Yes, they were huge in the depression. I live in one my parents bought and built in the 30's for $1400. One large room, 2 bedrooms 12x12, kitchen 9x12, bathroom 7x7, mudroom 7x7. Just wood. They used an early lay-away plan and it arrived as lengths of labelled wood and a number of single pane swing to open windows. Totally un finished, no wires/plaster/lathes etc, they wired/plumbed it but did not plaster it as we used it as a summer cottage They left to Dad and he got married and he and wife added insulation and dry wall and a sleeping loft. 3 kids later and after being widowed, I live here alone and see kids/brother via the internet. It is still a small house, but grandfathered taxes are only $560 a year.
I now 84, taxes will leap after I pass...
I doubt such kits are viable now, as this was built over several years with grandparents in tents and codes/inspectors - what are those? The current codes and frequent inspection milestones as the build progresses are less suited to kit homes. Might be viable for a handy person with hired in trades for trade tasks.
Home building is ripe for a disruption - huge inertia in the code/inspect system. Law here states you must have a window in every room to ventilate the fire place?? I can see many people happy in a house with a home office, TV room etc with no window. Hang a 48" 4K display on the wall and dial up an IP view of any where at all, or watch TV?
I had a co-worker who built a house in the same sort of way while living with his father nearby. I did ask about inspections and he said that out in rural Texas, they just don't do that, and they also pay very little in property tax.
Generally speaking you want at least one window per room as a means of escape in the event of a fire in case the door is blocked, but the natural light might also be important to people.
It’s still the case that in much of the country (rural) the inspections are more concerned with “will your house kill the electrical/water/sewer/neighbor” than with your safety-its assumed you know what you’re doing.
Even in the big cities inspections are often cursory if it seems obvious to the inspector that the people involved know what they’re doing.
And this is why you should hire a good home inspection service that knows how to inspect construction and when; they will be more thorough.
