Working with veteran builder Jason Maydew, Cape Town-based Berman-Kalil Housing Concepts has stepped in with shipping containers converted to low-cost modular homes, designed so they do not look like they were ever containers. Reconstruction and Development Progamme (RDP) homes built by the South African government at bare minimum cost the government $8,700 for a two-bedroom unit with a bath, open kitchen, tiled floor, ceiling, electricity, water and sanitation but usually without plastered walls. To qualify, a family must earn less than $3,324 annually.
Berman-Kalil are targeting the market that cannot afford a $30,000 to $40,000 home, but can afford a $7,910 to $14,250 unit delivered in three weeks. The former would qualify as a bachelor pad, and includes a bedroom, bath, kitchenette (sink with two hot plates), cupboards, sliding glass door, windows, flooring and a few cladding options. At the higher end, the home comes with two bedrooms, and several added features including an oven with exhaust fan.
However, as MHProNews understands so well, similar to manufactured homes in the U. S., they are struggling with negative perceptions of container homes that do not fit into the banking system’s criteria as a home: The homes are considered to be portable, and therefore cannot qualify for typical financing through a bank, even though they are every bit as solid as a brick-built home.
“If we can get a lender or a micro-lender to inspect our properties, bring their own valuer and quantity surveyor, and simply say that they accept that this is a building, then we believe that this could change the property market in South Africa immediately,” Maydew said. ##
(Photo credit:estatetimesnigeria–two bedroom container modular homes for $14,250)
