Latest Trend to Protect Unfinished Homes: Shrink Wrap

• July 7th 2009

by Will Smith

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You may have had your luggage shrink wrapped at the airport to protect it from getting beat up en route to your destination. Well, in the newest wrinkle to the nation’s housing crisis, developers are applying the same concept to real estate.

The Real Deal reports that wrapping company Fast Wrap is seeing a growing business in wrapping stalled, under-construction houses and condo projects. Doing so protects the property from the elements, thieves and vandals, critters, and other undesirables.

“What happens when plywood or any building material is exposed to the elements, and not finished, either has paint on it or a rock finish or stucco finish, it is subject to deterioration,” Fast Wrap’s Chris McMillan told The Real Deal. “Any deterioration we can prevent allows construction to start as close as possible to where it ended, versus where it would have to be reinstalled.”

The company foresees most of its home-wrapping business coming from unfinished new homes rather than abandoned, foreclosed, or otherwise distressed properties. Because such properties are fully constructed and finished, they are (usually) in good enough shape to withstand the elements.

Wrapping large assets is not so novel. The company typically wraps anything from lawn furniture to vehicles and heavy equipment to bales of hay and straw.

But unfinished homes is new. The company has only wrapped three homes recently, but there is clearly a trend taking shape: Fast Wrap is working on a 240-home wrapping deal in the Northeast.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/latest_trend_to_protect_unfinished_homes_shrink_wrap/1106.