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Modular Homes for Under $50k

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Re: Modular Homes for Under $50k

#141

Post by lftl »

ryanar wrote: post #134
thesausageking wrote: post #4

This house is 375 sq ft and uses low end materials, and it doesn't include setup, so it's going to cost ~$100k, or $266 / sq ft. Most new home construction is more like $150 / sq ft. And with this system, you're very limited in what you can build. Who's the target customer for this?

If you think new home construction is $150 / sq ft. (in the US), you haven't been keeping up with the times. It was $220 / sq ft. before COVID, now its $300+ for stick built. Modulars are $200-$250. When material prices tripled, the cost got offloaded to the customer, and given the demand hasn't changed.. it probably isn't going to regress to the mean anytime soon.

Are you quoting prices including the cost of the land? Around here there's plenty of new construction being sold at well under $200/sq. ft., and even a fair amount at or under $150 / sq. ft. This is even when you include the price of the land.

Re: Modular Homes for Under $50k

#142

Post by developer93 »

dkdbejwi383 wrote: post #124
spijdar wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, for sure. I didn't mean to suggest it's a common or respected belief, only that there are some who support it. (and probably more who use examples of it in bad faith arguments presuming that such groups exist in larger numbers, e.g. "look at those crazy feminists!") > If we want English to be more gender-neutral, we could revert to werman, wifman and man. There's a part of me that loves this idea, even if I recog…

> A curious example of a Germanic cousin of English that underwent the same "masculinization" of the word man but "came back" is Swedish, where the word "man" means "adult male", but is also used as a neuter pronoun meaning "generic person" (usually translated as "one" in English). We sort of have this in English too: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind". Although I can't think of any cases w…

Also German, kinda: Man darf nicht.. Frau/Mann

Re: Modular Homes for Under $50k

#144

Post by Johnythree »

prawn wrote: post #74
harmmonica wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My friend and I were having a similar fantasy of putting places like that all over the western US so we started with a one-off project to build a tiny house so that it can just be “plopped” down (or rather rolled in). How big were you thinking? Something like 400 SF? Or a proper house? As I said in another comment on this thread I think it’s possible to build something totally custom for a similar budget (200-250 psf…

Using a trailer is the technique to bypass council judgements in Australia as well. Here are some Airbnb examples: https://cabn.life/book-now-2/ Some of these would cost AU$70-110k though.

It depends on the State, but in most parts of Oz, you need a Building Permit, then a Certificate of Occupancy to be able to live there.

The exception appears to be where there is already an approved dwelling on the land, and even then a Caravan can only be used temporarily (eg in your example of temporary AirBNB accommodation).

I know because I've just lost exactly this battle with the local council.

Re: Modular Homes for Under $50k

#145

Post by goodpoint »

lmm wrote: post #96
mgolawala wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Land is not scarce. We literally make as much of it as we want. What makes it scarce is legislation and zoning. Look at Manhattan or Hong Kong. You just stack the homes and offices and stores on top of each other.

Right, which is exactly why this technology does nothing to solve the problem. The housing shortage in SF isn't because they can't build like Manhattan or Hong Kong there, it's because they choose not to.

> The housing shortage in SF ... it's because they choose not to.

And the choice it's entirely driven by financial speculation, nothing else.

Re: Modular Homes for Under $50k

#146

Post by j45 »

lftl wrote: post #141
ryanar wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you think new home construction is $150 / sq ft. (in the US), you haven't been keeping up with the times. It was $220 / sq ft. before COVID, now its $300+ for stick built. Modulars are $200-$250. When material prices tripled, the cost got offloaded to the customer, and given the demand hasn't changed.. it probably isn't going to regress to the mean anytime soon.

Are you quoting prices including the cost of the land? Around here there's plenty of new construction being sold at well under $200/sq. ft., and even a fair amount at or under $150 / sq. ft. This is even when you include the price of the land.

Construction prices should not be assumed to be standardized, comparable or equivalent between locations.

Re: Modular Homes for Under $50k

#147

Post by developer93 »

f6v wrote: post #78
baybal2 wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is yet another tech 'solution' in search of a problem. And that problem is political, not technical. And the problem they search for has been solved half a century ago — the modern highrise apartment building.

But that would mean you wouldn’t be able to use cars and a public transportation system would have to be built.

Oh no, that sounds terrible?

Re: Modular Homes for Under $50k

#148

Post by j45 »

brudgers wrote: post #44
pen2l wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the same way a lot of products have become cheaper because of some process optimization (packaged more compactly to reduce transportation costs), I'm excited to see modular homes/home 3d-printing etc. play out and become cheaper over time until they are more affordable than convention home construction or somehow unique and better in ways that conventionally constructed homes cannot be. To answer your question, on…

If you are rich, there are a lot of options that are likely to better cater to your richness. Or why build a 50k shed on a million dollar piece of ground?

Savings of time to build and use, can be removed as easily as it’s deployed.

Re: Modular Homes for Under $50k

#149

Post by Johnythree »

amelius wrote: post #129
eddy_chan wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This comment deserves to be higher. People just think you can put these anywhere but you need water connection, sewer connection, electrical, telephone line/cable, permits and red tape, by the time you're done it'll be double. And I don't think these solve any of our housing affordability problems, the land in a desirable area will be far more expensive than what's on top.

We need a better way to distribute land than the one we use now (=based on money and inheritance). This is the problem which smart people should be working on, not some prefab home.

There is no shortage of cheap land. There is however a desperate shortage of land on which you can legally build. And that of course is due to zoning regulations.
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