Housing, Affordable, Basic

HAB

Factory-built homes that stack.

Three HAB homes on one footprint, each with its own stairs, with the roof deck on top

Washington needs about 1.1 million more homes by 2044. HAB builds them finished on a factory line, ships each on one trailer, stacks them three high and sets them in days.

Join the waitlist Step inside The 8-page brief (PDF)

Rent, all in: from $670 a month. Every site sets aside affordable homes at these starting rents; the rest rent at the local market rate (about $1,850 in Puget Sound).

HAB1: one factory-built home on its own piers, with a stair at each end and the roof deck on top

HAB1 One home

from $945/mo

starting rent, all in

One home, its own roof deck.

HAB2: two homes stacked on one set of piers, with the roof deck on top

HAB2 Two homes

from $740/mo per home

starting rent, all in

Two homes, one footprint.

HAB3: three homes on one footprint with the roof deck on top

HAB3 Three homes

from $670/mo per home

starting rent, all in

Three homes, one footprint.

Starting rent = the home's cost at a 5.5% return on the cheapest Washington land, with power, water, internet and repairs included. Stacking cuts it. How it works

Living space
491 sq ft
Bedroom
159 sq ft
Roof deck
490 sq ft
Per footprint
Up to 3 homes
On site
Days, not months

At a glance

Built finished. Set fast.

Every HAB leaves the factory finished: 491 sq ft, a bedroom, a living room open to the kitchen, a full bath and laundry. On site: piers, hookups and a crane day.

The home exploded into floor, frame, wall panels, kitchen and bath module, services and roof
Floor, steel frame, walls, the kitchen and bath module, roof.
  • Factory built. Kitchen, bath, laundry, heat pump, wiring and finishes all go in at the plant.
  • Steel, not wood. A welded steel frame in 6-inch insulated metal panels. An industrial loft inside: steel, sprinkler pipe and wiring left exposed on purpose, nothing behind drywall.
  • Every stack builds the next. About $750 a month per home to own and run on Puget Sound land, rented at market.

The home

Small footprint. Real rooms.

A bedroom with a wardrobe closet, a living room open to a full kitchen, a full bath and laundry: 491 sq ft, with a door and stair at each end. Every ground-floor home is accessible.

The ground-floor entry: a raised sidewalk across the end of the stack, flush with the landing at the door
Step-free at both doors: a raised sidewalk meets the landing, level.
HAB floor planOne HAB unit, 39'-0" x 13'-11": a bedroom behind a pocket door and a living room, with the kitchen and bath on the slide-in service cassette, and an entry at each end with its own stair.Stair + landingStair + landingClosetBedroomLiving34" pocket doorBathMechKitchenEntryKitchen + bath module - factory-built, slides in39'-0" overall51'-7" with both landings13'-11"
Bedroom left, living room center, kitchen and bath right, a stair at each end.
The home from above with the roof removed
From above, roof off.
Inside, from the living room: the kitchen run along the wet wall, the bath door, and the glass entry door at the far end
Inside: the kitchen along the wall, the bath door, light from the glass door at the end.
The bedroom: the glass door and the big window at its end
The bedroom: a glass door and a big window at the end.
  • Kitchen. Range, dishwasher, sink, fridge and freezer in one run, stainless counters.
  • Bath and laundry. Shower-tub, grab bars, a heat-pump washer-dryer.
  • Light and privacy. Glass doors at both ends and a big bedroom window, in smart glass that frosts at a switch, and goes frosted if the power fails.
  • Comfort. A cold-climate heat pump, round-the-clock fresh air, 6-inch insulation all round.
  • Power. All-electric, solar and battery ready, Wi-Fi built in.
End of the home, with the entry door, window and stair
The end: glass door, window, stair.
Side of the home
The long side is solid, so stacks can stand wall to wall.

Kitchen + bath core

The hard part, done in the factory.

Kitchen, bath, laundry and every pipe and wire behind them: built as one module, tested, and slid into the home before it ships. Nothing is plumbed or wired on site.

The kitchen and bath module sliding into the shell in the factory - step 1The kitchen and bath module sliding into the shell in the factory - step 2The kitchen and bath module sliding into the shell in the factory - step 3

  1. The shell waits

    Floor down, end open.

  2. The module slides in

    One move, on its tracks.

  3. Connected and closed

    One utility face, then the end wall. The home ships complete.

Every stack shares one set of connections at its base, and one water line feeds both the taps and the sprinklers.

Code approval

Approved once. Inspected indoors.

