|
The world of prefab and modular homes. |
|
| kephartliving.com |
ColoradoBiz Magazine reports on Sidekick Homes from 
Kephart Living:
Sidekick specializes in ADUs, or accessory dwelling units. They're anti-McMansions, small — sometimes tiny — living quarters built for backyards of existing homes, typically for aging relatives. Hence, they’re sometimes called "mother-in-law" or "granny" flats.
That's a great niche for modular construction.
The article included some local details:
One complication for the backyard ADU business is that zoning rules vary among municipalities and neighborhoods. ....
"They’re promoted by cities like Arvada [Colorado] as a way to help with the affordable housing issue and the issue of housing the aging population, which are both coming together pretty strongly right now," Kephart says.
In Denver, ADUs are allowed only in neighborhoods zoned for mixed use, such as Stapleton...
Other basics:
- price: $75,000 - $200,000
- size: 400 - 1160 square feet
- owner Michael Kephart launched Sidekick Homes early this spring
The best part:
They're ... pre-built and trucked from the factory to the home site with everything from the ceiling fixtures to the kitchen counters intact.
The New York Times offers recommendations on prefab home-buying:
With any designer, ask how many homes the firm has built and how many are in the pipeline, and arrange to visit a finished house. The growing prefab field has led many designers to jump in, but not all them actually have designs that have been built....
Finding the right design is about not just visual appeal, but also such practical issues as finding one that can actually be built on the site. After all, the house has to be delivered on a flatbed truck. And it can be nearly impossible to deliver a modular house to a site that is off a windy, narrow road or one off a route with low overpasses."
