:29,633 --> 00:26:33,074
And and so it's always interesting for me to hear.
404
00:26:33,230 --> 00:26:34,921
How do you respond to that?
405
00:26:34,921 --> 00:26:36,873
And then what do you learn from that?
406
00:26:36,873 --> 00:26:37,093
Right.
407
00:26:37,093 --> 00:26:41,657
We had Amy O'Connor, our team who went through just a massive, massive cancer battle.
408
00:26:41,657 --> 00:26:45,780
It had her down for about 18 months and it took just a miraculous surgery.
409
00:26:45,820 --> 00:26:49,683
last time I had seen her, it was last May.
410
00:26:49,683 --> 00:26:50,804
I flew to D.C.
411
00:26:50,804 --> 00:26:51,265
to see her.
412
00:26:51,265 --> 00:26:52,816
We basically I basically said goodbye.
413
00:26:52,816 --> 00:26:55,548
We thought that was we thought that was it.
414
00:26:55,548 --> 00:27:02,424
But to see her come through that and then to recognize that there is a joy for life that
she wasn't going to have elsewise.
415
00:27:02,424 --> 00:27:03,174
So.
416
00:27:03,370 --> 00:27:10,972
It's an amazing story and I'm very happy to be talking to you after I first got the
message from you, Scott, that things weren't looking so good.
417
00:27:10,972 --> 00:27:12,943
So it's a beautiful story for sure.
418
00:27:12,943 --> 00:27:13,413
Yeah.
419
00:27:13,413 --> 00:27:20,095
Well, you know, and it's one of those things that people are afraid of the C word.
420
00:27:20,095 --> 00:27:21,505
And I acknowledge that.
421
00:27:21,505 --> 00:27:30,678
And this is actually a few people that this is my third touch with cancer of a couple of
different kinds and certainly not expected.
422
00:27:30,968 --> 00:27:36,602
but you dive in, you get the support that you need and you have people that care for you.
423
00:27:36,758 --> 00:27:43,167
I, again, grateful for people that, you know, that have gone down this journey, researched
it.
424
00:27:43,167 --> 00:27:53,815
And just like with issues related to homelessness, well, you can't solve homelessness and
people will say, well, you can't solve cancer, there's people that are, or you can't cure,
425
00:27:53,815 --> 00:27:56,717
but there are people that have tackled that, that have looked at it.
426
00:27:56,717 --> 00:27:58,370
And I feel
427
00:27:58,370 --> 00:28:06,493
very much a beneficiary of years of trial and error and research to be able to be here
with you today and with others as we move forward.
428
00:28:06,493 --> 00:28:13,136
But there's also a there's a gift side to this in the sense that I just finished a 90 day
sabbatical.
429
00:28:13,136 --> 00:28:24,501
And one of the things that I during the sabbatical is I did a deep dive in Solomon's Book
of Ecclesiastes and and really, really looking at how do you live well, knowing that your
430
00:28:24,501 --> 00:28:26,682
life is a breath and you're going to die.
431
00:28:26,682 --> 00:28:27,042
But
432
00:28:27,042 --> 00:28:36,544
But I would guess that from your perspective, knowing that you've had this brush with
death really does cause you to reevaluate the way that you live.
433
00:28:36,544 --> 00:28:46,810
I mean, I'm not trying to get overly philosophical about this, people can, I think you
have to go through that in order to really understand how your impending death changes the
434
00:28:46,810 --> 00:28:48,611
way that you're going to live over here.
435
00:28:48,611 --> 00:28:49,291
Yeah.
436
00:28:49,291 --> 00:28:50,411
I couldn't agree more.
437
00:28:50,411 --> 00:28:56,394
And I firmly believe that in our spirit, in our nature, we were not meant to die.
438
00:28:56,394 --> 00:28:57,194
Yeah.
439
00:28:57,250 --> 00:28:58,290
But we do.
440
00:28:58,431 --> 00:29:01,714
And so how do you live in that daily balance?
441
00:29:01,714 --> 00:29:08,010
Because you and I are living and breathing today, but there will be a time that that
doesn't that things change.
442
00:29:08,010 --> 00:29:12,984
And in our daily interactions, are we kind to people?
443
00:29:12,984 --> 00:29:14,125
Are we considerate?
444
00:29:14,125 --> 00:29:19,430
Are we looking to understand as we go along our own journey?
445
00:29:19,430 --> 00:29:21,091
But everyone is on a journey.
446
00:29:21,091 --> 00:29:24,013
so are we do do we have
447
00:29:24,716 --> 00:29:33,053
the eyes and the wisdom to be able to look beyond ourselves and to be that person for
somebody else along the way.
448
00:29:33,053 --> 00:29:34,874
That's what our life is really grateful.
449
00:29:34,874 --> 00:29:40,018
Are we really grateful for this breath and the next breath and the breath after that?
450
00:29:40,238 --> 00:29:41,389
it's fantastic.
451
00:29:41,389 --> 00:29:45,302
How can people get involved with the movement, with the homemade movement there, Scott?
452
00:29:45,382 --> 00:29:48,465
Yeah, you know, so we're in communities across the country.
453
00:29:48,465 --> 00:29:50,306
We have 19 affiliates.
454
00:29:50,804 --> 00:29:57,398
Our website, homemade, H-O-M-E-A-I-D dot org gives access to all of our affiliates.
455
00:29:57,718 --> 00:30:01,420
But even if we're not in a local community, we want to connect with you.
456
00:30:01,420 --> 00:30:02,501
We're expanding.
457
00:30:02,501 --> 00:30:06,323
We've got six new markets that we're looking to be in across the country.
458
00:30:06,383 --> 00:30:11,226
And the key thing is everyone has an opportunity be involved.
459
00:30:11,326 --> 00:30:17,229
This month, it's Homelessness Awareness Month, but every day we have an opportunity to...
460
00:30:18,382 --> 00:30:28,562
Understand the issue to educate ourselves on it, to take the opportunity to learn a little
bit more about that person that you've not necessarily intermittently that the person that
461
00:30:28,562 --> 00:30:31,222
you drove by or the person that's on the street.
462
00:30:31,802 --> 00:30:32,262
all right.
