Jeffrey and Becky Maynard have built more than 50 affordable rental homes in Wilmington, North Carolina, all financed by Dominion Financial Services. Their company, Our House Your Home LLC, uses a build-to-rent strategy focused on infill lots and large-family floor plans to house underserved tenants who have few options in the local market. Their portfolio provides stable, high-quality housing to over 300 people, including more than 150 children.
The Problem They Set Out to Solve
When the Maynards launched Our House Your Home, they identified a gap that most developers ignored. Wilmington had very few 4- and 5-bedroom homes available for larger families, yet the area had a steady supply of vacant infill lots that larger developers had passed over in favor of bigger land tracts.
“There are very few 4 and 5-bedroom homes available for larger families in the Wilmington area, and there were many vacant buildable lots for sale in recent years that no one else seemed to want,” Jeffrey explained. “These infill lots have been a great investment opportunity in our market because they do not attract the developers interested in larger land tracts, or owners interested in building custom homes.”
The opportunity was even more tangible than a gap in the market. Some of those lots had become community liabilities. “We have built several homes on lots that were being used as dump sites,” Maynard noted. “This is a real estate trash-to-treasure story.”
Building the Right Homes for the Right Families
To execute at scale, the Maynards partnered with Herrington Classic Homes, owned by Craig and Mary Johnson, trusted friends of the family. Together, they designed floor plans specifically built for the constraints of infill lots and the needs of large families.
Their homes are built with features that matter to the families they serve: off-street parking, private outdoor areas, accessible ground-floor bedrooms, spacious kitchens with high-quality appliances, energy efficiency, and bathrooms with multiple sinks. Two signature floor plans emerged from that collaboration: the 1,944 sq. ft. 5BR/3BA “Pelican” plan and the 18-foot-wide 4BR/2BA “Seagull” plan, each built more than 20 times across the Wilmington market.
The team identifies tenants through referrals, social media, and local housing authority lists. The Maynards prioritize veterans and relatives of current tenants, ensuring those with military service or existing community connections have preferred access to their units. Jeffrey Maynard is himself a former Marine and holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Risk Analysis, a background that informs his systematic approach to site selection, construction, and portfolio management.
Adapting When the Market Changed
By mid-2024, the supply of vacant infill lots that had fueled the Maynards’ early growth had slowed significantly. “We hit a point where the lots that met our economic criteria were rarely coming for sale anymore,” Jeffrey said. “But even during tougher times, opportunities still exist for teams that are driven and creative.”
Rather than pulling back, the Maynards used the constraint as a forcing function for innovation, and their partnership with Dominion Financial gave them the financial flexibility to experiment.
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)
A local zoning ordinance change opened the door to ADUs in Wilmington. The Maynards moved quickly. Using the Pelican plan as the primary dwelling, they designed a fully detached 972 sq. ft. 3BR/2BA ADU cottage, sized to meet the local requirement that ADUs cannot exceed 50% of the principal dwelling’s living area.
Despite the smaller footprint, the ADU carries all of their program’s signature features: high ceilings, a bedroom with a private bath, full-size kitchen appliances, dedicated storage for kids, a full laundry room, and off-street parking. Alley access behind the main house keeps the ADU functionally independent.
“This is a great project and the first like it here,” said Jeffrey. “The zoning ordinance changes for ADUs gave us the chance to design something entirely new, and we’re proud that even within the size limitations, we designed a three-bedroom, two-bath home with all the features families hope for.”
The Back-to-Front Duplex
On a narrow 33-foot city lot on the same street, the Maynards developed another first: a “back-to-front” duplex using two Seagull plan units. By placing one unit behind the other and shifting it six feet to the left, they fit two townhomes on the lot while still meeting setback requirements and maintaining livability for both families.
“This design lets us maximize the value of tight urban lots without compromising on what families need,” Jeffrey explained. “It’s the same Seagull plan that has worked so well for us and for dozens of families, just adapted in a way that makes the land work harder.”
Both innovations demonstrate a principle the Maynards have built their business around: you do not always need something entirely new. Sometimes the bigger opportunity is reshaping what already works to unlock what others overlook.
Financing: How Dominion Financial Makes It Work
The financial structure behind Our House Your Home is straightforward but powerful. During construction, the Maynards draw on an Investor Line of Credit through Dominion Financial to secure bridge loans. Once each home is completed and leased, they refinance the construction debt into a DSCR loan, creating stable monthly cash flow from each unit.
This construction-to-DSCR pipeline has allowed the Maynards to build multiple homes simultaneously rather than waiting for one project to close before starting the next. It is the mechanism that made 50 homes possible.
“There is no way we could have developed our 50-house portfolio without Dominion Financial Services. We set our construction timeline and our build start scheduling around Dominion Financial and how they operate,” said Maynard.
Dominion Financial has supported the Maynards since 2019. “We have been proud to support the Maynards from their first new construction home through and beyond their 50th,” said Jack BeVier, Partner at Dominion Financial. “They have proven that small developers with vision, persistence, and creativity can have an outsized impact on their communities.”
The Impact Behind the Numbers
Fifty-one homes. More than 300 residents. More than 150 children with a secure place to grow up.
The Maynards anticipate an average tenancy of at least five years across their portfolio, a function of the quality of the homes, the strength of their community ties, and their commitment to tenant stability. As Jack BeVier observed: “Small developers like the Maynards are aligned with their tenants when both parties have a long-term perspective. Tenants and their families benefit from the stability and sense of community that comes from planting roots. Property owners benefit financially by avoiding costly turnovers and re-leasing expenses.”
One tenant’s story captures what that stability means in practice. Three years ago, a single mother facing eviction from a mold-infested public housing project moved into an Our House Your Home rental. Her daughters were 15 and 16 at the time. Today they are high school and community college graduates, one working full-time at the local hospital. “They hugged and thanked me, and their mother told me we had changed their life,” Jeffrey recalled.
Stories like that play out across Wilmington in homes the Maynards built on lots that used to be dump sites.
What Other Investors Can Learn
Jeff and Becky describe their self-managed rental business as a “lifestyle business,” one that provides their family with financial stability and the time to raise their children, pursue hobbies, and travel, while delivering genuine community value.
Jeffrey plans to expand the model beyond Wilmington. He is working with HUD and other partners to develop a national map identifying markets that meet the criteria for successful build-to-rent programs, analyzing rents, real estate values, and land and construction costs to help other investors replicate what Our House Your Home has built.
For investors considering this strategy, Maynard’s advice is clear. Build the right team: a trusted builder partner, a project manager, a reliable agent team, an experienced land surveyor, and a real estate-focused law firm. And find a lender who understands your timeline.
“This is an investment strategy that a lot of investors ignore or think only suits larger developers,” Maynard said. “Markets across the US offer opportunities to build portfolios of new and affordable rental homes on vacant and buildable infill lots.”
Interested in financing your own build-to-rent portfolio? Dominion Financial offers new construction loans and DSCR rental loans designed for real estate investors building and holding residential rental properties. Learn about our construction loans or explore our DSCR rental loan options.
