Container homes- anyone ?

[Yiftach Ilyov]

Good morning BP, Is anyone build/rented/have info about container homes ? How do the authorities react to It ? Looking to dive into it and trying to educate myself about it 🤓 Any info will help! Especially dealing with the authorities

[Yiftach Ilyov]

Can I get a lil love here ?

[Shanina Butler]

@Yiftach Ilyov I would love to discuss with you offline. I am in the process of building a container home now, and it seems like the construction of container homes are on the rise. 

[Account Closed]

Honestly not a fan.  Cost savings isn’t really there once you account for all the limitations of a container.  Florida would be bad, rust/sweat/mildew. While it’s a neat idea, having lived in one for years I’m not sold on it being a home.  I’d rather spend the extra 2-5k and build a stick built tiny home. 

I’m curious what’s the draw for a container home?  Besides it is the “neat” thing. 

[Thomas S.]

Why waste your time and efforts turning a old metal box into a home when for likely the same cost you can buy a 40' mobile home. They have existed for 50 years. No reason to reinvent the wheel.

[Jay Hinrichs]

Originally posted by @Thomas S.:

Why waste your time and efforts turning a old metal box into a home when for likely the same cost you can buy a 40' mobile home. They have existed for 50 years. No reason to reinvent the wheel.

 go to  relevantbuildings.com  this is my aviation partners start up..   there is a big difference in build quality between a Mobile home and these.. one of his target markets and i bet it would work in the Canadian outback is that you can really secuire these up when you leave them.. so he is looking to sell them to those that have properties out in the woods and are prone to break ins or vandals.. 

Also building some for ADU and he has a stackable one were he is building and 8 plex in St. Helens Or. time will tell on the market.

and my buddy has the wherewithal to pull this off.. he owns a nice 10 acre tract in PDX were he is planning on putting  a few hundred of them and leasing the ground.. Like a mHP  concept.  at the end of the day i think price point could be higher than MH  but quality is higher.  also these are state specific so these are approved in Oregon only.

[Account Closed]

@Jay Hinrichs I actually really like the look of the homes showcased on your partners startup. They are quite modern and edgy. How has your friend handled the zoning issues with these? I like his idea of an MHP full of these.

[Jay Hinrichs]

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

@Jay Hinrichs I actually really like the look of the homes showcased on your partners startup. They are quite modern and edgy. How has your friend handled the zoning issues with these? I like his idea of an MHP full of these.

 He has gotten them approved at the state level so I think they can go on any R 1 zone within the set backs.. at least in Oregon.

I was wanting to bring them to the SF bay area.. Richmond specially.. as you can still buy lots there under 100k.. and it would be the least expensive housing in the entire bay area..  

His goal is to solve the affordable housing issues we face on the west coast..  And to recycle the millions of containers out there.. I mean you can buy a used container for a few grand..  

[Teri Feeney Styers]

@Account Closed you may have better luck in the Grand Junction area with positioning some of these rather than your MH model - because the zoning is more flexible and accommodating lots more plentiful. You have my email - if you want to explore this more then let me know... 

[AL-Teef Jones]

@Shanina Butler how has it been building a container home?

[Travis James]

@Shanina Butler have you completed your container home project? If so, I would love to discuss the project with you.

[Eddie Starr]

Any updates?

[Jermaine Chad Ingram]

@Thomas S. Mobile homes get blown away and containers don’t.

[Jermaine Chad Ingram]

@Yiftach Ilyov

are you building on site or in a warehouse?

Are theses allowed in your county?

Are there “one ship” rules in your county?

Have you compared the costs to cbs or steel frame a la “volstrukt” in Texas?

Have you found an engineer to stamp your plans?

Do you have mechanical drawings?

Have you found a contractor?

[Jared W Smith]

No. Just No. 

For large scale homes/buildings, there's so much modifications needed to make it usable making the container into just a facade. It's been discussed in the Architectural realm for years. Cool... yes. Practical.. No.

[Troy Williams]

anyone have info how to best find properties that allow for container homes to be built?  I understand you have to check with each local county or city zoning department, but was hoping someone might have experience or links to resources that can identify the zones classified to allow containers and/or areas they have built them on more quickly.  Checking with the departments one by one for each land listing that looks promising seems very inefficient.

Thx,

Troy

[Alexis H.]

Hi @Shanina Butler how is your project going?

[Jessie Cruz]

@Yiftach Ilyov Hello! How's your hunt for information on container homes goin??

I noticed it's been awhile since you posted your interest.

