Modular/Prebfab Homes

I was having a discussion last night with a few co workers on thoughts and opinions on prefab/modular homes. Figured I would extend it onto here, to see what people thought. I have seriously contemplated buying one and setting it over a basement for a rather cost effective way for a first home. We have a family farm, and a lot of land around here and I have access to quite a lot to be able to either build a home, pole barn building, or a prefab/modular.

My main point was obviously the price but also on how well they seem to be built these days. The one who was on the fence about it even said how her friend has one and if she hadn't been told that it was a prefab, she would have never guessed. The only downside I could see would be resale value, but, if built on family land (as I would be doing) would there really be much of a loss? Especially when land, around here, is not the cheapest and you could use that as a bargaining point, IF you were to sell.

I mean, obviously the better option would be to build an actual home, but the prices on that are pretty insane these days. I also don't really see much of a difference between a prefab and a pole barn building asides from being able to design a pole barn building exactly how you want it. Rather, prefabs have a LOT of options on how they are designed though and come with damn near everything.

I would just like to hear some other opinions on what y'all think about it. It is a very viable option for me in the coming future to be doing. The setup I would want is the same 10 acres, only differences being if I want to go with a pole barn building, prefab, or building a home. I feel like a prefab is honestly a rather good option for me simply because of how nice they are, they're cheaper than building a home, everything is NEW, and I could pay it off a LOT quicker than a built house that would be the same size/contain the same thing inside of it. Either option will have a 30x40 next to it for a garage.

Only thing you need to know is a modular home is a depreciating asset not and investment. Don't get sucked in by the price.

So my friends parent’s did a prefab home on a slab here in Florida. It is very nice.

They have had it for quite a few years now with no issues I am aware of.

If I was building out on land (as they did) I would have no issue going that route.


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you have to be careful when you get a prefab. the things that make a prefab better than a trailer are going to drive the price up. ceramic fixtures vs. the default plastic for example. just be careful and upgrade as much as you can. my sister has a prefab that she has lived in for probably 20 years.

IMO, I say build a home. Anytime you make decisions like this, you have to be willing to live with them for a very, very long time if things go south. If you can swing it, I'd say build a home 100%.

I saw build a home simply for value down the road.

when I looked into a prefab the house only was 175,000
-no basement/foundation
-no land
-no sewer/well
-no garage
-no driveway
it was cheaper to build in our area..

It all comes down to the builders, The top prefab company could be a better house than a shitty home builder.

End the end take a bill of materials and compare. Also see if you like the layouts if your looking for a large open ranch then you likely are not going to get it from a prefab.

Prefab/modular no longer means a glorified trailer. Many companies stick build the house in huge sections at their facility, then transport them to the homesite. These things are shingled, wired, plumbing installed, interiors painted, cabinets installed...

It allows the entire structure to be delivered and connected in a day or so. No hoping it doesn’t snow or rain before getting it under roof or windows installed.

It is a lot cheaper and takes less time. A buddy’s son is considering doing this on their land, and I will be watching and asking a lot of questions if he goes this route.

tistan said:

Only thing you need to know is a modular home is a depreciating asset not and investment. Don't get sucked in by the price.

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You do know the bank makes no difference between a modular and site built home right? You aren’t obligated to disclose it when selling, nor can you tell. My second story has two rows of 2x10 joists with an overall thickness of 20” I doubt anyone that a contractor build has a second floor this solid.

Mines open concept. Balcony above the living room. Looks like a farm house that belonged here. no difference in a stick built home it just wasn’t built on site. Only one complaint about mine was it was a display and there’s some residual drywall issues from it being set up twice. But price was unbeatable

I

JAA55 said:

You do know the bank makes no difference between a modular and site built home right? You aren’t obligated to disclose it when selling, nor can you tell. My second story has two rows of 2x10 joists with an overall thickness of 20” I doubt anyone that a contractor build has a second floor this solid.

Mines open concept. Balcony above the living room. Looks like a farm house that belonged here. no difference in a stick built home it just wasn’t built on site. Only one complaint about mine was it was a display and there’s some residual drywall issues from it being set up twice. But price was unbeatable

I

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No kidding the bank doesn’t care. They just want to make money off you. Are you familiar with the term sub-prime lending? But they will absolutely care whenever you try to sell and want ALL of their money. Speaking of selling, you do have to disclose your structure is a modular home when you sell it, and that simple fact takes us back to the second post in the thread (which is spot on).

_Snake_ said:

No kidding the bank doesn’t care. They just want to make money off you. Are you familiar with the term sub-prime lending?

You do have to disclose your structure is a modular home when you sell it, and that simple fact takes us back to the second post in the thread (which is spot on).