463
00:30:32,262 --> 00:30:40,102
But once you begin aware and you begin to, your eyes will begin to open and think, okay,
what options does that person have?
464
00:30:40,102 --> 00:30:48,064
And we, as good developers looking for housing, you know, our people, you know, it's like,
okay.
465
00:30:48,064 --> 00:30:56,618
What does the community have and how do we develop the types of homes and facilities and
options for someone that doesn't have housing?
466
00:30:56,618 --> 00:30:57,709
It's the same mindset.
467
00:30:57,709 --> 00:31:01,921
We just apply it to a social cause of the issue related to homelessness.
468
00:31:01,921 --> 00:31:03,021
Yeah.
469
00:31:03,021 --> 00:31:05,202
You can see it for yourself at homemade.org.
470
00:31:05,202 --> 00:31:13,760
You're going to see everything that this just absolutely amazing cooperative has done
around the country continues to tens of thousands of people served.
471
00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:16,284
and the people that really, really need help the most.
472
00:31:16,284 --> 00:31:17,657
Scott, always a pleasure.
473
00:31:17,657 --> 00:31:20,430
Thanks for stopping by and giving us a few minutes of your time.
474
00:31:20,430 --> 00:31:20,966
You're welcome.
475
00:31:20,966 --> 00:31:23,045
I look forward to seeing you soon.
476
00:31:26,326 --> 00:31:28,007
So there you go.
477
00:31:28,387 --> 00:31:30,606
It's an important conversation.
478
00:31:30,606 --> 00:31:33,910
I know Amy, you and I have talked about this in the past.
479
00:31:34,111 --> 00:31:38,593
How do we make sure the right people, all the people get housing?
480
00:31:38,593 --> 00:31:39,254
What do we do?
481
00:31:39,254 --> 00:31:50,911
And I don't know about you, but I just feel good about the efforts that our industry takes
in moving beyond just how do we make money on a home and going into how do we make sure
482
00:31:50,911 --> 00:31:52,782
that the right people get homes?
483
00:31:52,782 --> 00:31:53,262
Yeah.
484
00:31:53,262 --> 00:31:58,132
Yeah, I, home ownership can't be a luxury that only a few can attain.
485
00:31:58,132 --> 00:31:58,502
Right.
486
00:31:58,502 --> 00:32:00,902
I mean, it to be so much more available than that.
487
00:32:00,902 --> 00:32:01,262
Yep.
488
00:32:01,262 --> 00:32:01,672
Right.
489
00:32:01,672 --> 00:32:04,502
We're working on it, but we've got a lot of work to do.
490
00:32:04,502 --> 00:32:04,892
right.
491
00:32:04,892 --> 00:32:06,912
Amy, always good spending time with you.
492
00:32:06,912 --> 00:32:07,572
Thanks everybody.
493
00:32:07,572 --> 00:32:09,401
Good to be back in the saddle.
494
00:32:09,401 --> 00:32:12,832
And until next time, go out and change someone's world.
00:00:00,224 --> 00:00:03,306
all of the different reasons why someone ends up being on the street.
2
00:00:03,306 --> 00:00:05,137
It's complex.
3
00:00:05,137 --> 00:00:07,378
You can't put it into one box.
4
00:00:07,478 --> 00:00:09,619
But they didn't start out that way.
5
00:00:09,619 --> 00:00:20,805
But to unravel that and to take the steps back and to understand that as many steps as it
took to get into that are gonna take to get out, and maybe that is the only choice that
6
00:00:20,805 --> 00:00:22,265
they have that day.
7
00:00:29,294 --> 00:00:37,664
Here we are, everybody, with another episode of the Builder 365 podcast joined by my very,
good friend, Amy O'Connor.
8
00:00:37,664 --> 00:00:39,734
Amy, is it OK to say very, very good friend?
9
00:00:39,734 --> 00:00:40,614
We have good friends.
10
00:00:40,614 --> 00:00:41,574
We very good friends.
11
00:00:41,574 --> 00:00:45,174
I just called you my very I should have checked with you first before I called you that.
12
00:00:45,174 --> 00:00:46,804
I was actually a little disappointed.
13
00:00:46,804 --> 00:00:50,004
There weren't three Varys, but all right.
14
00:00:50,004 --> 00:00:51,614
I'll settle for two.
15
00:00:51,614 --> 00:00:54,834
But we should actually be saying you right after.
16
00:00:54,834 --> 00:00:55,574
Is this?
17
00:00:55,574 --> 00:00:56,674
Yeah.
18
00:00:56,734 --> 00:00:58,134
Yeah, this is the.
19
00:00:58,134 --> 00:00:59,175
No, no, no, you're right.
20
00:00:59,175 --> 00:01:08,562
This is the first podcast episode since I don't know when this is going to air, but this
is the first podcast episode since returning from a 90 day sabbatical.
21
00:01:08,562 --> 00:01:12,799
Just go ahead and tell the world how much you missed me, it was painful.
22
00:01:12,799 --> 00:01:21,572
mean, we lived along, but, you know, when you came back, the sun started shining brighter
and the butterflies flew faster and, all those things.
23
00:01:21,832 --> 00:01:23,093
But, know, it was weird.
24
00:01:23,093 --> 00:01:24,404
Here's what I noticed.
25
00:01:24,586 --> 00:01:26,807
I took 90 days and I shut it down.
26
00:01:26,807 --> 00:01:29,828
mean, I actually on our team checking my emails.
27
00:01:29,828 --> 00:01:33,630
I just did nothing work-wise for 90 days.
28
00:01:33,630 --> 00:01:39,012
And to my incredible surprise, the world kept spinning.
29
00:01:39,012 --> 00:01:48,776
Even when the real estate world just kept spinning, I thought for sure it would just fly
off its axis and be lost into the atmosphere forever.
30
00:01:48,776 --> 00:01:49,776
But the world kept spinning.
31
00:01:49,776 --> 00:01:50,597
Go figure.
32
00:01:50,597 --> 00:01:52,637
Definitely gives us an ego check.
33
00:01:54,030 --> 00:01:55,431
It does indeed, yeah.
34
00:01:55,431 --> 00:01:56,272
But I missed you.
35
00:01:56,272 --> 00:02:03,017
I missed being out there with all of my friends and all the friends who are watching right
now as well.
