Trendy Elder Housing Option
By Lindsey Getz

Prefabricated homes, as freestanding or attached structures, offer ideal living spaces for older adults to live near family members.

Prefabricated homes may have gotten a bad rap in the past, but they’ve come a long way since the days when low-quality materials were coupled with shoddy design and no originality. Today’s prefabricated homes—or simply “prefab homes”—are not only more aesthetically appealing, but are often completely customizable. And because they can be assembled quickly and are designed to accommodate the specific needs of homeowners and inhabitants, they can become ideal dwellings for older adults.

For those who aren’t familiar with prefab homes, they are homes that are manufactured off site and shipped to their final location where they can be quickly assembled in pieces. “There’s still a misconception out there that associates prefab with low end, but the market has come a long way since its inception,” says Vern Combrink, senior project manager at Topsider Homes, a North Carolina-based designer and maker of custom-designed prefab homes. “The market now goes from low end all the way to high end and you can pretty much find anything you’re looking for. With a company like ours, the dwelling is completely customizable and can be anything you want it to be.”

Emory R. Baldwin, president and founder of Seattle-based FabCab, a company that designs prefabricated accessory dwelling units (ADUs), says there are a multitude of reasons these types of residences provide great living arrangements for elders. He says accessory dwelling units are structures built on residential lots. Based on local regulations, they may be either attached or detached from the primary residence. Baldwin says his company’s prefab dwelling units are often built to accommodate an aging parent who comes to live with an adult child. “Due to their size, they fit well within the accessory dwelling range for most municipalities, meaning they can be put in the backyard,” he explains. “This allows older parents, perhaps who need care, to be close to their family.”

“Accessory units are a useful housing option for older persons,” agrees Jon Pynoos, MCP, PhD, UPS Foundation Professor of Gerontology, Policy, and Planning and codirector of the Fall Prevention Center of Excellence at the Andrus Gerontology Center at the University of Southern California. “They allow an older person to live near their relatives, usually in a separate structure on a piece of land in the backyard or sometimes in a converted space. They offer a degree of privacy in a place that is adjacent to a home allowing for both social connections and assistance if needed.”

Pros and Cons
There are many reasons a prefabricated home or ADU—prefab or not—creates an ideal living arrangement for older adults. Pynoos says his father-in-law lived in a backyard home that Pynoos personally converted for him. It included an accessible bathroom with a walk-in; curbless shower; a zero-step entrance; a small kitchen area; a living space; and a storage room. “In the case of our accessory unit, it was actually more accessible than our single-family home,” he says.

Baldwin says the open floor plan of many ADUs allows for better maneuverability for aging homeowners who may require the use of a walker or wheelchair. “Another feature beneficial to older adults is that our ADUs have stepless entries allowing anybody with mobility issues to easily come in and out,” he adds.

Topsider Homes also works closely with the needs of older adults. In fact, the company has a certified aging-in-place staff member to help ensure the design process includes elements that will become necessary as the homeowner ages. These include features such as wide hallways and doors, large bathrooms with walk-in tubs and handicap sizing, wheelchair-accessible kitchens, cabinets and pantry storage areas with pull-out and pull-down shelving, and even elevators in multilevel homes.

Another reason prefabricated homes, in particular, make great dwellings for older adults is because of the ease and speed with which they can be put together. Building an addition or separate residence from scratch can often be time consuming. But having a prefab home constructed can shorten that wait time. “If there’s a situation where a child needs their parent to come live with them right away, they can get one of these dwellings pretty quickly; it’s often just a matter of securing the permit,” says Baldwin. “Because these are predesigned and built, you skip through a lot of the time-consuming designing and planning processes.”

If the homeowner chooses to customize or modify the design, it would take a bit longer to complete the project. But if time is of the essence, the homeowner can simply pick out the home he or she wants and order it. Once the structure arrives, it is put together in parts. “Each piece goes together as a kit of parts, almost like a tinker toy set,” says Baldwin. “The frame typically goes up in a day, the walls and roof in another day, and then it’s just a matter of finishing up plumbing, electrical, and some interior work. Much of the average building process is bypassed, and the entire process is sped up. It makes it easier for the homeowner and greatly simplifies their life.”

These types of units can also be built as attachments to existing homes. And though this is more involved than a separate unit, it’s still much easier than building an addition from scratch. “This method of construction allows for less intrusiveness on your daily life,” says Combrink. “Prefab additions are the faster and more efficient way to add space to any house.”

Also on the plus side is the fact that homeowners know what they’re getting into before they commit to buying the structure, says Combrink. With an addition or separate unit being built from scratch, homeowners often aren’t sure what they’ll end up with.

While these dwellings may present the perfect solution for many older adults, as with any large purchase, it’s always important that homeowners research the company from which they’re buying the prefab home. Just as there are variations in the quality of work from residential contractors, there are some prefab companies that produce a lower quality product. In addition, depending on what customizations are desired and what company is being used, in some cases a prefab home may be just as expensive—or maybe more so—than going the traditional building route. However, for the time and hassle saved in the design and construction process, the cost may be worth it for some.

Homeowners also need to be aware of their local zoning laws. “Many zoning codes make it difficult to put such units on a residential lot, though an increasing number are adopting codes allowing them,” says Pynoos. “In Australia, where these residences have been known as ‘granny flats,’ many of the prefab units are originally leased, then brought out to the site and assembled. When the older person no longer needs it, it is returned and leased out again.”

If any of your clients are looking to go the prefab route, the bottom line is to encourage them to do their homework. It can be a great solution for older adult living as long as individuals end up with the company and product that’s best for them.

— Lindsey Getz is a freelance writer based in Royersford, Pa.