Ideas for designing a cheap, modular home that'll pay for itself w/multiple renters.

[CZroe]

Back-story: To use some land out-of-state that is just sitting there, I want to build two cheap homes with one common area that I can rent to two sets of tenants so that it will eventually pay for itself.

Many years ago I purchased a cheap two-story 16'x16'x16' wooden barn-like structure ("accessory building") for about $5,000. That included having the contractors build it. I then insulated, furnished, and electrified it as a man-cave for gaming and movies. The second floor was actually just a half-loft until reinforcing it and building it all the way out with a folding drop-down ladder for access, but I recently saw an extremely similar one that had a staircase for the full second floor and only cost about $7K. That's not that much more after inflation, and it seemed to have more 2nd floor headroom now that it was designed for it (probably trimmed from the excess headroom of the first floor). It seemed very home-like.

Mine is actually quite comfy, but couldn't serve as a residential structure without a foundation, plumbing, and other facilities (kitchen, restroom, septic, etc). The newer design still doesn't have enough room for all that, but it got me thinking: could I get away with using two of them and a common-area structure to make two living spaces with a shared kitchen/bathroom/laundry room? [Forget the shared kitchen and sub two small kitchens.]

I've always been interested in geodesic domes and they link well with each other, so I immediately thought of using one to link two 16'x16'x16' accessory buildings in one large structure with a shared[two] kitchen, [a] washroom, and two bathrooms in the dome. I think the $14,000 Eco Pod Cottage + Dome kit from American Ingenuity would be perfect. All together, that's $28,000 for the unfinished structures. I already know I can do a lot of the finishing myself, so I can probably keep the total cost under $40,000. The cottage alone can be a home:
http://aidomes.com/images/stories/PDF_Floorplans/22Domes/22Pod_Cottage.pdf

I've never built a home and I have no idea what kind of regulatory hurdles I'd need to clear for this or how to get it financed. I certainly don't have the money but I can use the equity of the land to secure a lot of the financing and I have a few years to save before I'd even start looking for financing.

So: What do you guys think? Is it do-able or am I likely to have issues with getting this kind of thing to be legal? I've seen more traditional homes designed to be sublet in a much less comfortable manner, like going outside to access a shared kitchen or laundry room, but I have a feeling that code enforcement may frown on using accessory buildings (never designed to be insulated), but as far as they are concerned, I am building it myself. I don't think you have to be an engineer/architect/carpenter to build your own home in The South (no earthquakes ) because I've heard of many people doing it who were not home-builders by trade. Obviously, utilities will have to be part of the rent, but is there any way I could meter each tenant's living spaces and the common area to divide up the bill fairly? Can I buy a modular dual bathroom with showers similar to Men/Women setups in commercial/public facilities (share a wall with the same plumbing/drains)? I'd like the dome to have something like a pool table or bar or lounge or something to spruce the common area up.

TL;DR: The plan is to use two, two-story 16'x16'x16' accessory buildings for the two large independent living areas and a linking geodesic dome for the common area, common kitchen[two small kitchens], and two bathrooms. What regulatory issues can I expect? Any good suggestions for common area accoutrements?

 

[dank69]

Shared kitchen? :hmm:

 

[highland145]

2 shipping containers, welded.

 

[Blackjack200]

Back-story: To use some land out-of-state that is just sitting there, I want to build two cheap two-family homes with one common area that I can rent to two sets of tenants so that it will eventually pay for itself.

Okay, you're confusing the fuck out of me. "Two cheap two-family homes". So that's four dwelling units? Are they all going to all share one kitchen? Or do you mean two cheap one-family homes?

Either way, in my limited experience as a landlord...

People are either renting a room (or multiple rooms) or they are renting an apartment.

If they are renting a room, they don't mind sharing kitchens and bathrooms and shit, but they usually don't expect to pay utilities, and they usually expect to pay $400-$600.