36
00:02:03,017 --> 00:02:05,700
It is good to be back and especially good back.
37
00:02:05,700 --> 00:02:11,094
It's good to be back here during, you know what it is, it's National Learn a Foreign
Language Month.
38
00:02:11,094 --> 00:02:13,045
How excited are you, Amy?
39
00:02:14,636 --> 00:02:18,228
I gotta tell you, I think this is where other countries really beat us.
40
00:02:18,228 --> 00:02:24,500
I mean, you gotta look at Europe where every, like a four year old speaks 12 languages and
I feel little inadequate, quite frankly.
41
00:02:24,500 --> 00:02:34,485
I'm always very impressed and probably a little envious of people who speak multiple
languages and since I don't think Southern counts as its own language, although in some
42
00:02:34,485 --> 00:02:35,875
places it probably does.
43
00:02:35,875 --> 00:02:40,618
I'm just one, but you were learning French, weren't you, for your sabbatical?
44
00:02:40,618 --> 00:02:41,518
How'd go?
45
00:02:41,878 --> 00:02:52,865
Yeah, I did hire a tutor, learned enough French to be able to order at a restaurant,
essentially, and just to be polite, just to say hello.
46
00:02:53,766 --> 00:02:57,088
It's difficult to learn a language if you're not immersed in the language.
47
00:02:57,088 --> 00:03:09,787
But to me, when I'm traveling, I just I don't think I don't think it's too much to ask to
know how to say hello and please and thank you in whatever country you're in.
48
00:03:09,787 --> 00:03:11,150
And when you do that,
49
00:03:11,150 --> 00:03:12,250
It's appreciated.
50
00:03:12,250 --> 00:03:12,850
It's respected.
51
00:03:12,850 --> 00:03:15,730
know we spent, ended the, we were in France the whole time.
52
00:03:15,730 --> 00:03:17,010
We ended the trip in Paris.
53
00:03:17,010 --> 00:03:24,170
A lot of people say that Parisians are rude and I would argue that Parisians are not very
kind when you are rude.
54
00:03:24,170 --> 00:03:31,910
And when you walk into a place and you don't say bonjour and you don't say merci, that's
deemed rude in Paris.
55
00:03:31,910 --> 00:03:38,530
And you're probably not going to get treated as well, but just go, just to be able to say,
je n'ai pas pas français.
56
00:03:38,530 --> 00:03:39,810
I don't speak French.
57
00:03:39,810 --> 00:03:40,878
Just to say that.
58
00:03:40,878 --> 00:03:45,480
It didn't take me that long to learn it, but it sort of raises it.
59
00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:46,090
I don't have you.
60
00:03:46,090 --> 00:03:49,882
Have you have you wanted, to learn another language?
61
00:03:49,882 --> 00:03:50,402
No.
62
00:03:50,402 --> 00:03:51,332
Is that bad?
63
00:03:51,332 --> 00:03:51,492
No.
64
00:03:51,492 --> 00:03:52,593
It sounds really bad.
65
00:03:52,593 --> 00:03:57,391
And by the way, if I tried that phrase in Southern, it'd be Jenny, Paw, Paw, France.
66
00:03:57,391 --> 00:03:58,846
So it'd be something like that.
67
00:03:58,846 --> 00:04:03,367
That's how I heard it was Jenny, Paw, Paw, which is probably not what it is.
68
00:04:03,368 --> 00:04:07,888
But I agree with you with being in Paris and I knew nothing.
69
00:04:07,888 --> 00:04:09,588
I was much, much younger.
70
00:04:09,588 --> 00:04:15,382
And I did, we did go to a very high end restaurant one night and I walk in, you know me, I
speak to everybody and I'm like, bonjour.
71
00:04:15,382 --> 00:04:17,044
And he looks at me, he's like, bonsoir.
72
00:04:17,044 --> 00:04:18,785
And I was like, sorry.
73
00:04:18,785 --> 00:04:19,466
You're right.
74
00:04:19,466 --> 00:04:20,386
Screw that one up.
75
00:04:20,386 --> 00:04:22,248
I'm making so positive, but at least I tried.
76
00:04:22,248 --> 00:04:23,328
Maybe at least I tried.
77
00:04:23,328 --> 00:04:24,789
I got some points.
78
00:04:24,930 --> 00:04:26,351
And you get credit for trying.
79
00:04:26,351 --> 00:04:26,841
You do.
80
00:04:26,841 --> 00:04:28,673
It's just to be polite.
81
00:04:28,673 --> 00:04:29,543
But it's interesting.
82
00:04:29,543 --> 00:04:31,395
I just got this book here.
83
00:04:31,395 --> 00:04:34,857
I've only scanned it, but so far I like what I'm seeing.
84
00:04:34,857 --> 00:04:36,078
I'll put up on the screen here.
85
00:04:36,078 --> 00:04:41,598
It's the science of rapid skill acquisition.
86
00:04:41,858 --> 00:04:43,428
it's it's yeah.
87
00:04:43,428 --> 00:04:45,078
Well, it's a self published book.
88
00:04:45,078 --> 00:04:47,978
I was like, look, this is a little cheesy.
89
00:04:47,978 --> 00:04:50,698
But flipping through it, there's some actually really good stuff over here.
90
00:04:50,698 --> 00:04:58,668
And I'm incredibly impressed by polyglots, people who speak multiple languages and they
just sort of pick it up.
91
00:04:58,668 --> 00:04:59,338
And you're right.
92
00:04:59,338 --> 00:05:03,988
A lot of children in other countries, you know, they're from a very, very young age.
93
00:05:03,988 --> 00:05:05,428
So, yeah, yeah.
94
00:05:05,428 --> 00:05:05,624
well.
95
00:05:05,624 --> 00:05:06,755
What are you gonna do?
96
00:05:06,755 --> 00:05:08,256
But here's the good news.
97
00:05:08,256 --> 00:05:12,278
The overwhelming majority of the world was kind enough to learn how to speak English.
98
00:05:12,278 --> 00:05:13,529
Wasn't that nice of them?
99
00:05:13,529 --> 00:05:15,240
It really was.
100
00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:15,610
was.
101
00:05:15,610 --> 00:05:16,720
Yeah.
