My quest for home ownership continues, but is looking a bit murky at the moment considering the housing market in Southern California is blowing up. However, I’m always open to alternatives, one which might be buying what little land there is available around here (Los Angeles county area) and building a pre-fab or kit-type home. I found a company many months ago that resembles the Sears mail order homes of yesteryear. A terrific idea that only lasted about a decade, from the 1930’s to the 1940’s approximately. That idea included delivering the pre-cut wood and materials to the build site.

But like everything else, things make a comeback. The company that’s reminiscent of the Sears catalog homes is called House in a Box. Their business model is slightly different from the Sears mail order kit home; instead of shipping the pre-cut materials to you, a nearby national supplier will cut the materials instead. You have the choice of acting as the contractor, or House in a Box will assist you in working with their national supplier.

Their pricing estimates are based on the materials needed for their plans, so pricing out the contractor building fees, permits, foundation, plumbing, electrical, and exterior finishes need to be considered separately from the base pricing. But many of their models estimate the costs of the home at under $35,000, which is a great deal for many areas. The only down side for me is that their pricing is based on South Carolina prices. I actually inquired about getting an estimate for Southern California and the friendly rep couldn’t begin to guesstimate what the pricing would be for here. He did tell me that sometime this summer there would be more information for other states, especially those west of the Mississippi, so perhaps I’ll have a ballpark figure later this year. Even if I tripled the price, because pretty much everything out here is 2 to 3 times more expensive for some dang reason, it is still a bargain.

The Lexington Plan - the largest of their plans
The Lexington Plan – the largest of their plans

Now it’s just a matter for finding land in a land-locked area. Sure, there are some empty lots near where I currently live, but none are listed for sale publicly, if at all. And when they do pop up, they get purchased pretty quickly, mostly by developers….Let’s put 5 houses on a lot that once had one, whoo hoo! Terrible, just terrible. I also haven’t allowed myself to even think what might happen if we don’t get rain in the next year or so. California might just shrivel up.

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