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 • Cooperatives
• Custom Houses
• Manufactured • Condominiums
Houses
• Mobile Homes • 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 Homes
Prefab 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