Future Standards of Housing.....

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Sorting through some old contract work files just now from when I lived overseas, and it got me thinking about some of the more "interesting" accomodation I've stayed in over the years when I've been away for work, etc.

At various times, ranging from a few weeks to a few months, I have lived in.....

A static caravan, an American "doublewide trailer", a tent in the desert, hotels/motels, serviced apartments, a winnebago motor home, numerous company provided shared villa's/houses, a few nights in a converted shipping container, and even a friends small yacht for 4 weeks whilst on summer holidays from Uni.

At the time, I did not find any of these things to be particularly unenjoyable, although there were a few I'd rather not repeat. (the yacht and the tent especially, neither very comfortable once the novelty wore off)

But it got me thinking, living in alternative accomodation is quite common overseas.

So why not here?

America is full of "trailer parks", where people live in what are essentially portacabins, but with perfectly nice normal house interiors. Even in the colder climate states. Some, the "double wides", are as big as a small house here, with up to 3 bedrooms. But they are cheap. Far cheaper than houses.

Likewise, in America it is quite common for retirees to sell up the house, buy a Winnebago motor home, and travel the country for years, even decades, moving from the North to the South with the seasons. Such people are known as "snowbirds", and live a modern day Nomadic lifestyle.

In the Middle East, I have seen old hotels converted to "long stay suites", (a bedsit type of setup) where a bedroom/livingroom, ensuite bathroom, and small kitchenette, are rented out very cheaply on a weekly/monthly/quarterly basis. The same thing as renting a room, but without the hassles of a flatmate.

In Japan, they have taken things to extremes, with pod hotels now being used for long term accomodation. An 8' by 4' by 4' sized sleeping pod, very cheap, very centrally located, and with shared bathrooms/shower rooms/lounge/kitchen areas, etc. As even after their 20 year crash, prices in many areas are still outrageous compared to most of the UK.

And in Korea, they are now building small villages from converted shipping containers. Properly done, they are quite nice, sturdy, long lasting, and certainly cheap.

As we face a long term shortage of housing, and little prospect of building enough, why not investigate these types of things as cost effective solutions for some of our needs in the future?

Particularly for benefits claimants, transient workers, students, etc.... People on restricted budgets that often don't need a whole house to themselves......

I know we have experimented with some things, the "flat pack house" for example, but it never seemed to get anywhere.

Are we just too set in our ways that a "home" means a traditional house, of traditional construction, in a traditional area? And is this part of the problem regarding prices being too high for some, in some areas?

Snooze

What the property is made of is completely irrelevant - it could be anything from a tent to a mansion. The problem is that whatever it is you want to build, the Planning department will go out of their way to make sure your application comes back with a big fat red cross on it and it's usually due to some nimby on the council planning apps panel who point blank refuses to let anyone build anything within a 100 mile radius of his/her pad.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

"Doublewide Trailer"...... This is a nicer one, around £40,000 or so. Cheap ones start from £15,000. There is also a "lot rent", around £100 a month and upwards, depending on how nice a park you want to live in.







A 40' shipping container house layout....... Something like this can be done for less than £25,000, a lot less in bulk.....





And heres a "student village" of them.......




A japanese pod hotel........





And of course, a Winnebago motor home with the sides extended...... I'm surprised more retirees don't do this around Europe.

Nice ones, like these, starting at £50,000 and up to £150,000 or more..... Something large but basic can be had for 20K or so.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Snooze wrote: »

. The problem is that whatever it is you want to build, the Planning department will go out of their way to make sure your application comes back with a big fat red cross on it and it's usually due to some nimby on the council planning apps panel who point blank refuses to let anyone build anything within a 100 mile radius of his/her pad.

Quite.

But we'll have to get around that somehow if we're going to fit another 10,000,000 people in the next 20 years.

Building enough proper houses looks nigh on impossible.

But these types of things are cheap (by comparison) and may well have a place in our future housing needs.

Generali

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Sorting through some old contract work files just now from when I lived overseas, and it got me thinking about some of the more "interesting" accomodation I've stayed in over the years when I've been away for work, etc.

At various times, ranging from a few weeks to a few months, I have lived in.....

