The housing market is booming right now and many families are searching and competing with others for affordable residences with adequate square footage and amenities. One emerging trend is for buyers to purchase modular homes that can be customized to their needs.
Modular homes? Isn’t that just a fancy name for mobile home or manufactured home? No! Contrary to popular belief, modular homes are very similar to traditional construction, or “stick built” homes, with a few exceptions. Major components are built in a factory setting, but once completed are transferred to a permanent foundation on site and completed to specifications. Below is a simple breakdown of the pros and cons of a modular home.
Pros:
Codes/Safety: Modular homes must meet the same state and local building codes. That means that you can stay put and feel just as safe during a hurricane or other severe weather as you would in a stick built home.
Quality: They are built in a factory setting under strict guidelines and under the watch of quality control. And because they are mostly assembled indoors, weather delays are not a concern. Materials aren’t left out in the elements risking damage or theft.
Speed: These prefabricated homes are competed usually within three and a half to four months. (Compared to five to six for stick built homes.) Materials are purchased in bulk and readily available.
Price: Modular homes can be up to 15% cheaper than stick built homes. Often times, the manufacturer will offer financing, allowing customers to skip a bank loan and the questions/stigma that may come with a modular home purchase.
Cons:
Customization: Companies offer a wide variety of floor plans and options, but because they are factory built with set models, buyers are limited to those options with little customizations.
Loan Process: The process with a bank could be more complicated. The builder will want payment upon completion and some installments during the process. Buyers may have to secure a construction loan and then convert that to a mortgage. Of course, buyers also have to have land upon which to build so land acquisition and cost/financing also has to be considered.
Restrictions: Although modular homes are more favorably looked upon than mobile or manufactured homes, municipalities may still have restrictions on what types of homes can occupy neighborhoods. Most of that is because of how these homes used to look. Now, it’s hard to tell them apart from stick built homes.
Perceived Quality Issues: Since modular homes are built to the same specifications and standards as stick built homes, their quality is the same. However, the stigma is still present for modular homes as being cheaply made and lowering surrounding property value. (These are false ideas.)
A modular home definitely isn’t for everyone. But, if you are looking for a less costly alternative to traditional construction without sacrificing quality, give it some thoughtful consideration. You might be surprised.