Modular Homes-Good or Bad?

It sure does, and I'll second that. My cottage was built as cheaply as possible, but stick to conform to local zoning. When I say 'cheap' I am not kidding. There aren't even kitchen cabinets in there (cabinets are taxable: attached to the wall, bureaus and shelving units are not.. they're "furnishings").

If I went to sell that thing today I'd be lucky to get out of it (10 years later) what I put into it. The land has appreciated in value.. the house is, for all intents and purposes, without value.

I'm all for building cheap, cheap, cheap, if you're planning on living in that house and you're not viewing it in any way as an investment. Best use of my resources I've ever made. Why put money into a fancy home when all you need is a roof, four walls, and not to freeze the buns off come winter? It didn't matter if anyone else liked the house, I didn't build it for "anyone else." In fact, I reversed the hot and cold taps throughout the house because I prefer my hot tap on the opposite side of where it normally is. Drives guests nuts.

But I have a far wealthier friend who built the essential bachelor's pad... HUGE expense invested in this quixotic structure, which he'd now like to sell. Well... it doesn't matter that the flooring is exotic hardwoods, that the cupboards are all hand crafted. That the built in bookcases look like something out of Elizabethian England. What matters is that the layout is eccentric. Bad, bad, investment.

Unlike this home,we are going to think of resale even if we never plan to....

The home we are currently in(our first) was out in the 'country'(what passes for it here) and to some people is too far from town...about ten or fifteen minutes.

Anyway,we have a long list of things we would rather provide-light fixtures,fans,granite countertops,kitchen cabinets,bathtubs,flooring...

Basicaly we want a very well built home that WE do the piddly work..

Also we are looking at a Log home place based in NC-
www.logcabinhomes.com/welcome.html#

But we are unsure on their pricing.

To give you an idea of prices,around here, homes run around $130+ a squarefoot for a 'regular' house....

The one modular company we contacted runs upper 60's to mid 80's.

My grandparents put in a mobile over 30 years ago.

It has a low pitch to the roof which you'd think would have caved in with all the snow...more than once there's been several feet of it on the ground, but it's stood up to it well. A couple of times there have been small leaks, but very minor, and certianly stick homes have experienced the same.

They had extra insulation put into it as they live where the wind chill will drop the temp down below zero from time to time. It stays pretty snug and cozy.

I honestly think that, depending on how long you plan on being in the house, you may be better off going modular. They've got to be made better today than they were then. Not sure what housing costs are where you live, but my grandmother had her place appraised last fall and was told it was valued at $180,000. It sits on two acres and a busy street in a rural area. So a stick built may be worth more...but it would also have cost a great deal more to begin with.

Guess it comes down to whether or not you want the mortgage!

My very first home was a modular home built by North American Housing. I paid $42,500 for it in 1981. I sold it for $68,500 in 1986. That house just sold a few months ago for $168,000. Don't think they appreciate? They appreciate the same as a stick built house does in my area. Bank loans on them are no different than bank loans on a stick built house. This was a 960 squarefoot house. It was a split foyer.
How many of todays stick built houses could you set on a trailer and haul down the road? The stick built Mcmansions they are building today are falling apart ten years after they build them. They usually have no overhang on them and they come apart at the windows. I would buy another modular and am looking into them for my farm. I currently live in a stick built house that my dh built. It is well built since we did all of the building and knew we planned to live here most of our life. But todays modulars to pretty comparable too.

I would advise you to go for it- Laura Lynn

My husband is a building designer and designs new residential construction as well as remodels, and I recall that one remodel plan he was working on was a real problem because you apparently can't remodel a modular without engineering (read: $$$$,) because the structure was born with engineering done to the puniest tolerance. In other words, it's engineered to be exactly how it is and if you want to change it, there is no spare strength. Or so I understand.

Main thing about prefab anything is you have a done deal right away, instead of a building process that never ends.

