I have had the privilege of playing basketball every Saturday morning for the past ten years with a group of gentlemen who simply love the game.
We are all in our mid-30s to late-40s, from a variety of backgrounds, representing every sector of our economy. Most of us have at least ten years of professional experience in our respective fields. At the end of each basketball day, we sit together for hours and talk about various social issues. Since I am the only architect in the group, I am constantly asked the following questions: “Who is buying these homes at these prices? Are prices going down? How will I ever be able to buy a home at these prices?” When asked about the cost of buying a home going down, my answer is always a resounding “no.” The general concern is, “How am I going to own a home?”
These are the thoughts I share with my friends:
Affordable housing depends on income, and most Jamaicans do not meet these requirements.
To increase homeownership, people need to build more homes themselves to reduce costs, and that requires land that is now unaffordable for most.
However, all is not lost and we can move positively towards home ownership if we decide to change our approach. The methods to enable more affordable housing at a macro level are twofold: government incentives and a community approach to solving the problem.
GOVERNMENT
Except for bricks, marl, cement, sand and stone, all other components of a house are imported against the rising US dollar. Local production of fixtures, appliances and equipment for construction is almost nonexistent. As the US dollar rises, so do our construction costs. Given the current energy costs of running factories and the associated lower cost production, it is generally not feasible to produce these items locally. The only thing the government can do is increase the amount individuals can borrow while reducing mortgage rates. If we solve our energy problems, we can build local industries that produce finishes and building systems that can reduce construction costs locally and that can be exported to other regions and countries.
JOINT APPROACH
A half-acre plot in the hills of St. Andrew may not be affordable for one person, but it is much easier to have with five people. Eliminate the mistrust, hire a lawyer to draw up the contract and title terms, and set up a company to buy the land. Draft clauses that will help you resolve future difficulties in case someone defaults on their obligations or doesn’t keep their part of the agreement, and move on.
On the half-acre plot, with a density of 30 habitable rooms per acre, you can build five three-bedroom townhouses that can accommodate five families. The townhouse approach enables the cost-saving benefits of sharing boundary walls and utility infrastructure. The same infrastructure for one house is now shared by five houses. The value of the townhouse will double at the end of this construction, and when you decide to sell, you will have gained significantly in value and are now closer to your dream home. Your first house may not be your only house. Change your mindset. Imagine you and four friends doing this five times.
REDUCE YOUR FOOTPRINT
Forget the idea of a dream home. Build yourself a home! Most people have fixed dreams of the mansion they will own that are far from the possibilities of their income. They waste 30 years renting houses and buying expensive cars in the hope that they will soon amass a large sum that will allow them to live in the right neighborhood with the picket fence. This is most likely not going to happen. Most people build much more than they need to live, not considering that their needs will change as they grow older in their homes. Think about your basic needs to live versus what you dreamed of. The rule is simple: the bigger the house, the more it will cost. Design an open floor plan for maximum light and ventilation and reduce the number of interior walls. Keep it simple.
Focus on the housing (case)
A house basically offers its resident two things: it protects you from the elements of nature and it provides security for you and your valuables. These two things are defined by the erection of a lockable perimeter fence, not by interior walls or siding. Once you have completed your perimeter fence, you can move into that place, provided you have working electrics, a bathroom and a kitchen sink. The elaborate plastering, fixtures and tile trim can be done over time. Temporary partitions can be used to define interior spaces. Divide the house into sections, assign a budget to each section and build out of pocket. Move in!
Design methodology
The National Housing Trust (NHT) has created a legal framework called the Cluster Housing Policy that allows people to buy plots of land and build homes together. You can take one of three approaches to reduce your building costs: reduce the floor plan (size), use an efficient building system, or build in phases.
These problems can be solved with a good design that suits the context in which you will be building. Most homeowners make the first irreparable mistake when they hire untrained people to design their home in order to save money. The design approach is what makes the difference between success and failure, so it is important to hire an architect to design and oversee the process.
The effectiveness of both design approaches is limited by three factors: time, labor, or materials. To reduce your construction costs, you must reduce your spending on one of these three factors. If you can reduce costs on all three, you win.
It all starts with good design.
Damian Edmond is an architect and educator. He was formerly Program Director of the Caribbean School of Architecture and is currently Managing Director of Form Architects Limited. Send feedback to [email protected]
