Hi,
I’m interested to hear what other people’s experience has been with Kit Homes? What are the benefits? Costs? How long did it take? Any companies that you would recommend or advise to stay clear of? We are considering this option for a property in QLD and would love to hear what you think.
Kind Regards,
Ana
Hi Ana,
Well we haven’t built it yet but we’ve ordered a kit home from Harkaway Homes. They specialise in Classic Victorian & Early Federation Reproductions. We flew to Sydney and inspected the display homes and they are lovely with every detail down to the roof pitch.
http://www.harkawayhomes.com.au/index1.htm
You can also get a glossy magazine from the Newsagent for around $10 that has details of most kit homes.
AmandaBS
http://www.propertydivas.com.au
FREE online Property Resources“It is better to be inconspicuously wealthy, than to be ostentatiously poor…”
Hi Ana,
Kit homes offer you the quick turnaround time. I think its a very good option in areas that are experiencing great rental demands (due to new mines opening up, etc.) and the new housing is not able to cope with the demand. I know people are putting kit homes or removal homes in towns like Maryborough, QLD on large, sub-dividable blocks.
I have not done a deal myself but did little bit of research earlier and came across the following website
http://www.drakehomes.com.au/removal/stock.htm
These guys are based in SE Qld.
You need to be careful of the transportation cost when buying removal houses.
Hope this helps and let us know how you go with your deal.
Regards
Sanjiv“There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.†– Nelson Mandela
Make sure you know what is, and isn’t, included; the trades that usually cost the most are often the ones they don’t include in your price (plumbing labour, electrical labour), so get quotes for these trades and quote up the total job first.
You are usually only buying the plan and the materials; make sure that you are aware of the quality of the fixtures supplied! Soil tests, any engineering/computations required by your local council or State, plumbing labour, electrical labour, plasterer labour, painting labour maybe. You get what you pay for usually so while cheaper fittings help you initially they don’t always last that long…so make sure you ask for the make and model of the inclusions so you can jump on the net or visit a store to see the products for yourself. Get references for the company. We have laboured for owners of kit homes, some good and some not so good (no names), some ended up being good value (when local costs were added) and some ended up being more expensive than a custom design (when local costs were added). Make sure you do your DD.
Hi Ana,
I have been recently looking into the transportable home idea myself, though I have never bought and used one. (I am presuming a Kit Home is a similar thing to a transportable).
One website is
http://www.fleetwood.com.au
but these people are based in Perth, so the costs may be massive if they don’t have an outlet closer to youAnother is
http://www.kentuckynapier.com.au
and these are mainly in Victoria, but I think they have a centre in Toowoomba.At least these sites may give you a starting place for prices and what is included. I have had no personal experience of these companies though.
Kelly
I have always interpreted transportable homes as a complete house unit that is delivered floor up as a finished house when it arrives (aside from some plumbing connections and stumps). These modules can be joined together to make a larger house. A friend of mine lived nearby in (two joined together) one until they found a house suitable for removal for their large family. They then just sold the transportable and a truck came and picked them up and carted them off.
A kit home usually supplies you with the initial frame/lockup/fix materials to build your home together with working drawings. Usually the labour for all trades has to be located locally so you generally end up paying the same as everyone else. If you priced all the exact same materials/brands yourself you probably would get the same price. One downside is if you get some dodgy or faulty materials you cannot go to the local supplier for exchange!! One upside is that you don’t have to work out what and how much you need of materials if you are inexperienced. If you like the plans though and are organized and have a good team of tradesman then go for it.
Julie Fisher
Daryl Fisher Homes.forget fleetwood – their order book is shut, I have been on the order wait list for 8 months and don’t expect a phone call for a year or so. possibly years I suspect.
We built a steel frame PAAL kit home and except for two bum steers in the instructions that caused us to swear a bit, it was a fairly straight forward process to put it up and complete it. We did everything except the plumbing and electricals. Took awhile though and it is a big job.
Some kit homes seem ridiculously overpriced. PAAL does have a good range at a reasonable price. They don't have that kit-home look to them either (except for the very basic models).
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