I would only get one if it was put on a basement

ess, you mean a foundation? yes thats my intention.

cool. I will have to look into that. good idea

If your idea of a dream is to live out your days in a double-wide...you need to dream a little bigger. There's a reason that "modular homes" are inexpensive. Might have something to do with them being cheap pieces of shit.

ok, as I said I own one. They are NOT crap, or shotty constructed trailers. I toured the Redman plant in Lancaster PA researching them before I bought one. Most stick built houses are made of 2x4 construction. Modulars are made of 2x6's, and have to pass a set of standards regular stick built houses couldn't pass. One of which is being able to withstand over 100mph sustained winds (they are transported on trucks at 55mph into strong headwinds sometimes). The insulation factor is higher than a regular home, increasing its efficiency and lower heating/ac costs. They are cheaper than a stick built home because there is a lot less work involved, not because they are pieces of shit. They don't have to factor in the costs that goes along with any stick built home (everything from the architech, to the plumbers, electricians, drywall installers, painters etc...)

There are several types of prefabs. The ones that are most popular, but a little more expensive are made in sections, then trucked to the property and crane lifted into position, usually on a block foundation. I liked the fact we could design our own. The most widely sold is called a class C, which is essentially a glorified trailer. You wouldn't know it because they can be huge, and after the wheels are taken off and a block foundation is in place, they are no longer considered a trailer. If a block foundation is not made, and the home is fitted with some sort of skirting, it is still considered a transportable vehicle. With the class C, the block foundation doesn't actually support the house, and is constructed after the house is in place.

I spent almost 3 years comparing, and pricing stuff. My original plan was to build, but the same exact house would have cost almost $28,000 more, and longer from start to finish.

As with any home you go with, there are pros and cons. The one thing I don't like is the use of 1/4" drywall on the interior walls, and some rather cheap interior doors. I replaced the doors for less than $1k, with some nice unfinished doors from home depot. I'll redo the drywall in the future. One good thing is I spend almost half as much in electricity during the summer, and about 25% less heating the place in the winter. For a 3000 sq. ft. house thats not bad.

My advice is to research the living hell out of them before purchasing. And don't let the distributor rip you off. You can order straight from the manufacture in most cases.

MAKRE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE BUYING!

I worked with home builders/ mortgages for a few years after my undergrad and people always confuse modular/pre-fab homes with manufactured homes. I explained it like this:

A manufactured home is a home that you see when you're driving down the highway- 1/2 of it is on one truck the other half is on a different truck. A ManU home has a Hud1 tag by the electrical box (I believe). This becomes important later.

A Modular home is the type of deal they put together on extreme makeover home edition- it comes in MANY pieces and is assembled on site.

Like any home it's what you make it. One piece of advice though is to make SURE you know which you are purchasing- a ManU home or a modular. This is CRUCIAL because most lenders (especially in this market) can not lend money on a ManU home. It's not because they are inferior or anything like that but they don't appreciate at the same rate as a "single family" home. You need to be careful because there are a ton of builders who call their ManU homes "modular" to avoid the whole trailor stereotype. In 3 years I probably had 12 clients get confused/ screwed by this.

Cliff Notes:

Home is what you make it.

Look for a Hud Tag and find a lender before you buy the home

If you're paying cash, Ignore this entire paragraph and just find a place you enjoy!

GL

NZ

Thanks NZ,

appreciated very much.

They make 2 story Mods towman. In fact they are putting one next door to me right now. Its in 4 big sections.

Wretchy....blow me

LOL...I have no comment

Check to see if the are holding values. In the past, Mod Homes and especially trailers did not hold value...So the only value you would have is in the the land itself...

All of my options are still open with the exception of the acreage. I have no experience with Modular homes and wanted some feedback before investigating them further. I'm really in no hurry right now with the home. The land purchase is my first priority because of the price. I have a home thats paid for and im really not sure yet if im gonna sell it right now, rent it out or let my son take it over. I thank everyone for the information, it gives me a place to start and some questions to ask.

Thanks jtown i agree completely. The problem the last few years (since Katrina) is that materials went up about 40%. But, with the housing market the way it is right now, i may be able to take advantage of the slowdown in homes being built. I will be contacting some contractors.

note- if i had any skills at all, i would do what you did and do alot of the work myself, Unfortunately i dont though.

Thats a good point Graps. The ability to gut and upgrade a modular is a question that i need answered.

Thanks

The lands a done deal and in an area that the growth is moving towards. for me at age 44, unless something strange happens, I wont be selling it. It will be something that my kids will inherit later on and also probably enjoyed by my wifes future boy friends after im gone.

I built a garage onto mine and a porch on the front and deck on the back. You wouldnt know it was a Mod if I didnt tell you