Modular Homes - Does anyone have any opinions (Greenville, Clemson: sale, insuring)

[jenn02674]

I bet you in S. Cal that appreciation was mostly the land value. Same land with a stickbuilt would probably be quite a bit more. But you are right, much is going to depend on location and the individual house.

[Baja Boomer]

Originally Posted by jenn02674

I bet you in S. Cal that appreciation was mostly the land value. Same land with a stickbuilt would probably be quite a bit more.

Actually, no. The price for stickbuilt homes of a similar size and style in that area of Orange County averaged exactly the same as my sister's house at the time. I checked at zillow.com because (guilty smile) I couldn't quite believe she was getting that price for a 1,051 sq ft tract house. (I misspoke, by the way; she sold it in late 2005, not last year)

I don't know who the builder was, but whoever it was did a good job. As I said, you could not tell by looking at it or living in it that it was a modular home; I'm not sure I would have believed it if she hadn't showed me pictures of them setting it up on the lot.

Looking at zillow.com today, I see that her old house is valued at $505,000. The stickbuilt house directly behind hers has nearly 600 more sq. ft. and a bigger lot and is valued at $589,000. So I don't see much difference in whether the house is modular or stickbuilt in this instance.

[LuvLogCabins]

Blue Ridge Log Cabins are definnitely the real deal. When I get out of grad school my wife and I are planning on building a BRLC back home. If any of you have caught Blue Ridge Log Cabins at a log home show, they have limited floor plans and can't build custom. However, for the money they are beautiful log homes. Sure they are modular, but you cannot tell the difference. I have been researching log builders for some time and there are some great site built log home builders out there but not a whole lot. I don't trust the kit sellers who keep Log Home Living, Log Homes Illustrated, Country's best and the other magazines in business. There are some horror stories of people buying kit homes and being left out in the cold by dealers.

Blue Ridge builds your home in a controlled factory environment and assembles the home on your foundation. It includes electrical, plumbing, fixtures, and appliances. If any of you caught the HGTV special featuring Mr. & Mrs. Indelicato. You can see theirs was a beautiful home. We plan on building the same home they live in. I can attest to it's structure as I have been to the Indelicatos home and toured their home and one of their rentals. It sold me on building a BRLC. It may not be the home I spend the rest of my life in but I know it will be a good investment and a great home for a few years before I sell it for resale. As far as modulars being poor in resale value, that is absolutely absurd. Contemporary modulars have excellent appreciation. if you find a good modular builder you can't tell the difference between a site built home and a modular. I have watched Blue Ridge Log Cabins built and re-sold for great profits, some almost twice what it cost to have the home built. I saw one of their smallest cabins, the Cullowhee, floorplan 950 sq ft, built for about $150K resell for $220K in Dillsboro, NC. Of course location is key and western north carolina is a hot vacation spot. But I have seen other blue ridge log cabins resell for almost double their building cost. They are true solid log homes and I can't say enough about them.

I really like the hand hewn round log look, a look blue ridge doesn't offer. They only build with D-logs. So my dream log home would actually be built by a company called Tomahawk Log and Country Homes. They are site built homes but they build a half log home which eliminates the worry for settling, warping, twisting, checking, and air and water infiltration. But still, Blue ridge log cabins are a great deal and a solid home. I look forward to building one and putting my own personalized touch on it.

[jcupp]

Originally Posted by cas2006

Having lived in a modular home....concrete, rebarred 48" deep, 12" wide foundation and reinforced roof for snowload....for the past 10 years I can attest that they are very well built indeed. Where you will run into problems...and I still can't figure it out...is if you want to refinance or get an equity line/loan. Many mortgage companies will not loan on a mod. home and those that do are very restrictive, i.e. max 20 year loan or max 65% of value (LTV). I think it must be a holdover from when the mods were not so well built but not sure of this. Not sure about resale...I don't plant to move or sell...but I have refinanced. Though it was worthwhile (7.75% to 6%), it was a real pain.

I was wondering what company you used. We are currently trying to refinance and are having the hardest time doing so...Please let me know. You may email me at jcupplo@laurel.edu

[usc_gal98]

We had a house fire two years ago. Because of our situation, we had no choice but to get a modular home. We didn't have the time or the living space we needed to build a new house. We had 90 days in the place we were staying in at the time. Our experiences have been good. The only downfall was the settling of the foundation after we put the home on our land. The floor creeks now which is irritating as heck. We are going to try to have it adjusted soon.
Our home is 4bdrm - 2ba - and 2197 sq. ft. We had no issues with the set up of our home either.