I wanted to point you to a resource I just found on discovery plus streaming channel. There's a series in there on container homes in different parts of the country and their challenges and experiences. I've been interested in this alternative since the housing shortage. Please feel free to let me know if/ what you found. Thx Jessie

[Jessie Cruz]

@Shanina Butler Hi Shanina!

I'm curious how your container home build went if you could share please. Thx Jessie

[Jay Hinrichs]

Quote from @Jared W Smith:

No. Just No. 

For large scale homes/buildings, there's so much modifications needed to make it usable making the container into just a facade. It's been discussed in the Architectural realm for years. Cool... yes. Practical.. No.

my friend that has the company in Oregon building them found that out and now is going high end with his and getting traction he sold 18 of them this year for more money than U would spend on a stock stick built.  One nice thing is in rural settings were vandilism is common you can secure them well. and I was thinking in some of our rough neighborhoods around the country the security aspect of these could be a benefit for retaining tenants.  And landlords not getting their places stripped.  bad guys will go to an easier target.

[Cami Gerbmak]

Quote from @Troy Williams:

anyone have info how to best find properties that allow for container homes to be built?  I understand you have to check with each local county or city zoning department, but was hoping someone might have experience or links to resources that can identify the zones classified to allow containers and/or areas they have built them on more quickly.  Checking with the departments one by one for each land listing that looks promising seems very inefficient.

Thx,

Troy

Hi Troy,
I can only speak from my current experience...I own a primary home on a 10,000 sqft lot in Chandler, AZ that does not have an hoa.  I've always wanted to have a freight container home to use as a long-term rental, airbnb or I would live in it and rent out my primary home. I went to my city's website and was able to find this under coding ordinances (see below.) Initially it sounded promising that criteria could be met until I read #6b - no ovens, ranges, or built in cooking facilities which didn't make sense.  I finally spoke to the city who reiterated the criteria along with needing to permanently affix the freight container home to a concrete slab. I asked why and was told for structural integrity (wth?) and I also asked if a microwave could be used and they said absolutely not.  Honestly I don't think they have any clue what a freight container home is.  Granted it sounds like I can have a freight container home on my property as long as I adhere to the city's criteria, but still would need to figure out the cooking part. 

I'm curious if anyone else has encountered challenging criteria and how to work around that?

I hope this was somewhat helpful Troy.

35-2202. Accessory buildings and guest quarters.

(1) Accessory buildings and guest quarters shall be located behind the front wall plane of the home and in the side yard or in the rear yard of the principal building and shall not occupy more than thirty (30) percent of the rear area.

(2) Accessory buildings shall meet the minimum side and rear yard setbacks for the district in which it is located. Any accessory buildings within a Planned Area Development (PAD) zoning designation shall be subject to the applicable provisions of the adopted preliminary development plan.

(3) Accessory buildings in single-family residential districts shall not exceed fifteen (15) feet in height.

(4) No carport or garage entered from an alley shall be located closer than ten (10) feet to a rear lot line.

(5) No accessory building shall be constructed prior to the construction of a principal building.

(6) Guest quarters are permitted subject to the following:

(a) Guest quarters shall utilize the same utility services provided to the principal building (i.e. separate utility meters directly serving the guest quarters shall not be permitted).

(b) No ovens, ranges, or built-in cooking facilities shall be permitted.

(7) A maximum of one accessory building or one guest quarters is permitted on a lot.

(8) The exterior design of an accessory building or guest quarters shall be commensurate with the exterior design of the principal building in materials, colors and architectural style.

(Ord. No. 1421, § V, 1-10-85; Ord. No. 1937, § 2, 3-10-88; Ord. No. 3063, § 3, 11-18-99; Ord. No. 4931, § 2(Exh.), 8-13-20)

[Carlos Ptriawan]

Quote from @Cami Gerbmak:

Quote from @Troy Williams:

anyone have info how to best find properties that allow for container homes to be built?  I understand you have to check with each local county or city zoning department, but was hoping someone might have experience or links to resources that can identify the zones classified to allow containers and/or areas they have built them on more quickly.  Checking with the departments one by one for each land listing that looks promising seems very inefficient.

Thx,

Troy

Hi Troy,
I can only speak from my current experience...I own a primary home on a 10,000 sqft lot in Chandler, AZ that does not have an hoa.  I've always wanted to have a freight container home to use as a long-term rental, airbnb or I would live in it and rent out my primary home. I went to my city's website and was able to find this under coding ordinances (see below.) Initially it sounded promising that criteria could be met until I read #6b - no ovens, ranges, or built in cooking facilities which didn't make sense.  I finally spoke to the city who reiterated the criteria along with needing to permanently affix the freight container home to a concrete slab. I asked why and was told for structural integrity (wth?) and I also asked if a microwave could be used and they said absolutely not.  Honestly I don't think they have any clue what a freight container home is.  Granted it sounds like I can have a freight container home on my property as long as I adhere to the city's criteria, but still would need to figure out the cooking part. 

