Anyone live in a manufactured or modular home?

Dh and I have been arguing about building a new house for several months. We have argued about floor plans, size, construction, you name it, even the type of windows. Anyway, after doing some research, and actually finding one we BOTH liked, we have decided on either a manufactered home, or a modular home.
So far we only have pros...and possibly one con, here they are

Con: could possibly be "deed or zoning restricted", which could cause us to not buy either, although we have done our research and Houston is the only city in the state that can enforce deed restrictions.

Pros: Manufactured is already built, a done deal, no waiting
Modular is built, nd delivered, and put togehter like Lego's in a matter of 8-12 weeks. almost a done deal
They both cost less than a traditional stick built home, Manufactured is $35-55 sq ft, modular is $55-75...stick built is $100+ sq foot.

So give me some cons, costs, or even "why I hate this place"???

Con: they attract tornadoes and have to be evacuated for bad weather ...

My mom lives in one, this seems to be the only drawback ....

We rarely have tornadoes, but we do have hurricanes from time to time....alot of them lately.

Mobile/modular homes are usually a mandatory evacuation for a hurricane watch. She had to come here the other night .....

We don't have mandatory evacuation, we only have recommended...they cannot force us to leave. We actually don't get many storms, we have had more in the last 3 years than in the last 25.

Everything here is always mandatory
Well, for those on the island and those in manufactured homes anyway ....

If you don't have too many storms, and no tornadoes, that's a huge PRO

The modular ones here are cheap looking and don't stand up to the weather. They require constant maintanance and people freeze all winter in them. I don't think they stay too cool in the summer either.

My in-laws live in a premanufactured home. That thing is SOLID. They did a lot of research and went with a specific company that was supposed to be the best. If you want me to I'll call and ask her the brand.

Oh, I thought of one "con", if you want to call it that. It does have textured walls inside. Not a real heavy texture, but it does take more paint when it's time to repaint. It looks very nice, though.

I would like to know the company, if they don't mind.
We did find that you can get them "prefinished" meaning, dried in and we do the finish work. SO texture and paint, drywall etc would be up to me. I can do drywall and flooring myself, so that's not a problems and we would save money.
I have enough walnut crown molding to finish several houses out of it, my uncle works for a cabinet shop and brings me all kinds of crap.....
I DO Like the floor plans of one particular manufactured home company, I think it ic Champion, or Clark....cannot remember

What about insurance/fire protection?

One important item to investigate (whether home or modular) look at the pipes. If anywhere you see made in China - do not purchase.

Possible high homeowners insurance premiums, since they tend not to be as 'fire/weather proof' but that will vary by region and company anyway.

I don;t like the cheap materials some use, but again that varies. Just be sure the materials used will hold up in your region. That said I could probably move into a tent in the back yard and it would be more energy efficient than my tiny charming 140 year old house.

Trax beat me too it but I spent all that time typing, I sent it anyway, lol.

I live in a double wide. Can't say if it is modular or manufactured though, as I was told they are the same thing. Ours came in two pieces and was assembled here. We built piers to put it on (hubby is a contractor himself), but if you can afford it, build a slab. My husband claims they are well built now and we have had ours for about 10 years or so now. He is a perfectionist as a builder and has built very expensive homes, so if he says they are well built these days, then I beleive they are (some brands at least).The brand name of ours is Sunshine. They are usually very well insulated, but they are built different for different climates so you have to check that. If you order yours, you can specify how much you want it insulated, as well as many other things. As for insurance, it is not high but it will be lower if you put it on a permanent foundation and make it non-movable. Ours still has skirting, which I hate, but we have also added an addition on the back making it unable to ever be moved again. Hubby built on another bedroom and put a storm shelter under it. One day we hope to build a nice foundation built and remove the skirting.

A double wide would be a manufactured home, Modular homes are the same as regular homes, just built off site, so cheaper.
We would be putting it on a slab, actually already have the slab done, we have all the water sewer stuff done, so that is a huge expense that we won't have........there was a house there previously.
The insurance is not an issue, it would be about the same as it is now for our house...I did already check on that.


I am glad everyone seems happy with them, since I was convinced I would hate it once we moved in.

edbson wrote:A double wide would be a manufactured home, Modular homes are the same as regular homes, just built off site, so cheaper.
We would be putting it on a slab, actually already have the slab done, we have all the water sewer stuff done, so that is a huge expense that we won't have........there was a house there previously.
The insurance is not an issue, it would be about the same as it is now for our house...I did already check on that.


I am glad everyone seems happy with them, since I was convinced I would hate it once we moved in.

Oops, per your definitions the in-laws live in a modular home. It was built by Wisconsin Homes. And like I said, it is one solid home.

Oops, I should have added - in Canada only. Fire regulations/insurance vary from metro to non metro.

When purchasing a home, several major items that should be looked at are forgotten because you are so overwhelmed with the fact of moving.

Start a list:

1. Look at the pipes - made in China - do not purchase - you will have to replace.
2. Ask for the history of the home, zoning.
3. If you are set on purchasing a home, pack a lunch, go and sit near by for an afternoon.
Learn the neighborhood.
4. Much differs from one is rural or city. Rural - well, septic, power. The basics.

trax wrote:Oops, I should have added - in Canada only. Fire regulations/insurance vary from metro to non metro.

When purchasing a home, several major items that should be looked at are forgotten because you are so overwhelmed with the fact of moving.

Start a list:

1. Look at the pipes - made in China - do not purchase - you will have to replace.
2. Ask for the history of the home, zoning.
3. If you are set on purchasing a home, pack a lunch, go and sit near by for an afternoon.
Learn the neighborhood.
4. Much differs from one is rural or city. Rural - well, septic, power. The basics.

They are built in Wisonsin or Georgia, or Louisiana so nothing foreign
It would be new, and right next door, so no history....we know the neighborhood, been here for 20 plus years. We found that they cannot enforce the deed restrictions legally, so I could put up a tin shack and live in it if I wanted to...

We have sewer and city water, already installed,....we are in the city limits, but unanexed, whatever that means...

Yes, it is one to say something is manufactured in the USA. The question being where exactly are the components coming from?

I will give you an example. Piping. To make a long story short; if you see in a home anything 'made in China' get out. The material will not be with standing. It will fail.

I wrote a huge long post. and it disapeared.

I wrote it, I pushed save, and its gone. when I get unpissed I will rewrite it.

Prefab is actually different than modular. My stepdad sells modular homes, and he is in the process of building several developments in TX.

A modular home is actually made with about 1/3 more lumber than a regular site-built home, making it sturdier and more durable. And because they are constructed in segments in a warehouse, they are not exposed to the elements. Modular homes are also FEMA-approved. During a hurricane, a modular home will still be standing.

Most times, the people who sell prefab homes will want the potential buyer to think they are getting a modular home. This has done wonders negatively for the modular business - people get them confused all the time, and the benefits are modular homes are overwhelmed by the negatives of prefabs.