102
00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:21,393
Hey, before we get deep into it, we haven't gotten an animal update from you recently.
103
00:05:21,393 --> 00:05:23,204
What's up on the farm these days?
104
00:05:24,425 --> 00:05:25,425
I just can't even.
105
00:05:25,425 --> 00:05:26,596
My husband's gonna kill me.
106
00:05:26,596 --> 00:05:33,750
So I'm at five and a half cats and I say half because there's one that's been coming
around and I'm trying to tempt it into my lair.
107
00:05:33,844 --> 00:05:35,955
so he's a half for, for right now.
108
00:05:35,955 --> 00:05:42,698
But my last rescue, I really wasn't listening when they told me she had neurological
issues.
109
00:05:42,918 --> 00:05:48,120
and then I told Rich, was like, I didn't know that and Claire super helpful goes, yes, you
did mom.
110
00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:49,421
They told you.
111
00:05:49,421 --> 00:05:55,883
So my neurological disturbed cat has started peeing.
112
00:05:56,954 --> 00:06:01,006
she uses the litter box like 90 % of the time, but 10 % out is still a whole lot.
113
00:06:01,006 --> 00:06:01,526
And she.
114
00:06:01,526 --> 00:06:01,816
Yeah.
115
00:06:01,816 --> 00:06:08,450
And she seems to prefer riches things, his tools, his drop cloth, his clothes that he
leaves on the floor.
116
00:06:08,450 --> 00:06:09,390
All right, everyone.
117
00:06:09,390 --> 00:06:13,052
If your spouse leaves clothes on the floor, here's how you fix that.
118
00:06:13,292 --> 00:06:17,435
You get a nerly deficient cat that will pee on the clothes.
119
00:06:17,435 --> 00:06:19,506
And then that stops happening.
120
00:06:19,916 --> 00:06:21,027
but no, he's gotten so bad.
121
00:06:21,027 --> 00:06:23,622
mean, I spent hundreds of dollars on everything on Amazon.
122
00:06:23,622 --> 00:06:27,660
I've read all the articles and you're gonna, you're, you're gonna die.
123
00:06:27,780 --> 00:06:31,402
We are taking her to a behavior list veterinarian.
124
00:06:32,206 --> 00:06:33,796
Yes, that's a thing.
125
00:06:33,796 --> 00:06:35,166
It's a thing.
126
00:06:35,166 --> 00:06:37,566
And I'm paying for it.
127
00:06:37,566 --> 00:06:41,046
And you have to wait like four weeks.
128
00:06:41,186 --> 00:06:42,826
It's that popular.
129
00:06:42,826 --> 00:06:44,246
It's just insane.
130
00:06:44,246 --> 00:06:46,726
I mean, that's just and I'm sure that's really cheap.
131
00:06:46,726 --> 00:06:47,466
Right.
132
00:06:47,466 --> 00:06:48,036
Yeah.
133
00:06:48,036 --> 00:06:48,366
Yeah.
134
00:06:48,366 --> 00:06:49,186
Yeah.
135
00:06:49,186 --> 00:06:49,236
yeah.
136
00:06:49,236 --> 00:06:50,966
And now I have any pet insurance.
137
00:06:50,966 --> 00:06:56,006
And sure, consulting, if we can get pet insurance like that would be a lot better for me.
138
00:06:56,006 --> 00:06:56,846
Yeah.
139
00:06:56,846 --> 00:06:59,746
We'll put that on the list of things that we'll never do.
140
00:06:59,746 --> 00:07:00,046
Sure.
141
00:07:00,046 --> 00:07:00,886
Right after the jet.
142
00:07:00,886 --> 00:07:01,548
OK.
143
00:07:01,548 --> 00:07:01,878
Good.
144
00:07:01,878 --> 00:07:02,909
Right after the jet.
145
00:07:02,909 --> 00:07:03,419
Exactly.
146
00:07:03,419 --> 00:07:03,749
Yeah.
147
00:07:03,749 --> 00:07:04,620
Yeah.
148
00:07:04,620 --> 00:07:05,090
All right.
149
00:07:05,090 --> 00:07:08,241
Well, thanks for the update and my best to rich.
150
00:07:09,122 --> 00:07:12,104
The man is a saint putting putting up with all of this.
151
00:07:12,104 --> 00:07:18,527
Hey, just a very special thanks to our partner for the podcast Builder 365 as always
powered by Opendoor for Builders.
152
00:07:18,527 --> 00:07:20,488
Easy sales, smooth moves.
153
00:07:20,488 --> 00:07:28,290
You can learn more about the work they do to support all home builders at opendoor.com
slash builder 365.
154
00:07:28,290 --> 00:07:29,373
So there you go.
155
00:07:29,373 --> 00:07:31,042
Hey, Amy, just
156
00:07:31,042 --> 00:07:39,860
I read something really, really interesting here in a Bloomberg article about the aging
home buying population.
157
00:07:39,860 --> 00:07:42,732
This was just absolutely fascinating to me.
158
00:07:43,253 --> 00:07:53,782
the, the average age now, the, or the median age of buyers right now, the, the median age,
56 years old.
159
00:07:53,782 --> 00:07:56,403
That's, that's crazy.
160
00:07:56,644 --> 00:07:59,466
median age of a first time buyer.
161
00:07:59,466 --> 00:08:01,108
is 37 years old.
162
00:08:01,108 --> 00:08:09,918
So man, this population is getting older and older all the time and sort of begs the
question, what are we going to do for our young people?
163
00:08:10,580 --> 00:08:12,822
It's a difficult, difficult issue.
164
00:08:12,822 --> 00:08:13,773
What's your thought on that?
165
00:08:13,773 --> 00:08:16,398
Because I was blown away when I saw these numbers.
166
00:08:16,398 --> 00:08:18,958
I read the same article as well.
167
00:08:18,958 --> 00:08:20,748
I was like, 56, are we sure?
168
00:08:20,748 --> 00:08:21,908
Let's check that source.
169
00:08:21,908 --> 00:08:23,268
And then the source looked pretty legit.
170
00:08:23,268 --> 00:08:24,378
I think it was NAR.
171
00:08:24,378 --> 00:08:26,868
So I was like, OK, well, that must be right.
172
00:08:26,868 --> 00:08:28,418
And yeah, I'm looking at the same thing.
