Modular Homes in NEPA? (Scranton, Moosic: how much, contractors, college)

[Bagldot]

My husband and I are looking into modular homes in NEPA and have narrowed our choices down to 3 companies: Signature Homes built in Moosic, Simplex Homes built in Scranton, and Pleasant Valley Homes built in Pine Grove, PA. We've visited Signature and Simplex, and will be visiting Pleasant Valley next Saturday.

My question: Does anyone own one of these homes, or know anyone who does? If so, do you have any insight to share - and do you have any recommendations as to contractors/dealers? Would love to hear some first hand accounts or info.

Thanks in advance for any information.

[lnjr]

Hi There!
I know that you posted a few months back about 3 modular home companies in the NE PA area. We have a home that was built by Simplex and to be perfectly honest --- we aren't too happy with a few of the problems that have occurred. There was absolutely no insulation in any of our windows, some of the kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors are warped already, the subfloor in both the kitchen and bathroom are total JUNK. A simplex guy was at our home today to look at the problem with the floors and when he pulled up the flooring in the kitchen the wood that they used looks like scrap wood with too many knots in the wood to count and most of them were actually sunken in and not level with the floor and some of the boards aren't even level with the rest of them. This guy said that you have to specifically ask for upgraded subflooring, but he was even surprised at how badly the wood was that they used to build this house. On top of that even with the upgraded carpet and padding the carpeted floors have problems too. At least Simplex did send someone out to look at the problem, but that was after having called and complained to the builder/contracter more than a few times about the problems. If you do go with Simplex, make sure to get a builder/contractor that you are completely comfortable with and try to be sure that he will in fact help to resolve any issues. I have read different posts from people who have had problems with their builders and/or Simplex. You might want to check out the Bob Villa website and do a search for simplex homes there are some posts in there from some other folks who have had problems as well.

Good Luck!

[Bagldot]

Thank you for the info, and sorry to hear of your plight. I can't even imagine how that must feel.

After looking at the three companies, as of right now we would go with Pleasant Valley. Problem is that we still don't have land yet, thought we would by now, so we wait. Since we are in no hurry, this isn't bad.

I've since found a good book on Modular Homes, still going through it and found a lot of questions to ask, and I will certainly include yours.

Again, thanks for the advice, and hope all gets better for you!

[lookin'for"home"]

Hi.. my aunt has a Pleasant Valley home- sister company manufacturer- and she's
quite happy and loving it. My uncle installed the homes and he said it's the best out there.

[poconosmama]

We have a simplex home, we built about 4 years ago. The house is well insulated and nice. I would definitely not deal with the builder we did but the house itself is nice. Of course you learn from the experience and I would do some things differently next time around. In what area are you looking to build? I can make a great recommendation in Greentown/Newfoundland area but I'm not sure how far from there they work. There are tons of modular companies around here, and most will go 100mile radius. Good luck!

[Bagldot]

Hi Poconosmama,

We've picked out a large ranch, so we'll need at least an acre, would like more. That being said, we're very much interested in Tanglwood North (not lakes), and TinkWig. However, open to anything in the Hawley-Tafton-Honesdale area even if it's not in a community. Timetable depends on daughter's college decision later this year, so we're kind of at a standstill now.

If you were to build another modular, what would you do differently? What questions would you ask of a builder second time around, now that you have experience?

Thanks so much for the feedback. I have a lot of info on the area up there, but not as much info from people who have modulars, so any insight is appreciated.

[I LOVE PA!]

While most modular companies require you to deal with an authorized builder, dealing with one such as Shorten and being your own sub-contractor can save you A LOT of money. We purchased our modular through Shorten, and hired the excavator ourselves, and we built our own decks. We dealt with Sam Wilmot as the excavator and I highly recommend him. He cleared the lot, made the pad for the crane, built the foundation, assisted me with the location of the garage door and windows, installed the windows for me, laid a very generous size gravel driveway and graded the property when all was finished for a very reasonable price. He also dug our holes and made our piers for our deck. We probably savied at least $70,000. from what builders charge for the complete package. Remax Best on Rt 590 in the Hamlin/Lake Ariel area has a model in their parking lot with the builder on site, it is beautiful, he has built a lot in The Hideout and has a complete package. The houses I beleive are from Pleasant Valley. I will say that a home smaller than my own costs about $100,000 more than what mine cost to build 3 yrs ago.

[Charles S]

First, thanks to everyone for the info posted here. I have just started looking into modular housing mainly because of speed, so I'm really in the dark here. Happened to watch some Vila reruns which made Simplex sound like the "be all to end all" until I read a comment here. I also didn't know that you had to go with an "authorized" builder. I was hoping to use my own contractor. Then there was the comment about saving $70K by being your own sub! That makes me question as to how much the builder would normally cahrge if you weren't your own sub. Yikes! I must be living in the dark ages. Any comment would be appreciated.

[I LOVE PA!]

Charles,
I put up a modular about 3 years ago. We basically were our own subcontractors. Didn't relize that until we were really into the process, but I was glad I did it this way as you really do save so much money, and it is not that hard.
We hired a contractor, who excavated, cleared the property, put in the pad for the crane, installed my windows in my foundation. We had to figure out on our own where to put the windows and the garage door, taking into consideration where the beams in the basement were. It really wasn't that hard and the contractor helped and was knowledgeable in what we needed.
The house was delivered, crane and set-up were arranged by Shorten, who we purchased the home from. Set-up is included in the price, basically it is delivery of the home. There is a cost for the crane.
We got a plumber and an electrician to do the hook-ups.
We hired a man to install the garage door.
My husband sheetrocked the garage with fire-proof sheetrock. (we have our garage in our basement) and built a wall separating the garage from the main house. Lots of labor, but not hard to do. He installed a door in that wall.
We insulated the ceiling in the basement. Again, just lots of labor, no rocket-science here.
We did have our contractor dig holes and make piers for the deck, too many rocks here!
My husband built our decks himself.
After the set-up, the contractor came back to level the property and put in a generous gravel driveway and pour the concrete in the basement. He put any big boulders right where we wanted them. We lined our driveway with the larger rocks, planted grass and we had a lawn in a month or so.
There were a lot of phone calls involved, but I beleive it was worth it.
As far as using your own contractor with Simplex, give them a call and see what is involved in getting him authorized.
We also choose a modular because of the speed factor. I would do it again. In the developemnt I live, I see too many houses being built and know they don't work on some for weeks at a time, and some take as long as a yr. to build. It took 2 weeks for our house to be delivered after ordering, and probably another month before we moved in. This was due to the fact that most work was done on weekends. We also painted the entire house prior to moving in. It just comes with a primer, that could pass for white paint, but it is easier to paint when it is vacant.
I'd be happy to answer any of your questions.

[poconosmama]

When we built with simplex we got prices from two of their authorized builders. First one said $165k and the second said $113k for the SAME HOUSE. Location of the builder(next to the lake or 15 miles away) made a huge difference. Just like car sales, have to be so careful!