A Long Beach homeowner who wanted an accessory dwelling unit in her backyard decided to skip traditional construction altogether, paying about $65,000 for a factory-built home that arrives folded and opens up on site. Leslie Davis says she chose the Boxabl Casita specifically to avoid the headaches and high costs that typically come with building from scratch, but the process still came with its own set of complications once the unit landed on her property.
A Factory-Built Studio That Unfolds On Site
As reported by KTLA, Davis now uses her roughly 360-square-foot Casita as both a studio and an office. The unit comes with appliances, air conditioning and a fully equipped kitchen with substantial storage, according to the same report, and Davis told KTLA the home included a washer and dryer as well. The Casita Studio is a 361-square-foot model.
Davis paid about $65,000 for the home itself, a price that excluded site preparation and city requirements, per KTLA’s reporting. Boxabl advertises a Casita starting price of $60,000, with a turnkey price of about $150,000 once installation and site work are included — a gap that lines up with outside warnings that the advertised factory price typically excludes transportation, foundations, utility hookups, permits, engineering, inspections, site preparation and landscaping, according to offsitebuilder.com.
Permitting, Not Construction, Was The Hard Part
Davis told KTLA that permitting was the biggest challenge of the entire project, and that city requirements called for different arrangements and digging that made the approval process a lengthy one. She still described the finished home as quiet, comfortable and easier than building from scratch, though she criticized the standard flooring and countertops for not being as high-end as she wanted, the station reported.
Long Beach’s own guidance backs up what Davis experienced. A new detached ADU may use factory-built housing approved, listed and labeled by California HCD, or manufactured housing approved, listed and labeled by HUD, but it still must comply with zoning setbacks, height limits, building-code fire-separation distances and other site-specific requirements, according to the city’s ADU FAQ. The city also directs applicants to review its ADU planning information before applying for a building permit, noting that its materials are based on state ADU law. Long Beach separately runs a Pre-Approved Accessory Dwelling Unit Program, which the city says can help owners understand construction costs and design planning, with some plans and permit applications eligible for over-the-counter approval.
Inside Boxabl’s Approach To Factory-Built Housing
Boxabl builds complete homes inside a factory, folds them, and then delivers them to properties, using standardized building modules the company says can be combined into different kinds of homes and buildings. KTLA’s Rich Demuro, who authored the report, had visited Boxabl’s factory outside Las Vegas five years before publication, in 2021. Davis recommended that prospective buyers tour that Las Vegas factory themselves before committing to a home…