Manufactured houses

[Ron]

Looking at homes in northwest Indiana. Found a nice place in a country type setting.

Upon further research it turns out it is listed as a "manufactured" home.

What should I be concerned with or should I just next it?

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[RoadKingLarry]

"Manufactured homes" come in a huge range of quality. From little better than a budget travel trailer to as good or better than site built structures.
It all depends on who made it and how it was "installed".

[dm1333]

I wouldn't just hit next.  I just bought a house and spent plenty of time looking at manufactured homes.  A couple were really nice, a couple were crap.  I spent a lot of time looking through these sites before I ended up going with a 1950's ranch.

https://www.bing.com/search?FORM=SLBRDF&PC=SL08&q=what+to+look+for+when+buying+a+used+manufactured+home

[Brad Johnson]

"Manufactured homes" come in a huge range of quality. From little better than a budget travel trailer to as good or better than site built structures.
It all depends on who made it and how it was "installed".

This.

They range from a mobile home without axles to a true framed home trucked in by section. If it's in your price range and you like the location then at least hit it with a Mk 1 Calibrated Eyeball, but with an extra dose of caution and observance thrown in.

Brad

[Scout26]

A friend of mine bought a manufactured home.  Not a mobile home, but what could be more accurately described as a "Modular home".  It came in several pre-made "sections" that when assembled on a true foundation, was a 2,000+sq ft home with 3 bedrooms/2.5 baths and a "mother in law" bedroom all on one level.   Unless you looked really hard at the ceiling (It had vaulted ceilings), you couldn't tell it from stick/site built.

When I was doing my search, I didn't rule them out as an option.   Mobile homes (aka single wides)  I did rule out.   Again the more modern manufactured homes are just every bit as good as stick built/site built are these days.

[Ben]

What the guys above said. There's a big difference between a single wide and a quality manufactured modular home. How they are placed is important. I looked at this one in Idaho last month:

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/228896185_zpid/87120-_lot/43.961438,-116.461601,43.645765,-117.052116_rect/10_zm/

The property and the home were awesome. But then I learned about "the marriage line", which is the line where the sections are put together. It's critical that the line be done correctly, and on this one, I was afraid it wasn't, because there was about a good 1/2" lip running down the floor in the middle of the home. These are not always obvious if there is carpeting for instance, but this one was laminate, so it really stood out. It can sometimes be only an aesthetic concern, but other times can indicate a problem with how the home was placed, or worse, movement.

Also be aware that (I think in most states) it is very difficult to get a loan for a manufactured home unless it is on a foundation.

Not trying to dissuade you. Much of what I have read about quality modular homes indicates they can be better than stick built. You just have to be aware of things like placement.

[BobR]

I am including manufactured homes in my search for a place to live in Pahrump. The more rural you get the more likely you are to see the manufactured homes show up in your searches. Like the others said, it just depends but a very thorough inspection by someone familiar with manufactured homes is a must  before laying down your hard earned money. I always thought of putting a modular on top of a basement and having trap door access to the stairs.

bob

[Ron]

The photos look great (not even professional) and I did a drive by and it looks like a typical ranch style.

I think I’ll schedule a look.

Of course this deluge we just received just caused seepage in my crawl space. Just in time for the for sale sign to go up this week.

[K Frame]

I think in the industry manufactured homes refer primarily to single and double wide trailers, while modular homes are sections built in a factory, trucked to the site, and bolted together.

I think they all come under the heading of prefabricated homes, and have been around in various forms for a long time.

I think the first big push into prefabricated homes was by Sears, which offered complete homes in a variety of styles, starting in the early 1900s, with Montgomery Ward soon following.

They included everything you would need to install the home, with everything precut and staged and packed into pre-numbered bundles and crates so that you'd just follow the numbered instructions.

I'm pretty sure that you could even buy home furnishing kits to compliment your new home, which included paint, furniture, and other accessories like wall decorations and window treatments.

[brimic]

I had a friend who worked in a 'house factory.' where they built prefab modular homes. He told me that he would have no hesitation in buying one.

[Ron]

Looking at the photos it looks to be a modular home.

Cinder block foundation with crawlspace.

[Brad Johnson]

I had a friend who worked in a 'house factory.' where they built prefab modular homes. He told me that he would have no hesitation in buying one.

There are some really good manufacturers out there. Being a mass-produced item, the homes are built to a reasonably precise spec list that has to pass certain standards before they leave the assembly plant. Done properly, a factory-built home can be just as good, if not better, than a site-built product. In fact, some of the mass-market developer/builders who use "catalog" plans employ a hybird version of modular construction. Major wall sections and roof truss elements are built off-site, then trucked in and installed on a prepared foundation. That's how they can go from ground to key in 60-90 days rather than the 6-9 months it takes for many site-built homes.

That being said...

There are crappy modular builders, too. Also installers. Be sure to check references thoroughly.

Brad

[Ben]

That being said...

There are crappy modular builders, too. Also installers. Be sure to check references thoroughly.

Brad

Yes, from what I have found, proper installation, from the foundation to the marriage lines, will make or break an otherwise well-built home. Secondary to a good installer is an inspector who knows what to look for. Apparently a lot of county inspectors have little training with modular homes, so they don't always know what to look for regarding poor installation/module assembly. Probably not as big of a worry in rural areas with a lot of modular homes.