If they are renting an apartment, they expect a completely private living area including kitchen, bathroom, living area, etc. In return they expect to pay utilities (metered so they are only paying for their usage), and they expect to pay a little more rent ($800-$1200 depending on condition and # bedrooms, and obviously a lot more in some locations)

 

[D1gger]

^^

Beat me to it.

http://www.containerhomes.net/products/designs-shipping-container-homes-costa-rica.html

 

[SpatiallyAware]

As a landlord I can tell you that this is a NIGHTMARE situation just from a tenant standpoint.

 

[Blackjack200]

Look up Newnan, on Zillow, I just did, looks like there's tons of homes for <$50k that you could buy and rent out if you want to get some rental income. I mean, they're not geodesic domes or anything...

 

[CZroe]

Okay, you're confusing the fuck out of me. "Two cheap two-family homes". So that's four dwelling units? Are they all going to all share one kitchen? Or do you mean two cheap one-family homes?

Botched edit after I decided "two cheap homes with a common area" was better than "a two-family home with a common area."

Either way, in my limited experience as a landlord...

People are either renting a room (or multiple rooms) or they are renting an apartment.

I know I've seen some kind of shared living facility in a city nearby that I think they called a "townhome." This description from Wikipedia seems to describe it:

Today, the name townhouse is used to describe units mimicking a detached home that are attached in a multi-unit complex. The distinction between dwellings called "apartments" and those called "townhouses" is that townhouses usually consist of multiple floors and have their own outside door as opposed to having only one level and an interior hallway access.

I guess "townhouse apartment" would be fitting, though on a smaller scale than a typical one.

If they are renting a room, they don't mind sharing kitchens and bathrooms and shit, but they usually don't expect to pay utilities, and they usually expect to pay $400-$600.

I understand that. I was just looking into the possibility of adding a utility surcharge so that one tenant doesn't abuse it and make the rent go up for both.

If they are renting an apartment, they expect a completely private living area including kitchen, bathroom, living area, etc. In return they expect to pay utilities (metered so they are only paying for their usage), and they expect to pay a little more rent ($800-$1200 depending on condition and # bedrooms, and obviously a lot more in some locations)

That's the problem: It's a hybrid of the two. How do townhouses typically do it? Also, they would have a private bathroom. There would be two in the connecting structure each with a door connected to their independent structures.

When I worked for a high-rise condo in San Diego, many units were rented as apartments by the unit owners who paid HOA dues for the common-area accoutrements (valet parking, pool + service, lobby attendants, maintenance, security, pool-area grills on facility gas, janitorial staff, etc). I guess you could say that I'm the owner of both units and the facility, but in the condos, most renters had to pay the unit's utilities even if the HOA dues were not passed on to them. I ensured that no one used common-area electricity inappropriately at that place, but there would be no one to oversee it in this situation... unless I built a third unit and lived in it myself (don't want to leave this state).

Look up Newnan, on Zillow, I just did, looks like there's tons of homes for <$50k that you could buy and rent out if you want to get some rental income. I mean, they're not geodesic domes or anything...

Thanks. The land my family owns is in Alabama. I guess we could always sell it and finance buying one of those, but it would sell for more with a home.

 

[dank69]

I think you are misinterpreting the term townhouse. It's just another name for condo, not a multi-family sharing a kitchen.

 

[waggy]

I know I've seen some kind of shared living facility in a city nearby that I think they called a "townhome." This description from Wikipedia seems to describe it:


I guess "townhouse apartment" would be fitting, though on a smaller scale than a typical one.

wait. you don't think a "townhome" shares a kitchen do you?

 

[CZroe]

As a landlord I can tell you that this is a NIGHTMARE situation just from a tenant standpoint.

Much more than living in a typical sublet or condo with HOA dues? The lounge area is a bonus and they have plenty of room in their discrete two-story living areas so they shouldn't be contending or territorial over it.

The shared kitchen is the only real issue. Even then, it's not much different than waiting for a family member to finish with the microwave, toaster, or stove in a typical household or the break room at work. On top of that, stoves typically have multiple burners and each tenant can have their own microwave or fridge if they want (never intended to supply those in the common kitchen). Even in a three-tenant arrangement, I could use the stove while you use the oven and a third person could have cold cereal without ever stepping on each other's toes and there's STILL room (toaster oven, toaster, extra stove burners, etc). It may take some planning when both want to bake a turkey on Thanksgiving.

