This Is the Cheapest Prefabricated Home on Amazon, and It Does Things for Just $3,400

Folks, $3,400 (€3,100 at current exchange rates) is all you'll dish out on the folding container home you see in the images. Sure, this doesn't include shipping, but you get the idea. Why bring this to light, aside from that price tag? Simply because it can stand as a mobile living solution in an array of settings, and best of all, once you've grown tired of the lakeside you've been chilling at for the past couple of weeks, unload your furniture, pack it up on some trailer, and off you go.

To understand a bit of what's going on, we need to take a closer look at the crew behind this habitat. That would be none other than China-based PuZhong House, a team of architects, engineers, and financial operators bent on offering quick, affordable, and easy-to-use deploy habitats. Best of all, they have countless prefabricated home styles to match customer needs and wants, even one unit dubbed the "Apple Style Office Cabin," but that's a story for another day.

Now, the Folding Container House, as it's been dubbed, is a piece of folding metal that weighs around 1,500 kg (3,306 lbs). So, to load it onto a trailer or anything like that, you'll need the help of a crane or the campground locals, and I mean all able adults. Another way to approach the problem of mobility with this bugger is by crafting a special chassis just for it. Weld it on, ensure its road legal, and off you go; your very own tiny home on wheels, and one that "does things." Sure, it's going to cost a bit extra, but it can be done.

But, to really understand what you can do with one of these, let's take a little trip through our imagination. As I mentioned, you can have one of these buggers delivered right to your door and with a trailer built around it, off you go. Another way to go about things is by setting up a predestined space where to live out your days.

To do so, you'll need to buy some land, grab the proper building permits, and await your package. Once you've waited two to three weeks, assuming there are no delays, you'll receive that 1,500 kg package reduced to just inches tall. Once it's aligned with the foundation, push the roof of this bugger into place, lock the walls into place, and voila. The rest is in your hands, and there are some things you'll need to do before calling this box your home.

First, you'll be required to add a few other panels to the structure, including the rear and front caps, the latter also having space designated for a door. Don't worry; it's all in place in the box. After this stage, most folks would add some interior wall panels, but the Container House has smoothed panels already in place. Hang up your paintings, bring in a galley block, a few beds, portable toilet, and you're set for one wicked summer vacation.

If you're the sort of person that has no limit on how they can spend, why not look into adding some solar panels, batteries, inverters, and LEDs and really take things to the next level? Maybe some waterworks. PuZhong even advertises these babies as being stackable, so creating a "villa" is a very real possibility. You may need to incorporate some struts for added strength.

Now, there's more to this story than meets the eye. PuZhong House also markets this structure as a disaster relief habitat, mainly because of its quick deployment and low cost. Another use they advertise is that of using the Container House as a habitat for scenic routes or tourist attractions. Come to think of it; those are pretty solid ideas.

Think about it. You take a trip out of town one weekend, up to some mountains or beach, and by nightfall, you're wondering if it's going to be the good old back seat again or if there are other options in the area. With a quick search on Google, you find an Airbnb in the area overlooking the beach. Heck, it was even brought on-site two days ago, meaning you stand a chance of being the first ones in.

Finally, I want to point out another aspect of these prefabricated habitats; they can be a solid business model. I'm talking about becoming the Airbnb establishment itself, with a few of these units scattered all over your local state or country, in high-interest areas, of course. Considering these babies will only run you $3,400 without shipping fees and taxes, with a few thousand more, you stand a chance of raking in some decent cash.

I can only imagine a couple of these homes scattered around some fishing spots, maybe one or two at the edge of some woodlands, swamps, or that plot of land you plan on retiring on. If you've thrown it onto a trailer, all the better.