1st time buyers have been up against it in the past few years what wuith prices spiralling and mortgages becoming harder to obtain. However an answer my now have been found by a new company in Mexico.
PFNC Global Communities has been set up to turn steel shipping containers into affordable compact homes that can give people a start on the housing ladder. etailing at around $8000 they could be the ideal solution to some areas of the country where affordable housing just does not exist;
This is the full report from City News;
They're not that big, they're not that roomy and they're not that expensive. But could they be a cheap way to end the problems of the homeless?
A company in New Mexico has taken an old concept and given it a new twist - use those huge steel storage containers that some people employ to keep their lawn mowers, snow plows, inventory and other equipment in, for something else: a fully furnished albeit very small house.
The idea first came to homebuilder Brian McCarthy when he was touring Juarez, Mexico a few years ago. The city was booming with Fortune 500 companies moving work down south to get cheaper labour. But when he left the industrial area and ended up in a poor neigbourhood, he was stunned to see how the people who worked in those factories were living.
"We saw hundreds of homes that are made out of wood pallets and cardboard and scrap metal and scrap building material," McCarthy remembers. So when he read an article about someone converting a shipping container into a home, the concept for a new business was born.
"They talked about the merits of the construction, how strong they are, how affordable they are, and how plentiful they are," he reveals of his inspiration.
Partnering with a cousin and some college friends, the quartet formed a company called PFNC Global Communities. The letters stand for the Spanish "Por Fin, Nuestra Casa," which translates as "Finally, our own home."
It's a small business with a big goal - give people who have no home a chance at all the amenities in a place that costs only US$8,000. The group has figured out how to make a lot of the one room 'house', working with only 320 square feet of space. The entire place is just 40 feet long, 8 feet wide and 8 ½ feet tall.
But it's enough.
"We started with a kitchen and bathroom because they're the most necessary and most basic ingredients of a home," McCarthy recounts. They used space saving designs figured out by condo makers, trailer manufacturers and even jet plane builders and installed a gallery style kitchen, complete with a stove, sink, fridge, and a dinette. There's also a 48-square foot bathroom with a sink, shower and toilet.
The bedroom features space saving bunk beds for kids and separate sleeping quarters for the parents.
It can be hooked up to plumbing and electricity and provides a safe and secure environment for those who may never have had one.
Toronto's harsh winter climate will require some additional insulation, but that can likely be taken care of.
It may not sound like much. But according to company co-owner Pablo Nava, to the poor folks in Juarez, it's a place to call home. People said, "You know it'd be like a dream to live in one of these," Nava relates. "You know, just the thought of having nice fresh air ventilating through the house, a large bed ... a normal kitchen and a safe home that locks and closes each night was more than appealing."
The small company can make as many as 3,000 of the custom made dwellings a year and hopes to increase that number as they ramp up production.
So could it possibly be a solution to the homeless problem in Toronto? It's hard to say, but if the idea catches on, it could be the first small step back for many on what has been a long journey to nowhere.
"With our design and with our price point, we think we'll at least be able to take the first step of getting more families into more homes" McCarthy concludes. "We fully anticipate that people will move into our homes, build up some equity, sell this home. We see this is a stepping stone to get into a bigger or more comfortable home."
And maybe, for some, putting homelessness in storage.
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