Modular Homes

[Bethanymouse]

Hello fellow intercotees! My fiance and I are starting the home search. We would like to purchase a new home in the new jersey/pennyslvania area. Many people have been talking to us about modular homes. We have looked at many new homes being built and they are nices, but the prices are high. This afternoon we went and looked at some modulars and they were beautiful and definately in our price range. So what have you heard about modulars? Anything bad or good? Please help! Thanks!:help:

[Grumpy's Daughter]

DH and I bought a modular 11 years ago this month- and we loved it! At the time, we'd only been married for a year, and didn't have a whole lot of money, so the price was right. It was explained to us that it would be healthier, too, since it was built in a factory, where no moisture (like rain and snow) would get into it for mold to grow- like happens often with stick built homes. Our house is 4 sections over a full basement, making it a 3 story residence (we opted for the basement instead of the garage, which we later added). That being said, I do envy the open floorplans of our friends new homes, but we love our home!

[TexasPrincessAurora]

DH and I bought one when we were first married. It was a nice home, brand new, with lots of space...but when we needed to sell it to move it was a nightmare. They depreciate terribly and don't appraise and sell like site built houses. If you think you'll be selling and buying something else in the conceivable future I'd advise against it. Or I'd at least talk to a real estate agent in your part of the country to find out how hard of a time you'll have selling and getting your money out of the home when the time comes.

[Sean Riley Taylor's Mom]

We have a modular, they are actually quite common around here and hold their value just like the stick built in our area. It was a very affordable option for us. But, by the time it was completed on our property with the extras we wanted we were not far off of what a stick built cost. It is a Cape and we added larger dormers, a full dormer across the back, fireplace, a 40 foot covered front porch and upgraded our bathrooms.
Our house is 2400 square feet. We have 4 bedrooms (It was supposed to be 5 but, we made one bedroom upstairs the size of the other two up there), a formal living room, playroom, dining room, fairly large kitchen, one full bath upstairs, the master is downstairs and so is a half bath that is combined with a laundry room.
We are very happy with it. The boys had a blast watching it get set on the foundation. We built it 5 years ago. Ours came in 4 pieces. We even took a trip to Pennslyvania to the factory to see it before it was delivered. That was cool, although a little odd...lol. It was a good thing we did too, they messed up on one of the walls in the kitchen that was supposed to be a half wall. I told them what it was supposed to be and it was correct when it was delivered.
We have no regrets and are very happy with our home. The one thing I recommend it upgrading windows and doors. The ones that come standard are not usually the best. That was actually a suggestion from the contractor that completed the house on site. We upgraded to Anderson windows and doors.
We would go this route again if we ever decided to build somewhere else. You would be very surprised at how common modulars are here on Long Island.
HTH. If you have any questions feel free to ask!! :)

[Jeff G]

Can you explain the house a little more? I work in the mortgage industry and there are two kinds of houses call modular. A house built in a controlled environment and brought out in one or two pieces and possibly more is technically a manufactured house and will generally have HUD tags. A house comes in many pieces but then hauled out to the construction site and constructed is a modular house.

A modular home is virtually indistinguishable from a stick built home, appreciates like a stick built and will qualify for all types of loans.

A manufactured house (commonly called modular by dealers) on the other hand is a little trickier. These properties are generally quite a bit cheaper to initially to purchase (a big benefit) but many of my customers end up paying much more than expected by the time they are set up. Depending on the quality of construction these generally don't appreciate as well as a normal stick built and in some cases they depreciate even in a strong market. Being in the mortgage industry the biggest draw back to me is that many of the nations mortgage companies wont lend on these. For the initial purchase the dealer selling the house will help assist for the initial financing. The trick is when you go to sell the property the buyer may not qualify with their mortgage company which will limit your sales pool. If you ever need to refinance you will be limited in choices as well.

I hope this helps a little.

Good luck shopping for your future home and have fun!

[Bethanymouse]

Thanks for all of your input so far! My understanding Jeff, is that the house will come in a few pieces and will be put together on the lot. They gave us separate prices for the foundation, well and septic. My dad said that these are definately modular. I hope they are all right!

[SgtTigger]

OK around here we now have tons of them.....

Since Hurricane Katrina this has been the way for a lot of people to rebuild....