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Incorrect, not sure where you getting this information. If it is a double wide or something with a title then you do. I’ve remortgaged it already. It had a regular construction loan, regular building permit and regular remortgage.

JAA55 said:

Incorrect, not sure where you getting this information. If it is a double wide or something with a title then you do. I’ve remortgaged it already. It had a regular construction loan, regular building permit and regular remortgage.

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Come back to this thread when you try to sell it.

You should talk to a realtor. You do not need to disclose it since it has the same building code standard as a stick built. What’s the difference how many truck loads your materials came in on besides mine? It has all solid wood everything, no metal frames no composite beams. Same materials, full basement. Same HVAC as any other home. Manufactured homes are different they follow HUD code and are constructed completely different. They require special financing at the bank as well. Should you disclose its a modular? Sure, total transparency never hurts, but not required.

My wife and I are going to do closing on a double wide tomorrow. In our current situation, it's just what will work best for us. We had our hearts set on building until we found out the harsh reality of the cost. We went as far as designing plans and material list. We paid 2k for the plans just to get quotes from builders in the $400-450k range. That was a huge let down because it's way out of our budget. We had no idea. Builders here are in the $110-120 sq ft range. A little of a back story is our house burned down 3 years ago and we lost about 98% of everything we had. We had insurance but not replacement value so long story short, they only paid the mortgage off and we were left starting completely over. We still have the property and that is where my heart is so there is no other option for me but to be there. We have 3 kids with the oldest graduating high school in 3 years, so we feel compelled to do something fast before he leaves the nest. Anyways, the mobile and modular homes are built a lot better now than what I thought. Ours is built with 2X6 exterior wall studs and 2X4 on the interior on 16" centers. IT will have sheetrock with a walk in tile shower and a tile back splash in the kitchen. We could have opted for a lot more, but naturally, the cost goes way up fast. Anyhow, good luck with whatever decision you make. Like you, we plan to pay ours off asap and maybe build a smaller home in the future once the kids are grown and won't require as large of a home.

how long do you plan on living in it?

From a real estate brokers view, modulars are made better than some stick builts. Don't confuse a modular with a trailer or mobile home, they're not even close. I just closed a mod in October for nearly a half million. Off frame mods are just as marketably valuable as stick built homes. Their appraisals come in the same and sometimes more then their stick built equivalent. In this area we have mods in excess of $ 1mil. I wont take on or list Mobile homes because of the depreciation factor. Off frame mods appreciate like any other home and most people can't tell the difference.

unlike what some believe Mods appreciate just as any other real property. not every market is the same. two cities right next to each other could have two completely different markets.

In NC, when listing any home, you do have to disclose its construction type. mods do not effect the appraisal one bit. Anyone who would tell you different, well, just doesnt understand how real estate works.

The most recent modular listed for a client, and closed on sold for $449,000. they were the 3rd owner of the home. It was built in 2005, and at that time it sold for $309,000. It was listed and sold again in 2007 for $359,000, My clients bought it in 2009 for $389,000 and in October of 2018 it was sold for $449,000. When I listed it, I had a formal appraisal done, because you can bet when a buyer comes along, their lending institution will have one done. The appraisal I had done came in at $459k. The buyers appraisal came in at $464k.

OP if you have any more questions on Mods, PM me because you are going to get answers here people who have absolutely zero clue of real knowledge about the topic. Even more, go to some real estate professionals in your area for a more informative answer.

Today, to an untrained eye, most people cant tell the difference between a stick built home and a mod because of the quality of construction. now a days, the only way you can tell is by a good trained eye from the inside. When I held my open house for that modular, not one single person believed it was a modular. Including the bank for the buyers. They had to send a special inspector out to verify it was a mod. I could play a game with some of the morons and post pictures of mods and stick builts and i would bet a Benjamin not one of them would get it 100% right.

but just for giggles, ill post some pics of the recent mod i closed on.




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Alot of people don't realize there are 2 types of modulars... frame-on and frame-off. Frame-on modulars are hugely upgraded mobile homes and do depreciate. Frame-off modulars are stick built homes just like stick built homes on-site that do not depreciate. Good frame-off modulars are built to stricter codes, the lumber is stored indoors, they are built indoors, and the lumber is laser cut. Frame-off modulars are completely stick built just like a home on-site, they're just built in sections for transportation.

Having said that my wife and I decided against the $175,000 frame-off modular when we were shopping a couple years ago. The housing market fluctuates up and down, but labor and material prices generally do not. It's been a buyer's market where we live and we found a comparable home with 30x30 attached garage for $135,000.

Heres some pics of my Modular closing from October.

There are agents in my office currently have $700+ mods.

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Fancier than mine, I like it!