OMG! Welbilt Homes in
website. I can’t let this go without responding. My thoughts are in RED. Let
me know if I missed a point or two.
Link to their web page:
Things to Know BeforeYou Buy a Modular Home. This is why you build Stick Built Homes!!! What do you folks think we build our homes with? Mud and
straw!
By definition and for purposes of this article, a modular
home is a house that has been built in sections in a manufacturing facility and
then moved to the site where it’s put together on a foundation, crawl space, or
concrete slab. Once completed, a modular home is virtually undetectable from a
site or stick-built house. Great point!
Shopping for a modular home is a lot like shopping for a new
car. There’s the base price that doesn’t sound all that bad and is certainly
not over your budget. Then there’s the “real” price. That’s the price the car
will cost if you want a steering wheel and tires. I jest, but you’re probably
getting the idea. No, I really don’t get the idea. Are you saying that Welbilt
Homes doesn’t have a base price for your homes?
Modular home buying is similar. You see the pictures and
walk through a few models and you just know this will be the best way to go.
And there definitely are advantages to buying a modular home. They’re built
indoors, so there’s no weather delays or weather-damaged building materials.
Once construction begins in the plant, it takes less than a week to build the
sections and prepare them for transport. The cost per square foot is generally
less than a site built house, and in most cases the construction itself is high
quality. Another
Great Point!
But here’s the catch. There’s a lot more expense to buying a
modular home than selecting the model you like and waiting for its delivery and
final construction. There are options you’ll need to choose from. Apparently Welbilt
Homes doesn’t have options. There are contractors you’ll need to
hire. Again,
Welbilt must not use contractors for anything. There are many
expenses and things to consider that are not included in the base price of the
house. So, before you sit down with the friendly salesperson, investigate and
think about the following:
Dimension. What size house can you afford? On average, a modular home will cost
anywhere from $65 to $85 per square foot to build. But this is for the house
itself and nothing more. Again, what’s your point?
Site. Do you already own the site, or do you have to buy
that too? Is your site undeveloped, or are the utilities already nearby? Will
you be installing a septic system? Where is your electricity, water, and
natural gas or propane coming from? Who will dig your basement or crawl space
or pour the cement slab? Estimates and costs from contractors and utility
companies might surprise you. This applies to site building as well. The owners
of the company will do a site visit with you to get a estimate of what you
might need. After that we will send it out to our Septic Designer or Engineer
and they will design the system you need. Then they figure the cost and we
forward that onto you. Everything is up front and on paper. I don’t think that
any builder, modular or site, can get a building permit without these things
being completed.
Heating, air conditioning, plumbing. Remember that your
house will not come from the factory with any duct work or wiring or water
lines. This
statement is total BS. You’ll need contractors for your sheet metal,
electrical, and plumbing plans and installation. Have you thought about what
kind of heating and air conditioning units you want? How about appliances? OMG, how could a
modular home builder forget to ask if the buyer wants heat and appliances. We
must be stupid not to think of this.
Garage, porches, and decks. Pictures of modular homes always display garages
and pretty porches and decks. But those don’t come with the price of your
modular home either. If you can’t do the work yourself, you’ll need to hire
someone to pour the garage floor and a carpenter to build your porches, decks,
and garage. The
modular home builder is a contractor and can do this work….Duh!
Options. And then there are the options. Electrical outlets
and phone jacks, priced by the number of each. Wall and floor coverings made to
sound like great inclusions, when in reality the quality is fair and the
selection poor. Basic lighting fixtures that are also included, but would be
better left out with a discount so you can shop and buy what you really want
from your favorite home building center. All of our outlets and switches are to
code. You will have plenty and don’t have to worry about not having enough. The
light fixture you pick out yourself. We give you a allowance and you buy
whatever you want and we install them. This is about the most asinine statement I’ve ever read.
There are electrical codes that determine these things and you can’t build a
house with meeting them.
When all is said and done, expect to pay at least 20% more
than the friendly salesperson’s figures. How would a modular home builder stay in business if they
underquoted their homes and then tried to get a higher mortgage at the last minute?
That’s not to say the salesperson won’t make you aware of the things I’ve
written about, but the cost estimates and work involved will likely be
downplayed and considerably less than reality. I can’t believe Welbilt Homes doesn’t give
estimates when quoting excavation, well and septic. Your friendly
salesperson will also encourage you to believe you are getting many wonderful
inclusions, when in fact you would be better off to ask for the inclusions to
become exclusions, with the house discounted accordingly. Then when your home
arrives, go to your favorite department stores and home building centers and
buy the best you can afford. Another stupid statement. The cost of deleting a special
order faucet and the customer buying it a Lowe’s and having a plumber install
it will probably be more than the modular home builder would have charged.
Our salesperson at Welbilt Homes are straight forward and
upfront with everyone. Unlike modular home builders that are sneaky and deceitful? You
pick out whatever options you want on your dream home. He prices it out for you
and then you pick and choose what you want. Then that is added to your
contract. Everything is up front and in writing. We never install anything you
don’t want or pay for. And modular home builders do something different than that?
This statement seems to have written by a site builder that
has been losing home sales to modular home builders and doesn’t know how else
to compete except by making these statements. And you know what they say…”I saw
it on the Internet, so it must be true.”
