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ameijers
 
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Default Factory built home vs. traditional site built home

(not top-posting, but due to length of OP, answers are in-line.)
"Todd" 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?


IMHO, having grown up in the stick-built business, few modulars measure up
in quality and 'class'. Having said that, modulars are a whole lot better
than they used to be, and much of their bad rep is due to the 'glorified
mobile home' look of entry level models, with the tell-tale little peak over
the front door, the visible row of siding under the front door, and the
ultra-predictable interior layout and cheap materials and fittings to make
the low price points. High-end modulars overcome at least some of the
40-foot box floorplan problems and dinky roofs, but cost a lot more, almost
as much as stick built.

(snip)
Am I wrong to think a
manufactured home will measure up against a site built home both in
curb appeal and durability?


It depends. A high-end modular will probably be close to a wash in curb
appeal. Durability depends on how well it was built, how well the foundation
was built, and the skill of the crew that placed it, zipped up the seams,
and did the finish work seaming the interior, roof, etc, and stick-building
the garage.

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?

Around here, modulars are considered a cut below stick-built on the food
chain, and the prices reflect that. Probably less of a consideration for a
high-end modular.

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

Anyone with any construction experience can tell a modular from a
stick-built with a few minutes inspection. Usually, but not always, obvious
from the street. Even on high-end modulars, a few minutes in the basement
and attic to see the joist structure or the patched-in spots in spots in the
foundation where the temporary install beams were placed gives it away.
Wiring and plumbing usually have very obvious umbilicals at the join points
as well. Around here, at least, realtors always list modulars as
'manufactured' in the listing, presumably so people can't claim they were
duped later.

If you decide to go ahead with a modular, make sure they write it up to
include the same level of interior finish as you saw in the model. The
interiors on the cheap ones they push in the ads are not impressive.

aem sends....