Types of Housing

What type of house will you live in?

•Name the 7 types of housing

• Identify an advantage and disadvantage of each

•Describe construction of each type

Types of Housing• Tract Houses• Custom

Houses• Manufactured

Houses• Mobile Homes

• Cooperatives

• Condominiums

• Rentals

Tract Housing• Developer builds

several houses using a few basic plans

• This helps to reduce the cost of construction

• This helps to speed the work

Tract Housing•Advantages• The buyer can see what they are

getting• Less construction cost• The home usually increases in

value• The subdivision has been planned

as a whole

Tract Housing•Disadvantages• They may be monotonous with

little individuality• May look bare and unfinished• Usually built on small lots• May be poorly constructed

Custom Houses• Is one design and is built to

meet the needs of the home owner

• It is different from all other house designs

• It usually costs more to build

• Usually is more functional for the family living in it

Custom Houses•Advantages• Built to the specs of the family

using it• Unique design• Usually top building materials are

used• Truly functional living space for

family members

Custom Houses•Disadvantages•Will usually cost more•May be harder to sell in the

future•Building your own home

can be stressful

Manufactured Homes• Available in several forms and

degrees of completion• Modular components, prefabs, kit

houses and precuts are marketed by several manufactures

• There is some pre-assembly done prior to bringing to the site

Manufactured HomesPrefab housing

kits, large panels are delivered ready to put together

Precuts – everything is cut and ready to put together

Manufactured Homes

•Advantages• Lower costs• Reduced time

in building• There are

options to the design

Manufactured Homes

•Disadvantages• Selection is limited• In many cases special equipment

is needed to construct the home• Can be expensive to ship large

modulars

Mobile Home• Designed to be

movable• Constructed on a frame

that has wheels• Come fully equipped

with appliances, furniture and draperies

• Can be moved to different locations

Mobile Home•Advantages• The main

advantage is economic – lower cost

• Mobile home parks may have many amenities

Mobile Home•Disadvantages• They depreciate rapidly, may

lose half their resale value in 5 years.

• Cities may limit the location they can be placed

• Once they are placed they may no longer be mobile.

Cooperatives• This is a type of ownership,

not a housing style• Most popular in multi-

family living spaces• Each unit is usually called

an apartment• The building is managed

and run as a corperation

Cooperatives• Families own

stock in the corporation

• General maintenance, etc is done by the corporation

Cooperatives•Advantages• The tenant owns the apartment,

does not have to pay rent.• The cooperative does all

maintenance• Being a stock holder, you have a

voice in the decisions of maintaining the cooperative

Cooperatives• Disadvantages• There is a monthly fee to pay property

taxes and maintenance costs• Must abide by the decisions of the

entire group• If you want to sell, everyone must vote

on who buys into the co-op

Condominiums• You buy the space –

either an individual house or an apartment

• Have joint interest in all shared areas – grounds, pools, etc

• Common property is maintained by a fee collected from all owners

Condominiums

•Advantages• An owner may sell without the

permission of everyone else (if there is an association you may need permission)

• May have a variety of housing styles in one complex

• The individual does not have to do their own maintenance and upkeep

Condominiums•Disadvantages• There are additional fees for

upkeep• May not be able to change the

appearance of you home• May be difficult to sell

Rentals• Any dwelling can be a

rental, but apartments are the most common

• There is less initial expense, and very little upkeep

• Many times, large units are built at once with planned amenities

Rentals•Advantages• Offer a variety of lifestyles• Choices may be unlimited as to

style, size, price and facilities• Often conveniently located near

public transportation, shopping centers, etc

Rentals•Disadvantages• Renters have little or no voice in

management of units• All maintenance and upkeep is

done by the owner, have no control

• After paying rent for years, there is no equity

Remember• When selecting a type of housing, the

owner needs to be comfortable with the living space

• When buying a home the owner builds up equity

• With Tract, Custom, Manufactured and Mobile homes, when you own it, you can do whatever you want to the living space