Speaker A
It's here. It took me nearly two years to get this house in this location. I know you've seen my debacle of trying to buy one of these types of homes on Amazon. And yes, they're cheap on there and they look exactly like this.
Kristina Smallhorn shares her experience buying a $20,000 prefab home, detailing the process, customization, permits, and setup challenges.
Key Takeaways
- Affordable prefab homes under $20,000 are available but require patience and effort to set up.
- Customization options are possible even at low price points.
- Proper planning for permits and HOA rules is essential before installation.
- Multiple helpers and careful adherence to instructions are necessary for safe assembly.
- Additional finishing work and inspections are required to make the home livable.
What the video covers
- Kristina Smallhorn purchased a prefab home for under $20,000 after nearly two years of searching.
- The home is manufactured in China but ordered through a U.S. company based in Brooklyn.
- She was able to customize siding, flooring, and other details despite the low price.
- The home includes a fully functional bathroom with shower, sink, and toilet.
- Permitting requirements vary by location; her home was zoned mixed use and did not require special permits.
- Setup requires multiple able-bodied people due to the heavy walls and floor components.
- The home took about five months from order to delivery and installation.
- Additional work like plumbing, electrical, and inspections are needed before the home is livable.
- The video addresses common concerns about quality, safety, and HOA regulations.
- Kristina emphasizes the importance of reading instructions and checking local zoning before purchasing.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction and background on prefab home purchase
- 00:26Price and manufacturer details
- 01:27Exterior and customization options
- 02:21Company origin and manufacturing
- 02:41Permitting and zoning considerations
- 03:52Home tour: interior overview
- 04:52Assembly challenges and instructions
- 06:19Bathroom and plumbing details
- 07:37Order to delivery timeline and costs
- 10:20Final thoughts on safety, inspections, and next steps
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
But as you know, it's a scam, but this one is not a scam. So, let me go ahead and walk you through exactly how I got this house, how long it took from the time that I ordered it to get it to the
Speaker A
But as you know, it's a scam, but this one is not a scam. So, let me go ahead and walk you through exactly how I got this house, how long it took from the time that I ordered it to get it to the
Speaker A
It's under $20,000. No, I know for a lot of you it was a big concern on who actually makes these houses. I know that you've seen on Amazon a lot of them come out of China.
Speaker A
location, how many things I was able to customize, where the plumbing goes, what permits I got.
Speaker A
I was kind of like with this price of a home, I thought it was like you get what you get and you don't throw a fit. But I was able to pick out exactly what I wanted for this house.
Speaker A
It's under $20,000. No, I know for a lot of you it was a big concern on who actually makes these houses. I know that you've seen on Amazon a lot of them come out of China.
Speaker A
Yeah. Uh but the these this was $17,000. That's it. That's it. So, without further ado, let me show you the inside because I know you have a ton of questions about it.
Speaker A
These houses are made in China, but you do not order them in China. You order them here in the United States. I was able to pick out the siding, the flooring, all sorts of little details with the house itself. I was surprised.
Speaker A
There's the front doors. This was the siding that we picked out and the black trim. This is where the bedroom is.
Speaker A
I was kind of like with this price of a home, I thought it was like you get what you get and you don't throw a fit. But I was able to pick out exactly what I wanted for this house.
Speaker A
All right. So, you walk in and here's the bathroom. Not ideal, but you know, it's a great little bathroom. It genuinely comes with a whole entire bathroom. They have a shower. It has a mirror. It has a sink and it has a
Speaker A
Buy me one. Yeah. Well, this is the company's out of Brooklyn, even though they're manufactured in China.
Speaker A
do on this thing, by the way. And it's frosted glass for your guests. This is the bedroom area, and all the dimensions are online as well, so you can see that. All right. So, here's the hookups for the kitchen. Then, these
Speaker A
Yeah. Uh, but this was $17,000. That's it. That's it. So, without further ado, let me show you the inside because I know you have a ton of questions about it.
Speaker A
Probably not. Now, a bunch of you have asked about permitting and what you're going to need for this type of structure in your backyard. This particular house is zoned mixed use. So, they didn't need any kind of special permitting for this
Speaker A
Let's go on the quickest home tour you've ever been on your life because it's so small. There's not much for us to do. It'll probably take us less than two minutes. Okay, so here's the outside. Looks kind of cute, right?
Speaker A
you're considering doing something like this as an ADU, check with your planning and zoning, of course, but also check with your HOA because your HOA can tell you to remove the structure. Once this thing got here, it took them over an
Speaker A
There's the front doors. This was the siding that we picked out and the black trim. This is where the bedroom is.
Speaker A
I know this video makes it seem like it's like super easy that once you get this house, you unwrap it and then you just fold out the walls and the floor and it's easy peasy lemon squeezy. But you still need at least four able-bodied
Speaker A
Here's the, uh, where the bathroom is. And then here's where the kitchen is. This is where the, uh, living the living room/kitchen area is. And let's go walk inside.
Speaker A
could have done it by myself. Two people is not enough. The other thing I would warn you about because we didn't do this is look at the instructions beforehand.
