Info for Prospective Tenants

What makes Lion Canyon different?

What sets these homes apart? Here are twelve reasons you might want to live at Lion Canyon:

1. It’s almost completely new.

Highgate and The Quarters were fully remodeled before opening in 2023. This was not just a cosmetic remodel: Brand new floors, ceilings, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, bathrooms, windows, lighting, doors, fixtures, hardware, and paint throughout entire house made them feel like new homes.

As of January 2024, only one tenant has lived here: A group of international students that were so clean and careful that they left little evidence they were ever here. (Except for some great memories.)

2. It’s beyond fully furnished.

Even at more expensive rentals, “fully furnished” typically includes major furniture only. At Lion Canyon, we provide almost everything you need, and you won’t need to bring much more than what you would bring to a hotel. Plus, if you have a cat, you can get even more.

Furthermore, the furnishings provided are not cheap surplus goods; rather, they were obsessively researched and carefully selected for the space.

3. It’s designed for harmony.

The homes at Lion Canyon were each built with dozens of architectural and furnishing features designed to help people living here get along with their neighbors and their housemates.

In Highgate, the living room was designed to be flexible, allowing people to rapidly change between several layouts. This reduces conflict by enabling everyone in the home to use the living room for their own purposes. In The Quarters, all four bedrooms were designed to be as equal as possible, and shared storage, like the hall closet and the two refrigerators, are designed to be split in half, then half again. In Cloud Nine Studios, the walls between units were built extra thick with staggered stud construction, which drastically reduces the sound transmission through them.

And as we all know, it’s hard for sleep-deprived, cranky people to get along with each other, but that’s not a problem here because...

4. You’ll get great sleep here.

Quality sleep is critical for health and happiness, and we’ve taken several steps to ensure you get great sleep here.

Some of these measures include blackout shades or shutters, double-paned windows, solid doors, extra insulation, extremely quiet HVAC systems, high quality mattresses and bedding, and special recessed lights that automatically change to a warm color temperature when you dim them (since bright white light keeps you awake).

Plus, you’ll very rarely have your sleep interrupted here because...

5. The neighborhood is peaceful.

A lot of places near SDSU can get pretty loud and wild, but not here.

This is a very safe, quiet neighborhood of a few cul-de-sacs, so there is no through traffic. In fact, past this location there is only one short street with 18 homes, so few cars ever drive by at all.

The neighbors are mostly seniors, with just a few homes with students, so parties are rare and relatively quiet. Most of the neighbors here know each other, look out for each other, and are very friendly.

This is just one of the reasons...

6. The location is excellent.

Lion Canyon is about as close as you can get to freeways without having any freeway noise. It is near the nexus where most major San Diego freeways converge:

• I-8 and I-15 are just two miles away.
• I-805 is the very next exit from there.
• I-163 is only two miles past that.

Everything you need daily is only a few minutes away, and practically all major San Diego attractions are 15-20 minutes away or less. Plus, during typical travel from this location, traffic is normally going in the other direction.

These are some of the reasons why I’ve lived here for over 20 years. Speaking of which...

7. Management is close by.

A large and ever-increasing number of homes in San Diego are owned by hedge funds and investment groups, many of which are difficult to contact and provide infamously bad service.

But at Lion Canyon, the landlord lives 30 seconds away. If you need anything, I’m almost always right there because I work from home and rarely go anywhere, so it’s quick and easy for me to come fix things or help with whatever you need.

8. It’s built for cats.

The most unique aspect of Lion Canyon is the collection of special features built into every home designed to make cats happier, healthier, and easier to care for.

These include some inventions you may not have seen before, like enclosures that completely eliminate litter box odor, or an alcove that gives your cat a perpetually full water dish and a safe place to drink, or an elevated living space that can reduce your cat’s stress and anxiety.

These homes were specifically built for cats and people who love them, however...

9. They’re not crazy cat houses.

Don’t worry: These look and feel like normal homes. These are not kitty jungle gyms with scratching posts and little tunnels and bridges running everywhere. On the contrary, the cat features are all hidden or non-descript, and most are tucked away in inconvenient spaces that weren’t much much use to people anyway.

Furthermore, all homes at Lion Canyon have been built to be hard to damage and easy to clean. (I have a very serious cat allergy myself, so I’d be the first to know if a place weren’t perfectly disinfected.)

10. Cats get you extra benefits.

If you have a cat, you will also get several free benefits: We provide self-cleaning litter boxes, self-filling water fountains, and automatic cat feeders, plus we’ll pay for yearly vet checkups, or even the adoption fee if you want another cat. There is no pet deposit or monthly pet fee. On the contrary, soon you could also earn money by participating in research with your cats. (These will be simple activities like taking notes on their behavior, trying out a new scratching toy, etc., and all entirely optional.)

Without a cat, the regular features of these homes are enough to make them a great place to live and a good value compared to other options nearby.

However, if you have a cat you love, living at Lion Canyon can be a lifechanging experience, and should also feel like an exceptional value (for the area) because of the features you get here that you can’t find anywhere else.

To get permission to have a cat here and get all these benefits, all you have to do is promise to take good care of your cat.

11. All profits go to animals.

Lion Canyon was developed as part of a larger non-profit effort to create a new housing model that is better for renters. All profits will go toward promoting animal welfare, so you can feel better about where your rent money is going.

Charity begins at home (or, in this case, at Haven Homes), so the first animals to be helped will be those living at Lion Canyon through the benefits provided at no cost to the tenants. Any remaining profit will go toward other animal welfare causes.

