With smart designs that typically feature smaller footprints, higher quality materials and some thought given to sustainability, prefab and modular homes offer an interesting option for homeowners that aren’t afraid to think a little “outside the box.”
Here are some of the most compelling:
- Cost savings – Due to the use of offsite home construction and pre-designed home plans, much of the cost of a traditional home can be saved.
- Ecologically responsible – generally these homes tend to have a smaller footprint, less site disturbance, and in many cases, there has been a least some thought given to sustainability (materials sourcing, ready integration with solar panels, etc)
- Modern aesthetic – while not mandatory, many of today’s prefab homes are styled with a clean, modern aesthetic, that lots of people love.
- Shorter timeline – because the homes are constructed in an ideal setting and there are fewer “unknowns”, it’s possible for the timeline to be shortened significantly. In the world of modular homebuilding, it’s not uncommon to go from a construction ready site (utilities, foundation and access in place) to a completely signed off and livable home in a matter of weeks or just a few months.
- Less expensive to maintain – this is also not a foregone conclusion, but frequently, due to the smaller size and higher quality materials, there’s a correlating lower cost in maintenance (utilities, repairs, etc)
To a lesser extent, “kit homes” or “kit cabins” also offer many of these same benefits, with the biggest difference being that the assembly is almost entirely done on site, as opposed to prefab or modular homes, where the bulk of the home assembly is occurring off site, in factories and manufacturing facilities.