Modular Homes - Does anyone have any opinions (Rock Hill, Anderson: insurance, mortgage)

[Karin]

You don't have it quite right. Please go to: www.manufacturedhousing.org (Manufactured Housing Institute out of Arlington, VA). Modular and Manufactured homes are both built in factories, but to different standards. Just remember that Modular Homes are built to the same codes and standards as conventional on-site stick-built homes. Qualify for the same financing and appraise the same as conventional homes. Hope this helps.

[liddingt]

Hello I worked for a Manufactured home dealer for a while. He also sold
modular homes.
From what he told me A modular home is made to State and Local codes
where as a manufactured home ismade to HUD codes.
About dealers, they are what will make the reputation of a modular home
or even a manufactured home, if they will stand behind it every thing that
is wrong will be fixed. Now remember the arrangements are between you
and the maker of the modular home. The dealer only agrees to make minor
adjustments. You should get any floor plan of a manufactured home in a
modular. A modular home has stick built features, electical and doors
windows, ect.

I worked for a man that sold Horton home's you might consider them
I also live a Horton modular home and I love it.

[FLRich]

Well they may be built to the same standards at the factory but I REALLY question if they are to the same standards when they reach the site. I just had an opportunity to walk through one under construction. This is a HIGH end model which is selling for about $800K or more. All the homes in this division start at 800K and go to $1.2m.

The home has just been put together but the doors are not complete and much of the interior. I was by the builder on Thursday and he envited me to visit the community to see how they are built. Thursday I visited one which looked GREAT and it was almost done, today I returned and visited one which still had heavy machenery on site on Thursday and I did not want to get in the way. Almost seach wall in the home had 1-2 drywall cracks and in most cases it was not the paper broken but the entire sheet was snapped and bowing in or out. The siding was not up, brickface in this case and while in the attic/2nd floor you could see some places where it was 1/2-1/4 inch wide between the modules, the sun was shining right through making it easy to spot. Also it seemed that some trusses had to be notched extra to make them fit correctly.

Is this common ? I am sure a good drywall guy can cover up the cracks but how about 6-24 months from now, I am darn sure that each and every wall will be showing cracks all over again. We are not speaking about my $340K home I was looking at either, this was probably a $500+K (home only) model!

Rich

[sheilaramos]

Originally Posted by Mr. Modular

Just a quick note.... Our original "poster" in this category bought a gorgeous modular home from me a month or two ago. I would like to thank Ms. Ramos as well as her mother (who also bought a modular home from me) They are absolutely wonderful people and I wish them the very best in their new homes! If they are still in the forum I would like to hear their final thoughts as to their decisions on their modular homes!


Side note- I have never heard of the "wee houses", but I will look into them and let you know what I think!

We love the home.... Its Beautiful... we do have a few minor complaints ....the biggest being that our furniture (desk, dressers,entertainment center, t.v's, ) shake terribly when walking by them and some parts of our floor squeak, crack and give way.....(when the kids run it seems like everything is going to come tumbling over) but we have been told that this is normal due to settling of the home....and have been told that it will all be taken care of along with the other minor problems once we have our New Home Walk Through and Final Inspection.........

We think buying our modular home was a much better choice than buying a stick built home. We get the same quality of a stick built home for less money and time it would take to build the stick built....and one of the things we like the most is that our home and/or inside material was not exposed to bad /rainy weather while it was being built like the stick built homes are....there is a home just down the street from us that is being built .... its construction material are being left out in the weather and all the materials are getting wet ...this home was started way before ours was and it is still not complete.. and our home was up and ready to move in ... in just a few months......just as you promised..... : )

As far as your company and staff....you all are wonderful and I am pleased with the way you all handled our accounts from start to finish and even after we moved in you attended to our minor complaints quickly. We were not treated as if we no longer mattered just because the loan closed. The trust and confidence we have in your company makes a difference. I would highly recommend you and the company you represent to others.

thank you so much for everything and for helping us make our dream come true.

Wishing you, your family, and co-workers a Happy and Healthy New Year.

[Nausikaa]

A manufactured home is a mobile home, single or double. It is brought to the site on wheels, and the wheels may be taken off, and the home placed on a foundation.

A modular home is built in a factory in modules. It is brought to the site on a truck, and assembled there. It was not brought to the site on a chassis with wheels.

[YJason]

Hi Mark

I am looking for advice on building a modular home. I got an estimate of $137,530 for the modular delivered and taxes. Then I got a call from a contractor who told me that he could finish the house for $200,000. That wouldn't include the basement or water or sewage or site preporation. That really made me want to reconcider the whole modular deal. Then for the basement unfinished he quoted $35,000 or $35sf. The modular company told me that on average it would cost me at most double the cost of the house for everything. Who is right?

Jason

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by South Florida CS

Hey Tim - I was wondering if you could give me some information about cost. What is the average square foot cost to build a modular home? I had sent you an email a while ago - but not sure if it made it through to you.

Thanks!

Did you ever get an answer to this question? Would love to know myself!

[bailey]

Does anyone know anything about Haven Homes? They build modular homes and are common in south carolina.


Bailey

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by Karin

You don't have it quite right. Please go to: www.manufacturedhousing.org (Manufactured Housing Institute out of Arlington, VA). Modular and Manufactured homes are both built in factories, but to different standards. Just remember that Modular Homes are built to the same codes and standards as conventional on-site stick-built homes. Qualify for the same financing and appraise the same as conventional homes. Hope this helps.

Modular Homes Stronger Than Site Built, FEMA Says:

Proponents of modular homes have long maintained that the building system produces structures that are far stronger than site-built housing. For one thing, the modular sections contain up to 30% more building materials than a comparable site-built home to withstand the stresses of highway travel. In addition, drywall is often both glued and screwed to wall studs and triple headers are used over window openings and around stairwells to withstand the stress of transportation and being lifted by a crane.

Recently the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) confirmed that modular homes withstood a hurricane far better than site-built housing. In its report “Building Performance: Hurricane Andrew in Florida,” assessment teams from FEMA concluded that modular homes withstood the 131–155 mph winds of the Category 4 storm in August of 1992 far better than site-built housing.

“Overall, relatively minimal structural damage was noted in modular housing developments. The module-to-module combination of units appears to have provided an inherently rigid system that performed much better than conventional residential framing. This was evident in both the transverse and longitudinal directions of the modular buildings,” according to the report. (Get your free copy by calling 800-480-2520 and requesting publication number FIA-22, item 3-0180.)

[tnt]

Hard construction prices have been difficult to come by, which is understandable when one considers the many variables such as finish quality, shipping, and customization that go into a project. One modular manufacturer, however, has provided a little guidance with price estimates for a 1,600 square foot home, exclusive of land. Many of the site-related numbers below can be used to arrive at rough estimates for other types of factory assisted construction.

Modular home, including shipping $ 89,000
Garage (also modular) 20,000
Permits 15,000
Utility connections (if close to site) 8,000
Site prep & foundation 15,000
Set up on foundation 17,000
Engineering and survey (if needed) 3,500

Total $ 167,500

This is about $104 per square foot but does not include any finish work or landscaping and is going to vary according to location. Generally, estimates vary on the overall cost savings from modular construction. Estimates are out there that range from 10 percent to 50 percent.