Manufactured and Modular Homes

Modular homes and manufactured houses are types of prefabricated construction in which homes are built off-site. These are homes that are built on assembly lines in plants or factories and transported to their permanent location. Both types of housing can save you time and money if you are looking for a new home, and fulfill an important need in the housing market. But what’s the difference between the two?

 

 

Previously called mobile homes, these are prefabricated homes that at one point were built on a chassis with wheels, designed to be moved from place to place—in other words, to be ‘mobile’. In 1976, HUD began to require certain safety standards for mobile homes, including a permanent chassis, at which point the term ‘manufactured’ replaced the term ‘mobile.’ Although manufactured homes can be moved, they are now usually kept in one place, and attached to permanent foundations. In fact, moving a manufactured home after installation can make it ineligible for financing (more on this below). Manufactured homes usually come in three sizes: single-wide (750 to 1,050 square feet), double-wide (1,067 to 2,300 square feet), and triple-wide (size varies, based on configuration). While older manufactured homes suffered from high utility bills due to poor airflow and insulation, new homes can have upgraded features that make them feel and function much like a traditional home. As mentioned above, a major benefit of buying a manufactured home is the cost, making them a great option in affordable housing for older adults on a budget, low-income families, and those looking to save money without sacrificing amenities in a tight housing market. In fact, manufactured housing costs about a third of traditional housing in Virginia, on average: $117,000 vs. over $350,000.

 

 

The building of these homes has become so efficient that they are able to avoid a lot of the labor and specialized material costs associated with building onsite. As Mark Bowersox (EVP of Industry Relations at the Manufactured Housing Institute) has explained, “In manufactured housing plants, the home moves down a planned path while specialized tradesmen complete each step. There are no delays in searching for suitable subcontractors or tradesman prioritizing other jobs.” Manufactured housing plants can buy materials in large quantities, further saving on costs.

 

There are good reasons why these homes have grown in popularity over the years. 

They come in a variety of sizes – single, double and triple wide – and often cost just one-third as much as the typical Virginia house. As part of our commitment to meeting the home loan needs of western Virginia communities, F&M Mortgage has a dedicated division for modular and manufactured home financing.

Modular homes are a type of manufactured housing that are built—in modules—off site, and then assembled at their final location, on a permanent foundation. In addition to being known as ‘modular homes’, they are called by many other names, including ‘factory-built,’ ‘systems-built,’ and ‘prefab.’

 

While it might be easy to spot a double-wide or single-wide manufactured home, it’s often hard to tell the difference between a modular home and a traditionally-built house. Unlike other manufactured houses (which have their own building codes specific for manufactured housing), “modular homes are constructed to the same state, local or regional building codes as site-built homes,” as HUD explains. Modular homes will also save you time and money: they cost 10-20% less than site-built homes and can normally be built from start to finish in less than four months.