Manufactured/Modular homes (St. Louis, Agency, Rea: insurance, buying, construction)

[NDEFSPEL4185]

Does anyone have any first hand information on manufactured/modular homes? The pros and cons? I am in the process of relocating my family to STL area, and we are looking into double wide manufactured homes so we can have a brand new home that is more affordable. Of course the builder will say it's great, but I trust regular people's first hand knowledge. Is there anything about those double wide manufactured homes that I should know about that would lead me not to go that route? Thanks for anyone who can help.

[flynavyj]

The only thing i'd worry about is whether the homes are of good quality, and how they'll be secured. The other consideration is where are you going to locate it? Private land? Park? Etc. If you've already scouted the land, and you're somewhere within the general St. Louis County area, or other populated places, you'd probably be fine. My biggest concern would be the method used to secure the structure. I wouldn't want to be trusting tethers in the unlikely event of a tornado. If you're home is on the outlying areas around St. Louis, i'd be even more hesitant with a tethered system, as those areas seem to be even more prone to destructive weather, even though, it's fairly rare in the most part.

I've been in some double wide constructions when i was in college that were pretty nice. I've been in some trailer parks that would make me never want to live in a trailer in my life. If everything feels good to you, and you're comfortable with the decision, i wouldn't worry about it to much. Just do your homework on the manufacturers.

[Inoxkeeper]

I am not a fan of modular homes. It's like buying a car, as soon as you drag it off the lot it's worth less than you paid for it. A stick built house will (or should) increase in value over time. Plus I am not sure they are allowed in the county anymore.

[loki03xlh]

It all depends on the type of modular house you are looking at. There are some that are double-wide trailers, and some that are built better than stick-built houses. I looked into getting one a few years ago, before I moved. Most today are secured onto a poured or concrete block foundation, some are able to be placed onto a poured basement. Some of the ones I looked at appeared to be stick built, you really couldn't tell. Be sure to check out all local ordinances, some places forbid any type of modular/manufactured homes, other places just outlaw trailers.

[MoNative34]

Originally Posted by Inoxkeeper

I am not a fan of modular homes. It's like buying a car, as soon as you drag it off the lot it's worth less than you paid for it. A stick built house will (or should) increase in value over time.

That is so true. They are also expensive to insure and many insurance carriers don't cover them. They are very hard to sell on the used market and the cost to move a used one is very high. And if you have it in a mobile home park, there's the cost of lot rent.

A friend of mine bought a doublewide trailer in the fall of 1999. A year and a half later, the shingles on the roof began to detach in multiple places after rather minor storms. In 2002, the vinyl siding had already began to crack and sag. A year later, the carpet already had to be replaced and he began having problems with the kitchen cabinets that turned out to be made of particle board and the hardware started having problems staying fastened. The materials are cheap cheap cheap.

Everything looks good brand new, but how something stands up to the test of time is what matters. In the case of my friend, he bought a doublewide, has had to put a lot of unexpected time and money into it and it's worth less than what he owes for it. Not a good deal.

[NDEFSPEL4185]

Thank you all very much for the info. It is much appreciated.

[queenofbavaria]

Originally Posted by MoNative34

That is so true. They are also expensive to insure and many insurance carriers don't cover them. They are very hard to sell on the used market and the cost to move a used one is very high. And if you have it in a mobile home park, there's the cost of lot rent.

that is so NOT true, since you are talking of modular homes. manufactued and modular homes are not the same.

as someone else mentioned, high quality modular homes are usually better built as many site built homes.

[CarrieNeno]

As a Realtor, I advise avoid. Period. Resale, insurance, all of the above. Always better to go with a home. If not, rent.

[queenofbavaria]

again, are you talking about modular or manufactured ? our insurance does not make any difference, if the house is site built or modular.

right now we are not thinking about resale, WE want to live in this house for a couple of years, period.

we saw many houses and much later we figured out, that some of them were modular homes. the look and feel did not show any difference.

our realtor is a builder too and agreed on the many advantages of (high quality modulars).





are modulars as sturdy as site-built homes ?

Sturdier. Modulars are made for transport as well as living in. Base, or connecting, walls are twice as strong as regular non-load-bearing ones. HCH modulars are built in a controlled, factory environment and subjected to quality-assurance inspections far more detailed and frequent than would be economically feasible on-site. The result is a structure that stands up better to both weather and time. For more information, see FEMA's report on modular construction



Why Modular Construction is better | Modular Homes (http://abodehomes.net/AboutModularConstruction/WhyModularConstrution/tabid/120/Default.aspx - broken link)

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.



our house will be transported in segments, it comes room by room, will be put together and finished on site.
we will have the same warranties as site built homes and can be sure, tiling the bathroom won't be a problem, since building in computerized and very precisely.

I am from europe and modular homes have a long tradition there. and non of our friends ever regretted.

[jinxxy]

Hi,
I know this is an old thread, but has anyone built one of the modular homes in the St Louis area. I like the homes built by Rocio Romero as well as some of the shipping container style homes. I'd like to downsize witha most moden non traditional look. Any suggestions?