Speaker A
All right. So, you walk in and here's the bathroom. Not ideal, but you know, it's a great little bathroom. It genuinely comes with a whole entire bathroom. They have a shower. It has a mirror. It has a sink and it has a
Speaker A
Don't listen to the people around you that say, "Oh, no. We got this. We don't need instructions. Once the walls and the floor are down, that does not mean that the house is ready for you to live in. You still need to attach the
Speaker A
toilet. Shockingly enough, as small of a space that it is, it is a totally functional bathroom. Just from the naked eye, this is a pretty quality build in my opinion. I don't know everything about it. We still have a ton of work to
Speaker A
them um $2,500. It actually cost them more than that, but they got another slab on the other side for another project that they're working on. So, it was I think a total of $4,000, but this slab itself cost him $2,500.
Speaker A
do on this thing, by the way. And it's frosted glass for your guests. This is the bedroom area, and all the dimensions are online as well, so you can see that. All right. So, here's the hookups for the kitchen. Then, these
Speaker A
go ahead and find out ahead of time so that way you can get it done and done right. So, from the time of ordering to the time it actually came to the location itself, that was five months.
Speaker A
cabinets are going to go there as well. And you can make a decision because, you know, it's small. You can either put a little tiny couch here or you can put in, um, a little tiny kitchenette depending on what you need. Could it fit both?
Speaker A
something like this. It's is that a bathroom and the kitchen? Oh my god. Summer, you are very concerned.
Speaker A
Probably not. Now, a bunch of you have asked about permitting and what you're going to need for this type of structure in your backyard. This particular house is zoned mixed use. So, they didn't need any kind of special permitting for this
Speaker A
back to my office and I'll show you the website and you can choose your house for yourself.
Speaker A
particular structure. That is going to be different for you in your area, no matter where you live. Mixed use might be a completely different verbiage for your county or even your state. If you happen to live in a neighborhood and
Speaker A
Currently, it's on sale for 15,000. When I was looking at them, they were 17,000.
Speaker A
you're considering doing something like this as an ADU, check with your planning and zoning, of course, but also check with your HOA because your HOA can tell you to remove the structure. Once this thing got here, it took them over an
Speaker A
That one's $25,000. I love this one. It's a three-bedroom one. And it is 865 square ft. I mean, if I could have afforded that one, I would have gotten that one, but it's really nice. And it also comes with all the
Speaker A
hour to get it actually in the location. It's just, and it's super teeny tiny, small small.
Speaker A
You're not going to get all the furniture that's in these pictures, [laughter] but but we want to look at the materials on the one that we got. It also talks about the construction specifications. You have the wallboard, the frame. It explains everything that's
Speaker A
I know this video makes it seem like it's super easy that once you get this house, you unwrap it and then you just fold out the walls and the floor and it's easy peasy lemon squeezy. But you still need at least four able-bodied
Speaker A
had these like mobile homes that they had stuck on people's properties and they ended up being extremely dangerous as far as offging. And I know that's a concern for many people that watched my videos. So, I am going to have that
Speaker A
people to be able to pull down the walls and the floor. I suggest six if you can have six people do it. Those walls and floor are extremely heavy and if I didn't have the people that volunteered to help with this, there's no way I
Speaker A
And those who are asking about the roof, it's made of composite steel, but again, I'm going to have that inspected by a home inspector and maybe I'll have a roof inspector. My husband used to work on roofs, so I'll have him inspect it
Speaker A
could have done it by myself. Two people is not enough. The other thing I would warn you about because we didn't do this is look at the instructions beforehand.
Speaker A
woodboard. Sandwich panels are used in applications where a combination of high structural rigid rigidity rigidity.
Speaker A
We just got overzealous. There are videos online on YouTube on how to do that, but I'm just letting you know right now they do come with instructions. Follow those instructions.
Speaker A
Load. What load? We learned something new today. And fully plumbed for water and sewer connections. Well, speaking of water and sewer connections, let me show you what that looks like right now. Number one question I get, how do you put in the
Speaker A
Don't listen to the people around you that say, "Oh, no. We got this. We don't need instructions." Once the walls and the floor are down, that does not mean that the house is ready for you to live in. You still need to attach the
Speaker A
know I know nothing about plumbing. I don't know if this plumbing is the best plumbing in the whole entire world. I don't know how long it's going to last.
Speaker A
plumbing. You still have to do the electrical. And there's lots of other components that need to be done prior before it's an actual living space. It is not complete just yet. Many of you asked about the slab. This slab cost
Speaker A
improve it in the future. So, this house isn't going to me. It's actually going to a deserving family that happens to have a family member that needs housing desperately. They need a place of their own. I'm not going to be showing their
Speaker A
them, um, $2,500. It actually cost them more than that, but they got another slab on the other side for another project that they're working on. So, it was, I think, a total of $4,000, but this slab itself cost him $2,500.
Speaker A
to do. We still got to put all the trim on. We still have to get this house inspected. I want to make sure that this is the safest, most affordable housing option for people that are looking for some temporary relief to this housing
Speaker A
Just know that also with getting permitting for something like this, if you're going to need it, you're probably going to need permitting also for the slab that goes underneath it. Some places are going to require it. So, just
Speaker A
Was this the cool shot? because I think this was the coolest
Topics:prefab homeaffordable housingtiny househome customizationpermittingADUhousing solutionsDIY home setupKristina Smallhornmodular home