I'm curious if anyone else has encountered challenging criteria and how to work around that?

I hope this was somewhat helpful Troy.

35-2202. Accessory buildings and guest quarters.

(1) Accessory buildings and guest quarters shall be located behind the front wall plane of the home and in the side yard or in the rear yard of the principal building and shall not occupy more than thirty (30) percent of the rear area.

(2) Accessory buildings shall meet the minimum side and rear yard setbacks for the district in which it is located. Any accessory buildings within a Planned Area Development (PAD) zoning designation shall be subject to the applicable provisions of the adopted preliminary development plan.

(3) Accessory buildings in single-family residential districts shall not exceed fifteen (15) feet in height.

(4) No carport or garage entered from an alley shall be located closer than ten (10) feet to a rear lot line.

(5) No accessory building shall be constructed prior to the construction of a principal building.

(6) Guest quarters are permitted subject to the following:

(a) Guest quarters shall utilize the same utility services provided to the principal building (i.e. separate utility meters directly serving the guest quarters shall not be permitted).

(b) No ovens, ranges, or built-in cooking facilities shall be permitted.

(7) A maximum of one accessory building or one guest quarters is permitted on a lot.

(8) The exterior design of an accessory building or guest quarters shall be commensurate with the exterior design of the principal building in materials, colors and architectural style.

(Ord. No. 1421, § V, 1-10-85; Ord. No. 1937, § 2, 3-10-88; Ord. No. 3063, § 3, 11-18-99; Ord. No. 4931, § 2(Exh.), 8-13-20)

This city is still having a more-or-less anti-ADU attitude.....

[Jack Schwartz]

Hello Yiftach,

Before considering the placement of Mobile Homes, it would be wise to familiarize yourself with your town's official zoning code. This will determine if such housing is permitted at all within your area. It's important to keep in mind that not all properties are suitable for Mobile Homes. Factors such as the shape of the parcel and its surroundings can greatly impact their feasibility. It is essential to conduct a comprehensive study before making any final decisions.

[Porsha Fross]

Quote from @Jay Hinrichs:

Originally posted by @Thomas S.:

Why waste your time and efforts turning a old metal box into a home when for likely the same cost you can buy a 40' mobile home. They have existed for 50 years. No reason to reinvent the wheel.

 go to  relevantbuildings.com  this is my aviation partners start up..   there is a big difference in build quality between a Mobile home and these.. one of his target markets and i bet it would work in the Canadian outback is that you can really secuire these up when you leave them.. so he is looking to sell them to those that have properties out in the woods and are prone to break ins or vandals.. 

Also building some for ADU and he has a stackable one were he is building and 8 plex in St. Helens Or. time will tell on the market.

and my buddy has the wherewithal to pull this off.. he owns a nice 10 acre tract in PDX were he is planning on putting  a few hundred of them and leasing the ground.. Like a mHP  concept.  at the end of the day i think price point could be higher than MH  but quality is higher.  also these are state specific so these are approved in Oregon only.

 @Jay Hinrichs I visited relevantbuildings.com but want to make sure I'm reading this right a 1br/1ba cost between $161K-$268K all in. Is that right?

[Jay Hinrichs]

Quote from @Porsha Fross:

Quote from @Jay Hinrichs:

Originally posted by @Thomas S.:

Why waste your time and efforts turning a old metal box into a home when for likely the same cost you can buy a 40' mobile home. They have existed for 50 years. No reason to reinvent the wheel.

 go to  relevantbuildings.com  this is my aviation partners start up..   there is a big difference in build quality between a Mobile home and these.. one of his target markets and i bet it would work in the Canadian outback is that you can really secuire these up when you leave them.. so he is looking to sell them to those that have properties out in the woods and are prone to break ins or vandals.. 

Also building some for ADU and he has a stackable one were he is building and 8 plex in St. Helens Or. time will tell on the market.

and my buddy has the wherewithal to pull this off.. he owns a nice 10 acre tract in PDX were he is planning on putting  a few hundred of them and leasing the ground.. Like a mHP  concept.  at the end of the day i think price point could be higher than MH  but quality is higher.  also these are state specific so these are approved in Oregon only.

 @Jay Hinrichs I visited relevantbuildings.com but want to make sure I'm reading this right a 1br/1ba cost between $161K-$268K all in. Is that right?

YUP thats right.  these are custom done.. and all up to code.. its a labor of love for my good friend who owns the company..