Is it safe to live in a container home are they a good investment and is it legal?

Is it safe to live in a container home? Is it legal to do so? And is it considered to be a good investment? These are the questions that we are going to focus on today when talking about living in a container home.

But first, what is a container home? And why are they becoming increasingly popular throughout the world?

What is a container home?

A container home as the name suggests, is made from a container. But not just any container, but one used for shipping.

To give you a rough estimate, there are up to 170 million shipping containers in the world in circulation at the moment. That’s a lot of shipping containers! But what is most exciting about them is the fact that they can be purposed into wonderfully comfortable living spaces.

And it’s not just people who like living in shipping containers!

In fact, it is estimated that thousands of shipping containers are lost at sea every single year due to harsh and stormy weather conditions.

Of course, this is a problem as it’s not just the shipping container that goes overboard, but everything in it. Never mind the loss of money, that’s what insurance is for. It is the implication to our environment that matters. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that much of what is being lost at sea in those containers should not be in the ocean.

In any case, these containers sink to the bottom of the ocean and slowly but surely, wildlife starts moving in. Check out this video of an ecological assessment around a sunken shipping container if you’d like to learn more!

Why are shipping container homes popular?

The first official record of any shipping container home was back in November of 1987. This was owned by a man named Phillip Clark who filed a patent for the “method for converting one or more steel shipping containers into a habitable building”, which was approved 2 years later. That said, he wasn’t necessarily the first person to ever come up with the idea, though he was certainly the first to be listed on official records.

Since then, more and more people have been moving into shipping container homes. In fact, today, it is becoming increasingly popular, with awesome transformation videos doing the rounds on Social Media and getting people excited by the prospect of living in one themselves.

But what is with the popularity? Why would some people favour a couple of old shipping containers clapped together as opposed to a traditional home?

There are many reasons!

  • Affordability (it is much cheaper to buy a shipping container home over a traditional brick and mortar home)
  • Predictable costs (typically a fixed and pre-agreed price from manufacturer)
  • Eco-friendly (many people are more and more interesting in living a sustainable lifestyle)
  • Minimalism (to many people, having less is more and allows them the freedom to shed their otherwise wasteful materialism)
  • Low-maintenance (their compact size make them a breeze to clean)

These are just a handful of the benefits that come with living in a container home, so it’s no surprise why so many people are making the move!

Is it safe to live in a container home?

Absolutely. The only real safety risk involved would be moving into a shipping container that had previously been used to house harsh or poisonous chemicals. In such a case it would be deemed unsafe so we recommend that you buy only brand-new containers, or used containers with a safe history.

Other than that, a shipping container home being unsafe is a misconception. They’re made of steel after all! Which…many people consider to be a heat-trap, which is only half true. Sure, an empty and unfurnished shipping container will get excruciatingly hot…but that’s because they haven’t been transformed into a home yet. In fact, with proper professional insulation (which is a must) your container home will indeed be a much more comfortable and energy efficient housing solution.

 

Is living in a shipping container legal?

Yes! Absolutely. Living in a shipping container in Thailand is perfectly legal. That said, there is a certain amount of red-tape that one should be aware of, especially if you are an expat wanting to relocate to Thailand permanently.

You will need to get yourself the correct visa, whether that be a Non-Immigrant B visa, a retirement visa, or indeed residency. Residency is of course, difficult to obtain, but there is plenty of information online guiding you on how to set yourself up as a legal resident in Thailand, and living in a container is indeed on the cards.

Are container homes a good investment?

Shipping containers are an excellent investment, as they are incredibly cheap to transform into homes. These homes can only grow in value as they have the flexibility to be modified, moved around, and expanded as necessary.

In addition to that, investing in a container home will allow you to save an awful lot on your bills. You won’t need to pay a mortgage on something that you own outright.

 

Conclusion

Is it safe to live in a container home? Is it legal? A good investment?

The answer is yes, yes, and yes! Living in a container home might just be one of the smartest moves you could make today when looking for permanent housing solutions. Particularly if you are happy with a smaller, cleaner space!

Would you like to know more? There are plenty of reputable companies out there making shipping container homes a possibility, such SBT Container Knockdown. Check them out and make that dream of living a minimalistic (but by no means meaningless) life in a container home of your own!