Modular home?????

[NikiM20]

Anyone have one of these or know someone who does? DH and I were just given some land and they look nice, but I know looks can be decieving I wanna know everything the good, the bad ,and the ugly

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Do you mean Mobile home? Many of these dealers refer to their product as "modular" to avoid the stigma of a mobile home. They should technically be referred to as "manufactured" homes. These are entirely built in a factory and then taken to the site. They conform to Federal codes only. They are built on a non-removeable chassis. Sometimes two are joined to make a "double wide" If this is what you are referring to, I do not suggest them. Though the land underneath may appreciate, these Depreciate in value and are vulnerable to high winds even if they have Faux foundations around them.

Or do you mean regular home built on a foundation but uses prebuilt elements such as roof trusses, wall panels, or the like built at a seperate location and put together on site. This is appropriately termed a modular home. Sometimes stick builders will call these "prefab" or "manufactured" in order to paint them with the same brush as a mobile. These are perfectly fine, have been built since I was a kid in varying degrees, and many houses have been built this way. These appreciate at the same rate as a stick house, must conform or exceed local building codes, and provide the same longevity as a stick built house.

 

[NikiM20]

no not a trailer or mobile home...............a modular home

 

[tuckerkeys]

we just built a modular on our property this past year. we tore down our old home & rebuilt this one. it is 2750 sq. ft and we love it! it looks like a "real" stickbuilt house. it is victorian style w/ a garage & porch. the company we used to build it was an absolute nightmare, and we ended up finishing things ourselves!! my husband is upstairs right now doing trim! we have been in it since may 25. it was supposto be done by may 15, and our co. had an attitude of "oh well, shi* happens, sorry" and they told us a new completion date of august 25. we were in a winter rental and had to be out by may 15 2006. we had a contract for may 15 2006, and when this date came & went & the house was sitting unfinished, we fired our company. sica industries of toms river nj. horrible. BUT the house is awesome! it is @ 80% finished when set, and it was set in 1 day. plumbing, electric work, finish work is all done after. the company that built the house was pbs modular. they have a website pbsmodular.com the other house builder we liked was apexhomesinc.com . all in all we spent @ $90 a sq ft. this is with US doing majority of the finish work though ( flooring throughout, granite countertops, drywall in 1 bedroom for vaulted ceiling, paint) we took a set of plans and modified it to what we wanted. 9ft ceilings, vault in master, big great room, garage, proch, larger windows, doors etc etc.... i would do it again but ONLY with the right company. ANYONE not willing to put a completion date in the contract WALK AWAY FROM! our company only did it b/c we told them they would loose the sale without one. They did it but the house was STILL not finished by the completion date. they had no idea who they were dealing with, and we fired them, and ended up saving a lot of money b/c we did the finish on our own w/ our contractors....if you have any questions, feel free to ask away! and good luck!!! start to finish should be no more than 1 yr( from 1st walking in to co. picking house to finish of home)

 

[GeorgeG]

Some modulars can be better than traditional houses. You really have to shop around, though.

When we were looking at where to move to in Florida, one of the options we considered was a modular home. We were advised to look into Palm Harbor homes in Plant City, Florida. We did and were very impressed. Our problem was that we didn't have the piece of property and didn't want to go the leased land route. Also, we didn't have the time to work all that out.

Since you already have the land it would be worth looking into. The Palm Harbor homes brag about standing up to hurricanes, too. I don't know where you live, but I think Palm Harbor has other locations around the country.

 

[aprilgail2]

Aren't they the same things as trailors? They stick two pieces together like a double wide trailor or something?? Do they have basements? Can you put a dormer on one??

 

[NikiM20]

Aren't they the same things as trailors? They stick two pieces together like a double wide trailor or something?? Do they have basements? Can you put a dormer on one??

No they arent the same thing as trailers. You can get a basement however in Louisiana we cant have a basement. And you can put a dormer on one!! They look just like a normal house.

 

[golfgal]

There was a modular home company in our old town. These houses are built in a climate controlled environment in sections then moved onto a lot and assembled. They are sort of like mobile homes that way but they are more like a stick built home. You can have all kinds of floor plans, elevations, etc.

Some friends live in one and it is fine. The only negative is that they selected not very good quality carpet so you can see a lot of seams but that wasn't the fault of the manufacturers.

 

[goldcupmom]

My favorite home ever was a WICK home we bought(used) in Kansas. The only way you could possibly tell it wasn't conventional built was that the lights were 'swagged'. There were none in the ceiling since the wiring was predone in the walls. They may have changed that, though as this home would now be almost 20 yrs old. I'd say go for it if you're comfortable with it. I wouldn't have second thoughts about getting one again. Mine was a 4 level split with the bottom level being a 1/4 basement (a must in Tornado alley)

 

[Steamboat Girlie]

We are in the process of finishing our modular home. It was delivered on May 10 and we still aren't in. There was so much to be finished on site! I think we were a bit misled, and thought that going modular would save time and money. I think that it would have cost us exactly the same to stick build. We opted to go with a Canadian company www.profabhomes.com We were able to customize the details of the entire house.
The house is absolutely beautiful, and it looks custom built, on a full basement. It is definitely not a trailer! I would just recommend to do your research, it isn't as easy as you would think. We were very unhappy with the dealer, not the company, but the dealer who acts as a sort of middle man. But as I said, the house is beautiful. Hope to be moved in by the end of September. I will let you know how we like living in it.

 

[Chris2597]

I think the biggest issue in buying a modular home is where you put it. We have friends that are considering buying one but are putting it in an area where there are new modular home but also old dilapidated mobile homes. They are spending 150k on the home and a 1/4 acre lot....I dont see how they will ever recoup their investment if they decide to sell...Oh well..to each his own.

 

[lulu71]

No they arent the same thing as trailers. You can get a basement however in Louisiana we cant have a basement. And you can put a dormer on one!! They look just like a normal house.

Did you see nolahomebuilder.com? They are doing modular homes that fit in style-wise in Louisiana. There is one going up in my neighborhood and this woman paid something like $350K for it. But she's getting it quick.

 

[wdwmom2]

We have a modular home manufacturer in my town http://www.foremosthomes.com/ . Their quality and integrity is well known. I would not hesitate for one moment to purchase one of their homes. Very well built and BEAUTIFUL!!! I know several people that own Foremost homes and are very pleased with them. When we get all the kids out of our home I would love to downsize from our two story to a Foremost one story.

 

[NikiM20]

I think the biggest issue in buying a modular home is where you put it. We have friends that are considering buying one but are putting it in an area where there are new modular home but also old dilapidated mobile homes. They are spending 150k on the home and a 1/4 acre lot....I dont see how they will ever recoup their investment if they decide to sell...Oh well..to each his own.

There is a 10 acre plot total 2 acres DH grandma 2 acres us and 6 acres MIL & FIL. So we are all close but not toooooooooooo close

Thanks everyone for the responses, I really appreciate it, we will get prices from some companies and see how mush a stick built home is