173
00:08:28,418 --> 00:08:29,738
mean, 38, was trying to.
174
00:08:29,738 --> 00:08:31,908
How old were you when you bought your first home?
175
00:08:31,908 --> 00:08:33,118
Can you remember?
176
00:08:33,918 --> 00:08:36,038
Yeah, let's see.
177
00:08:36,038 --> 00:08:38,718
I was 27.
178
00:08:38,718 --> 00:08:40,498
was 25.
179
00:08:40,858 --> 00:08:42,198
I was 25.
180
00:08:42,228 --> 00:08:44,921
And that wasn't unusual at the time.
181
00:08:44,921 --> 00:08:48,094
mean, I had several friends who were buying homes.
182
00:08:48,094 --> 00:08:48,971
I looked at it.
183
00:08:48,971 --> 00:08:49,755
It's just what you did.
184
00:08:49,755 --> 00:08:50,165
Yeah.
185
00:08:50,165 --> 00:08:51,138
Just what you did.
186
00:08:51,138 --> 00:08:53,343
And now I to think that was five years ago.
187
00:08:53,343 --> 00:08:55,818
I mean, I get that it was 20 years ago.
188
00:08:55,818 --> 00:08:59,915
But why goodness, what a change in 20 years.
189
00:08:59,915 --> 00:09:00,435
Yeah.
190
00:09:00,435 --> 00:09:01,056
Yeah.
191
00:09:01,056 --> 00:09:02,097
For sure.
192
00:09:02,097 --> 00:09:04,038
And it is a
193
00:09:04,374 --> 00:09:12,254
It is gone to the point now where I think a lot of younger people are like, well, that
ship already sailed and I'm just not even going to worry about it anymore.
194
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I think if listen, listen, if homes were more affordable to younger people, more younger
people would be buying.
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I it's just an economics thing.
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There's no question about it in my mind.
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And when I look still at the number of lower priced homes that are being built, they're
being purchased by institutional investors.
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There is so much institutional money that's and those are the homes that they want because
they rent out, right?
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Because they get a return on that.
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And look, I tend to be more libertarian thinking in regards to my small government views,
but I'm wondering if it's in time, if it's not time to put in some kind of restrictions on
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institutional investing, because it is just it's making it very, very difficult for young
people.
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I also think it means that we might have to
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think more about flexibility of plans of being able to have homes that are smaller, but
more flexible.
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What are you thinking?
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Yeah.
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I mean, I don't think there's a choice here.
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I mean, if we're going to do anything with affordability, it's going to have to have cost
reduction.
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We're to have to think about land positioning.
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And if you're going to go smaller, you have to flex a lot more.
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Yeah.
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You know, it's one thing.
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to say, well, this room could be a bedroom or a den.
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I think we're to have to get far more creative than that.
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I think we're going to have to look at things like movable walls, sliding walls and hidden
furniture and and rooms that double as one thing during the day and another thing at
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night.
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and we're going to have to find ways to get really super creative.
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And if we are being honest, we really haven't.
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You know, we we've.
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We've gotten a little bit more creative on how to squeeze more square footage onto the
footprint of a home site, but I think it's going to have to go deeper than that in order
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to, and maybe there are lessons from Asia to be able to pick up on this.
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Exactly what I was thinking.
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It's not like we have to invent it.
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It's already been done.
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I mean, there's plenty of high density areas that have had to figure this out.
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So yeah, yeah.
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I mean, I think it's interesting.
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You start talking about things like sliding walls though.
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And I started to go, well, that's cost.
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So, know, I don't know.
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I get it.
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I get it.
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Yeah, there's no question.
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And so maybe there is an answer there just in regards to the technology of the way that
the walls are being built and your robotics and everything else.
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So there's got to be this convergence here because I think, you know, people sort of toss
the word crisis out there pretty liberally.
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But I do think that we're coming up on that moment where when we're thinking about where
we're going to house our young people,
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The word crisis might very well coming come into play here.
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So, yeah.
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Well, speaking of housing, people who need housing just really thrilled here to have sat
down with my very, very special guest and Scott Larson from HomeAid and talk about the
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wonderful things they're doing to make sure that everybody who needs a place to sleep gets
one.
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And this industry, think I think when you listen to the interview, you're going to walk
away.
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with a really warm feeling about our industry, about the altruistic nature of our
industry, the philanthropic nature of our industry, and the fact that we really are
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serious about taking care of people who really need housing the most.
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Here's my interview with Scott Wollstein.
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Scott Larson, so glad to have you with us.
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We've known each other for some time, but I wanted the great privilege of sharing you with
our audience.
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So let's just start here.
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Tell us about Home Aid.
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Tell us what the organization does and your role inside the organization.
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No, Jeff, thank you for allowing me to be here today.
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Yeah, I'm the CEO for Home Aid and I've been in this national role for about five years.
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But prior to being in this national role overseeing the overall work of HomeAid, I ran the
Orange County affiliate of HomeAid for over 20 years.
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And that's where it all began.
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35 years ago, the building industry saw an opportunity and a need to step into the complex
issue of homelessness.
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And the concept was, as people in the building industry, what do we do best?
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We build.
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And we build homes and what a better connection to take the resources of the intellectual
capital, the physical resources and to pour those into such a critical issues such as
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homelessness.
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Who better than people that build housing for a living to step into such an important
cause of looking to end homelessness in their community.
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Yeah, it's so true.
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The symmetry there cannot be denied.
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The opportunity that we build homes to help people have a place to live.
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Well, how about the people who need a place to live the most?
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Tell us some of your favorite homemade moments and or projects over the years, Scott.
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You know, there's a variety of different things that that are both personal as well as,
you know, the physical structures, because I I truly believe that what.
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We do as homebuilt is people in the home building industry.
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It's a noble thing.
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As you were talking about, we're building homes and that is, that is underscored with the
nobility of building for those that are either at risk or marginalized with their housing.
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And I look at time and time again, projects that have been completed.
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I'm thinking specifically of a project that I was involved with in Santa Ana, California
called Emmanuel house, a very challenged street.
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You know, it's a straight that you wouldn't walk down at night.
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And what was built was a project for people at the time that were going to be dying from
HIV and AIDS.
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Very controversial.
