Has anyone done business with manufactured home sellers?

[december]

I would love it if some of you who have modular homes would post websites! This is something I have been researching for a few months now, but would like to see more sites.

 

[DisneyClown]

I would love it if some of you who have modular homes would post websites! This is something I have been researching for a few months now, but would like to see more sites.

I am still researching but as far as web sites go, I like this site- http://www.allamericanhomes.com/

I still have to do my homework as to whether they are a good company to work with so don't take this as an endorsement. I just found their site to have good information and floorplans, and they give me a "ballpark" figure for what I MIGHT spend. I found they have a model home close to where I live, so I'm going to call them and go see it and go from there. I guess it's kinda' hard to know if you're going to get a good deal out of it all! That's why I was looking for people who might have done business with a particular company.
I guess all I can do is check with the Better Business Bureau about any particular company I choose to go with.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

I don't know if they are in every state but BONNAVILLA (I think CHIEF is the parent company or vice versa) has amazing homes. I do know that COMMODORE of Indiana will also make Bonnavilla style homes at a reduced cost. I think we are going to go with one of them.

 

[jenseib]

I would love it if some of you who have modular homes would post websites! This is something I have been researching for a few months now, but would like to see more sites.

We bought ours from Continental.

 

[jenseib]

I would have to disagree with that statement, at least for where we are in the northeast. Mobile homes around here are maintaining value, and we see lots of people downsizing, so the market is there. I think if you are talking old mobiles there are no finance companies that want to deal with them. But the OP is talking about buying brand new. We bought our manufactured / mobile home 6 years ago, our tax value now is $10,000 more than it was 6 years ago. We could sell it for almost twice what we paid, if we wanted. New manufatured homes are nothing like old ones.

I have to disagree with you. I bought a mboil home in 2000. It was top of the line, brand new. I still owe about $20,000 on it. We have tried to sell it over the years, but there is just no one who will pay that much for a used mobile home. So we rent it out for just a little over the cost of the mortgage. We also have to pay taxes on it yearly (which have dropped it's value tremendously) and we pay insurance on it yearly as well. We are taking a loss each year, but at least we can make the payments on it with the rent.

 

[mom2boys77]

Our house burned down in November. We decided to demo what was left and replace with a modular home..best thing we could have done! We previously had an 1100 sq ft ranch and our new house is 2200 sq ft with a full basement! We just moved in a few weeks ago. If you have any questions or want to see pictures, let me know. Good luck!

 

[mom2boys77]

We bought ours from www.statewidemodular.com ours is the stonewall model.

I would love it if some of you who have modular homes would post websites! This is something I have been researching for a few months now, but would like to see more sites.

 

[dyna]

I live in a modular that was built in 1977 we bought it in 1985 it's on a finished basement has a huge deck out front. The repairs we have had to do would have had to be done to a stick built home within the same time period as well.

Like a new roof about 10 yrs ago. Since we been here we have replaced the heat an central air twice ect like that.

I talked to several neighbors shortly after moving here they had compared electric bills in the neighborhood an I was told my home had the cheapest bill consistantly. All the homes was total electric.

My bedrooms still has the original flooring master bedroom is carpet that still looks very good for it's age NO ONE can believe it's more than 30 yrs old. The 2 kid bedrooms has vinyl flooring that still looks good not worn thru no chips out of it etc an has been very practical for kids rooms.

Kitchen cabinets are NICE I've recently had ppl ask if they are new. NO but I do put a coat of lemon oil on them couple times a yr.

Still got the original bathroom fixtures an faucets yeah we have to repair a faucet every now an then same as in a stick built.

My aluminum siding could use a painting but what siding would not need painting after 30 yrs?

The 1 complaint I have with my modular I still have with other modulars I've looked at over the yrs. The bathroom doors tend to be narrow esp in master bedroom NO WAY any wheelchair would ever get in there OH doesn't matter the bathroom to small for wheel chair anyway. lol

There are several modulars in my small subdivision one now looks like a brick home owner covered it in brick I not looked at it closely but from street looks good I know brick added later sometimes creates a problem. Another one got a new top added went from regular ranch style to dormer windows etc but it was all for looks.

 

[DisneyClown]

Our house burned down in November. We decided to demo what was left and replace with a modular home..best thing we could have done! We previously had an 1100 sq ft ranch and our new house is 2200 sq ft with a full basement! We just moved in a few weeks ago. If you have any questions or want to see pictures, let me know. Good luck!

I would love to see pictures! If you didn't want to post them here I could PM you my e-mail. Our home is just over 1000 sq. ft. and I would like to at least double it. I guess the main thing I'm wondering about, is there really any way to know if you're dealing with a good company or not? Did you just go with a company in your area due to proximity? I've got my mind set on a modular but can't afford it for at least another year, maybe even stretching it to two years.

 

[DisneyClown]

I guess another question I have for anyone who has gone through the process is...did the price of the modular home keep going up as you were going through the process of planning it?
I have a site that gives me a ballpark figure, and I realize this isn't the exact price, but am I getting my hopes up that I can actually afford this, just to go and actually talk to a company and find out all these *extras* they will tack on that will drive up the price alot. For example, if they are quoting me a ballpark price of $200,000- $250,000(this is just on the web site), is that price going to turn into $300,000-$350,000?

