How much does it cost to put in a modular home?
Modular Home Questions August 31st, 2009My husband and I have been looking for a house in our area to buy for the past 3-4 months and haven’t found anything worth while. and fankly i’m getting impatient. we are currently living with his parents with our 15 month old son (he recently broke his leg and was off work for 6months–so we had no source of income to stay on our own) We are both ready to get back out on our own. there was a small trailor came up for sale in our area… and i thought about buying the trailor, tearing it down, and replacing it with a nice modular home… does anybody know about what it would cost since all of the utilities are already in place??
August 31st, 2009 at 3:23 am
Ok, I find a couple of things about the above answers amusing. For one… someone is quoting a "square foot" build price — without knowing where you are located… and its different depending on where you live. Window screens that "pop out" are SUPPOSED TO DO THAT, lol. It is the way the window is made — obviously, the dealership that sold that home FAILED to educate the consumer. The other problems mentioned are items that should have been covered under the home warranty, and are easily corrected by a competent service tech.
Now, to top it all off, they refer to MOBILE homes — your question is about MODULAR homes — TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT BEASTS. Even though the two types of homes are made in the same factory, they are made differently. And, let’s not confuse "trailers" made 20 to 30 years ago, with the mobile home industry of today. The whole industry is building better homes, as a whole, than they were years ago. Even the "low end price range" homes are built better than those old "trailers" — though I still have some standards to look for when purchasing a home.
A MODULAR home is constructed so that the steel transport frame is REMOVED once it reaches the home site. Once this frame is removed, the home is just like all the other new homes in the area… it meets the same building codes, and uses the same building materials… and on occasion, BETTER materials, and often with MORE insulation. (How many contractors will insulate the floor space at no extra charge?)
Here is my suggestion — get back to work. If you want to move out, then find an apartment, if you want to do it "right now". Do NOT buy the first thing you see. Instead, take some time to go shopping. Check references, compare services (even between contractors site built homes, and modulars), get a good idea of what you want in a living space, floor plan, etc. IF you buy a piece of land with an old trailer on it…. do NOT tear it down. You would have the cost incurred in labor and/or time, and you would still have to dispose of the waste. Rather than tear it down, resell the trailer, with the understanding the buyer would have to move it. Even if you GAVE IT AWAY, it would cost less than tearing it down. Before I went that route though, I would check with the local utilities and find out just what it would cost to have services run to a new home. With a modular home, your dealer can usually get all of that included in the loan. So you would have one payment, and it would take care of everything. Go shopping for loans too! Once you have an idea of the size and type of home you want… get "pre-approved", find out just how much you can borrow, etc.
Just to get down to your last sentence in the question — how much would it cost to move in a modular home — that’s included in the price of the home, if you buy it from a dealership. If you purchase a home from someone else… If it really is a nice one… you are most likely going to find it already on a piece of land, with all the utilities already run. You don’t find very many MODULAR homes in "trailer parks".
Go Shopping!
Good luck!
August 31st, 2009 at 3:23 am
frankly my dear, it is not a wise thing to do. don’t be so impatient..your money is better spent somewhere else. trailors do not come apart easily, and the whole project is not worth the effort and money. good things come to those who wait. reminds me of a prayer i heard once,. lord, give me patience, but please hurry. good luck..
August 31st, 2009 at 3:23 am
It costed us Over 80 thou and it was a peice of shit! You want it to last for years? Buy a stick built! My window screens poped out with just a push,Back door had frost around it in the winter,Mice got in between the heating ducts and the floor,The trim around the doors would pop off if a kid was pushing on a door to much. We rent it out now and bought a REAL MAN MADE HOUSE. Been standing sence 1920 and I LOVE IT!
August 31st, 2009 at 3:23 am
you can build for 65 – 70 bucks a foot for a conventional home which should increase in value as opposed to a trailer which is designed to decrease in value..