Kit Homes - can they substitute for houses?

J

JWR

Hi guys,

I just came across on re.com some kit homes.

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-qld-howard-107749946
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-qld-pacific+haven-106189117

Has anyone had any experience with these kinds of houses? If so, what do these kit homes include, and, if you have the labour to erect it, are these just like basic houses? Are there any other costs involved to make them both liveable and rentable?

My thinking is to buy cheap blocks of land, put these kit homes on them and rent them out. They would also work as granny flats I am assuming?

Thanks for your responses,
James
 
Check very carefully as to just what is included in the kit.

Often they exclude all internal fittings to you are basically buying the materials to build the outer shell, excluding the slab. You then pay for any extras you want.

Marg
 
JWR said:
My thinking is to buy cheap blocks of land, put these kit homes on them and rent them out. They would also work as granny flats I am assuming?

Thanks for your responses,
James
Click to expand...

Giday James

I use to work in this industry and sorry to be negative but I think:

  1. Your strategy is flawed.
  2. The kit sounds more like steel shed than a true kit, hence the price.
  3. Where are the cheap blocks in Bondi?
  4. Do you have the time and skills to build it yourself, if not then see point 1.

What is your investment strategy? Do you have equity, income, time? Are you after Capital Gain or Income?

regards Peter 14.7
 
Hi guys,

Thanks for the advice. I will check the other post.

My uncle and grandpa who live near Newcastle are builders so would be able to help (I am only good with spreadsheets.)

I wouldn't look to buy in Bondi as it costs $1M for a park bench. I'd be looking in regionals and cheaper areas (but with growth prospects) - i.e. I'd start with Muswellbrook as it is near where my uncle/grandpa live and imo has good prospects for growth.

I am after cashflow neutral at least but with good growth prospects - and I think this way would be pretty cheap with depreciation and all. Obviously it is just an idea. My other idea was to buy the land and relocate a home onto the land (getting the house for free from the trading post) - but it seems hard to find finance for this scenario so may have to wait until I get a little more experience and have built some equity in existing properties.
 
Have looked into kit homes it was cheaper and less of a headache to go with a reputable builder those homes are only the shell as others have said they do not include internals plumbing etc. look up expandavans.com something I came across they look interesting, although a bit overpriced aswell IMHO.
 
Kit homes are hell to finance, they fall under owner-builder. I'm not sure how they even manage to sell any as so few banks will do them. Great if you're a tradie with lots of cash in the bank.

Relocatable houses on the other hand work out better value and are brilliant to slap on a block in a regional and get them rented out fast. I live in one myself, albeit not a low-end one. Basically a fully-built house arrived one day and we plugged it into water and power and moved in a few days later.
 
Hi RumpledElf,

What are the costs involved with the relocatable houses? I have been looking at it but have no experience with plumbing/electricity etc... Something definitely to make profit from.

i would be able to get the houses free on the trading post - just a matter of transport.
 
http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74513 that thread lol ... our plumbing costs included gas fitting and getting an oven in too, forgot that one. Plumber was there for AGES.

Only thing you really need to watch out for is if they are really old and were built onsite they might need cutting in half before you move them and stitching them back together can be interesting. That's more of a worry than plumbing.

Mind you there's heaps of fairly recent made-for-transporting houses around these days, I don't blame people for selling off an 80s or 90s transportable - cheaper than demolition!
 
Hi RumpledElf again,

I rang a few companies (near Newcastle - which is where I plan to buy land and put some kind of house on it) and the cost of transport was around $40k! And that was for around 100km.

How did you get it for 6k as you said in the other thread?

As I understand the costs would include:

Relocatable Home - FREE

Transport - I am thinking you could hire a truck ($200 for one day) and hire a few tradies to get it onto the truck and put it on site

Concrete Slab - ??

Plumbing, wiring, all other connections - ??

Council approval - ?? and ?? for time allowance

Minor Reno - under 5k I would hope for a paint of the house and all other
quick fixers

Cost to get house put back together (as it would have to be cut in half to be transported) ??

Are there other things to consider and would you know the approximate costs?

Another idea - instead of getting a house on there; could you transport multiple second hand granny flats (smaller and in one piece). This would get you greater income but not sure what council would think/allow.

Very appreciative of the help you have given,
James
 
RumpledElf said:
http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74513 that thread lol ... our plumbing costs included gas fitting and getting an oven in too, forgot that one. Plumber was there for AGES.

Only thing you really need to watch out for is if they are really old and were built onsite they might need cutting in half before you move them and stitching them back together can be interesting. That's more of a worry than plumbing.

Mind you there's heaps of fairly recent made-for-transporting houses around these days, I don't blame people for selling off an 80s or 90s transportable - cheaper than demolition!
Click to expand...

rumpled who did you use 6k is quite low for a house removal and escorts 250klm I worked in the industry demolition:p and the lowest I have found is 10k and that only covers 100kms things must be cheaper in SA
 
James - it was through the builder so I wouldn't be surprised if the 'real' price was actually higher. The first 100km is included in the cost of the house and they charge extra over and above that. We were going to build a smaller house originally and the quoted price was only $3000, but it was smaller and didn't need the police escort. I'm not sure exactly where their building yard is, if it very north of Adelaide (as many industrial sites are) the actual travel distance might be less than 200km but we're getting pedantic now ;)

JWR - our house has no slab, it sits on concrete stumps, and it didn't just come on any old truck it came on a really funky truck. I have photos! (nosy neighbour took them and gave me a usb stick of happy snaps lol)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12099014@N03/sets/72157627181544861/

The shot where the house is raised several metres in the air is kinda impressive - they were driving a bulldozer underneath it. It took them quite a few hours to gradually lower it down a few centimetres at a time.
 
Looks impressive and quite a modern house.

So you don't think you could hire a truck and tradies to do it for you but rather a building company?

This certainly seems like a cheaper/better strategy than buying houses with land. Will investigate further. Thanks for the reply.
 
I have 2 mirror image granny flats next to each other with a slab and roof in between. They are on one block, one title. So double rent for one block. It works well and I am considering doing it again.
 
Hi Dylan,

Is one considered a house and the other considered a second dwelling (i.e. granny flat?)

So did you buy the land and build or knock an existing house down?

Which area is it located?
 
lizzie said:
Seriously doubt this would be legal or covered by insurance. Would imagine you would be compelled to use a licenced house mover.
Click to expand...

totally agree lizzie and from looking at those pics that is one job I want done by the specialist = person who does it all the time. Plenty of potential for headache if done wrong I rekon.
 
I bought them already built and tenanted. They are in the upper Hunter NSW. They are classed as a Duplex. I was told by the tenant they arrived on the back of a truck. The slab and roof/car port was added after the tenants complained about the car parking. So it looks like they were just plonked on the site and services connected. Simple!
 
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