I also checked into modular homes vs. stick home, Thurston county, WA. The bank told me that if the home was built on a steel I-beam and transported to the site on wheels, then it was considered mobile and fell under the manufactured (trailer) loans. They also said the value and resale was lower than stickbuilt house. However, I believe that if you walk out of the manufactured office with a home, then those monthly payments will be true. I was talked into having this stick house built, and what I was told at signing is now $500 more a month today on the morgage. Counting in the $200.00 they raised a month because they mis-calculated taxes the first year.

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Have a safe day, karen

Yes the modulars do appreciate. They never have a title like a mobile (manufactured) home. The one I am selling (it is under contract BTW) appreciated 35K in 5 yrs. This one has some paneling and some sheetrock in it. Prob an option at the time it was built. You really can't tell it from a site built home at all. It does have one beam in the living room that you can see in the photo. That living room is 23 X 26. The house has plenty of closets and a huge pantry. And the master bath is big enough for a hot tub, althought it only has a reg size tub in it.

If I were planning on having a standard type of house (instead of strawbale), I would definitely look into getting a modular.

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Cyngbaeld's Keep Heritage Farm, breeding a variety of historical birds and LaMancha goats. (It is pronounced King Bold.)

There's no one answer. Theoretically, a modular (not mobile or manufactured) home should be better built and cheaper than a stick-built house due to economies of scale and a controlled building environment. A true modular *is* a stick-built home - it's just built in one place and then moved to the site. (Actually it's built in several pieces, moved to the site and then joined together.)

Having said that - there are huge differences between various modular homes - just as there are huge differences between various stick-built homes. Personally, I'd rather have a well-built modular over many of the McMansions they're putting up nowadays. (I watch these things being built and I know they'll be falling apart in a few years.)

One of the main problems with a modular home is finding a bank to finance it. Unfortunately, many people don't understand the difference between a modular and a mobile/manufactured home. You might have to educate the people at the bank - show them the specifications, explain how the process works, etc.

The land I own had a restriction - no mobile or modular homes. I bought a stick-built home and had it moved to the property. That was fine. I remember thinking how stupid it was because that's exactly what's done with a modular home.

We have a 1,300-square foot modular set on a full basement. It's about 14 years old. It's very energy efficient. We had a good local builder. DH has buds that work in trailer factories and others ... and we did NOT get any of their buildings!

It really depends on teh builder.

We did not get a cape cod style because we would have had to pay for an extra crane to set it up.

It was brought out semi finished, looked like two shoe boxes. Then they put the roof and siding, added the laundry room and garage adn porch that we asked for.

We are pretty well satisfied, considering our budget and so on. When we got it, we had no children and it seemed huge. Now we have three children and it seems a little tight at times :haha:

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"In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, charity."

Mobile home and manufactured are the same thing. If it comes with a license, it is a mh. As someone wrote, people often buy a mh double wide thinking it is a modular. When I did assessment work, I'd ask to see the license (or registration, whatever piece of paper they had) and I'd point out "manufactured" and explain this means it is a mh, houses don't have a lisence.

The quality of the modular house depends on who is making it. The best I've seen are those that are finished on the site. They put up the drywall and do other work after the home has been set up. It is not cheaper than stick built, but it is faster. Cape cod styles are often built this way, but find out for yourself. Yes, you will have to worry about outgassing materials. I would not bring a new baby or sick person into a new trailer or modular. If the home is two years old or better, most of the outgassing will have taken place. I would never consider a modular because I want in-floor radiant heat, which they don't have. I would, if I were to buy one, do my research and buy my own hot water heat, furnace, kitchen appliances.

