#webuilt

Lets start with the figures

Ok

These are the states with the greatest housing underproduction, according to Up for Growth which is an NGO that is specialized in housing matters

State, Number of Units

California, 978,000

Texas, 322,000

Florida, 289,000

New York, 234,000

Washington, 140,000

New Jersey, 137,000

Colorado, 127,000

Arizona, 123,000

Illinois, 120,000

Georgia, 118,000

The full report can be found here

It says that it adds up to 3.8M units, so that is where the business is

But its not all social housing?

Social housing, or low rent housing, is the foundation of mixed projects that involve different things for different budgets

So how many units are we talking about?

60% of it, 60% of the housing underproduction in each state to be precise

Built by WeBuilt?

WeBuilt is a real estate promoter that employs contractors, it’s real expertise aside from developing these projects, locations and planning, is verifying the conformity of work done by its contractors

But you said that it also manages these projects or co properties from a safety perspective, also conducts inspections of flats, and does community management, as regards social or low rent housing?

Yes, and we can clearly discern that WeBuilt has different activity poles

Why not 100%

We are not in the Soviet era where a single company is going to supply 100% of the market, but there is a 3.8M units demand and 60% is a good chunk of that, that still leaves others room to do their thing

If there is a demand why aren't they built already?

Because the real estate market is made of opportunity, where promoters are going to pursue the highest margins possible, it takes a very large real estate promoter to do what WeBuilt can do

Incidentally that has driven the cost of constructing homes up the reason why people with moderate incomes cannot afford to build homes or buy them, also the reason why rent has become out of control in several areas

In order to scale fast WeBuilt surely entails buying and integrating several large construction companies into one, as well as employing contractors

So how many units is that?

2.28M in total

When the real estate market is doing well the economy is doing well?

WeBuilt is a major component of NDI

It’s housing, it’s also commerces, the economy and jobs?

Maybe some forgot that they’re all part of the same equation, if its done right that is within that broader partnership of the public and private sector it’s a several GDP points increase

Over what period?

Within the next decade

Surely that is a short period of time?

It’s 10 states times 10 years, that’s 100 years, with night shifts it’s double that

That being said WeBuilt entails putting a lot of resources in conformity work, where we don’t want to have nothing that is hastily or poorly built, also the reason why a lot of construction work is done in house placing the focus on how well the job is done not how fast it is delivered,

Yes it has to be delivered on in a timely manner and on budget, but these are also our workers primed on qualitative targets

It’s better workers conditions?

It’s a lot of work but a fair amount of work where safety is a focus and nobody is stretched to the limit by putting up with too much to cope with, also higher pay, which is part of NDI’s agenda

Give us an example?

A worker that has already put a lot of hours, working night shifts and asks for overtime, his manager is simply going to say no, we will hire more people if we have to, because we have work policies, because very likely when that project is done we have other work to do, so forth

You’re placing a lot of focus on quality?

Absolutely, a single substandard building or several that are delivered to their tenants and they go online say that it is shabby stuff and not worth it that’s the image and brand reputation of WeBuilt as a whole, look how many housing units is that just for the U.S. alone

If a building is found to be substandard we will bring it to the ground and redo it before even it is delivered, because we don’t want that to happen conformity verification is an ongoing process during the construction

Verification entails hundreds of different points and is a multistage process involving different independent teams, some at state level but also others from headquarters

Why independent?

They don’t owe you anything just because you built it, most likely they don’t know you and it’s not the same ones that keep showing up

There are challenges to building at such a scale, the main one being consistency in the quality that is delivered, and that has to be a strategic objective well understood by the top management, the middle management and even by the workers themselves

So that is The New Deal Initiative?

A large part of it, you cannot go wrong with making housing and home ownership possible for millions, while developing the economic tissue, ie creating jobs, and yes make those projects safe for everyone

Going back to WeBuilt how much capital is that?

As much as needed, the real question is how much profits is that

What about the ownership by CDG?

Morocco is an emerging country that like many has a tough job at securing hard currencies, or it depends on the performance of sectors such as the agriculture and tourism that are prone to a range of uncontrollable factors, feeble water precipitations, or a pandemy can render them unproductive

Diversifying into real estate in the U.S. to secure a regular income in Dollars makes sense

Where does the capital come from?

CDG is a public fund, also a lot of private cap, but the thing we want to study is the conversion of U.S. debt into real estate by China who holds a lot of U.S. debt, the second thing is making the Federal Reserve Bank a stockholder as a well

In WeBuilt?

In WeBuilt that is a U.S. company incorporated in the U.S., probably in Delaware

What would be the shape of these different participations?