It appears one of the very big pluses of modular homes is that the factory is a controlled setting, so no weather worries and much easier to do tight tolerances in the "assembly line". The newer homes all seem to be extraordinarily energy efficient as well.

[brimic]

There are crappy modular builders, too. Also installers. Be sure to check references thoroughly.

 I worked in a window/door factory (Crestline/Vetter) in college, nearly all of the complaints about the products were due to shoddy installation.

I've owned two non-modular homes so far, and both were a testament to either the need for building codes (current home) or the ineptitude of city building inspectors (former home).

[Ron]

Built in ‘98 so it is 20 years old.

[brimic]

Built in ‘98 so it is 20 years old.

WFT? Wasn't 1998 like 3 years ago?

[Ron]

I know, unbelievable

[dm1333]

The photos look great (not even professional) and I did a drive by and it looks like a typical ranch style.

I think I’ll schedule a look.

Of course this deluge we just received just caused seepage in my crawl space. Just in time for the for sale sign to go up this week.

Every realty agency I dealt with used professional photographers who were very talented at hiding flaws like the crazy neighbors flying the stars and bars over a yard full of trash.  I wouldn't buy without visiting the site.

[Ron]

Every realty agency I dealt with used professional photographers who were very talented at hiding flaws like the crazy neighbors flying the stars and bars over a yard full of trash.  I wouldn't buy without visiting the site.

Oh absolutely!

Although, the photos weren’t professional. Maybe the realtor did the pics as they aren’t framed terribly, but definite not up to snuff compared to other properties.

I did a drive by to see How the place and area looked.

[dm1333]

Oh absolutely!

Although, the photos weren’t professional. Maybe the realtor did the pics as they aren’t framed terribly, but definite not up to snuff compared to other properties.

I did a drive by to see How the place and area looked.

I was convinced I was going to buy a certain double wide until I looked at it in real life.  The driveway dropped at a steep grade right into a busy street (brakes, don't fail me now!) and the house was broke in half.  Not along the marriage line between the two halves, one of the halves had broken into 2 pieces.  That was the second fastest exit I made from a house, the first was after walking into a rental that had 3 or 4 bottles of empty bed bug killer on the kitchen table.   

[French G.]

The financing is the big reason for the listing as manufactured. I looked at one and the bank was iffy. Glad I have an honest to God brick home built in the 40s. Modern construction sucks, whether in the factory or on the lot.

[K Frame]

Year or two ago This Old House actually built an old-style home that had been entirely manufactured in a CNC plant.

The couple chose the house they wanted and the whole thing was panel built in the factory, dry fitted on the factory floor, then trucked to the site. Damned interesting to see it go up.

https://www.thisoldhouse.com/watch/north-shore-farmhouse

[Brad Johnson]

The financing is the big reason for the listing as manufactured. I looked at one and the bank was iffy. Glad I have an honest to God brick home built in the 40s. Modern construction sucks, whether in the factory or on the lot.

FHA/VA underwriting guidelines specifically exclude funding for any structure not permanently affixed to a foundation.

Mobile homes are the kiss of death when it comes to mortgages unless some very strict guidelines are followed. The mortgage industry views mobile homes as nothing but glorified travel trailers. To get mortgage funding the axles and tongue have to be torched off, the ID plate removed and turned in to whatever state authority it takes to get it removed from the road-going vehicle rolls, and the structure affixed to the ground in some permanent fashion (usually some elaborate version of regular mobile home anchors). Even then some underwriters will give you squinty looks.

Modular/manufactured homes usually sail right through because they are built for the strict purpose of being a permanent structure on a prepared foundation in a fixed location. Transport via some type of trailering or cartage device is irrelevant as that device is an independent transport mechanism and not integral to the structure. In most lenders' eyes they are just another pier & beam home.

Brad

[Jim147]

Talk to some insurance agents. Some places charge around four times as much for the same coverage.

We bought ours and moved in Labor Day weekend 1996. I wanted to do a stick house but working 80 miles away left little time to make sure things were done the way I wanted. Haven't had many problems with it.

A few things I have noticed over the years from mine and customers:

The floors are made of the cheapest particle board in the world. Even a small leak and you are replacing floor.

The plumbing fittings are also cheap with only one shut off for the whole house. Which is how I learned about both at once.
 
Duct work is hit and miss. Mine has nice large ducts with plenty of airflow. Some use small oval aluminum duct that can cause some issues.

 
Make sure the bottom is sealed up.

[Cliffh]

I've owned one 1957 stick built (bought in ~'89) , one new stick built (bought in ~ '04) and one used double wide (bought ~ '08).

All of them had their pluses & minuses.  Seeing the framing on the surrounding new houses - damn, they left some large gaps in framing joints.  The double wide is a bit of a hassle to do repairs on, most of the drywall and sheathing is stapled and glued to the frame members.

My 2 biggest objections to the double wide are: the drywall joints are covered by thin strips of molding instead of with tape and mud* and the outer walls are only 7' floor to ceiling.

USAA originated the DW mortgage, but shortly sold it to another mortgage company.  Their only condition was that it was tied down, in this case with large straps.

*The strips can be removed and the gaps between sheets filled with a flexible filler.  Not all DW's use the strip method, some do use the mud & tape.