I just this past summer almost bought a new modular home. I thought they were junk but I got into the guts process and discovered the things are far better made than my old mobile home is. mine is an oldie built with 2x4s, (and more additions that trailer anymore plus a full "house" roof) the ones I was looking into are built with 2x6 stud walls and insulated with R30 all around. cheapo windows but those were upgradeable as they are custom made to order.
structure wise, they are better made than a 2x4 stick frame I think. Think about the stresses of moving and putting them in place; they have to roll on the road, then either be slid or craned into place and not twist or crack like an egg.
the place I was going to buy from had a shell model there with no inside walls and floor in part, some insulation and exposed pipe ect so you could walk thru and check ouut the constriuction method.... they are bolted and metal strapped together pretty well, I was impressed.
if you want to spend the money, the basic no frills one I had in mind cost 39K, it was a nice, small house, well insulated and sturdy. even would come with 2 fireplaces built in.
for 39k I figured I could build a darn house myself and a nicer one.
ah but then I decided I didnt need any debt I like not having any to much...

the sellers final cost to me for a 3 bedroom 24x60 with a full basement finished ready to move in was @66K, plus the basement would be set up and plumbed for a "seperate appartment rating" if I wanted to use it that way.

if you dont want to do the labor, you could do a lot worse for 66k.

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I too am in Michiana and each and every day I take my life in my hands driving into town where we pass the tractor trailors toting this 2 pieced homes down the road. My dh knows several ppl who work at the local factories and does business with several of them also. I wouldn't buy one but that's just me. I don't like the way look..but do know ppl who have one and just love the heck out of it.

Kim in Mi

We just moved into our house before Christmas. Technically, I believe it is considered modular. It was built off site (not indoors though) at a lumer yard and moved to our site in one piece. We watched them build it bit by bit, floors and framing, windows, insulation, siding, drywalling etc.

Of course it is very new yet but we are happy with it. We checked before we choose this option and stick built (same size/plans) priced itself out of our budget.

There's nothing wrong with modular buildings per se, but look very closely at the specs. Often you find things like 3/8" exterior sheathing, 2x3" lumber for interior walls, 2x8 joists (way too much deflection for many people's tastes and limits what you do withthe house down the road). You'll also tend to see gable roofs without proper soffits or outrigger rafters that have zero overhang aside from 1/2" of shingle edge to protect the siding.

Maybe you are ok with cutting corners like those. But look very closely at the specs so that you know exactly what you are getting and what it will mean for you.

-Jack

Call the county building dept where your land is and ask them if there are any restrictions on modifying/remodeling a modular house, because if there are (as there are in this county(state?), then bear in mind that what you buy is all you get -- you would not be able to make any additions/changes in the future without major engineering.

Oz, look in the paper for resales of Modulars in the area that you are moving to and see what they are going for. Then talk to a couple of banks / mortage companies about re-financing one of them not a new one, then you'll see the difference. Don't let the dealer give you all of your information on this because they want to make the sale and will tell you anything. If you are even remotely considering resale think long and hard before you put any money down on one.

Just my opinon

Jim in MO

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There is no problem so great that it can not be solved with the proper application of high explosives...

Well we have thought about it and we WON'T be buying a modular as the main house but maybe as a small guesthouse/in-laws place and stick-build the main house 'some time' in the future...

So instead of a bigger house we will look at something around 800 square feet..

It really has little to do with the quality of the modulars and more to do with possible resale in the future.

We really appreciate all the advice and if anyone has any good 'brands' to recommend it would be helpful.

We live a Heckaman modular. Its just like a stick built house except it was built in a factory in Napanee, Indiana. Its a very tight and energy efficient house. If the outside temperature is in the low 40's or above it needs no heat. It is 1400 square feet on a daylight walkout basement. we heat the whole thing with a wood stove in the basement. Most of the time its too warm. Every bank we shopped at for mortgages didn't hesitate to loan money on it. No regrets at all.

We purchased a "prefabricated home." I don't know all the differences between a modular and this one. I think there are different levels of modular. This one was brought in two pieces on trucks and placed with cranes on a cbs foundation. the porch and two car garage were site built. Our home withstood a category three hurricane (one of three hurricanes in six weeks) and has appreciated in value significantly just like a site built home. Last year when the interest rates dropped, we refinanced with a tradtional bank at the same rates of conventional houses.

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