We had no dealers here in St. Bernard Parish (county) but we now had 12 dealers. They are bringing them in like 2 a day. Of course here they are putting them up in the air 12 to 14 feet due to flood elevation. Most look very nice remember we don't have basements here in Louisiana...

Someone said they are built inde a factory and no moisture can get in... well we have had problem with one dealer that seals the haves of the home up air tight before shipping and when it gets down here in the South and the humidity they are having problems with mold being all inside on the walls....... So that is the only bad thing I have heard.




:cop: :tigger:

[Sean Riley Taylor's Mom]

Ours is definately a modular. I just checked with DH in case I had the terms messed up. ;)
I know there are modulars and manufactured.
Good luck with your search!

[pwdebbie]

PM me if you want more information.

We bought our first modular home in 1986 only to have a job transfer a few years later and immediately decided to go modular again in 1989. Now I work for the company that built my home in 1989. (We don't sell in the area you are looking, so I'm not trying to drum up business here!)

Modular homes are indeed built in a factory and delivered to the customer's foundation on the customer's land. Modulars are built to state building codes (the same code used for stick-built homes), as opposed to manufactured homes which are built to HUD code (not as strict as state codes).

A modular home is not intended to be moved from the site once it is erected on the foundation. A manufactured home can be moved to a new location. A modular home does not come with a metal frame, hitch, or VIN number -- a manufactured home does.

A modular home will increase in value just as a stick-built home does. A manufactured home probably won't. A modular home qualifies for a regular mortgage just as a stick-built home does. A manufactured home is usually financed some other way. While the price tag on a manufactured home may look lower, by the time you add in the higher interest rate to finance the home, you may end up paying more per month than you would in a modular or stick-built home.

As I said in the beginning, PM me if you want more information. My company just today finished setting their biggest home ever, 16 "boxes" total (figure that your basic two-story is 4 boxes -- you can guess how big this house is!).

Deb

[Bethanymouse]

WOW! Thank you all so much for the information. We are just now in the beginning stages and are looking for something affordable (under 250,000) without land. I appreciate all of your feedback and I look forward to finding out more information! Thank you so much!!!

[Septbride2002]

Can you explain the house a little more? I work in the mortgage industry and there are two kinds of houses call modular. A house built in a controlled environment and brought out in one or two pieces and possibly more is technically a manufactured house and will generally have HUD tags. A house comes in many pieces but then hauled out to the construction site and constructed is a modular house.

A modular home is virtually indistinguishable from a stick built home, appreciates like a stick built and will qualify for all types of loans.

A manufactured house (commonly called modular by dealers) on the other hand is a little trickier. These properties are generally quite a bit cheaper to initially to purchase (a big benefit) but many of my customers end up paying much more than expected by the time they are set up. Depending on the quality of construction these generally don't appreciate as well as a normal stick built and in some cases they depreciate even in a strong market. Being in the mortgage industry the biggest draw back to me is that many of the nations mortgage companies wont lend on these. For the initial purchase the dealer selling the house will help assist for the initial financing. The trick is when you go to sell the property the buyer may not qualify with their mortgage company which will limit your sales pool. If you ever need to refinance you will be limited in choices as well.

I hope this helps a little.

Good luck shopping for your future home and have fun!


Hello fellow mortgage career person! :)

I'm in sales for a nationwide lender - we always ask if the "modular" home has a VIN #. If it does - then we know it isn't Modular. :)

~Amanda

[HollyB]

Our first house was a manufactured home. We were grad students in a college town. Many grad students bought these as a foot in the door to the housing market. It was the perfect size for two "kids" just starting out (2 bed/2 bath) and it had the nicest kitchen of any home I've ever owned. (My current kitchen is probably the worst! But I digress.). Big, airy, lots of countertops and cupboards. It also had the nicest view as it was on a small lake.

Because the market was stable with a constant influx of grad students, these manufactured homes held their value pretty well. They didn't appreciate as fast as stick homes, but as a grad student it meant you were earning principal plus and not just lining a landlords' pockets. Our first buyer backed out, but we did sell at a slight profit. It was a unique housing situation, however. I agree with earlier posters that manufactured homes generally don't hold their value as well. I guess the lesson here is you have to know your market.

[thrillme]

When I first started reading this post I thought immediately NO NO NO and NO. Then I clicked to the difference between Modular and Manufactured.

