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We are very close to purchasing a 2,200 Sq. Ft. modular home, and putting it on a full finished basement. Anythings in particular we should watch out for? The seller is pushing us to letting them pour a standard cement basement, without any outside insulation. We are strongly leaning towards having an experienced ICF concrete company do the basement work.
The house has 2x6 inch 16" OC exterior walls, and every joint is screwed and glued. I have seen enough of the shotty stick built houses, not to have any faith in them, and they cost a fortune.
How much should we expect to be able to negotiate down the house price?
A long time ago some family members and I decided to have a modular home installed on a lot that we owned in a rural part of Wisconsin. The alternative was to wait much longer to get a "stick built" house done and probably not get to use it the relative short window of the vacation season.
The folks that sell modular homes know this and if they also know that you are not happy with stick built homes they can basically ask and get you to agree to "list price".
Best bet is to negotiate on things that you are willing to compromise on -- maybe they will throw in some extras if you let them pick foundation contractor or give you a deal on upgrades if you agree to their schedule instead of your preferred time window...
Be sure all local ordinances / permits are followed. As I recall local authorities had to verify certain aspects of hook-up to utilities and that took a little extra time to schedule...
One of my concerns is the basement. They are of course wanting to handle pouring it, but they seem to be trying to cheap out on it. They resisted my demands for thicker walls, didn't want to put any insulation on the outside, and just use a tar like material for waterproofing.
A concrete guy I talked to, is proposing to insulate it like crazy, and use bentonite for better water sealing, and I know he does quality work.
The modular home seller also insisted that a septic tank would cost me around $10k, yet independent installers are telling me $6K installed. I don't know if I am missing something, he is mistaken, or if he is just trying to jack the pricing.
I would suggest putting in the basement you want and using the guy you want. I'd also strongly suggest getting your own financing. When dealing with modular suppliers, they assume that you have lousy credit and most often are working with B and C paper notes. That puts them in the drivers seat in regards to pricing and interest rates which they get a kickback on. Walk in with your own financing and you are in the drivers seat.
I'm assuming here but I have a bud in the modular business and here's how he works as does every other modular place here. DO NOT put any more money down than necessary. The price is determined by how much the home will appraise for. You WILL pay max appraisal for it. Any down money is just extra profit for them meaning you basically have given them more for the home than it's worth. Look at the sales sheet. If they are getting full price and adding in as a separate item delivery/setup, utility hookups, and under pinning, steps, etc, know that they are screwing you over on it as those are an included item on a delivered home in the appraisal. They'll most likely want "down" money to cover these expenses but in fact you're paying for them twice. The modular business is a cash cow and there doesn't seem to be any ethic required, be aware.
Financial example
A house appraises at $80,000.00. That's the selling price too. The dealer is going to want down money. any down money you have will only increase the selling price. So you have $10,000.00, the selling price is still $80 grand plus the down money so you just spent 90 grand on an 80 grand home. You would naturally assume that they would deduct your down money from the sales price when in fact they add it to the sales price. If they add delivery setup etc, and they want to charge you another 10 grand, that 10 grand is already in the appraisal so if they charge you for this, they are charging you twice. Another way of milking more profit out of the unknowing. Also, they will sell the house by monthly payment. Be aware of the actual interest rate as it can be extreme, as much as 25%, depending on what is allowable in your state. There's not a lot of difference between a used car lot and a modular dealer.
I would suggest putting in the basement you want and using the guy you want. I'd also strongly suggest getting your own financing. When dealing with modular suppliers, they assume that you have lousy credit and most often are working with B and C paper notes. That puts them in the drivers seat in regards to pricing and interest rates which they get a kickback on. Walk in with your own financing and you are in the drivers seat.
I'm assuming here but I have a bud in the modular business and here's how he works as does every other modular place here. DO NOT put any more money down than necessary. The price is determined by how much the home will appraise for. You WILL pay max appraisal for it. Any down money is just extra profit for them meaning you basically have given them more for the home than it's worth. Look at the sales sheet. If they are getting full price and adding in as a separate item delivery/setup, utility hookups, and under pinning, steps, etc, know that they are screwing you over on it as those are an included item on a delivered home in the appraisal. They'll most likely want "down" money to cover these expenses but in fact you're paying for them twice. The modular business is a cash cow and there doesn't seem to be any ethic required, be aware.
Financial example
A house appraises at $80,000.00. That's the selling price too. The dealer is going to want down money. any down money you have will only increase the selling price. So you have $10,000.00, the selling price is still $80 grand plus the down money so you just spent 90 grand on an 80 grand home. You would naturally assume that they would deduct your down money from the sales price when in fact they add it to the sales price. If they add delivery setup etc, and they want to charge you another 10 grand, that 10 grand is already in the appraisal so if they charge you for this, they are charging you twice. Another way of milking more profit out of the unknowing. Also, they will sell the house by monthly payment. Be aware of the actual interest rate as it can be extreme, as much as 25%, depending on what is allowable in your state. There's not a lot of difference between a used car lot and a modular dealer.
Thank you so much. That is the kind of info I was looking for.
The first place we talked to was very adamant that we go to "his buddy" who ran a bank in a small town nearby. Said he worked with him all the time, and would handle all the details.
The second guy I am talking to now seems to put me more at ease. He is very happy to have me do the basement with my own guy, do the electrical and water hookups with my guy as well as have my own guy do the septic tank. He really seems to be happy just to sell the home, and install it on my basement. He also said he had no preference on the lender.
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Negotiation is tricky...