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The project was designed to be a hospice and had to overcome a lot of barriers in the
community, oppositions, people were afraid.
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But what was built was just an amazing physical product designed by an amazing architect
built by an amazing builder.
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It changed that street.
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It changed the physical environment, but it also changed the hearts and minds of the
people in that community.
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And nowadays people aren't overtly dying from, you know, it's not an over depth sentence,
but it's, it's an opportunity to live.
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And this project gives those residents that are there an opportunity to get their, get
their next step in their life.
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And that's what, that's what projects are all about is.
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transforming a physical community, transforming people's lives, and giving hope and
optimism.
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On a very personal level, at one point I walked up to a project and there was a gentleman
finishing the sidewalk in front of it.
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Get out of my car and walk up and I said, do you know what you're doing?
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And he looked at me like, you're an idiot.
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Of course I know what I'm doing.
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I'm finishing the sidewalk and I said, no, no, no, no.
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Do you know what you're doing?
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And, and do you know what this project is about?
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And it was a, home for people fleeing domestic violence.
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And I went on to describe kind of the purpose and the nature of that project.
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And he paused and he looked at me and he said, you know, Scott, I now can go home and tell
my wife that I did something of value today.
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Not that what he did.
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didn't do that, but we underscored his his trade, his ability is finishing a sidewalk with
a deeper meaning and purpose than maybe he had thought about before.
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And that's the heart of who we are.
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That's the heart of who HomeMade is.
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Yeah, I love it.
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I love it.
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But you mentioned that this is not always an easy task.
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And, you know, I'm on the board of directors for an organization called The Gathering Inn.
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It's our local public private partnership up here in Placer County.
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And we wanted to build this whole very secure campus that was going to allow people at all
stages to sort of elevate from just needing a bed first to career counseling and maybe
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mental health care up into tiny homes and then eventually out into places on their own.
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We have this beautiful parcel of land across the street from a prison.
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And it didn't matter, neighbors that were a couple miles away on the other side of the
freeway went absolutely nuts.
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And so when we see this, this is a real issue.
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Everyone wants a solution as long as they perceive that it has zero impact on their lives.
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What do you do with that?
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Because you have these sometimes called the bananas build absolutely nothing anywhere near
anyone else.
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How do you fight that?
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What do you do to try and help people with the cause that is sometimes
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Everybody understands, nobody really wants to be an active participant in.
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You know, it's and that's where a lot of the skills and expertise from the from the
industry come in play because they battle these types of things on a lot of their regular
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developments.
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And so as we pulled our consultants into these projects, first off, we have to acknowledge
that that the fear is real.
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may not be that it may not be reality, but we have to acknowledge that.
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the concerns that these residents and the neighbors of a potential project, we can't
dismiss them.
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And, you know, there's a lot of conversations and trying to bring home the fact that a lot
of these individuals are one or two people away, a lot of community meetings, aspects of
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meeting with elected officials who ultimately make some of these decisions.
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But one of the things that we bring people back to, if it's in a community where we built
before,
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is look at what we've done.
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Look at the existing developments.
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And I think that you'll see that the fears are gone away.
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So the project that I referenced earlier, related to a manual house, it led to an
opportunity to build two more projects directly across the street.
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And then right now here in December, a 17 unit apartment building will be dedicated a
block away under all the same guys and purpose.
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because they're seeing the effectiveness, they're seeing the changes in their community,
but it just takes persistence, takes listening ear, care and concern.
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And there have been times where projects haven't been approved, but I think the spirit and
intent is to just keep working and listening and showing that what we do is a benefit and
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an asset in their local community.
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Yeah, it's interesting because as we look at at the homeless today or you were talking
about this project that was for people who had HIV, people who had who had HIV and had a
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death sentence at the time were stigmatized by that.
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And people didn't want to be around it because they didn't understand it.
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And I think it's the same thing with homelessness.
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Right.
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We tend to look at it and say with homelessness and say the homelessness is the problem.
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No, the homelessness is the symptom of any number of different problems.
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And to be able to put everybody in the same bucket and say,
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I think I understand who these people are.
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And then you end up with what I think are silly comments like people want to be homeless.
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They want to live on the street.
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the percentage of people that want to live on the street, very, very, nobody sets out for
that, right?
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Yeah, very, very few.
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And even those that at the time, you know, in interacting may have chosen that.
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What led to that choice?
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It wasn't.
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Yeah, it's a series of events and it's a series of broken promises and relationships.
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There's a tremendous book that we've distributed amongst our team nationally called When
You Walk By.
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And it's written by a gentleman who runs an organization in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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And all of the different reasons why someone ends up being on the street, it's complex.
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You can't put it into one box.
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But they didn't start out that way, but to unravel that and to take, take the steps back
and to understand that as many steps as it took to get into that are going to take to get
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out.
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And maybe that is the only choice that they have that day.
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Yeah.
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But do we have the, do we have the compassion without it being, you know, parental with
these individuals and families that are on the street are coming in from a, know better
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mentality.
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00:22:02,030 --> 00:22:02,350
Right.
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have an opportunity to really walk alongside them and not walk by and really understand
the circumstances that led them and and and listen and try to see what solutions there are
356
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to have the have it be different.
357
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Deep down, these are real human beings.
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have real lives and and it would behoove us to want to know more about the people in our
communities.
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00:22:26,388 --> 00:22:29,670
You and I have been in this industry for a long time and I
360
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I've never asked you the question, but I have to believe that you feel as I do heart
warmed by the philanthropic nature of the home building industry.
361
00:22:38,977 --> 00:22:41,277
I assume you feel the same way about that.
362
00:22:41,277 --> 00:22:55,472
know, I there's not a more compassionate entrepreneurial group that I could that I can
point to any business sector in this country that is that is embodies what the home
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building industry does.
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Whether or not it's homemade or many other philanthropic efforts, this is a group like no
other and a talented, passionate, highly skilled, and they put as much effort into
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changing communities and their philanthropy as I've ever seen.
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00:23:15,784 --> 00:23:20,228
And I did have the opportunity to work for a couple of nonprofits prior to homemade.
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And I, I love this industry.
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I wanted to be a custom home builder when I was in high school and to a degree, that's a
little bit of what we do now.
