About.
Our Story
Moncasa evolved from a meeting of several construction veterans on a new Northern NSW residential estate. The marketing manager of the estate was having difficulty finding builders as most of the blocks were steep. Traditional builders were shunning the estate because of expensive excavation, structural and OHS issues involved.
The marketing manager had learnt that modular homes offered a far quicker and more cost effective solution to the problem. The modules were simply craned in and assembled like a Lego set. The end result is an immensely strong building that visually was absolutely identical to a high quality home constructed on site.
The problem was that that most existing modular home manufacturers used wooden frames. Wooden frames are incapable of bearing the structural loads that affect multistorey buildings on steep sites.
Several of the attendees at the meeting, including Dr Bruce Dwyer and Dan Alroy, recognised the opportunity to start a company that specialised in high quality steel framed modular homes. Moncasa was born. The focus of the company has temporarily moved away from building on steep slopes due to the long winded DA processes in NSW. Moncasa initially focused on tiny homes that did not require a DA. The company tested it construction modular construction methods by completing what is probably the most expensive and exotic steel framed tiny home yet constructed in Australia.
However in spite of its much publicised popularity, the Australian tiny home market is actually quite small. The difficulty in obtaining purchase finance may partly explain this phenomenon. Those that need tiny homes most can least afford them.
Dr Dwyer’s research showed that the Queensland granny flat market was set to boom after the State Government relaxed the laws on renting backyard granny flats. It became clear that an attractive granny flat could pay for itself. Negative gearing is now possible in many cases.
Presently Granny flat manufacturers range from cheap crude container conversions (Councils hate them and they will not be able to comply with the new NCC 2023) to site built homes. Some of the latter are the equivalent of a small economy class house and can take a very long time to build.
Many marvel at the low prices quoted for some granny flats, only to learn deep in the fine print of the website that the prices are for Chinese DIY flatpacks. In many cases, the final price a purchaser is likely pay is concealed behind the murky phrase “priced from only”. Almost every desirable feature is a costly optional extra. We believe that these are deceptive marketing practices.
The Moncasa approach
We won’t bore you with a tirade of philosophical virtue signalling, except to simply state:
- We are paranoid about building feature filled homes that will last for centuries.
- We are paranoid about reducing electricity consumption.
- We are paranoid about noxious and potentially carcinogenic emissions from cheap building materials.
- We are paranoid about meeting delivery schedules.
Management Team
Dr Bruce Dwyer – Managing Director
Our founder has spent much of his life innovating designs for difficult to build on locations. A few years ago and his wife Judi built an exotic home on a flood prone billabong at Coffs Harbour! Bruce built the heavy-duty concrete and steel foundations himself.
In recent times Bruce (He has a PHD in finance from Bond University) has undertaken extensive research on construction costs for residential estates developed on steep or marshy terrain. He concluded that ecologically and environmentally friendly homes can be better manufactured in clinically clean and climate controlled off site factories. Chemical-free indestructible steel rather than timber is the high technology framework of choice.
Bruce has spent the last two years working with Australian manufacturers at his own expense to learn how offsite manufacturing can deliver a superior home. He is passionate that offsite manufacture is the home building technique of the future. It’s no coincidence that Warren Buffett has bought the largest offsite home manufacturer in the USA.
Duncan Perkins – Finance and Tax Adviser
Duncan has over 30 years of experience in Residential Finance. He worked for Westpac for
16 years , founding Home Loan Essentials in 2001. He had over 15 Brokers in his team by
2007 which became recognised as one of the largest dollar volume settlement Broker
Houses in Australia. Since 2009 Duncan owned and operated his own Practice – Tax Time
Accountants. His wide financial expertise now assists Moncasa clients to optimise the
financing of their granny flats and investment properties.
Almost every Granny Flat Moncasa sells requires help in Finance, Taxation, Pensions,
Security, Estate, Retirement planning, insurance. To able to obtain such wide ranging
advice from a single source is rare. What’s more Duncan’s services are free of charge.
Issues that often need to be addressed include the tax ramifications of the granny flat, the
security paperwork for the Tenant and agreements to wills, the effects on Pensions etc.etc,
The build is often the easiest part of the process to understand (Moncasa do make it easy!)
compared to the intricacies surrounding the total project.
Duncan is the consummate professional that you can call upon for General Advice in almost
every aspect of the financial journey before during and after the build. If Duncan can’t find a
solution to a problem himself, he will find an answer from his many dedicated professional
colleagues.
Danny Senior – Director
Danny Senior is a director and the General Manager of Moncasa. He is one of Australia’s
most experienced residential builders. He has spent more than 30 years supervising low
rise, medium rise and high-rise residential projects. His construction expertise is reflected in
Moncasa’s superior quality homes. He does not tolerate shortcuts.
Danny and his top gun team are obsessed with customer service and delivering a flawless
dwelling in the shortest possible time frame.
Construction Team
David Bacon – Structural Engineer
David is a highly qualified and experienced structural engineer who specialises in designing and laying foundations on steep sites. He is a specialist in dealing with unstable soil.
Tim Peters – Structural Engineer
Tim holds a 1981 – 1984 Master of Engineering (MEng) in Civil Engineering @ Queensland University of Technology. With a robust skill set that includes Steel Structures, High Rise, Concrete, Structural Engineering, Structural Analysis and more. Tim is a key player in Moncasa’s affordable housing program.
Kris Rasic – Factory Manager
Kris brings more than 14 years of supervising high end modular residential construction to Moncasa.
Moncasa had already earned a reputation for building the highest quality granny flats in South East Queensland, but Kris has taken us to a even higher levels. We can safely state that Kris has now taken our craftsmanship to the exacting standard that you would expect to find in multi million dollar mansions.
Design Team
Andrew Halstead – Architect
Andrew is an award winning A+ Australian Institute of Architects member. He was a pioneer of modular home design and construction methods in the UK before migrating to Australia.
He was the architect behind one of the major buildings at Bond University. He has now partnered with MONCASA and has produced an outstanding range of compact homes and granny flats.
If MONCASA can’t produce a stock design that matches your requirements Andrew will work with you to custom build the perfect home. Modular construction methodology is ideal for steep or difficult sites, and this is where Andrew excels.
Judi Dwyer – Interior Designer
Judi has had decades of experience in maximising the functionality of residential interiors. As a registered age care nurse in a previous incarnation, she is particularly sensitive to the needs of older folk.
The level of accessibility now mandated by NDIS and the new National Building Codes care are second nature to her. Her ability to employ materials and colours to striking but harmonious effect is second to none.
Her experience and inspirational advice is free to all purchasers of a MONCASA home.
Finance Team
Joel Bradford and Tim Egan – Finance Brokers
We are fortunate to have two of Australia’s most innovative modular home finance brokers on our team. Joel & Tim will provide you with access to a wide choice of lenders, including the major banks.
They understand the loan pre-approval requirements of all major lenders, making it quicker and easier for you to apply for pre-approval. They can also show you how to tap your equity in your existing home to cost effectively fund a rental granny flat.