FlexHousing™ Brings Adaptable Housing Options to Canada

Rachel Loizos in Real Estate Trends

A recent article in DreamHomes & Condominiums magazine highlighted one of the most interesting trends in real estate that I have seen in awhile.   The trend is in what are called Flex-Homes, which as explained on the CMHC site, comprises a concept in housing that incorporates, at the design and construction stage, the ability to make future changes easily and with minimum expense.  The intention of FlexHousing™ is to allow homeowners to occupy a dwelling for longer periods of time while adapting to changing circumstances and meeting a wider range of needs. Similar concepts are referred to as Universal Housing in the United States and Australia and Lifetime Homes in the United Kingdom.

The CMHC site also goes on to list the myriad of ways that this style of housing is beneficial for everyone because of the ability of the home to grow with you.

Specifically, these homes are a solution to:

Reducing Child-Care Costs
Creating a livable space for an aging parent to join the family and perhaps take care of a pre-school child is less expensive than traditional day care costs.

Reducing the Frequency of Moves
The costs of real estate agent fees, legal fees, building inspector fees, moving costs and redecorating costs can run an average of $20,000.00 per move.

Reducing the Cost of Office Space
A home based office saves on office rent, travel costs back and forth to the office and parking expenses. When you add in the value of the time consumed in the daily commute, a home based office has a variety of advantages.

Reducing Renovation Costs
By incorporating a number of features in advance, the costs of future renovations are reduced. For example, the provision of suitable doors and windows makes the creation of two bedrooms from one significantly less expensive.

This concept has a very European feel to me – with its focus on accessibility and relevance in design features. Due to the listed benefits, it stands to reason that this style of housing will become more popular in new developments. One of the best reasons cited for FlexHousing™ is the ability of the home to accommodate the needs of people with reduced mobility. Having said that , I am uncertain how having a Flex-Home (as indicated) would allow me to work from home, no matter what the advantages, or convince grandparents to move in with their children to mind the grandkids, but I suppose the devil is in the details – and it is possible – which is the important thing. My warm and fuzzy side likes it but my cynical side would like to see for myself before I can say it is the next best thing.

Rachel Loizos is an associate lawyer at Sotos LLP in Toronto. She practices in the area of real estate law.
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Comments

[Vancouver real estate]

I think this is a very prospective segment. I am dealing with Vancouver condos and I have seen such a project recently. Problem was that promo of the project was not so great. Developer was promoting mainly location which I think was not the main advantage of the project and he should be more focused on promoting flexibility. Following my experiences I can just confirm that people would really appreciate those flexhouses. Real estate is an investment of your life and you would really prefer to stay in your new condo as long as it is possible.