“After careful consideration, I think I will choose the modern home No. 146. The Saratoga has a beautiful large terrace and the redwood siding should last for many decades.”

It was perhaps the thought of thousands of families who bought their home in the Homes from Sears Roebuck catalog in the mail – delivered a phenomenon of the early 20th Century kit homes in the car with the families through the stacked America. Read Between 1908 and 1940, approximately 100,000 families in the catalog architecture, check out short form of house styles and analyze floor plans. Then, depending on your budget and needs family, put a stamp on an envelope and sent for a complete kit to build their house from foundation to roof.

Sometimes the buyer the task of building the house, while others have engaged local contractors. Thousands of these houses still stand, their owners can not be on their bungalow, cottage, farm or other old house assembled from a kit. The cost? A home kit can be purchased for under, and up to about 000, 700, depending on design and square footage. Today, many of these houses sell for half a million dollars or more.

While Sears Roebuck Company was the most successful retailer of home kits that he was not alone. A major competitor has been brought into the market, not surprisingly, Montgomery Ward. But it was Sears, which covers the majority of purchases, and left a lasting mark on the property across America. Some analysts say it was the company attention to detail and quality it held before its competitors. In 1918, the promised sale of a piece of Sears’ the customer for a lifetime of every house we sell is satisfied an advertisement for Sears Roebuck and Company is permanent “.

Part of this satisfaction came with the effective Sears kits were compiled and presented. In the early 1900s, carpenters and builders the advantage of power tools today. Most people were not trained in reading blueprints or experience in construction. Sears pre-cut all the wood for houses and follow the instructions. Since most buyers were closely involved in the construction of their home strip, there was a special pride in the hand on the property.

After the Depression, Sears a more comprehensive offering for clients such as financing. Until then, the company was deeply in sawmills and other industries that support their risk housing. In 1940, the burden of production and financing – and the impact of the Second World War – the last book of modern houses was seen. Times have changed and Sear Roebuck changed with them. The company has never been an inventory of houses so many people, the houses in the first decades of the 20th Century may not be aware of your own, carried out their modest home is sold, at home mail order.


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