How well are modular homes built?
Modular Home Questions June 6th, 2009My wife and me are looking into modular homes they seem to come in decent floor plans and can be put on perment foundations,which will increase value over time like a traditional stick built home and can be registured as a stick built home at your local court house.Also how well are the warranty stood behind by the manufactures on the homes when or if the roof,floors or other componets have problems or defects in craftmanship.Also are you happy with the over all value and set up of the home and any perfered manufacture of modular homes over others?
June 6th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Modular homes nowadays are built to the same or higher building codes as site built homes. Just about all mod homes are 2×6 construction, 16 inches on center, plywood shell, most site built homes are still 2×4 construction, 16 on center and particle board shells. The foundation or tie downs, however you go, are a 100% improvement of what was available 20 years ago. I got a foundation with my mod home and it's anchored securely to it, the same as a site built is anchored to a slab. If you go with a mod, one thing I recommend is to pour a concrete footing completly around your house, so the skirting goes down to concrete, not to the grass. It looks better, the skirting will last longer, lawn mowing and landscaping is easier, etc. I will also recommend to have a slab poured under the house, versus just going over the existing dirt and grass. It will keep the bugs and critter population down under the house, can give you a place to store long, bulky items and if you ever have to go under the house for maintenance it is much nicer to be on your back on clean concrete instead of dirt. The additional concrete work is really not that much of an additional expense. Like I mentioned, I have the poured concrete foundation, had my driveway/carport the lenght of one side of my house, had a patio poured the width of one side of the house and a walkway to the street, so to have a concrete footing poured for the other two sides and to have a full slab poured under the house, was not that much more added to the cost. Probably the "Cadillac" of mods is Palm Harbor Homes. They have a web site, you should be able to find it. You may pay a little more for a Palm Harbor, but you do get what you pay for, an excellent quality house. Other good names are; Skyline, Jacobsen and Redman. I personally bought a Skyline and am very happy with it, both the quality and installation. To find out more about poured foundations, check out AAA Manufactured Housing in Tampa Florida. If you can get it, the poured foundation is the way to go. Their web site is; http://www.aaamanufacturedhousing.com
I'm not sure if it's OK to post a web site, but I'll do it anyway, I have no affiliation with them. Hopes this helps.
June 6th, 2009 at 10:32 am
oh i heard about those. from what i heard they're like come in pieces already assembled. and they can as long a regular home.
June 6th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Okay from personal expierence, my parents house was a modular, until the basement and addition went up. Overall I would say they have their problems just like any other house. Really it depends on what company you get yours from. Think of it this way, you can buy a modualr home, and expand on to it as you need it.
June 6th, 2009 at 10:32 am
They used to be built very cheaply, but the standards for these homes has gone up as the demand has risen……They are a true home now, and the prices of new ones reflect that!!!!!! Everything can be repaired at no cost for the first 2 years if you purchase that length of warranty…..No problems ever here in 6…..
June 6th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Having done my share in the construction of these homes for family and friends, I believe they are well and truly worth the money. There is very rarely a problem with craftmanship or reliability. The components are premanufactured by professional builders and tradesmen. I have to recommend them I guess.
June 6th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Those things are as good as standard houses, but the resell value sucks. . . . We paid $95k for ours, just the home, not the land or anything. (paid 15k for the land) – 1 year later the home AND 1.2 acres that it sits on is only worth $90k
June 6th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Modular homes are built to higher standards today as compared to years ago. But since they are manufactured by different companies, they differ in their structural integrity as well as their cosmetic appearance. It's almost like car shopping — do I buy one brand or another.
Take time and compare different companies and their products. A little bit of legwork can save a lot of heartache.
Be sure to get the Warranty explained to you prior to the purchase.