Actually, I'd already supply a deep-fry turkey cooker next to the out-door grill to reduce their temptation to do that indoors.

 

[CZroe]

wait. you don't think a "townhome" shares a kitchen do you?

Some do. Some for retirees have meals served. That's how the one I know of in Peachtree City operates. I think it's like a hybride between retirement community and nursing home though.

I think you are misinterpreting the term townhouse. It's just another name for condo, not a multi-family sharing a kitchen.

"Today, the name townhouse is used to describe units mimicking a detached home that are attached in a multi-unit complex."

I didn't write that.

 

[MixMasterTang]

I don't see how any sane renter would rent out 1 side of a connected structure with a complete stranger unless it was DIRT cheap (like a hundred dollars a month).

 

[dank69]

Some do. Some for retirees have meals served. That's how the one I know of in Peachtree City operates. I think it's like a hybride between retirement community and nursing home though.



"Today, the name townhouse is used to describe units mimicking a detached home that are attached in a multi-unit complex."

I didn't write that.

Dude, they share a wall. That's it. They don't share a kitchen. What you are talking about building is a commune. Or a retirement home, lol.

 

[CZroe]

I don't see how any sane renter would rent out 1 side of a connected structure with a complete stranger unless it was DIRT cheap (like a hundred dollars a month).

You aren't visualizing it. They are completely isolated with doors and locks. It's a compound of three discrete structures and they can go into their building, their bathroom, or the common area only. It's not much different than my brother's apartment building where they have a common area lounge in a huge apartment complex except that you never have to brave the elements. Similarly, they had a coin-op laundry room that the people in his building could access from the common hallways. The exercise room was in the pool house which required going outside.

The dome links the two buildings, but they are still two buildings. It's purpose is so that they don't lose living space installing a kitchen and bathroom and I don't have to run plumbing to both, but each building will still have a door on the back that goes into their own private bathroom. They would not have even noticeably left their building except that the other door on the same wall opens into a common area (BONUS) with a kitchen and something like a lounge, pool table, bar, exercise equipment, etc.

 

[dank69]

You aren't visualizing it. They are completely isolated with doors and locks. It's a compound of three discrete structures and they can go into their building, their bathroom, or the common area only. It's not much different than my brother's apartment building where they have a common area lounge in a huge apartment complex except that you never have to brave the elements. Similarly, they had a coin-op laundry room that the people in his building could access from the common hallways. The exercise room was in the pool house which required going outside.

The dome links the two buildings, but they are still two buildings. It's purpose is so that they don't lose living space installing a kitchen and bathroom and I don't have to run plumbing to both, but each building will still have a door on the back that goes into their own private bathroom. They would not have even noticeably left their building except that the other door on the same wall opens into a common area (BONUS) with a kitchen and something like a lounge, pool table, bar, exercise equipment, etc.

We all understand what you are saying. You are the one who isn't getting it.

 

[CZroe]

Dude, they share a wall. That's it. They don't share a kitchen. What you are talking about building is a commune. Or a retirement home, lol.

I mentioned that the townhome I saw with a shard kitchen was a retirement community, but that doesn't mean they always heave to be (especially with only two tenants). Ignoring the kitchen, these would share no more than a typical condo or apartment.

They wouldn't share a dining room or a living room! Two stories in 16'x16'x16' is plenty of room for the average tenant with no kitchen, bathroom, or laundry room. Plenty of people share laundry rooms and the two-dome cottage is big enough for two discrete bathrooms AND two kitchens AND the laundry room... at the expense of the common-area room I had big plans for.

But, I digress: If people demand two kitchens, the connecting structure can have a two kitchens, two small dining rooms, two bathrooms, and nothing more than a shared wall (the shared laundry room is in a different pod). It just seems like a waste of space... especially if I ever wanted to convert it into a single large home.

 

[dank69]

I mentioned that the townhome I saw with a shard kitchen was a retirement community, but that doesn't mean they always heave to be (especially with only two tenants). Ignoring the kitchen, these would share no more than a typical condo or apartment.

