And We Wonder Why Modular Housing Gets a Bad Name

I was looking through some online bulletin boards and came across this question posed by someone that has looked into modular housing and asked if anyone knew anything about them. The answers are so typical of what the average person thinks when they hear the words “Modular Home.”

We, as an industry, are not doing the best job of promoting why modular homes are great.

Here’s the thread:

Question: We’ve been house hunting for what feels like forever. We
can’t find anything we both like. We’ve talked about buying land and having a
house built and designing it ourselves. When I was looking online, a few
modular home websites popped up. Some of the homes are very nice and the prices
are very, very good. Are modular homes as good as a traditional house? Do they last as long? 

 Answer: I think the concept is fantastic – less waste, less time to
install, less exposure to elements during constuction. It’s something I’d
consider.

On the other hand, the actual implementation is sometimes of less quality than
desired, so it pays to be very careful and do research before you order. You
want to not only tour the factory and see their recommended models, you want to
ask about the last 5 actual houses they shipped and go look at what those look
like from the outside and talk to the owners if possible. See how that might
get you a more realistic response than just talking to the owners who are happy
or being paid for their glowing recommendation?
 

A: Modular housing is the same as mobile home. Financing can be
hard to come by, typically you have no basement, just cheaply made but enough
bells and whistles to make someone think this is a great option.

 A: Husband says if they are decently manufactured they can be
built better than stick built, BUT many are not… through production short
corners and poorly trained workers, low production costs… etc. I guess I’d
say thoroughly research the company and their track record/references, etc.
 

A: They may not be a good idea in tornado/hurricane prone areas.
 

A: If the modular home has hurricane straps connected to
underground anchors along with windows and frames tested to withstand
tornado/hurricane force winds they just might be able to withstand strong winds.

A: As long as the home is placed on a permanent foundation
(slab, crawlspace, basement, etc) then you shouldn’t have a problem with the
financing. Modulars can be custom ordered with as much finished as you desire,
manufactured (such as mobile) must be shipped “finished”. In my
experience in looking at them and working on houses, the finishing touches of
the modular and manufactured housing isn’t quite up to par with what you get
with the stick built. Generally you are limited on various flooring/siding
choices. If you like hardwood floors, good luck, mainly you will find vinyl.
Most siding you are looking at is vinyl, which in a high wind/lots of sun
exposure can cause degradation of the siding. If you can do some of the work
yourself (such as installing cabinetry, painting, finish work) then you can
generally get into a stick built just as cheap as modular, if you can do more,
then you can beat the prices fairly easily. Feel free to steal their floor
plans though, very efficient floor plans!