Washington approves factory-built homes at the state level, under its Gold Seal. The design is approved once, every home is inspected on the factory line, and the city checks the hookups. HAB is built for the Gold Seal program.*

How the Gold Seal works

  • One plan review. The state, or a Washington-licensed engineer it authorizes, approves the design once. That master plan holds until the state adopts its next building code, a three-year cycle, and every home built to it uses the same approval.
  • Inspected on the line. A state inspector checks every home in the plant: the structure, wiring, plumbing and mechanical systems before they are closed up, the insulation, then the finished home. When it passes, it gets the gold insignia.
  • Local codes met by law. A home with the insignia is deemed to meet local building codes, and the city may not open its finished walls to inspect.
  • The city keeps the site. Zoning, setbacks and site work stay with the city, which approves the installation from a state notice listing exactly what to check.

What it saves

  • Fewer site inspections. Walls, wiring and plumbing are inspected once, in the plant. On site, the list is the foundation and the hookups.
  • No weather holds. Inspections happen indoors on the plant's schedule, while the next homes keep moving down the line.
  • No review per site. The same approved plan builds every home until the next code cycle. Each new site needs only its zoning and site work approved.
  • Fees set in rule. The state insignia is $402.90 for a building's first section and $35.70 for each added one, with inspections at $125.80 an hour.
  • More inspectors coming. A 2026 law lets the state approve independent inspection agencies. The rules are being written now.

Why Washington first

Washington sets one of the highest bars in the country. Its energy code meets or exceeds the latest national model code, the 2021 IECC, and cuts a new home's energy use about 58% from the state's 2006 code. State law requires the 2031 code to reach 70%. Puget Sound is high seismic country, and HAB is built for Seismic Design Category D and 135 mph, Exposure D wind.*

A template for other states

Many states approve modular homes the same way, through one statewide program: Oregon's prefabricated structures insignia, California's factory-built housing program, and the four states of the Interstate Industrialized Buildings Commission (Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island and North Dakota). Washington holds reciprocal agreements with states whose standards equal or exceed its own.

A home that passes Washington's plan review and in-plant inspection shows the design and the factory hold up to one of the country's highest code bars. That is the case HAB takes to each next state, where the home is certified again under that state's program.

Stacking

Build up, not out.

Three homes on the land of one, then the next stack right beside it. Any home can sit at the bottom, middle or top, and the top becomes a 490 sq ft shared roof deck.

A HAB stack going up, from the piers to the third home, then a second stack beside it - step 1A HAB stack going up, from the piers to the third home, then a second stack beside it - step 2A HAB stack going up, from the piers to the third home, then a second stack beside it - step 3A HAB stack going up, from the piers to the third home, then a second stack beside it - step 4A HAB stack going up, from the piers to the third home, then a second stack beside it - step 5

  1. Piers first

    Ten helical piers screw in. No concrete.

  2. The first home

    Off one trailer onto the piers, no crane.

  3. The second home

    A crane sets it on the steel tenons below.

  4. The third home and the deck

    28 ft tall, roof deck on top.

  5. The next stack

    Long wall to long wall. The site fills fast.

Stacking joint sectionSection through the column-on-column stacking joint: the tenon stands up out of the lower column, its 1:8 tapered nose enters the upper column's bore and seats in the tapered ring; a 3/4 inch draw bolt is tightened through a hand hole.Lower unit roofUpper unit floorTapered tenon -steers the unit homeColumn on column -gravity bears steel to steel3/4" draw bolt -pretensioned, zero playhand hole (wrench access)tapered seat ringplug welds, shop-made3.34" tenon1:8 taper, 3" tallStacking joint, section through the columnHSS4x4x5/16 column, HSS3x3x3/8 tenon tube
The stack joint: tapered tenon, seat ring, draw bolt. Column on column, pulled tight.

Delivery and setting

Off the trailer. First home, no crane.

One trailer per home. Four jacks lift it off, the trailer drives out, the home lowers onto helical piers. A whole HAB3 sets in 25 to 43 hours of site time.

First home
15-25 h, piers included
Each home above
3-12 h
Crane
None for the first home
Concrete
None
Setting HAB without a craneThe trailer backs in between the pier rows, four jacks lift the unit, the trailer drives out and the unit is lowered onto the piers.1 Back in between the pier rowsunderside 28" up2 Four jacks lift the unit clearunderside 30" up3 The trailer drives outunderside 30" up4 Pier heads dropped onunderside 30" up5 Lowered onto the tenonsunderside 6" up6 Jacks out - home on its piersunderside 6" up

  1. Back in

    The trailer backs in between the pier rows.

  2. Lift

    Four jacks lift the home clear of the trailer.

  3. Drive out

    The trailer drives out.

  4. Pier heads on

    The pier heads drop onto their collars.

  5. Lower

    Tapered tenons center the home as it comes down.

  6. Done

    Jacks out. The home stands on its piers.

One HAB crew ships and sets every home. Local trades connect the utilities at the base of the stack.