Modular sounds like something I'd even like looking into one day. But NOT manufactured. Everyone I know who has fallen into a "manufactured" home...some of the layouts are "beautiful" but the depreciate almost as fast as you can set them up and their cheaper price is offset by an ENORMOUS interest rate. Forget reselling them...at least around here. Unless the land they're sitting on has risen in value you won't get even remotely what you paid for them.

From what's been described here Modular sounds like it might be really a nifty deal since you won't have to worry about the weather to much.

[rnin02]

My parents had a modular home built...what an adventure! First of all, if you go this route...chose your contractor well (the guy who does your site work, and finishes the interior). My parents chose a friend as their contractor, then ran into alot difficulty with him not meeting deadlines. Also, be flexible with your time...the company my parents went with (I think the largest supplier in the PA/MD/VA area) got somewhat overwhelmed with orders, and things took longer than originally planned. My DH and I learned from watching my parents that we don't want to ever go this route! At least if we do, we are paying extra to have the interior finished...the company my parents went with do not (or didn't at the time) dig basements, or finish 2nd floors, and I honestly think they don't finish the interiors at all past drywall. Maybe if you pay extra they do. Just make sure you go in with your eyes open!

[pwdebbie]

"At least if we do, we are paying extra to have the interior finished...the company my parents went with do not (or didn't at the time) dig basements, or finish 2nd floors, and I honestly think they don't finish the interiors at all past drywall. Maybe if you pay extra they do. Just make sure you go in with your eyes open!"

Every company is different. Some just deliver the partially completed home to the site and leave erection and finishing up to the contractor. The company I work for not only delivers the home. but we also erect it, and do all the finishing work on the home. The only thing left for the new homeowner is to clean the house and move in. That's why the company I work for has a very limited delivery area -- the finish crews leave from the plant each morning to go to the job site.

The last couple years were crazy -- people had to book their construction dates a year in advance. And they were having trouble getting foundations in because their contractors were too busy. If a foundation isn't in, we don't put the house online. Or if financing isn't in place yet, we don't start the house. So many factors play into when houses get built. Then there are always the days when five people call in on the same day and say, "My foundation is in," and expect their house will go online the next day.

So many variables to deal with, and the modular home builder usually takes the blame. Well, that was last year. Right now, if you ordered a house today, you could be in by Christmas for sure! Things are really slow.

Now is probably a good time to buy -- lots of incentives are being added or discounts given. A small company like the one I work for would rather negotiate some deals to keep the plant open rather than have a lay off and possibly lose some good workers.

Deb

[Bethanymouse]

Thanks for all of the input. I am enjoying reading it. Can anyone recommend good modular home suppliers? Thanks!:D

[Jeff G]

Hello fellow mortgage career person! :)

I'm in sales for a nationwide lender - we always ask if the "modular" home has a VIN #. If it does - then we know it isn't Modular. :)

~Amanda


Hey! Glad to know there are others in the industry that share my I'cot obsession.

[Bethanymouse]

Ok, another question.....for those of you with the experience in modulars...how much is usual for a foundation?

[pwdebbie]

Hi Bethany. Did you get my PM last week? I don't know what the rules are about posting links and so I sent a link to you via PM.

There are a lot of variables on the price of a foundation. How big will it be? A two-story house is bigger but sits on a smaller foundation than a rancher usually. What kind of walls are you putting in -- concrete block, poured concrete, superior walls? All those things will make a difference in cost. Plus your location will determine the going rate for labor.

You should contact some local contractors and start getting some numbers from them. If you work with a contractor who works directly with a modular builder, that will probably be to your advantage.

In my area (south central PA) a block foundation and all site work (well and septic or water and sewer hook ups, driveway, grading, permits, inspections, plumbing and electrical hookups, etc.) would cost a minimum of $50,000.00 -- and we live in a relatively low-cost area.

If you have the finances to put in a "superior wall" foundation, I'd go for it. Do an online search for "superior walls" to read about this type of foundation. If I ever get to build again, this is what I will put in.

Deb

[Bethanymouse]

Thanks so much for that info. I just checked the pm so thanks again for that! I am going to look on the site and read up on all of that info. I have heard about this superior foundation- we actually saw it in a stick built new house today that we looked into. Thanks for the info!