Accessory dwelling units arrive in New Mexico

Pop-up homes could soon be springing up in New Mexico.

BOXABL, which builds small, modular homes, has brought its foldable, modular home designs to the state. The homes are on display at a home show in Albuquerque this weekend.

“It is an ADU, accessible dwelling unit,” said Jose Tinoco, project manager of the casita project. “It comes folded and it unfolds into a livable casita. Installation takes a day or less and it’s ready to go. It comes with all the appliances. Really the only thing that it doesn’t come with is a bed. Other than that, you can sleep on the floor if you want. It has room for a bed and a couch and a TV. It has a full kitchen and a full bathroom .”

Amenities include HVAC connections, a microwave, a washer/dryer combo and kitchen cabinets.

The modular homes, which start at $95,000, are a possible solution to the growing need for affordable, sustainable and efficient housing.

“As investors, we can afford and keep the rents lower, versus if we’re trying to build one of these from the ground up, it’s going to cost us a lot more, therefore, raising the rent,” said Michael Sanchez, a local real estate investor. “And something like this we can keep at that lower price point.”

Sanchez is looking to buy multiple BOXABL modular homes.

“We’ve been looking for a cost-effective, fast, quick solution, so we could start bringing more housing to the market,” Sanchez said. “And something like this, that we can get, and expedite all the permitting process and everything because this is already built and shows up on our site, and we’re just doing the side work and getting it there. We feel like we could bring a lot more to Albuquerque quicker, at a much faster pace.”

The modular homes hook up to the sewer lines, water lines and electrical lines of an existing home, which can increase the property’s value and appeal.

“We have multiple existing properties, and some of them are multifamily with a lot of space that we can drop these pretty quickly,” Sanchez said. “We’re looking at adding them throughout the city. We’re not doing a tiny homes village on ours, but we’re adding them to all the properties we have existing already. ... We’re able to fix up some not-so-nice properties because we know that we could bring these in and add some value to those as well. So, we could bring more doors to each property that we have.”

BOXABL modular homes can be customized to suit a buyer’s preferences, including adding an outside deck or patio area, or changing the exterior to resemble a cabin.

“It’s very pretty customizable,” Tinoco said. “You can paint it whatever color you want. You could put stucco onto it. You can add a picture. It comes with a flat roof, but you can add a pitched roof. You can add whatever you want to the outside.”

Modular homes also can be combined to create a larger space.

“We are general contractors ourselves, so we have the experience to do every single thing,” Tinoco said. “We want to make the process as easy as possible for people. ... Another big advantage is that we won’t be on people’s yards for a whole year with heavy equipment or anything like that. We just come one day, put in the foundation, and then come the next day and drop the thing. And then we are done.”

BOXABL and ECOMOD VENTURES are hosting a viewing of a casita at the Albuquerque Home Show being held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at Expo New Mexico. Admission is free and parking is $10.