What do you think about modular homes?

Question

Do you think they are as good a finding a used home for sale? You can choose pretty much anything you want, color, style, extras etc. and it is brand new for the same cost as a used home. I am stuck on deciding what I should do... have a house of my choice built and delivered (of course I would have to buy land), or search around for a house thats been lived in and I have to make any repairs to... what do you think?

And can someone tell me - can it be picked up and moved to another state? If we decide to move?

Answer 1

My husband and I have been researching modular homes for over a year now. We have land in the country and have decided that a modular home is the best way to go! They're not like the old "double-wides" used to be. The homes we've looked at are new and most are made better than the constructed homes built on-site. In our area there are factories where you can take a tour and see how they're built from the inside out. We were really impressed. And yes they can be moved if circumstances require you to change locations. There are a lot of modular homes here in our state and in some places (though not many) they hold their value just as a site built home does.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Answer 2

We choose modular for our current residence because there was nothing available we liked and site built was too many head aches and took took too much time. We were also new to the area and didn't know any contractors and didn't know anybody to get references from.

There is a lot of confusion on what a modular home vs a manufactured home. Reseach your area, call aprraisers, banks, insuance companies and contractors as well as real estate agents. This is probably one of the biggest investments of your life. Do some research, even many people that are in the selling and building homes don't know the difference. You will find poeple who remember how it used to be but don't keep up with how it is.

A manufactured home is a trailer or mobile home, it is just the new term for it. They have a steel frame and a vin # just like a car. They will probably depriciate. They are either rolled on to a permanent foundation or jacked up an have a "foundation" of cinder blocks stacked under neath them.

Manufactured home and modular homes are not the same.

Modular homes are stick built just like a traditional home, never on a steel frame. If a steel famed home catches on fire the strength of the steel cannot be retermined and they have to total the home, this is one of the reasons insurance is higher on a manufactured, aka, tailer aka mobile home. You cannot repair a steel frame but you can repair a wood one. In many cases modular homes are built better than a tradtional site built. Modular are mass produced and in a factory. This keeps cost down and consisitent quality up. They don't have to all look alike but if you want to keep costs down you will have to pick an existing plan. They are delievered and lifted by a crane onto a permanent foundation.

I have a modular and a couple site built types of homes, the modular is built much better.

Check with local banks, insurance companies and aprraisers to help you with this decision. In my area modular homes resale, insure and refi like a traditional site built home.

As far as costs. My modular is on a walk out sight built basement with a sight built garage. It appraised for almost 30% higher than it cost, instint equity, in theroy anyway. I paid less than $65 a square feet for mine just over a year and a half ago. I recently priced some new modualr homes for some land I am developing and they want over $110 a square foot now. For me in my area I can have one site built for less, but it will take more time and head ache.

You can move any home. It is not like a trailer you just hook up in move. Your fondation would be left behind so unless the next person needs a foundation just like the one you left it could make reselling the land more difficult.

Answer 3

For the right price someone will move ANYTHING. The Amish are known to relocate houses brick by brick.

As for a modular vs real house.
I grew up in a trailer and hated it. In my eyes modulars are not much different from a trailer...but yet they have some major differences.

I look at them as fire hazards depending on how they are made. When a trailer goes up in fire, you have around 30 seconds to get out before fumes will consume you. The fumes come from the sub-par materials used to make the trailer...I see some of those same materials used in modulars and similar construction.

I rent a 3/4 updated modular at the moment on acreage. 3/4 of the walls have been drywalled over the wood paneling walls. The floors are particle board rather than plywood, floor plan of a trailer and stuff like that...a cheap feeling to it.

If I had to choose, I would go with a used house. You can always upgrade it later on, plus if you ever have a fire...there might be something left to salvage after fire is out.

Answer 4

Modular homes, no matter how well they are built, do not appreciate the way stick built homes will. Before you buy land, make sure that a modular will be permitted.

I recently viewed a beautiful modular home, all sorts of upgrades, definately a higher end modular, but the stick builts around it commanded 15% more than this home could ever hope to bring by doing comparables.

I cannot recommend buying a new modular home.

Sure you can move it out of state, but that will be a pricey venture. You will have to get someone to take it apart, truck it to where you are going and set it back up. I cannot even imagine how much that would cost. Plus, some insurers won't issue a policy for a modular or manufactured home that has been removed from its original installation. That should tell you something.

Answer 5

Modular home communities in Florida range from superb to" watch out" so it can be expected to be the same almost anywhere in the country. If one were interested in a modular home there are may very attractive models, many for sale right on site. Seniors die, go back north, west wherever, to be closer to relatives and familiar medical facilities. The modular then has to be sold. You are seeing what you are getting, most likely at a very reduced rate, in the right community .Investigate thoroughly and get everything in writing. Don't take anyones word for anything. Make sure you get everything as it was presented to you.Some places have a tendancy to do some stripping of assets after the sales agreement has been signed.

Answer 6

I seriously looked into buying a modular home. I do recommend considering them. You can buy more house for less money. Also, as far as insurance and coding, they are considered "site built" homes. Also, most times they are built stronger than traditional houses.

But the answer really depends on your circumstance. If you can find land for cheap, and the cost of the house is less then what you would spend on a comprable existing home, then go for it. But definently do your research about which company to use. I recommend Palm Harbor Homes (but they are limited geographically).

Answer 7

If you like the modular home, the builder has a solid reputation, the location is good and you can afford it, go for it!

Some people confuse a modular home with a manufactured home (mobile home). While both are built in a factory and trasported to the homesite in one or more pieces, a modular home is NEVER titled as a vehicle whereas a manufactured home begins its life titled as a vehicle.

Financing for a modular home is no different than financing for a traditional site built home.

For more information about modular homes and their financing, check out:

http://www.atlanticeloan.com/pages/modular-home-loans.aspx

For more information about manufactured homes and their financing, check out:

http://www.atlanticeloan.com/pages/manufactured-home-loan.aspx

Good Luck,
Charlie Camp
Atlantic Mortgage
[phone]
http://www.atlanticeloan.com/default.aspx

Answer 8

Some folks here are confusing modular homes with manufactured homes (which were formerly called mobile homes).

Modular homes are built in sections, offsite, and then transported for final assembly, which can take two weeks or more. Most are not built on frames, although some are. They tend to maintain their value or appreciate in a manner similar to stick-built homes. Manufactured homes tend to depreciate.

Answer 9

I love modular homes, especially those built in the modernist style! I say go with the modular home.

Answer 10

The resale value on a modular home is not comparable to that of a traditional home. I think buying a modular home is like buying a car, but buying traditional home is an investment.

Happy House Hunting