Thread: advice on modular vs standard

hi everybody
What do you experienced folks say about modular as opposed to buying a standing home. Is it worth it pricewise? Are there known issues to look out for? How hard is it to establish zoning permissions? Seems to me that putting a preassembled house on a lot would be worth it if the price and quality of the build were very good.

thanks in advance,

Connie

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Hey Connie, I will give you my take on this. I have only Inspected 2 or 3 of these, maybe more but its possible I didnt notice. The biggest problem is getting people to seperate "mobile homes" vs "modular homes" in their mind. I am not speaking of you, but the buyer when you sell.

A mobile home can be built anywhere, and that same mobile home be placed anywhere from Alaska to Key West Fl. No construction differances at all. A modular home is constructed to your local code, just like a site built home. I have paid very close attention to modular homes when I have inspected them. Some have some clues that they may not be site built, but some do not.

My thought after doing these inspections is that a modular home may be better contructed than a site built house.

My reasons are this:
Its Friday afternoon and your framing crew, Juan, Rafael, and Jose, are out of a certain required nail, do they go to the hardware store???

I assume in a factory setting the inspectors and workmen work more hand in hand, instead of in the site built world where something is always getting hidden.

Next you must make sure that the person doing the foundation, and final "joining" is well qualified, otherwise you will still have junk.

I suppose alot of your decision rests in the amount of modular homes in your area. If they are rare, you may have problems down the road for the reasons I started with (people thinking mobile and modular are the same.) I think consultation with a Realtor might answer these questions.