369
00:23:29,378 --> 00:23:38,698
But it's it's a tremendous group of people, people that I mentioned that I get to work
with the best in the building industry and I get to work with the best in the nonprofit
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sector for the people we build for.
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Right.
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Yeah, absolutely.
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All right.
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00:23:43,868 --> 00:23:49,098
Scott, can I ask you and I'm going to ask you anyway, and if you don't want to answer it,
well, we'll just edit this question out.
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00:23:49,098 --> 00:23:51,880
Can I ask you about your recent personal
376
00:23:51,914 --> 00:23:55,216
journey, because it's it's it's quite a story.
377
00:23:55,377 --> 00:23:56,968
You know, thanks for asking.
378
00:23:56,968 --> 00:23:59,579
And I do want people to ask.
379
00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:09,968
The last six months has been a journey where I was diagnosed and successfully navigated a
cancer diagnosis on back earlier in the year.
380
00:24:09,968 --> 00:24:18,614
I began to not feel very well, and it led to a cancer diagnosis of lymphoma.
381
00:24:18,658 --> 00:24:28,605
but for a period of time, is a very curable form of cancer, you still have to go through
chemo and you have to have the care and attention, but there was a brief period of time
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where it was very acute, where they thought it was only months that I potentially had to
live.
383
00:24:37,051 --> 00:24:43,295
And not to focus on that part of it, but to focus on things like this could happen to
anybody at any time.
384
00:24:43,295 --> 00:24:46,777
And someone recently asked me,
385
00:24:47,244 --> 00:24:49,936
So, well, Scott, how has this changed your outlook on life?
386
00:24:49,936 --> 00:24:59,314
And well, first off, I, I'm extremely grateful to the city of hope here in Southern
California, which is another organization that has been strongly supported by the building
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industry.
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00:25:01,606 --> 00:25:06,610
construction industry Alliance, which I have become familiar with and intimate with.
389
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But this, this diagnosis didn't necessarily change my perspective, but it deepened my
perspective on life and.
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I'm very driven by purpose, very driven by my faith.
391
00:25:19,427 --> 00:25:33,311
But it underscored the need to continue to value every moment, every relationship as if
it's either the first or the last.
392
00:25:33,311 --> 00:25:44,634
because things happen in people's lives, and I'm extremely grateful that I was given the
care and prayers and concern of many, people over the last couple of months.
393
00:25:45,450 --> 00:25:47,191
I don't take that lightly.
394
00:25:47,351 --> 00:25:51,844
I know everyone's cancer journey is not the same.
395
00:25:51,844 --> 00:25:58,578
And I want to be there for to be listening to your end to share my story.
396
00:25:58,578 --> 00:26:04,362
but yeah, I, I physically, I feel really well for those that have been aware of the last
six months.
397
00:26:04,362 --> 00:26:11,326
And I'm, I'm excited for more conversations with people, but about it.
398
00:26:11,626 --> 00:26:12,546
It's fantastic.
399
00:26:12,546 --> 00:26:19,789
You know, it's it's one of those things where, you know, when you look at cancer, it's
just it's a knock on the door.
400
00:26:20,029 --> 00:26:26,782
It's not, you know, a lot of our health issues are to some extent might be preventable,
but cancer is one of those things.
401
00:26:26,782 --> 00:26:29,283
It's just it's you just never know.
402
00:26:29,283 --> 00:26:29,633
Right.
403
00:26:29,633 --> 00:26:33,074
And and so it's always interesting for me to hear.
404
00:26:33,230 --> 00:26:34,921
How do you respond to that?
405
00:26:34,921 --> 00:26:36,873
And then what do you learn from that?
406
00:26:36,873 --> 00:26:37,093
Right.
407
00:26:37,093 --> 00:26:41,657
We had Amy O'Connor, our team who went through just a massive, massive cancer battle.
408
00:26:41,657 --> 00:26:45,780
It had her down for about 18 months and it took just a miraculous surgery.
409
00:26:45,820 --> 00:26:49,683
last time I had seen her, it was last May.
410
00:26:49,683 --> 00:26:50,804
I flew to D.C.
411
00:26:50,804 --> 00:26:51,265
to see her.
412
00:26:51,265 --> 00:26:52,816
We basically I basically said goodbye.
413
00:26:52,816 --> 00:26:55,548
We thought that was we thought that was it.
414
00:26:55,548 --> 00:27:02,424
But to see her come through that and then to recognize that there is a joy for life that
she wasn't going to have elsewise.
415
00:27:02,424 --> 00:27:03,174
So.
416
00:27:03,370 --> 00:27:10,972
It's an amazing story and I'm very happy to be talking to you after I first got the
message from you, Scott, that things weren't looking so good.
417
00:27:10,972 --> 00:27:12,943
So it's a beautiful story for sure.
418
00:27:12,943 --> 00:27:13,413
Yeah.
419
00:27:13,413 --> 00:27:20,095
Well, you know, and it's one of those things that people are afraid of the C word.
420
00:27:20,095 --> 00:27:21,505
And I acknowledge that.
421
00:27:21,505 --> 00:27:30,678
And this is actually a few people that this is my third touch with cancer of a couple of
different kinds and certainly not expected.
422
00:27:30,968 --> 00:27:36,602
but you dive in, you get the support that you need and you have people that care for you.
423
00:27:36,758 --> 00:27:43,167
I, again, grateful for people that, you know, that have gone down this journey, researched
it.
424
00:27:43,167 --> 00:27:53,815
And just like with issues related to homelessness, well, you can't solve homelessness and
people will say, well, you can't solve cancer, there's people that are, or you can't cure,
425
00:27:53,815 --> 00:27:56,717
but there are people that have tackled that, that have looked at it.
426
00:27:56,717 --> 00:27:58,370
And I feel
427
00:27:58,370 --> 00:28:06,493
very much a beneficiary of years of trial and error and research to be able to be here
with you today and with others as we move forward.
428
00:28:06,493 --> 00:28:13,136
But there's also a there's a gift side to this in the sense that I just finished a 90 day
sabbatical.
429
00:28:13,136 --> 00:28:24,501
And one of the things that I during the sabbatical is I did a deep dive in Solomon's Book
of Ecclesiastes and and really, really looking at how do you live well, knowing that your
430
00:28:24,501 --> 00:28:26,682
life is a breath and you're going to die.