A static caravan, an American "doublewide trailer", a tent in the desert, hotels/motels, serviced apartments, a winnebago motor home, numerous company provided shared villa's/houses, a few nights in a converted shipping container, and even a friends small yacht for 4 weeks whilst on summer holidays from Uni.

At the time, I did not find any of these things to be particularly unenjoyable, although there were a few I'd rather not repeat. (the yacht and the tent especially, neither very comfortable once the novelty wore off)

But it got me thinking, living in alternative accomodation is quite common overseas.

So why not here?

America is full of "trailer parks", where people live in what are essentially portacabins, but with perfectly nice normal house interiors. Even in the colder climate states. Some, the "double wides", are as big as a small house here, with up to 3 bedrooms. But they are cheap. Far cheaper than houses.

Likewise, in America it is quite common for retirees to sell up the house, buy a Winnebago motor home, and travel the country for years, even decades, moving from the North to the South with the seasons. Such people are known as "snowbirds", and live a modern day Nomadic lifestyle.

In the Middle East, I have seen old hotels converted to "long stay suites", (a bedsit type of setup) where a bedroom/livingroom, ensuite bathroom, and small kitchenette, are rented out very cheaply on a weekly/monthly/quarterly basis. The same thing as renting a room, but without the hassles of a flatmate.

In Japan, they have taken things to extremes, with pod hotels now being used for long term accomodation. An 8' by 4' by 4' sized sleeping pod, very cheap, very centrally located, and with shared bathrooms/shower rooms/lounge/kitchen areas, etc. As even after their 20 year crash, prices in many areas are still outrageous compared to most of the UK.

And in Korea, they are now building small villages from converted shipping containers. Properly done, they are quite nice, sturdy, long lasting, and certainly cheap.

As we face a long term shortage of housing, and little prospect of building enough, why not investigate these types of things as cost effective solutions for some of our needs in the future?

Particularly for benefits claimants, transient workers, students, etc.... People on restricted budgets that often don't need a whole house to themselves......

I know we have experimented with some things, the "flat pack house" for example, but it never seemed to get anywhere.

Are we just too set in our ways that a "home" means a traditional house, of traditional construction, in a traditional area? And is this part of the problem regarding prices being too high for some, in some areas?

High house prices in the UK are caused by the high price of land with planning permission, not the high price of the house itself.

In Aus you get a real feel for how little it costs to build a house as there are so many 'off the peg' houses that you can have built. Even if you build a McMansion in Sydney, generally the land is far more expensive than the house. Buildable land is far more expensive in most of the UK than in Sydney.

Degenerate

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

But these types of things are cheap (by comparison) and may well have a place in our future housing needs.

I think you're fundamentally mistaken here. Some of your suggestions, like the double wide trailer, require as much land as a conventional house, while others like the shipping containers, are denser but no cheaper than similarly dense mass accommodation built using traditional construction could be. About the only one that really is cheaper and denser is the pod hotel - cheaper on account of extreme density - but who wants to live in that?

stueyhants

Surely the more houses we build the more people will come here to live. What is the point building homes for 10m more people, as soon as you have done that, people will be taking about the next 10m and then the next.
If houses are in strict supply then imigration becomes less atrractive and the birth rate will fall.

rictus123

I can see the uk expanding and expanding.

System

I'd love to do the winnebago thing.

IveSeenTheLight

stueyhants wrote: »

Surely the more houses we build the more people will come here to live. What is the point building homes for 10m more people, as soon as you have done that, people will be taking about the next 10m and then the next.
If houses are in strict supply then imigration becomes less atrractive and the birth rate will fall.

Do you believe it has worked that way in the last 10 years?
I can link articles on the shortage of housing from.

from 1998
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/the_company_file/178198.stm

Redrow, attacked planning delays saying there appeared to be "little political will" at central and government level to address a UK housing shortage.

All that will happen if housing continues to be a shortage is that only the wealthier will be able to afford and more people will rent.
Possibly see a return to higher occupancy rates i.e. three generations under one roof

Graham_Devon

Maybe the childless should have to live in them, leaving the proper houses for families

Still a good idea Hames?!