"Todd" bacile99 wrote in message
om...
Anyone have an opinion of the quality and durability of a home that is
built in a factory & delivered to your vacant lot versus a 100% on
site, stick built, traditional home?

I purchased a vacant lot and was shopping around the different
builders in the area, when I happened to walk into a manufactured
model of a home. I must say that I was very impressed with the
exterior and interior of the factory built home. This was a Cape Cod
style. I guess I had always assumed that manufactured homes looked
more like 1 or 2 trailers next to one another - not a lot of style or
eye appeal. But that was not the case. The Cape Code was about 2100
square feet and was on sale from $130,000 to an unbeleivably low price
of $110,000. I was with my father who is a craftsman with an eye for
quality, and he was equally impressed (he had never walked thru a
factory built home either). He practically wanted to buy this after
looking through it for a couple hours. Am I wrong to think a
manufactured home will measure up against a site built home both in
curb appeal and durability?

I had planned to sell this home soon after it was completed - do
buyers typically have a negative opinion of manufactured homes? Or if
it looks nice enough and quality was put into the house, then is it a
non-factor?

Final question: does a seller need to disclose to a buyer that a home
is factory built or stick built?

Thanks for the information.

There is no difference between modular and stick-built, other than build
time, which is shorter with a modular. Anything that can be said of a
stick-built can also be said of a modular. Any feature you want in a
stick-built can be ordered in a modular. Cost is about the same, unless you
figure in build time (and time is money). FWIW, that Cape you mention
sounds really pricey . . . I've seen them for about half that, with the
"catch" being that the second floor is unfinished. Modulars (especially
capes at the low end) start around 60K and go up from there, with the sky
being the limit. I've often seen capes or ranches in the 1800-2000SF range
(3 or 4 bedroom, 2 bath) on sale for 60-80K. These are the no-frills
models, of course. If you want the 8" exterior walls, Andersen windows,
hardwood floors, 50year guaranteed roof, etc, your cost will go up, the same
as it would if you stick-built.

Unfortunately, even though modulars are often built better, they do not seem
to appreciate as well as stick-built. The only downside to modular is if
you want to maximize short-term resale value. We're building modular soon.
But we don't intend to ever sell it, so resale value is not a factor. -Dave