Do you live in a panelized home?

Question

If so, did you purchase it or built it? Are you happy with it? Which company did you contract with? I am looking to build my own house, and I dont know if I should start with a panelized home, modular home, or kit home. Companies that I am looking at are Landmark and American Home, if you any of you has had any experience I would really appreciate it!

Answer 1

I have experience with two out of the three types of homes you mentioned. I have framed and built both panelized and kit homes, but have no direct experience with modular homes. However, I do have strong opinions about modulars.

Modulars are fairly common in nearby rural areas. There are a couple of things to think about before purchasing a modular home. The first is the cost of a mortgage. Lenders tend to look at modular homes as a riskier investment because the default rate is much higher than on conventional housing. The second is that modulars tend to appreciate at a much slower rate than conventional housing. In some cases, they even depreciate in value. Resale can be a problem because so many people don't consider a modular a viable investment.

Panel homes are usually homes where the walls have been assembled in a factory setting and transported to the job site on a flat bed trailer. This saves onsite labor when it comes time to frame the house. Most people would not know the difference between a stick built and a panelized home. I think they are a good option.

Kit homes run the gamut from very good to extremely poor. The devil is always in the details. The quality of the windows, doors, cabinets, shingles, exterior trim, interior trim, floor coverings, light fixtures, etc, etc, etc, means everything. If you shop for a kit home based on price alone, you are almost sure to be disappointed because you will be deluged with the absolute cheapest materials the manufacturer can find. I have seen some real nightmares over the years.

In the end, the best advice is to build either a panel or kit home, but do your homework before signing a contract. Make sure you look at finished homes to get an idea of quality. Talk to the homeowners if at all possible. They will usually be only too happy to share their experience with you.

Good luck with your home building plans.