12. We won’t steal your money.

There are a lot of rental scams and shady practices out there, and we want no part of them. We strive to be as fair, ethical, and transparent as possible.

• If you want to make sure the place is real before applying, just contact us to set up an appointment for a tour.
• We don’t make money on applications. There is no application fee. The only upfront fee is for a background/credit check, which is $31 and all goes to a third party.
• We don’t charge more rent or require a higher deposit for pets.
• We work hard to help you get your entire security deposit back. We don’t make money repairing or replacing anything, and we’d rather spend our time in other ways, so we give you extensive information on how to avoid costly damage.
• If you’re good at cleaning and want to avoid a cleaning fee, we’ll tell you exactly what you need to do and we’ll even give you the cleaning supplies. If you do a professional job, you’ll pay no fee.

If you have any questions at all, just contact us. We’re friendly and we usually reply pretty quickly.

My promises to you

The homes don’t look weird.

I’ve asked hundreds of people what they think homes built for cats would be like, and virtually every single person imagines vast networks of small shelves and tunnels everywhere they look. That is not what has been built here.

No one will walk into a home at Lion Canyon and think “this place is built for cats.” The cat features are all hidden or otherwise blend in.

You don’t need a cat.

It is important to note that it’s not all about cats here, and you do not need a cat to enjoy living at Lion Canyon.

Cat-friendly homes are just one example of Broad Appeal Specialty Housing, and it is crucial to our mission of proving the BASH concept that these homes appeal to everyone, especially people who do not have cats.

One of the top design principles is "Human needs come first." The cat features have primarily been built into low-value space you wouldn’t be using anyway. Furthermore, all these features have been designed to have secondary uses, or at the very least, to go unnoticed by people who do not have cats.

I care about your health and safety.

When designing and building a home, there are thousands of decisions to make, and I made them all with your health and safety in mind.

Some are more noticeable, like the strong locks and doors. Others are subtle, like choosing building materials and furnishings with low VOCs, because even if you only stay here a few months, I don’t want to contribute to you developing mystery illnesses or cancer.

Essentially, I made all these decisions as though I were building each home for my own family.

I will try to make you happy.

In addition to your health, I also care about your happiness.

I’ve tried to build homes that you’ll truly enjoy living in, and that will help you thrive. I hope you create great memories here, do amazing work, live your best life.

To that end, while you’re living here, I will try, in my capacity as your neighbor and property manager, to help you enjoy your stay. Whether that means changing the artwork in your home, telling you about local farmers markets, or reconfiguring your closet storage system to meet your needs—it just depends on the individual.

I will leave you alone.

I would like your feedback to help improve Lion Canyon and ensure your happiness here, but all of that is optional and done via an app. If you just want to be left alone, you won’t see me unless you need maintenance.

In fact, Cloud Nine Studios are specifically designed for people who want to live without distractions from other people.

I will not get rich off you.

The rising cost of housing is a giant problem, and it feels bad to hand over large sums of money for necessities to people who spend it on sports cars. That won’t happen here.

I have a full-time job; I am not making my living from your rent. Rather, I am operating this business to try to achieve several goals for the public good. Although not a non-profit, as stated above, all profits go to animals.

Your promises to me

Most of this is covered in the lease; however, making promises is important and helps people follow through on intentions. Before you move in, when we’re going over the lease, you’ll need to look me in the eye and make the following simple promises:

You will follow the rules.

You need to read the site policies and agree to abide by them. The rules aren’t extreme and there aren’t that many of them, but they are all important.

Note: If you are a first-time SDSU student, don’t think this means you won’t have any fun—there will be countless party opportunities; just not here. (Only rookies party at their own place anyway, because it inevitably gets trashed and then you’re stuck with the cleanup and repair bills.)

You will take good care of your home.

These aren’t typical rental homes. They have been built with extreme care and are full of very nice furnishings, most of which would be difficult and expensive to replace. However, everything has been built to last, so as long as you aren’t careless with how you treat your home or who you let into it, everything should be fine.

You will ask questions.

If you don’t know how something in your home works, or it isn’t working as you expect, or you don’t know how to clean it, or you have almost any other question, just ask me. I am very responsive and willing to help, and I’ll be disappointed if you cause damage that could have been avoided with a simple question.

You will pay your rent on time.

This isn’t a giant, faceless corporation with a thousand other rental properties that can absorb big losses—we need everyone to pay their rent. We offer a decent grace period (5 days), after which there is a steep penalty. I don’t want to charge this penalty; I just want you to pay the normal amount, on time, so we can both focus on far more pleasant things.

You will not make me evict you.

I really don’t want to have to evict anyone. However, this project has some pretty lofty goals—which are more important than you or me or any individual—and breaking the rules or not paying rent puts those goals in jeopardy. (Plus it simply isn’t fair to the other tenants.) By living here, you promise you won’t make me evict you.

Unfinished / Misc.

I’m sorry it’s not more affordable.

I’m sorry I even have to charge at all. I’d provide housing for free if I could.

Show chart of costs, illustrating how land, fees, and minimum construction costs would have made even the most modest homes expensive.

Also refused to cut corners on quality, especially when it comes to health and safety.

Since I couldn’t make them truly affordable, I decided instead to make them extraordinary at a reasonable price. However, larger builders with their much larger economies of scale can copy this strategy and execute it more affordably.