Choosing a home
Homeownership is still the great American dream. It's also one of the biggest
investments you'll ever make. In many respects, buying a factory-built home is no
different than buying a site-built one. Except for one important factor: Searching
for a factory-built home can be a whole lot easier than the more traditional method
of buying a home.
Embarking on a quest to find your factory-built home means that you'll be probably
be visiting more than one retailer. However,
unlike searching for a site-built home, you can find a wide range of homes - in many
different styles and floor plans - in just one or two locations. Here's what you can
expect in your search.
Plenty of homes to choose from. As many as 40 to 50 homes may be in stock at a
factory-built home retail location. It would take a lot of driving around to look
at that many site-built homes. Since most factory-built dealers represent many
different manufacturers, that gives you even more styles and models to choose from.
All-in-one home buying. You can choose a home and the interior features you want -
like carpet grade and color, window treatments and certain appliances -before you
move in. With a site-built home, it's someone else's taste you're buying. Therein
lies the rub. You've just spent your life's savings on the down payment of your
site-built home; so guess what? No decorating money.
Designer-decorated model homes. Many factory-built home dealers feature
models that are fixed up just the way you might dream your own home would look.
No one stealing the home you've set your heart on, out from under you.
You've heard your friends' stories. They spend weeks, sometimes months, looking for
the house of their dreams. Finally they find it - it has everything they've been
looking for in one charming, cozy little house. But before they can even make an
offer, someone else comes up behind them and makes the owner an offer they can't
refuse. Gone is the house, and their home-buying endurance test begins all over
again.
Short delivery time. There is no waiting for 90-day escrows to close,
or in the case of purchasing a new site-built house, three or five months for it
to be built (longer if bad weather delays construction). You just buy an acre
somewhere and set up your factory-built house in a few weeks.
Key Features
Factory-built homes come in a variety of sizes, floor plans, interior and exterior
colors, and designs. These include spacious living rooms, dining rooms, fully equipped
kitchens, bedrooms, family rooms and utility areas. Depending on the size of your
home site, you can choose a single-section or larger, multi-section design. On
average, homes range in size from 900 to 2,500 square feet and can be customized
to meet your needs and preferences.
Typically, a base-model factory-built home includes:
Interior:
- living room
- kitchen with range and refrigerator
- dining area or separate dining room
- one or two bathrooms
- two or more bedrooms
- cabinets and closets
- central heating system
- water heater (standard is 30-gallon electric)
- built-in furniture such as desks, entertainment centers, and bookshelves
- carpeting and other floor coverings
- window treatments
- utility room
- gabled, pitched, or flat roof
If you bought a site-built home, window treatments and new carpets would probably
not be included in the price of your home - you would have to buy them separately.
Types of Upgrades and Options
You can also get just about anything you want in today's factory-built home. Today,
most manufacturers use computer-assisted design, which means you'll have flexibility
in choosing variations of floor plans and decor. Of course, you might have to pay
extra for some of these options. Just like car manufacturers, there are "BMW's" of
factory-built manufacturers. Remember that you can negotiate with the dealer for what
you want and how much you're willing to pay.
The following represents a partial list of upgrades and extras, items or features
that are not usually included in a basic model. As you can see, just about anything
you'd need or want in a site-built house, you can get in a factory-built one.
Interior Features:
- custom cabinets
- walk-in closets
- bathrooms with recessed tubs and whirlpools
- porcelain (vs. plastic) bathroom sinks
- wood-burning fireplaces
- carpet upgrades
- hardwood flooring
- built-in desks, hutches, and bookcases
- skylights
- interior moldings
- upgraded appliance packages
- ceramic tile floors (vs. vinyl)
vmicrowave oven
- trash compactor
- garbage disposal
- washer/dryer
- built-in indoor grill
- real wood doors and cabinets
- ceramic bathroom fittings
- energy-efficient options, including thicker insulation*
- vinyl windows (storm windows are usually standard)
*The National Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards require separate
energy efficiency levels for the three different temperature zones of the United
States. However, you may wish to increase your home's energy efficiency even more.
There are a variety of optional energy packages available, such as increased
insulation, double- and triple-glazed windows, sheathing products, self-storing
storm windows, and "high-efficiency" water heaters, furnaces, refrigerators, and
air conditioners. Ask your retailer about available energy-saving features and
their costs.
In addition to interior upgrades, you can also opt to upgrade to vinyl or wood
siding and shingle roofs. These upgrades are standard in double- and triple-wide homes.
More Options
These are options not offered by the manufacturer, but which can be negotiated with a
retailer if you're buying a land-home package. The following represents only a partial
list of what some of those options are. Additions and Alterations
- awnings, enclosures around the crawl space (skirting is required in most land-lease communities)
- patio covers
- decks
- steps (steps with handrails are required in most land-leased communities)
- garages
- outdoor storage cabinets
- cabanas
- bay windows
What will it cost?
Depending upon what styles, sizes, and floor plans you choose, prices range from
about $15,000 to more than $100,000, without
land. Factory-built homes can be installed on your own land, in a rental community or in a planned subdivision.
While your mortgage payment may be your biggest expense, you'll have other regular and
periodic payments. They may include utilities, property taxes, land rental fees,
insurance, routine maintenance, and other service fees such as water and sewer.
Today's manufactured homes are built to meet new national energy standards set by
HUD. The energy-conserving features found in manufactured homes help reduce your
monthly energy costs.
Quality Standards
Factory-built homes haven't just grown up and become respectable; in some ways they've
actually surpassed their site-built home counterparts with a combination of tough
construction standards and affordability.
Factory-built homes are built to meet the federal Manufactured Home Construction and
Safety Standards, also known as the HUD Code. They're now constructed with the same
materials and similar or higher standards as site-built homes. This HUD code
regulates the home's design and construction, strength and durability, transportability,
fire resistance and energy efficiency. It also sets performance standards
for heating, air conditioning, plumbing, thermal and electrical systems.
Specifically, factory-built homes must be built with 2-by-4s, comparable insulation
and fire-resistant materials. They must be constructed and anchored to withstand
sustained winds of up to 110 miles per hour in coastal counties. They have an
average life span of 60 years or more, depending upon where they are sited and other
factors.
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Equal Housing Opportunity.