Capitalising on the housing boom in Guyana, Hits and Jams (HJ) Entertainment is seeing massive interest in its Pre-fab homes under the Steel Buildings Guyana Inc.
The houses made of galvanised steel could be constructed in just six weeks. HJ’s Director Kerwin Bollers told the News Room that he was surprised by the response of persons.
“Its been really amazing with the response that we’ve gotten. If you come by every single day you would see people coming to visit and view the home. Giving us their feedbacks.”
“We have sent a couple of the people off to the commercial banks with the relevant documents for them to secure their finance,” Bollers said.
He added that, “an estimate of about 26 persons have already approached the bank. Some people are looking to do their finance on their own as well. While some other persons are waiting for their land allocation.”
One of the houses, which can be built in six weeks, was open and placed on display at the HJ office in Lance Gibbs Street, Queenstown, Georgetown. This house holds two-bedrooms which is valued at G$8.5 million. It contains a bath, kitchen and dining area. They are between 600 to 850 square feet and termite resistant.
The houses can be of different dimensions that are most suitable for the purchaser. Among the ranges are the 480 square feet homes selling for G$6.9 million and the 850 square feet homes, a three bedroom house with one room being self-contained, valued at G$12.4 million.
He explained that the model on display took about three and a half weeks to construct. However, in the interest of unforeseen circumstances, the estimated time is six weeks.
“We give ourselves an additional two and a half weeks in the event of something out of our control, weather, shipping, and stuff like that. Really we can get you realistically into your home in three weeks but we give ourselves some additional time for any unforeseen circumstances,” he said.
Bollers is proud of this initiative. He highlighted that the structures are durable and a go-to option for persons who want to quickly own their homes.
“We know of the challenges in the market where we have heard of the horror stories of persons who started their work and then three months later the contractor comes back to them and says “the material has gone up and your house that was supposed to cost $9 million is now $14 million. Taking all of that into consideration we understood how important it is to bring this type of housing,” Bollers said.
The technical engineer behind the structure is Technical Engineer Nicholas Belle of Light Gauge Solutions Incorporated. He explained that the structure is made of galvanised steel and it is not combustible.
According to Belle, similar houses are being made in Barbados using the same methods which were utilised here. He divulged that before the houses could be built here, tests were done to ensure they can withstand the climatic conditions. Members of the team who worked on the house were Guyanese trained in Barbados.
Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal has praised HJ for supporting the housing sector with this initiative which will further develop the rapidly growing sector.