60/30/10 or 60/25/15 with China and the Federal Reserve Bank

50/40/20 also a possibility it will depend how much debt China wants to convert into WeBuilt shares, my understanding is that they have a lot of liquidity that they want to drain, whereas real estate should be a sound investment for the Federal Reserve Bank so

How is the U.S. government going to regard the Chinese participation in WeBuilt?

Very favorably I hope, plus it says nowhere that the Federal Reserve Bank cannot in the future propose shares buybacks to China, which allows China to exit U.S. debt little by little, that is not negligible either, for both parties, something that could be agreed upon from the start

So in essence share ownership in WeBuilt becomes a debt conversion mechanism through real estate?

Globalization calls for creative solutions, especially regarding debt, also it’s a misjudgment that China is a U.S. antagonist, the U.S. is still by far its biggest export market I believe

Is 40/40/30 a possibility?

If the U.S. government is going to greatly facilitate the operations of WeBuilt I don’t see why not

Thanks

Fair price housing, commerces, also green spaces

This template presents placeholders for a large logo in white, also for a message that we want to convey

The rest is the navigation I guess, also with the different languages spoken

Start your journey is going to redirect users to obtain an application number with participating social services and NGO’s

So we have ascertained that applications are not made by individuals, but through an established cooperation framework with social services and NGO’s, mostly the site directs to an application page with these social services and NGO’s where applicants can then follow up on their applications with an application number

ie, either you are already part of the participating entities or you have to join one so that they process your application, of course it’s not all online there are interviews, assessments, background work, which social services and NGO’s in the social assistance field are accustomed to

It’s different fonts but they seem to blend in together, drop shadows to enhance the visibility of the links, a good start overall

The usual social media icons, there's no FB or IG because the goal after all is to implement community social networks within these co properties

It’s not too dense or overwhelming, pretty easy to navigate, developed from an users perspective who shouldn’t have the impression that it is complicated to deal with

There’s no scrollbar, the nav is redundant in each section, some sections might have scrollbars but you’re scrolling inside the same section

Also community social networks not network, so that these networks are centered around the communities of each co property, that being said each of these networks is part of a wider network that regroups all these different projects

Organized by city and by state, with an app

Within the co property

By city

By state

What is that?

A resident’s car badge

And what is the number for?

His housing block, it’s valid for a year

And free parking?

There is no such thing as free parking, the parking security he got a family too, when you’re benefiting of social services you have to think social, but it’s around 40 Dollars a month so

It could be a flurry of small jobs like that in these co properties, and also with the different commerces where it says you’re going to open a commerce but you need to look into the tenant’s applications first

Jobs are something that is set when you move in, as part of the whole process, it’s not just about housing it is also about building a community and figuring out that this community is going to want job openings close to where they live

Going back to the focus on families with children, you can tell that there is a drive to build something that is there already

There’s 2 sides to a coin but only 1 that lands flat, the social housing aspect of Webuilt is about families who want to build a future for themselves and are hampered by expensive rent or flat out housing shortage

Thanks

What is WeBuilt?

That’s the real estate promoter we have been talking about

So it’s not all Ghostbusters?

Things take time to mature, first we ascertained that it’s 2 separate entities, an NGO and a real estate promoter, then something else developed, Ghostbusters led to a promoter to build these housing projects

And?

The tree that shouldn’t hide the forest, these projects are not for the sole use of Ghostbusters, there are many NGO’s active in the social field and so it is about including them as well, in other words opening the use of these projects for these NGO’s within an application program

So any NGO active in the social assistance field can apply?

As well as the city’s social services, and it makes for that much broader framework vs wanting to go it alone, all of these NGO’s have people in need and they know their issues well

What is the business idea with WeBuilt?

We are looking at possibly the largest real estate promoter in the world that is specialized in low rent and social housing

So that would be the name of the co property?

As well, it is not just a real estate promoter WeBuilt also manages these projects

Where is the business?

Everywhere where cities have issues with social housing, WeBuilt should become one very large company structured by regional poles

Is it about outsourcing social services?

Not really because as a company its focus is quite clear, build and operate, where the operate part is mainly making sure that these projects are a commercial success and that they are safe

Is it not uberizing or turning cities into walmarts?

It’s not the pyramids of Egypt that we are building, we have to be fully aware that even these modern projects will be gone after many decades, to become something else

The opportunity right now is because social housing projects have aged and become derelict, tomorrow the opportunity might be in upscale housing, commercial or business districts, because downtowns will have expended

But these cities are going to say what about the social housing projects?