[Mrs. P]

Originally Posted by sheilaramos

....My husband and I have been looking into purchasing a MODULAR / PRE-FABRICATED HOME.... from a dealer in rock hill south carolina (clayton homes).

Has anyone had any experiences with the purchasing of a modular home and/or experiences with the dealers good or bad that they could share or things we should watch for.

What about quality of the homes? Do they stand up to normal wear and tear?

I have heard some horror stories with regard to them being set up and put together and was wondering about anyone else's experiences.

Hey! if it's good enough for Dale Earnhardt Junior, who could afford actually any kind of home he wanted, then I guess the homes must be ok.

[owensjlmta]

Mark I'm looking to build my own house and hoping to start in Febuary.
I've been working as a resdidetal plumber for three years and have good understanding of the homebuilding process. I'm a little sketchy on the constructon and morgage process. Getting bids from subcontractors and a good bid is for different trades. and scheduling

[sheilaramos]

Originally Posted by usc_gal98

We had a house fire two years ago. Because of our situation, we had no choice but to get a modular home. We didn't have the time or the living space we needed to build a new house. We had 90 days in the place we were staying in at the time. Our experiences have been good. The only downfall was the settling of the foundation after we put the home on our land. The floor creeks now which is irritating as heck. We are going to try to have it adjusted soon.
Our home is 4bdrm - 2ba - and 2197 sq. ft. We had no issues with the set up of our home either.

THIS IS OUR BIGGEST PROBLEM TOO... Our home is 10 months old...our floors creek as well, not to mention it seems they have some dips in them. When you walk they give in and for the most part the furniture shakes terribly.. Our home is still under warranty and the manufucturer is supposedly taking care of this problem..... our home is 4bdrm - 3 ba and 2300 sq ft. We bought our home through Carolina Country Homes in Lancaster, they were great, however I'm having second thoughts about the manufacturer Champion Homes. I understand that settling occurs in ALL HOMES over time, however the entire house shaking, creeking, and all of your furniture moving and items falling off an breaking are not....

[bransonestate]

Hi Mark,

I would like to ask you where should someone start looking if he or she were interested in home building and didn't have much experience? I was thinking perhaps I should purchase a few acres and place a few nice modulars on it as an alternative until I learn more about building. I figured since the modulars are installed by their authorized builders, it would eliminated much of the guess work...What are your thoughts?

Thanks.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by LuvLogCabins

Blue Ridge Log Cabins are definnitely the real deal. When I get out of grad school my wife and I are planning on building a BRLC back home. If any of you have caught Blue Ridge Log Cabins at a log home show, they have limited floor plans and can't build custom. However, for the money they are beautiful log homes. Sure they are modular, but you cannot tell the difference. I have been researching log builders for some time and there are some great site built log home builders out there but not a whole lot. I don't trust the kit sellers who keep Log Home Living, Log Homes Illustrated, Country's best and the other magazines in business. There are some horror stories of people buying kit homes and being left out in the cold by dealers.

Blue Ridge builds your home in a controlled factory environment and assembles the home on your foundation. It includes electrical, plumbing, fixtures, and appliances. If any of you caught the HGTV special featuring Mr. & Mrs. Indelicato. You can see theirs was a beautiful home. We plan on building the same home they live in. I can attest to it's structure as I have been to the Indelicatos home and toured their home and one of their rentals. It sold me on building a BRLC. It may not be the home I spend the rest of my life in but I know it will be a good investment and a great home for a few years before I sell it for resale. As far as modulars being poor in resale value, that is absolutely absurd. Contemporary modulars have excellent appreciation. if you find a good modular builder you can't tell the difference between a site built home and a modular. I have watched Blue Ridge Log Cabins built and re-sold for great profits, some almost twice what it cost to have the home built. I saw one of their smallest cabins, the Cullowhee, floorplan 950 sq ft, built for about $150K resell for $220K in Dillsboro, NC. Of course location is key and western north carolina is a hot vacation spot. But I have seen other blue ridge log cabins resell for almost double their building cost. They are true solid log homes and I can't say enough about them.

I really like the hand hewn round log look, a look blue ridge doesn't offer. They only build with D-logs. So my dream log home would actually be built by a company called Tomahawk Log and Country Homes. They are site built homes but they build a half log home which eliminates the worry for settling, warping, twisting, checking, and air and water infiltration. But still, Blue ridge log cabins are a great deal and a solid home. I look forward to building one and putting my own personalized touch on it.

I totally agree with everything you just said! These homes are BEAUTIFUL. And I defy anyone to tell me they don't look stick built. Where do you hope to build?