Step-free entries

The home sits about 6 in up, and a raised sidewalk across each end meets both doors level. No ramps, no steps.

One end of the stack: the raised sidewalk, flush with the landing at the door
Standard site prep: the home sits low, and a raised sidewalk across each end of the stack meets the landing at the door, level.
The other end: the same raised sidewalk, flush with the landing at that door
The other end, the same way. Both doors are step-free.

Configurations and rent

Every stack builds the next.

A HAB home costs about $750 a month to build, set, finance and run on Puget Sound land ($35 per sq ft, at a 7% return). It rents at market, around $1,850 in Puget Sound. Each rented stack refinances for more than it cost, and the money builds the next one.

Market rent, all inYear-1 net yield30-yr IRR, land keptRefinance loan vs cost
$1,600/mo16%18%1.7× the cost
$1,850/mo19%22%2.0× the cost
$2,100/mo22%25%2.4× the cost

HAB3 home, land at $35 per sq ft. Net = rent less 5% vacancy, 6% management, property tax, insurance, the repair reserve, utilities and internet. 30-yr return = IRR with rent and costs up 2.5% a year, land up 3%, land kept. Refinance loan: the lesser of 65% of value at a 5.5% cap rate and what the net covers 1.25× at 6.5% - proceeds, not appraised value. A screening model, not a promise.

ConfigurationBuild and setOn site
HAB1 One home$100,00015‑25 h, no crane
HAB2 Two homes$150,00022‑37 h
HAB3 Three homes$200,00025‑43 h
  • Everything included. Home, site work, utility connections, piers, entry walks, roof deck, delivery and setting.
  • Affordable homes on every site. Every site sets aside homes at cost, under the city's program where it has one: from $670 a month all in for a HAB3 home, $740 for a HAB2, $945 for a HAB1 (a 5.5% return on the cheapest land). Washington's 12-year tax exemption helps pay for them.
  • All in for residents. Power, water, sewer, trash, internet and repairs in one rent.

Structure

Steel bones. Open rooms.

A welded steel frame in the walls carries the home and the riveted panels brace it, so no beams or braces cut into the rooms. One frame for every site: 135 mph wind, Seismic Design Category D.

The steel frame alone
The frame, walls off.
Stack
Up to 3 homes, 28 ft
Floor
10 Hz: no bounce
Roof
100 psf deck on every home
Seismic
Design Category D

Fire safety and exits

Two ways out. Sprinklers everywhere.

Fast never means cutting corners. Every HAB has a full NFPA 13 sprinkler system, hardwired smoke alarms that sound together, and two exits at opposite ends, each to its own stair.

Two exits and sprinklersPlan of one unit with a door and stair at each end; two escape routes from mid-room and five sprinkler heads with their spray patterns.Stair 1Stair 2BathMechExit 1Exit 2Sprinkler heads and sprayBath + chase heads: sidewall and pendentTwo exits per home, each to its own stair; full NFPA 13 sprinklers39'-0" unitEscape routes and sprinklers
The two exit routes, one at each end of the home, and the five sprinkler heads with their spray.
An entry stair with its guards, landing and door
One of the two stairs: plate stringers, aluminum picket guards on every open side, handrails both sides, and the turn landing outside the entry door.
  • A head in every room. Bath and mechanical chase included.
  • No wood to burn. Steel frame, metal-skinned panels, no drywall.
  • Protected circuits. GFCI in wet areas, AFCI in the rooms.

The factory

Built like a product, not a project.

This is how you build at speed: one product, one line, again and again. Flat parts that locate themselves, so the plant builds instead of measuring.

Factory flowSeven factory stations in order: frame marriage, floor panels and finish, walls and roof panels riveted, service cassette slides in, openings and fit-out, test and Gold Seal in-plant inspection, load-out.Factory flow, one home at a time1Frame marriageon one jigTab-and-slot steel,one jig, no tapemeasure2Floor panels+ finishInsulated floorpanel, then thefloor finish3Walls + roofpanels riveted58 insulated panelsin all, set andriveted4Kitchen + bathslides inKitchen and bathbuilt as one producton its own line5Openings+ fit-outDoors, window,hatch, then trim andclosures6Test + Gold Sealin-plant inspectionPressure, electricaland water tests7Load-outOut of the plant onthe trailer
The station flow. Steel parts are welded flat, joined in one marriage jig, then clad with panels riveted on the 3" grid.
  • Tab-and-slot steel. Laser-cut parts drop into place. No tape measure.
  • Plug-together wiring. Harnesses built on boards, snapped together in the home.
  • Inspected in the plant. Built for the Gold Seal program: one plan review, then inspection on the line.

For investors

Capital that builds homes.

