All Forum Posts by: Minh Dong

Very thought our Christian, I remember came across the same concept in Oregon before https://www.willowcreekselfstorage.com/

We would stop by there when you are in town as well

One large container you could build about 2-4 storage units inside as well, that may help with the costs a lot.

Seems like a small container home would be wonderful fit for your need 

if the zoning and permit in your area work then its worth it. I've been working a prefab manufacturer in vietnam who does container housing and finish about 90%, ship to the US with very competitive pricing.

If you are handy and only need one 40' unit for AirBnb though, you could absolutely DIY. I know couple of folks in TX do really well with their rental from container as well (combination of 40', 20' or both) 

it varies widely between states and I think that's one of the biggest problems while dealing with container homes. After that, if you could have the codes and requirements ready, you will need to work closely with manufactures for that to do overseas for cheap or you could get used containers and build it yourself. I've seen folks done both and making great profits on it. 

Thank Milad for kicking off the discussion. I'm working with a container manufacturing company in Vietnam which also builds multiple container homes around the US, AUS, and NZ. I'm working with them in few projects right now around the US and from my past experiences, if we would bring to them the details building codes, we would do most of the work over there in the factory and take advantage of the low labor costs there. 

The last project I helped with, which is in the sample building process right now, the unit will be built 90% in Vietnam, ship to the US and will finish with the exterior siding and electrical panel. The unit ranges from 2,3 bedrooms to a simple studio. The unit would be built by using one 40' container or merging multiple containers together. 

By the way, I'm working in Seattle as a software engineer as well and have been thinking about business models around ADU as well using this prefab homes for surround areas or in areas with a competitive housing market.

Thanks for reaching out @Zachary Phelan . With enough capital, building apartment from prefab (container homes) could work out well imho. We would get the prefab unit with a relatively low price (around $30k for 700sqft 2bed 1bath) due to the connection we have with the container manufacturers. Put together an apartment complex for rent could work for this scale. 

Another option I'm looking into is multiple small units for Airbnb 

Hi @Martha Bueno , The project is very doable, I've been working on this for a while with one ongoing project in Florida as well.

Also like Matthew said above, please check with your local government first. 

Once it's okay, there are many options for your container homes. I've been working with a container manufacturing company in Vietnam and they could do the home 90% finish for you included bathroom, bedroom, and kitchen. Some items you may want to buy in the US though for warranty such as a microwave or stove, etc. I have one of their current design as well which look quite nice and I would share with you offline (contains of 3 20' containers). 

Other things you want to do some research on are having the unit transport from the port to your home, setting up the foundation and install the unit. An experienced developer could help you with that for sure. 

The container manufacturing company will build the home from scratch so it will be new containers (avoid many old container issues that you may see). Also, you have options to customize which is nice. 

If you don't want to deal with transporting and working hands-on, there are many companies that prebuild the whole thing and ship it to you. (https://honomobo.com or Cargohome.com - I've worked with CargoHome before as well and they are great). This option will be more expensive though :) 

its very doable, the first to check though is with the city to see any permits or specific requirements. After that, you will need to find a good developer who could help you put down the foundation and install those units. It's good to have developers who have experience with container building but not a hard requirement since the installation isn't too complicated and would get help from the factory who make those container homes as well.

I've been working with container manufacturing company who build 90% of the unit (prefab) from Vietnam and ship to the US. The labor cost there is low so the whole unit cost is relatively low as well. The price will vary of course but roughly for one bedroom unit, with wiring, plumbing, finished bathroom, kitchen, hardwood floors etc. could go around $20k. The shipping to Seattle or CA ports would be around $4k. Of course, you will need to add the transportation cost from port to the construction side as well, the good thing about container is the side is standard so this will not be too difficult to get quotes. 

I would love to get projects like this for myself too around Seattle areas if I have funding for the lands :) The need for cheap and affordable housing is there to fill. 

@Justin Blumenthal we are working on getting the lands right now. The city is fine and they are okay with it but the loan is a bit of a pain since the bank I worked with doesn't have experience with this type of project. Also, the project we are investigating will be a decent size one to two bedrooms just to test out the water. Since it's a decent size so I didn't have much information about tiny housing. ( i just know in LA they are pushing for it to help with their homeless issues). 

Also prefab tiny home is also being developing around Seattle area as well https://www.geekwire.com/2018/paul-allen-backed-bl...

I got in touch with the CEO of the company in that article (Blokable) and it seems they are doing great.