Does anyone have experience with Manufactured Homes? (Greenland: lenders, modular homes) - City-Data Forum

LoveSnow · 03-14-2008, 10:56 AM

And I mean manufactured - not mobile.

I didn't ever looked at this option - there are plenty of site construction and home styles to choose from in TX. In NH, as I understand, most houses on the market are older, and there are not many style options.

So while evaluating various options of owning a home in NH, I came across manufactured homes, those that you order, they come and build a house of pre-made parts on your foundation. Photos look impressive! And the homes are said to be energy efficient too.

Does anyone have actual (or close) experience owning and/or living in a manufactured home?

Valerie C · 03-14-2008, 11:17 AM

Love Snow, could you be referring to what we know as "Modular Homes"? If so, my very first house was a Modular. It was manufactured at a "house factory" in Pennsylvania, then trucked to our land. They then LIFTED and placed each half of the house onto the foundation. It was amazing to watch, and if I can find the pictures, I'll scan and post them here

When we sold it 10 years later, the home inspector for the buyer told us that unless we had told him, he never would have known that it wasn't stick-built on site. He also said that it was one of the tightest houses he'd seen, and complimented the builder. You can get all sorts of designs, not just the basic ranch style that most people think of when they think modular or manufactured.

LoveSnow · 03-14-2008, 11:30 AM

Yes, Valerie, that's the kind of homes I am talking about!

I saw many times how stick homes a built. Now I wonder why in the world they are so expensive??? The idea of energy efficient home where parts are designed to fit and pass quality control is very appealing.

What are they made of?

I assume, there are no basements to these homes, though.

Annabelle · 03-14-2008, 01:18 PM

We had a modular home built in 1990 from New England Homes out of Greenland and my story is the exact same as Valerie's. When we sold it 9 years later, the inspector had no idea it wasn't stick built and commented on the solid construction. We were very glad that was the route we took for our first home. It was affordable, the quality was excellent (at least with the co. we went with) and we could upgrade certain interior items to our budget. It was an excellent way to go!

daniellefort · 03-14-2008, 01:32 PM

My sister had a modular home put on a foundation. The foundation also had a basement so when they delivered her home in 2 pieces, they actually used big rollers to literally roll the house down to line up exactly on the edges of the foundation (so it wouldn't fall into the basement). It really was neat to see. She ordered hers from Canada (cost less) and had it shipped to norther NH. It really was a cute home and by the time all the finishing touches outside with the vinyl was done, you couldn't tell it was modular. Now one thing that's coming up new lately are Modular Log Homes. I was in TN earlier this year and took a tour of one. They come with full logs up to 8" thick walls and are shipped in 4 pieces. Some are even 2 levels with the fireplace already inside. Georgous. They look really nice and again, had we not been told it was a modular, we would have thought it was a log home built on site log by log.

buck naked · 03-14-2008, 01:33 PM

they have definitely improved in the past decade or so - my partner and I built a few homes in the lakes region, and the only thing that deterred us from manufactured housing was the cost of transportation - structurally, they were fine, and the workmanship was very nice

however with the increase in fuel prices, the cost to transport the mfg. house was far greater than originally projected and rising daily - it was cheaper to build

a funny story re: pre-built housing

I was following 1/2 a house and it turned to get onto 16 north - must have been going too fast or the house was not anchored correctly, but it slid off the trailer and landed squarely on the ramp - it appeared only the corner of the house was crushed, immediately the ramp was closed of course, and the drivers were making contacts to lift it back onto the trailer to complete delivery - I thought to myself "the poor new owner" - I bet they won't even tell him it FELL OFF the truck...:<

jthibodeau · 03-15-2008, 08:07 AM

There are many different varieties of pre-manufactured homes. As Val mentioned, some come as two separate pieces. Some come as individual pre-built wall units and some are based on a "box" design where they are stacked box upon box. Most will require a crane for assembly.

Manufacturers can offer a wide variety of designs, finishes and options. Some may even build to your specifications and/or blueprints.

The basic theory behind pre-manufactured homes is it eliminates the "weather factor". With indoor construction facilities, they experience little to no delays for inclement weather, as what can occur during the construction of homes which are "stick built". There is also, usually, no delay for sub-contractors to coordinate their work, such as a delay in construction while waiting for the electrician or plumber's schedule to rough in the wiring or plumbing before an inspection.

Quality of construction still continues to be a human factor although, you may find more quality control in the pre-manufactured buildings, such as where studs are cut via machine other then by hand on site. That is not saying that stick built homes have less quality. It simply means that quality is more reliant upon the experience of the person operating the saw.

Yes, it can be difficult to distinguish between stick built and pre-manufactured homes. Often times, the same materials are used in both instances.

For the buyer, it still breaks down to cost. You must consider all the additional work required to finish a pre-built home. As Buck mentioned, there could be transportation costs in addition. That half a house he saw lying on the off-ramp still required the siding, roofing and some interior finishes to be completed once it got picked up off the highway and came to rest in it's final location.

As with any home purchase, the buyer should do his due diligence (knowing what the bottom line or final cost i$) prior to the purchase.

Captjob · 03-15-2008, 07:24 PM

Thanks for the information in this post. Until I read this, I had never given a pre-fab any consideration at all. I will look into these for my potential future buiding needs and consider the points made here.

Thanks All!
Captjob

janlinden · 04-03-2008, 03:49 PM

Just so you know: manufactured homes are built on a chassis and are built to a preemptive HUD code so the permit process for installation is easier. Modulars must confirm to the local building codes specifications just like site built homes so sometimes the permit side is a bit more difficult. However, modulars are much easier to finance and easier to appraise. Since we provide the retrofits or engineer's certifications on manufactured homes for lenders, this is an area of considerable issue if you need financing.

LeavingSoCal · 07-20-2008, 10:34 AM

Thinking of moving to AZ, and have found a mfgd home on a good lot, but the home is not on a stemwall...is it possible to lift it and put it on one, without damaging the house? does anyone have an idea of the cost to do this?
anything else we should check re the home prior to buying? new to this concept