Benefits of Modular Accommodation.

You may not be aware of it yet, but there are numerous benefits to having a modular accommodation unit or two on your farm.

To help see the bigger picture a little clearer, let’s take a look at just a few of the advantages that you could benefit from if you decided to invest some of your funds into one or more of these units.

Before we go into these, understand that a modular unit is movable. That’s one of the major differences between a modular unit and a building that’s built on your property from scratch.

While a modular unit can be regarded as a permanent structure once it’s positioned on your land, it doesn’t have to stay in the position where it was originally put, unlike a traditionally constructed building.

This means that there’s no reason why a modular unit can’t be loaded onto a truck and moved to a different location. In fact, these units are built extra strong to ensure that they can handle the rigours of transport which includes being moved from one spot to another.

The construction of modular accommodation units has come a long way in recent decades. Modern units are built strong, offer an extremely comfortable environment and are certainly larger and more well-equipped when compared to other transportables such as dongas, cabins or even portable school buildings.

This makes them a very viable option for long-term accommodation almost anywhere but especially on rural properties.

So what can you actually do with a modular accommodation unit?

Provide on-site accommodation for your workers.

Of course the most obvious use of a modular accommodation unit is to provide somewhere for your workers to live. This is one of the reasons that these units are surging in popularity right around farming communities in this country.

No doubt you’d be aware that many farm owners struggle to find and hold onto dedicated workers. One of the major reasons is the lack of suitable accommodation that’s close enough to the farm to not turn the daily commute into a chore, kill productivity and ratchet up the WH&S risks.

And if you employ seasonal workers through the PALM scheme, for instance, one of the requirements is that you need to provide suitable accommodation for the workers who are coming from overseas.

In this case it makes perfect sense that modular accommodation units are the ideal solution. They can easily be transported to your property and ready for occupation with very little site work or preparation.

But while this is one of the most common benefits associated with modular units, it’s far from the only possible use for them.

A good solution for future expansion.

If down the track, you want to buy some additional land to increase the size of your farm, guess what?

You can actually move your accommodation units from their current location to a more suitable spot on the new land that you’ve just bought.

This means that the unit’s current location is not set in stone. In fact you don’t have to think too hard initially as to where would be the best place to locate it.

All you really have to think about is where would be an ideal spot for now and then move it later on if you wish.

Another thing that works really well with this scenario is this. Say, you were able to pick up some cheap land adjacent to your property because it’s now been reclassified as a flood zone.

While you might think that this land would only be suitable for grazing when it’s relatively dry, there’s another possibility.

You see modular accommodation units can actually be raised off the ground. And this can be done fairly easily. So you would have the option of moving the unit to the new land and raising it up so that the floor is above the flood level.

And with how our climate is constantly changing and flood events becoming more prevalent, this might not be such a bad idea.

Give your friends and family somewhere to stay during the holidays.

If you often have family and friends come to stay on the farm during major holidays such as Easter and Christmas, a modular unit can offer the perfect accommodation for them.

This way they get their own space to settle into and you don’t have to turn your home into a guest house.

Venture into Agritourism for some side income.

In many agricultural and horticultural enterprises, there are going to be down times when production has slowed and so has the income.

How would you like the option of turning your down times into additional income? This can easily be achieved by setting up an Agritourism enterprise where guests can come and stay on your property as they’re touring around this great country of ours.

This is also the perfect solution if you want to cut back on your farming operations a little but want to continue living on the farm because you couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. And we don’t blame you!

Not only can Agritourism allow you to stay on the farm, but it can easily replace the income that you’ve lost by cutting back on your normal farm production.

And all you need to do is invest in a few modular accommodation units and place them in easy-to-access spots on your farm that are no longer used for production. 

If this is something that interests you, you can get more information about Agritourism on the Planning NSW website.

A ready-made home for when you retire.

While you might not be thinking about retirement right now, there will come a time when you’ll want to hand over the reins and live a quieter life.

And with a modular accommodation unit, you can have a ready-made retirement home at your disposal to take anywhere you want.

Maybe you want to stay on the farm but the main house is just getting too large for you to manage. Why not let your ‘kids’ who are now running the farm, move into it on their own?

You can then find a nice spot away from all the workings and day-to-day hustle and bustle and have the modular unit moved there for you to enjoy some much-deserved peace and quiet.

Or perhaps you’ve got your eye on a lovely small parcel of land near the coast that would make the perfect location to spend the latter years of your life. Guess what? You can buy that little peace of paradise and then have your modular unit transported onto it.

After all, you own the unit and, because it’s moveable, you can do whatever you want with it. Of course you’ll have to check with the council regulations to make sure this is possible but many councils are now looking at relaxing some of the regulations around minimum sizes of permanent dwellings to assist landowners.

A modular unit is an asset that you can sell.

In a similar vein, if the time comes to sell your farm so that you can retire and live a simpler life, your modular unit is an asset that you can sell to another property owner.

You might have already found your perfect retirement home and don’t really need the modular unit, so why not consider selling it to another interested property owner and use the proceeds to help fund your retirement?

As the unit is easily transported, this is a possibility that you might want to consider down the track.

Modular is the perfect solution when you need to increase your workforce.

As your farming operations grow, you might need to increase your workforce to cope with the extra workload. And for this you’re going to need additional accommodation.

But where are you going to put those additional units if you already have one in place?

The solution to this is that you can easily move your existing unit to make room for some additional ones. And this is easier than you might think.

Why?

Because very little site work needs to be done before the units are placed on your property. Remember that modular units are completely built from the floor up, so all you need is a relatively flat piece of land that’s large enough for the number of units you want to accommodate.

Summing up.

We’ve given you 7 different benefits and uses for modular accommodation units that you might not have considered. Has this got your imagination working? You could probably think of a couple of ideas yourself that we haven’t even mentioned.

Of course all of these ideas are subject to approval from whatever local council you’re dealing with. So make sure you do your homework on what’s allowed and what’s not or what might require further investigation or approval from your local council.

It’s important to remember that a modular accommodation unit is an asset, just like that new piece of machinery that you’ve purchased. And, like that new harvester, its location is not set in stone. It can be moved around to suit your needs or even sold when you don’t need it any more. 

It’s an asset that really delivers!