Build a Compound For Your People

Custom 2-4 home compounds · Concept to construction

Limited to 10 projects per year.

Build a compound for your people

Make your friends and family your neighbors.

Custom 2-4 home compounds · Concept to construction

Limited to 10 projects per year.

Popular with

• New parents
  Childcare is 30 steps away, not 30 minutes
• Multigenerational families
  Close enough to share dinner, private enough for space
• Friends aging in place
  Build your village before you need it

Turn a single lot into a shared life

For the first time, the friends and family you’d choose as neighbors can actually become them. New California housing laws now allow 2–4 private homes on a single residential lot — no rezoning required.

The Friend Compound Recipe

Before

One home, large lot

Enabled by SB 9 · SB 684 · SB 1123 · ADUs

After

2–4 private homes, shared yard

Why Now

New California housing laws (SB9, SB 684, SB 1123, and ADU regulations) make this newly possible in traditional residential neighborhoods with good schools — no rezoning required.

Learn more

SB 9
Allows homeowners to split a single-family lot into two parcels and build up to two units on each parcel. This enables up to four homes on what was previously a single-family lot.

SB 684
Streamlines approval for small housing projects of up to 10 units on infill sites. Removes discretionary review barriers, making multi-home projects faster to approve.

SB 1123
Expands SB 684 to allow up to 10 homes on vacant lots in single-family zones. Projects get streamlined ministerial approval within 60 days — no CEQA review, public hearings, or council votes required.

ADUs
An Accessory Dwelling Unit is a secondary home on a residential lot — like a backyard cottage or converted garage. California law allows 800–1,200 sq ft ADUs with streamlined permitting, and you can build multiple per lot.

The Friend Compound Field Guide

Get inspired with some example projects.

Jayne Avenue Compound

New ADU with an Existing Primary Home
$1.3M 10 mo 2 Homes

Pomona Avenue Compound

A New Single-Family Home, a new ADU, and an Existing Primary Home
$3.6M 21 mo 3 Homes

Fifteenth Avenue Compound

New Duplex
$4.4M 21 mo 2 Homes

University Avenue Compound

Four New Single-Family Homes
$6.6M 24 mo 5 Homes

Almost none build compounds.

Physical Foundation

• Site planning for shared living
• Architecture for privacy + proximity
• Permits
• Construction

Social Foundation

• Finance strategy
• Legal agreements
• Governance & decision frameworks

One integrated offering.

Working with Live Near Friends

From dream to keys, we manage every stage. Here's exactly who does what.

1. Find the right property
   Identify lots with compound zoning potential in your target neighborhoods
   Live Near Friends' role

   • Send curated options for your group
   • Assess zoning feasibility and costs
   • Deep dive into specific properties

   Your role

   • Tell us your target neighborhoods, budget, and group size
   • Review listings and pick favorites

2. Purchase property
   Acquire the property with the right ownership and financial structure for your group
   Live Near Friends' role

   • Pair with licensed specialist agent to handle purchase
   • Provide legal and financial structuring options
   • 10 free hours: ownership + financial modeling

   Your role

   • Align your group on budget and ownership splits
   • Secure financing

3. Design + entitlements
   We pair you with a specialized design-build partner. While they lead the architecture, we remain by your side as a strategic advisor to ensure the project aligns with your compound's goals.

Live Near Friends' role

• Match you with a hand-picked architect or design-build firm
• Ensure permitting and subdivision steps are handled end-to-end
• Stay involved as advisor throughout

Your role

• Work directly with your design partner
• Approve designs at milestones
• Make key decisions on layout and finishes

4. Build
   Select a builder and construct the homes
   Live Near Friends' role

   • Introduce 3 vetted builders with standardized bids
   • Contract review support as a consultant

   Your role

   • Choose your builder
   • Manage the build relationship (with our advisory support)

Total project cost: Expect $1–2m per home
This includes land, design, permits, and construction. Every compound is different.

We design the relationship, not just the buildings.

What happens when one family wants to sell in 5 years? How do you split shared spaces? Who decides on renovations? We plan for all of this on day one — so your compound is built on solid ground, socially and legally.

In your corner: LNF founder Phil Levin

• Built 4 friend compounds
• Real estate developer (founding team of Culdesac — 780 home neighborhood in Arizona)
• Author of Supernuclear, the leading newsletter on living near friends

Hands-on advisor to every project

Phil built his own compound first.

Live Near Friends founder Phil built his friend-compound Radish in 2019. Home to 20 adults and 8 children, it's a living example of what compound life done right can look like.

14,000 sq ft
Single residential lot
6 homes
2 single-family, 2 duplexes, 1 fourplex
3 shared spaces
Garden, spa, communal kitchen + living room
Guest RV
For visiting friends and family

Ready to build a compound for your people?

Limited to 10 projects per year. Typical timeline: ~2 years from search to move-in.