 

[jenseib]

Like I said, ours was the model, so our price got lower, but I know a few others who have bought, and yes, usually the basic price doesn't have many extras. Or upgrades, and you will pay more for them.

 

[DisneyClown]

Went to look at a modular home model yesterday. It isn't the style I want but it was still nice to actually physically walk through one and I am still very interested in them. There is a builder here who has actually built two of the style house I am interested in. Very excited!

 

[jenseib]

Be careful of those builders who do model homes. I'm not sure what they are called, but they have basically several designs to chose from and then stick build it, rather than a modular.
My DH's cousin had one built and so did a neighbor, and both complained about the comapnies...alot. You have to sign so much stuff, and every little thing costs. Like the cousin chose not to pay them to clear any debrie/lumber scraps, etc away. He said he could easily do it himslef...well if he didn't do it every day, he would get charged for it. Even though the company didn't clear it themselves. They just wanted it out every day and the fine print was if it wasn't you are still charged. Along with other little things like that.

 

[brivers222]

getting married back in '03 we couldn't afford a stick built house because sadly then the housing market was super high up. So we decided to do the manufactured housing route... got a great house 1,620sq feet (3 bedrooms, 2 bath, jacuzzi tub, 3 skylights, bay window, fireplace, 100% drywall) for a fraction of the price of a "real" house.

It was a great place, I didn't have it on my own property so i had to pay a bit extra to "rent" land in a park... And no, this wasnt the same type of trailer park that you think of when you think trailer park... Houses all had to be a certain square footage and had to be kept up.

Unfortunately, we got divorced and we sold the house... but this year my new fiance and I found a great "real" house for a fraction of the price of what I paid for the manufactured house...

Right now the housing market is so smashed you can get a very good price on a stick built house which makes modular/manufactured houses a little pricey

I know peoples arguments are always that a modular home depreciates while a "stick house" appreciates... but lets get real, right now, you buy a house and its worth Thousands less than it was when you signed right off the bat. The market blows for sellers

Its a buyers market out there right now....

But I do have to say, modular/manufactured homes are very nice and they are built with very nice quality (way more than the trailer park label of the past would lend to believe)

 

[MrsPete]

My options were only limited by my budget. I could select one of their standard designs (probably 50 or 60 standard options - ranches, capes, split entries, colonials, etc.) or bring them my own plans. You can have garages attached. Every decision you can make on a stick built house you can make with a modular.

Can you make changes to the design? Not just the interior decor like cabinets, but the design of the house?

For example, could you say, I want to flip the kitchen and the eating area.
And I want to double the width of that storage room that connects the house to the garage.
And I want to re-arrange the bathroom fixtures so that the sink is on this wall and the tub is on that wall.

I ask about those specifics because those are the changes I'm considering on the house plans we're looking at . . . which is stick-built, but I'm open to all my options. I haven't seen a plan yet that made me say, "Perfect!"

 

[MrsPete]

Right now the housing market is so smashed you can get a very good price on a stick built house which makes modular/manufactured houses a little pricey

I think the biggest moral here is that you have to stay current on the housing market.

Don't assume that what your parents did when they got married in the 60s is still the right choice today.
Don't assume that what was least expensive for me when I got married in 1990 is still the least expensive option for you today.

I suspect the cheapest thing today -- probably in all areas of the country -- is an existing house. So many people need to get rid of them, so the law of supply and demands comes into play.

Having said that, I -- like so many people -- really, really, really want to build a house. I want it to be just right for me, and my ideas aren't all cookie-cutter.

 

[MrsPete]

Went to look at a modular home model yesterday. It isn't the style I want but it was still nice to actually physically walk through one and I am still very interested in them. There is a builder here who has actually built two of the style house I am interested in. Very excited!

Being able to walk through "your house" before you commit to it would be a very nice perk! Who wouldn't love the chance to say, "Let's push the kitchen bar out an extra foot, and I'd like an extra window there by the dining table." Seeing the actual house would certainly make this process better.

 

[crisi]

i do inspections for a living in some circles they are called 360 homes.. Just make sure the foundation has time to settle in and also all dirt is compacted around the foundation.. Some settling can occur and cause sheetrock cracks and roof damage...

Any time a house goes up fast, this can be a problem. But because modulars go up so fast, its much more common in modulars than in a stick built house. You want to make sure your builder, regardless of the build type, takes their time.

They are against code in our city.

 

[MandM-Mom]

Any time a house goes up fast, this can be a problem. But because modulars go up so fast, its much more common in modulars than in a stick built house. You want to make sure your builder, regardless of the build type, takes their time.

They are against code in our city.

Which is against code Modulars or manufactured? Manufactured single wide homes are against code in our area, and almost all surrounding, Manufactured Doublewides are still possible in most but becoming more difficult unless it is grandfathered in and a new double manufactured home is placed within a 24 hr period. Modular homes are allowed in my area with the same code requirements as stick built.

 

[crisi]

Which is against code Modulars or manufactured? Manufactured single wide homes are against code in our area, and almost all surrounding, Manufactured Doublewides are still possible in most but becoming more difficult unless it is grandfathered in and a new double manufactured home is placed within a 24 hr period. Modular homes are allowed in my area with the same code requirements as stick built.

Either, but I was referring to modular building. They don't conform to code here. We have a pretty strict code for new construction. (You can do both in the town next door).