They will simply migrate further away from the downtowns, actually just in the U.S there are several cities where houselessness is an issue because of high rent or because the economic tissue has dwindled in entire neighborhoods

These projects would look the same?

As in cost effective, still it’s possibly 15 to 20+ different types of buildings, they can be arranged differently, with different color themes so forth, so it’s debatable that they look the same

And you anticipate that these tenants would go online and exchange flats across different cities?

Absolutely, now because these are identical housing units, same type same superficy, it make it that much easier, the flats are inspected when they are being exchanged in a low commission process

It is that you’re stuck here that became a mentality in social housing where people couldn’t freely pursue opportunity somewhere else, the tenants of these projects are our clients, if someone wants to move from NYC to another large city we ought to be able to propose them something similar

But if you own the flat?

You own it you own it, but if you’re renting it you should be able to exchange it in different cities

For a given period of time?

For a given period of time, let’s say for a minimum of 6 months, or else you are swapping bails completely

What if someone exchanges a flat and stops paying rent?

3 months in advance, plus it’s not the wild west you are going to find gold nuggets, we want to look at a solid job contract where you are moving

So it's long duration bails, you have mentioned 20 or 25 years but it's flexible because you can exchange flats or swap bails within WeBuilt?

Keep things in check as to who lives in these co properties, that's it, keep a high occupancy as in someone is moving to another city but you can still have them as clients

Your son or daughter has graduated or found work in another city, and you can afford them 3 months rent meanwhile they start making their own income

But it’s not an exchange?

No it’s taking an option on an available unit for 6 months, life is made of many things it’s not a couple of things, it’s many things, and WeBuilt ought integrate the different life situations of its tenants

If you lose your job do you lose your flat?

Why lose your flat, what about the many things that exist in life that we have just mentioned, such as job insurance that comes packaged with your rent, that’s enough time to find a new employment

In the 999 Dollars?

Maybe 299 Dollars are part of it in job insurance

With WeBuilt?

Why not WeBuilt, we’re renting flats we don’t want to have rent that is due, the we're all equal talk is good on paper, the reality of it is that some people fare better than others in life, it should say we have to help each others not we are all equal

What about the commerces?

Yes an important question, well here’s so many commercial chains and retail stores and here’s the plans for the co properties and where stores are located, and you are going to work with us in several cities with a contract for that

It’s not about posting for rent ads?

No, the vast majority of available commercial surfaces should be rented or leased from the start, while retaining a sufficient part of it for rent because we want to have small stores as well, it has to be diverse and lively not as stack of always the same

Anything else you might add?

Yes, its lots of acoustic panels made from recycled materials for acoustic isolation, surely it is more cost effective to manufacture them, so WeBuilt might also be the name of a brand of acoustic panels made from recycling, probably based in India

Also looking into the possibility of upgrades, you are doing better and you want to upgrade to a larger flat

Last question, rent is surely not the same in different cities?

Surely incomes are different as well, still is a for profit business where units are going to be priced lower considering what you’re getting, the goal is to bring some fairness into the real estate market

Thanks

How would you go about it? Any advice for the mayor?

I would look into the areas that clearly aren’t doing great economically and commercially, also higher crime rates, write them off from my list of worries by basing these co properties there instead

In the 5 boroughs?

In the 5 boroughs, and look at it from 2 perspectives, from the borough perspective and as a whole, and listen to what the people are saying, if they’re saying that now they have jobs, decent affordable modern housing and that their kids are safe, then its a win that nobody can contest no matter where they sit on the political spectrum

Perhaps many people living in the areas of these projects will not qualify?

Criminal records, drug abuse, gang members, society is a rewards system, you’re racking fails and not concerned about wins that’s your responsibility in the end, with that said there should be options for those who want out

They will argue that it’s their hood?

The hood has moved

Last question are these flats furnished?

Actually they are, mostly kitchen essentials and beds, sofas

Beds also?

We’re not fond of bringing in bed bugs, it’s hand in hand process with these families, here’s what you get, you can bring in this, you can’t bring in that, carry along with the process

You don’t seem the least concerned about people saying it’s a socialist approach?

Not whatsoever, it’s a for profit business

Is that a real wood parquet?

Thanks for bringing that up, we are looking at a passive design flat with a high energy efficiency, where overall sustainability is a key component of this project that is embedded in its planing, and the parket could well be made of recycled wood, sound panellings for acoustic isolation also made of recycled materials so there’s also that sustainability and recycled materials

The family is having a salad?

There you go, community gardens, it is a very exciting project with many different aspects

Thanks