Modular Homes Business in Oxford officially closed (Burlington: condo, loans)

[Boomerang]

I went to the modular home show this past summer in Oxford, and enjoyed visiting the various builder model homes, etc. I'm sad to see that this industry, which gave Oxford a big economic boost, is having problems now, and depriving the locals of jobs

MaineToday.com | News Update: Burlington Homes closes, 70 jobless

[Maineah]

I think you'll find it was more of a management and owner related closing than a true economic closing. Modular housing is a niche market and the niche is still there. I'm sure labor and lumber prices haven't helped over the last several years. I thought these were pretty well made homes for the price and would have thought a great many young couples would have found them to be a wonderful way to get a starter home established.
Perhaps high land values have finally driven off the starter home couples??

[Boomerang]

Originally Posted by Maineah

I think you'll find it was more of a management and owner related closing than a true economic closing. Modular housing is a niche market and the niche is still there. I'm sure labor and lumber prices haven't helped over the last several years. I thought these were pretty well made homes for the price and would have thought a great many young couples would have found them to be a wonderful way to get a starter home established.
Perhaps high land values have finally driven off the starter home couples??

Yes, some of the modulars are really nice looking. I particularly thought Keiser and KPS, whose factories were also open for tours, seemed to be well made, with good materials and attractive floor plans.

After looking into the costs of putting up a new modular in southern Maine, I found it made a lot more sense to buy an existing home. The price of land alone is scary, as you mention, never mind the modular itself and all the site work (excavation, well, septic, driveway). Plus I'd rather buy an older place instead of adding to the crowded landscape, but that's another topic....

I understand from one local modular builder that demand for new construction has slowed. In MLS and Craigslist I see a lot of builders dropping prices, offering incentives, etc.

[Maineah]

Builders have to eat too I guess. They have to lower prices to survive. This happened in 1986 too when the stock market had it's "correction". There were a lot of clueless people pretending to be contractors back then building all sorts of condo's and speculation houses on the bank's dime. Then all of a sudden the banks called all of the loans and the housing boom dried up over night. Bankruptcy listings were as common as traffic tickets in the newspaper. These things help once in a while to put "reality" back in the mix. It's hard on the businesses and workers who lose their jobs but just like 1986 the banks had no business lending money to the vast majority of the recipients of the sub prime loans.
It was just a matter of time before the bubble burst and things leveled out again. I'd like to say I feel sorry for all of those people who borrowed well beyond their means but I don't.

[mollysmiles]

Originally Posted by Maineah

...I'd like to say I feel sorry for all of those people who borrowed well beyond their means but I don't.

exactly!

[AliceT]

I looked at modular homes when I was considering building. Found I could hire a contractor to do everything from the ground up for less. But then, I wanted a small living space. Modular homes really didn't cater to those in search of a small and inexpensive home.

[starwalker]

Originally Posted by mollysmiles

exactly!

Ditto... I have known more than one couple who, in their eagerness to get into a home of their own, ended up "house poor"... and this was going on long before the "sub-prime" fiasco. But then, what do we see, over and over, in every magazine or commercial on tv? BUY! NOW! and what is portrayed in most of the programs is highly unrealistic lifestyles for the average Joe and Jane, as well.

That's exactly why I was looking for something on the extreme low end of the cost scale... a fixer upper that I can live in and work on, taking as long as it takes. Even on unemployment -- or temp work -- the payment can be made and overhead covered at a basic level. And when there is more $$, more can be improved. For me, this is much better than stretching to get in "as much house as I can possibly afford" and then risk losing it when things get worse.

Folks don't think. And all too often greed takes the foreground. "Because I CAN" does not mean you should.

[msina]

Great post here! I have considered a "modular home". I have seen decent sized lots from time to time with the septic, well and power in place. It would be an option if circumstances fell that way. I have seen some lovely ones that weren't huge.

[bignhfamily]

Another potential way to save some money on a modular is to by it stripped down. A crafty person could lay their own flooring, paint, install your own cabinets. Some of the Cape style modulars I've worked on came with the upstairs unfinished, just a big open room. We were hired to build partition walls, baths, etc. But a DIY'er could finish this area themselves as money permitted. The more you do the more you save.

Probably still cheaper to buy and fix up an existing home though.