They wouldn't share a dining room or a living room! Two stories in 16'x16'x16' is plenty of room for the average tenant with no kitchen, bathroom, or laundry room. Plenty of people share laundry rooms and the two-dome cottage is big enough for two discrete bathrooms AND two kitchens AND the laundry room... at the expense of the common-area room I had big plans for.

But, I digress: If people demand two kitchens, the connecting structure can have a two kitchens, two small dining rooms, two bathrooms, and nothing more than a shared wall (the shared laundry room is in a different pod). It just seems like a waste of space... especially if I ever wanted to convert it into a single large home.

You will need to go the 2 kitchen route. If you share a kitchen, you have a roommate. It doesn't matter if everything else is separate.

 

[waggy]

Some do. Some for retirees have meals served. That's how the one I know of in Peachtree City operates. I think it's like a hybride between retirement community and nursing home though.



"Today, the name townhouse is used to describe units mimicking a detached home that are attached in a multi-unit complex."

I didn't write that.

I have NEVER seen a Townhome share a kitchen NEVER. sure they share a wall but never a kitchen.

who the fuck would buy that? considering most cost the nearly the amount of a home.

I wonder if the OP is looking at places that rent rooms that sale under "townhomes" i have seen that. Where you rent a ROOM in a apartment area.

 

[slayer202]

no

 

[jdobratz]

I would absolutely never rent anything even remotely close to what you are describing. I like to bake and have many expensive kitchen accessories. I would have to sit in the kitchen and babysit everything while I was preparing everything and also haul all my gear into and then out of the kitchen each time I wanted to do anything. No way I would leave my nice stuff in a shared kitchen for it to get used, abused, or stolen.

 

[Meghan54]

You aren't visualizing it. They are completely isolated with doors and locks. It's a compound of three discrete structures and they can go into their building, their bathroom, or the common area only. It's not much different than my brother's apartment building where they have a common area lounge in a huge apartment complex except that you never have to brave the elements. Similarly, they had a coin-op laundry room that the people in his building could access from the common hallways. The exercise room was in the pool house which required going outside.

The dome links the two buildings, but they are still two buildings. It's purpose is so that they don't lose living space installing a kitchen and bathroom and I don't have to run plumbing to both, but each building will still have a door on the back that goes into their own private bathroom. They would not have even noticeably left their building except that the other door on the same wall opens into a common area (BONUS) with a kitchen and something like a lounge, pool table, bar, exercise equipment, etc.

You're describing a college dorm setup, not living arrangements for families.

Imagine the problems that are going to be created with you being so cheap to only want to build one kitchen for two families and both want to cook at the same time. Or one wants to cook something like a turkey or roast that takes several hours in an oven and then fam. #2 wants to use the oven to cook a pizza.

 

[dank69]

You're describing a college dorm setup, not living arrangements for families.

Imagine the problems that are going to be created with you being so cheap to only want to build one kitchen for two families and both want to cook at the same time. Or one wants to cook something like a turkey or roast that takes several hours in an oven and then fam. #2 wants to use the oven to cook a pizza.

Something like this *could* be marketed to college kids but still it is renting a room, not an apartment or townhome. Even without the cooking issues (not everyone cooks) you have food issues. People steal food all the time.

 

[Kaido]

If you want a dome home, AIDomes are the way to go imo. There are also Deltec homes, which are round and pre-fab: (I believe the smallest is 328 square feet)

http://www.deltechomes.com/

My dad new a guy who rented to college kids. The inside of the rooms were basically painted cinder blocks - after each semester, he would guy the room, pressure hose it off, repaint the whole thing, and reload it for the next set of students. Really really cheap & easy way to do it.

 

[waggy]

Something like this *could* be marketed to college kids but still it is renting a room, not an apartment or townhome. Even without the cooking issues (not everyone cooks) you have food issues. People steal food all the time.

yeah i just don't see how he could label this either a apartment or townhome. No way as a adult with a family would i agree to share a kitchen.

Now as a college kid his idea is great. I paid to live in huge house where everyone had a bathroom but we all shared a kitchen.