Manufactured/Modular home questions

[loudshirt]

So long story short. My wife and I are wanting to move. Well my wife is currently obsessed with moving. We live in a small 800sqft house around Pine and Harvard. We went to the fair today and saw one of the "modular/manufactured" homes on display. I know that manufactured is just a fancy name for trailer without the wheels. Does anyone here have any experience with them? Has anyone bought a new one in the last couple of years? What are the real world pros and cons? Not the salesman pros and cons. Any and all help is appreciated.


Thanks

 

[inactive]

My in laws moved from a double wide trailer to a triple wide modular. The new modulars are nice, better floor plans, lots of room, non-sloped ceilings . They poured piers and anchored it, so it's deeded to the land and not titled/tagged. It's bricked, not skirted, so to the casual observer it looks like a sided nicely sized house.

The major downside IMHO is the materials. The cabinets and fixtures are cheap. The appliances are definitely useable and decent but lower end for the size of the house. The kitchen tiles are glued on, no mastic or mortar. Working with the seller can be a pain to fix the little things that crop up as the house settles in, though this can happen with traditional homes as well. I prefer older, traditional homes but that is IMHO, YMMV of course

 

[lndmn01]

The biggest problem with a manufactured home is that it ALWAYS decreases in value. Conventional houses may decrease in value for a while but they are an investment and will most likely increase in value.

 

[-Pjackso]

The biggest problem with a manufactured home is that it ALWAYS decreases in value. ...

+1

And it doesn't matter how it's installed (piers or stem-wall), or permanently installed with brick skirting. Once a manufactured home, ALWAYS a manufactured home.
Banks won't loan much for a manufactured home, so selling it (later) will be more difficult too.

 

[Mechanicalmehem]

My parent's bought a manufactured home approximately 9-10 years ago, it has held up relatively well. The biggest problem they have run into is it is difficult to repair it, the flooring(carpet and tile) has had to be replaced(carpet litterally tore, and the kitchen floor was worn through). If you want to repair something it takes an act of congress to get it apart, most I've been in are inexpensivly built. They have had a few wiring issues as well as a few plumbing and are really in need of a replacement air conditioner, the one the house came with is about a ton to small, they were lucky to keep the house at 85* this past summer(yeah I know record heat, but IMO that is still unacceptable). They regret having bought the manufactured home, looking back they would have purchased one of those prebuilt and assembled on your property houses, I've seen them in several smaller towns, most recently that I remember is in Prague, just south of downtown, they look to be decent.
--Mech

 

[OKMike]

Ya I agree on the pre fab homes, there is a little town by Ada that has 4 builder's, the largest builder let's you walk thru the several homes they have in various stages of construction. Very enlightening. Stratford is the name of the town (just remembered) and Hinkle is the outfit that lets you look at their houses. A friend bought one, conventional home loan.

 

[redmax51]

LS,check out Solitaire Homes.They are better built than most spec homes.Far and away the best manufactured home imho.I think they're at Admiral and Garnett.

 

[Okie]

A friend of mine bought a Modular home from an outfit on East Admiral, I can't tell you the name but I can take you right to the place. The home is built fairly well but the people that set it up are worthless as tits on a boar hog and they screwed so many things up it's pitiful, and he is having a hell of a time getting them to fix anything. It may have been Home Mart where he bought it from.

 

[redmax51]

It may have been Home Mart where he bought it from.

It probably was,there are at least 3-4 m/home places on Admiral.Home Mart is not in the same galaxy as Solitaire.

 

[n423]

The biggest problem with a manufactured home is that it ALWAYS decreases in value. Conventional houses may decrease in value for a while but they are an investment and will most likely increase in value.

This^^^^have owned one years ago, but sold it for what I paid for it. Guess I was lucky.