Undeterred by the rejection from mortgage brokers, an Australian couple, Luis and Valentina, refused to let their dreams of owning a home for their family fade away.
The couple had diligently applied for multiple bank loans, hoping to secure financing for their first home, but were told to come back ‘when they had money’.
Unfazed by this setback, Luis and Valentina decided to embark on an innovative and cost-effective path by constructing their dream house using shipping containers, all within a budget of $300,000.
‘We are here today because several mortgage brokers did not believe in us when we first started looking at buying our first home,’ they said.
‘Our budget was not very large. We were saving for our deposit and had the idea of buying in the 200-300AUD range.
‘We were also planning on getting married and having our first kid so they basically told us to come back when we had more money.’
South Australian couple Valentina (left) and Luis (right) are building their dream home out of shipping containers after mortgage brokers rejected their request for a loan
In 2020, Luis and Valentina bought a 1,000sqm block of land located approximately 50minute drive north of Adelaide’s CBD.
With the prospect of building their home from scratch, Luis and Valentina realised that this was their chance to bring their dream home to life.
‘We came across this block at a really good price and we went for it,’ they wrote.
The couple initially approached builders with the idea to build their home out of shipping containers.
To their dismay, rejections and ghosting became an all-too-common experience.
‘Oh boy! Rejections and ghosting left, right and centre. If this was going to happen the only way was if we were going to make it happen and we decided to build it ourselves.’
Luis and Valentina then enlisted the expertise of an architect to assist in designing their ambitious two-story home – made completely out of shipping containers.
The home sits on a 1,000sqm block of land, located about a 50 minute drive north of Adelaide’s CBD, and is made up of eight shipping containers
The family-of-four live on a tiny home on the property while they finish building the container home, which is estimated to cost between $250,000 and $300,000
After ensuring the home’s design was thoroughly reviewed and certified by a structural engineer, Luis and Valentina received council approval for their plans in 2021. The following year marked the beginning of their ambitious project, as construction work commenced on their dream ‘container’ home.
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The family of four currently reside in a cozy tiny home located on the same property. Their temporary living arrangement allows them to remain close to their project while actively building their dream home.
Valentina, who is a wedding photographer, said she and her husband, who is a certified builder, do ‘a lot of the work’ themselves.
The pair explained a construction loan allowed them to bring their dream to life without being frugal.
‘A lot of the big expenses have been incurred already and we still have to make the rest of the budget work for the remaining works,’ the video said.
‘We are doing a lot of the work ourselves and we have have been fortunate to have so many people willing to help.’
She added a person does not have to be ‘rich’ to build a container home and urged others to pursue the non-traditional building process.
‘Let the take on this be: You can also do it. You don’t need to be rich. You just have to want it really badly,’ she wrote.
‘You don’t have to be rich to build a container home. It might not be a straightforward process and you still probably get knocked down one too many times but as long as you have a clear view of your end goal, IT WILL HAPPEN.’
Valentina wrote in a comment the build is estimated to cost between $250,000 and $300,000 once it is completed.
Container homes in Australia are treated in the same manner as any build and must comply with the same regulations that govern a traditionally built home.
In South Australia builders must follow the Building Code of Australia and the 2008 South Australian Development Regulations.
Shipping containers in the state must be used for residential use only and meet the requirements of a Class 1a Building in the National Construction Code (NCC).
Container homes in Australia are treated in the same manner as any build and must comply with the same regulations that govern a traditionally built home (stock image)
Based on an average Australian home in 2020, nine 40ft high cube containers would be used for a build – with the cost of a 40ft container ranging from $8,000 to $13,800 depending on availability, age and quality of the container.
Container homes can cost as little as $1,200 per square metre – roughly a 40 per cent drop in construction costs compared to a traditional build.
Total costs can range anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000 – excluding modifications such as insulation, electrical, windows and doors – with luxury container homes costing up to $400,000.
You can follow the couple’s endeavours on Instagram and TikTok.
