Modular Homes Make An Affordable Alternative To Traditional Home Purchases
As construction costs for conventional site built homes continue to rise, many people are turning to modular home construction as a means to keep new home prices affordable. Modular homes offer a low cost alternative that has become attractive to home buyers.
Modular houses account for nearly eight percent of all new home sales in the USA. Modular home sales in North Carolina, Michigan and New York are the most popular locations for new modular home construction. Modular homes provide an affordable home that can be installed very quickly verses traditional built homes.
Modular homes share some similarities with manufactured homes, but they also have many differences. The biggest difference is that manufactured homes are generally not installed on a permanent foundation and modular homes are. Manufactured homes are also titled as personal property at the county level where Modular homes are considered and deeded as real property at the courthouse.
Factory settings allow homes to be built without the setbacks that traditional home builders face such as rainy weather and vandalism. Without these setbacks and with modern building techniques allow manufacturers to build the framework of the home at a lower cost that is passed on to the buyer. Buyers can even choose to customize their homes layout.
Commonly, modular houses are purchased through a modular home dealer or builder. After the floor plans and choices have gotten approved by the manufacturer, a state-approved third party reviews the designs to ensure they conform to the building code for the state where it will be constructed. Furthermore, a third party inspection agency licensed by the state conducts inspections at the industrial plant as the house is being manufactured and assembled. Meanwhile, a local contractor constructs the home’s foundation.
After the foundation is complete, the constructed walls and trusses are brought to the construction site on a flatbed truck and set in place with a crane. Framing crews then secure the walls to the foundation. Typically, the installation takes 1 to 2 days to complete. Once all the framing is finished, the electrical, plumbing, sheetrock, and cabinetry are installed. The home is generally ready to move into within 120 days or less. Traditional site built homes take 12 months to complete. So which would you rather do?
Final Thoughts
It is estimated that a home buyer can save about 25% on their building costs by choosing modular over conventional construction. That is a big saving in a down economy.
Hubert Miles is the founder of Waterfront Houses USA, an online advertising service that provides Coast Property For Sale and Properties on the Coast in the US and Canada.