Washington needs about 1.1 million more homes by 2044 (state Department of Commerce). HAB builds, owns and rents them as a manufactured product, at a cost far under the market rent it earns, so every stack pays for the next.

The raise. HAB is raising $200,000 to finish the engineering and take the design through Gold Seal certification. Terms on request.

  • Returns. At about $1,850 a month, a HAB3 home nets about 19% in year one and about 22% a year over 30 years with the land kept.
  • A flywheel. A rented stack refinances for about twice its cost. Of 41 listings screened, 38 sites return the whole cost: room for 1,839 homes.
  • Speed. Once the piers and hookups are in, a HAB3 sets in 25 to 43 hours on site.
  • Cost falls as homes stack. $100,000 for one home, under $67,000 each in a stack of three.

Sites screened

HAB screened 41 Washington land listings with prices, scoring each on the homes that fit, the local market rent and what the homes cost. The five strongest at market rent:

CityLandHomesMarket rentYear-1 yieldRefinance returns
Burien3.8 acres165~$1,85020%2.1×
Lake Stevens8.4 acres99~$1,97521%2.2×
Burien2.7 acres117~$1,85017%1.8×
Puyallup, South Hill2.7 acres108~$1,92517%1.8×
Kent2.5 acres57~$1,92519%2.0×

Screening only: public listings, not verified and not under contract; market rents are October 2026 estimates.

Where HAB stands

ItemTodayNext
FundingRaising $200,000Engineering stamp and Gold Seal certification
Homes builtNone yetThe pilot build
DesignModeled in full, down to 290 part numbers; engineering to finish (this raise)Supplier quotes
EngineeringHAB's own screening calculationsReview and stamp by a licensed engineer
Code approvalBuilt for the Gold Seal factory-built programThe Gold Seal plan review
PilotPlanned, with bought-in panelsThe panel maker's quote, then the build

The plant grows in stages

StageOutput
Pilot cell1 home per week
First line250 homes per year
Flow line1,000 homes per year
Scaled plant3,000 to 5,000 homes per year

Cost model, bill of materials, quote packages, engineering and the capital plan: shared directly with investors.

For suppliers

Every home is a repeat order.

We are going to need parts by the thousand. Every HAB is identical, so what you make for the first home, you make for every one after it.

  • A short, stable parts list. 290 part numbers, split into ready-to-quote packages, kitted one home per bundle.
  • What we buy. Welded frame parts, prefabricated plumbing and duct kits, manufactured wiring, appliances, HVAC, doors and glazing.
  • What we ask. Quotes at 50 and 250 homes a year, delivered to the plant, every piece marked with its part number.

Questions

Straight answers.

What would the rent be?

All in (power, water, sewer, trash, internet), affordable homes start from $670 a month and every site has some; the rest rent at the local market rate, about $1,600-2,100 in Puget Sound cities. Where a city program applies, its rent cap and income limit hold for its term (12 years under Washington's tax exemption), and the program decides who qualifies.

Who can rent a HAB?

Anyone with an income of at least twice the rent. Vouchers welcome, no application fee, a 12-month lease and a one-month deposit. Rent can change once a year, with 90 days' notice (180 in Seattle).

Pets? Utilities?

Pets are welcome with a deposit. Utilities are included up to about one and a half times a typical month: about 570 kWh of electricity, where a cold January runs about 450-500. Use above that is billed at cost.

Is there parking?

It depends on the site and the city. A 2025 state law ends parking minimums for homes this size in Washington cities over 30,000 people. The returns above assume none; where a site builds spaces, they are priced in.

Is there storage?

A 6 ft wardrobe closet in the bedroom and upper cabinets in the kitchen.

Will I hear my neighbors?

Stacked homes don't share a floor: two separate insulated panels with a gap between them. Sound ratings will be measured on the pilot homes.

Is it safe in a fire?

Full NFPA 13 sprinklers, interconnected smoke alarms, and two exits at opposite ends, each to its own stair.

How is it approved?

Under the Gold Seal factory-built program: one plan review, then each home inspected in the plant. The city still approves the site: zoning, the site plan, and permits for the foundation, utilities and site work.

What foundation does it need?

Ten helical piers per stack. No concrete.

Can stacks stand side by side?

Yes. The long walls have no windows, so on dense sites stacks stand long wall to long wall.

Is it accessible?

Every ground-floor home is step-free at both doors, with a hand shower and grab bars in the bath.

Work with us

Join the build.

Want to live in a HAB? Join the free waitlist. Investors, landowners, suppliers and cities: send a non-binding letter of intent and help place the first thousand homes.

HAB is founded by Jack Stepanek and Tony Sisco. On LinkedIn: Jack and Tony.

Non-binding and free. We use your details only to contact you about HAB.