431
00:28:26,682 --> 00:28:27,042
But
432
00:28:27,042 --> 00:28:36,544
But I would guess that from your perspective, knowing that you've had this brush with
death really does cause you to reevaluate the way that you live.
433
00:28:36,544 --> 00:28:46,810
I mean, I'm not trying to get overly philosophical about this, people can, I think you
have to go through that in order to really understand how your impending death changes the
434
00:28:46,810 --> 00:28:48,611
way that you're going to live over here.
435
00:28:48,611 --> 00:28:49,291
Yeah.
436
00:28:49,291 --> 00:28:50,411
I couldn't agree more.
437
00:28:50,411 --> 00:28:56,394
And I firmly believe that in our spirit, in our nature, we were not meant to die.
438
00:28:56,394 --> 00:28:57,194
Yeah.
439
00:28:57,250 --> 00:28:58,290
But we do.
440
00:28:58,431 --> 00:29:01,714
And so how do you live in that daily balance?
441
00:29:01,714 --> 00:29:08,010
Because you and I are living and breathing today, but there will be a time that that
doesn't that things change.
442
00:29:08,010 --> 00:29:12,984
And in our daily interactions, are we kind to people?
443
00:29:12,984 --> 00:29:14,125
Are we considerate?
444
00:29:14,125 --> 00:29:19,430
Are we looking to understand as we go along our own journey?
445
00:29:19,430 --> 00:29:21,091
But everyone is on a journey.
446
00:29:21,091 --> 00:29:24,013
so are we do do we have
447
00:29:24,716 --> 00:29:33,053
the eyes and the wisdom to be able to look beyond ourselves and to be that person for
somebody else along the way.
448
00:29:33,053 --> 00:29:34,874
That's what our life is really grateful.
449
00:29:34,874 --> 00:29:40,018
Are we really grateful for this breath and the next breath and the breath after that?
450
00:29:40,238 --> 00:29:41,389
it's fantastic.
451
00:29:41,389 --> 00:29:45,302
How can people get involved with the movement, with the homemade movement there, Scott?
452
00:29:45,382 --> 00:29:48,465
Yeah, you know, so we're in communities across the country.
453
00:29:48,465 --> 00:29:50,306
We have 19 affiliates.
454
00:29:50,804 --> 00:29:57,398
Our website, homemade, H-O-M-E-A-I-D dot org gives access to all of our affiliates.
455
00:29:57,718 --> 00:30:01,420
But even if we're not in a local community, we want to connect with you.
456
00:30:01,420 --> 00:30:02,501
We're expanding.
457
00:30:02,501 --> 00:30:06,323
We've got six new markets that we're looking to be in across the country.
458
00:30:06,383 --> 00:30:11,226
And the key thing is everyone has an opportunity be involved.
459
00:30:11,326 --> 00:30:17,229
This month, it's Homelessness Awareness Month, but every day we have an opportunity to...
460
00:30:18,382 --> 00:30:28,562
Understand the issue to educate ourselves on it, to take the opportunity to learn a little
bit more about that person that you've not necessarily intermittently that the person that
461
00:30:28,562 --> 00:30:31,222
you drove by or the person that's on the street.
462
00:30:31,802 --> 00:30:32,262
all right.
463
00:30:32,262 --> 00:30:40,102
But once you begin aware and you begin to, your eyes will begin to open and think, okay,
what options does that person have?
464
00:30:40,102 --> 00:30:48,064
And we, as good developers looking for housing, you know, our people, you know, it's like,
okay.
465
00:30:48,064 --> 00:30:56,618
What does the community have and how do we develop the types of homes and facilities and
options for someone that doesn't have housing?
466
00:30:56,618 --> 00:30:57,709
It's the same mindset.
467
00:30:57,709 --> 00:31:01,921
We just apply it to a social cause of the issue related to homelessness.
468
00:31:01,921 --> 00:31:03,021
Yeah.
469
00:31:03,021 --> 00:31:05,202
You can see it for yourself at homemade.org.
470
00:31:05,202 --> 00:31:13,760
You're going to see everything that this just absolutely amazing cooperative has done
around the country continues to tens of thousands of people served.
471
00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:16,284
and the people that really, really need help the most.
472
00:31:16,284 --> 00:31:17,657
Scott, always a pleasure.
473
00:31:17,657 --> 00:31:20,430
Thanks for stopping by and giving us a few minutes of your time.
474
00:31:20,430 --> 00:31:20,966
You're welcome.
475
00:31:20,966 --> 00:31:23,045
I look forward to seeing you soon.
476
00:31:26,326 --> 00:31:28,007
So there you go.
477
00:31:28,387 --> 00:31:30,606
It's an important conversation.
478
00:31:30,606 --> 00:31:33,910
I know Amy, you and I have talked about this in the past.
479
00:31:34,111 --> 00:31:38,593
How do we make sure the right people, all the people get housing?
480
00:31:38,593 --> 00:31:39,254
What do we do?
481
00:31:39,254 --> 00:31:50,911
And I don't know about you, but I just feel good about the efforts that our industry takes
in moving beyond just how do we make money on a home and going into how do we make sure
482
00:31:50,911 --> 00:31:52,782
that the right people get homes?
483
00:31:52,782 --> 00:31:53,262
Yeah.
484
00:31:53,262 --> 00:31:58,132
Yeah, I, home ownership can't be a luxury that only a few can attain.
485
00:31:58,132 --> 00:31:58,502
Right.
486
00:31:58,502 --> 00:32:00,902
I mean, it to be so much more available than that.
487
00:32:00,902 --> 00:32:01,262
Yep.
488
00:32:01,262 --> 00:32:01,672
Right.
489
00:32:01,672 --> 00:32:04,502
We're working on it, but we've got a lot of work to do.
490
00:32:04,502 --> 00:32:04,892
right.
491
00:32:04,892 --> 00:32:06,912
Amy, always good spending time with you.
492
00:32:06,912 --> 00:32:07,572
Thanks everybody.
493
00:32:07,572 --> 00:32:09,401
Good to be back in the saddle.
494
00:32:09,401 --> 00:32:12,832
And until next time, go out and change someone's world.
