Modular (not mobile) Homes - Pros and Cons?

[sleuth]

Hi all...

I'm going this afternoon to look at a home that sits on 1.5 acres, but has a garage and a couple other out-buildings as well.

I have one document that lists it as a "rambler" and another that lists it as a "modular". First question, I thought a "modular" could not legally be called a "rambler", or am I incorrect in that assumption?

Second Question: What are the pros and cons of buying a modular home, in general, but also specifically in terms of investment?

 

[SxyPrincess]

I thought Modulars were more or less Trailers?!?! :shrug:

 

[migtig]

Some of what they call "modular" homes are pre-fab houses and it could have been pre-fab in the "rambler" style. I don't know anybody in this area that owns one Sleuth, but my cousin bought one and says her electric and gas has lowered dramatically and that she has a good chance of the value of her home retaining and or increasing.

 

[cattitude]

We bought a modular that was "built" in 1973. It is a Gibraltar Home. It's not bad, but we've done gobs of renovations... adding insultation and wall board, wood floors, etc. We pretty much gutted the upstairs and redid it. They are not trailers and they are not bad houses.

 

[sleuth]

Originally posted by SxyPrincess
I thought Modulars were more or less Trailers?!?! :shrug:

I think a mobile home refers to a trailer and a modular home refers to a pre-fabricated.

There are some pre-fab homes right outside of gate 3 of the base, made by Select Homes.

Mig, that's good to hear. But for investment purposes, I wonder if a pre-fab is better or worse than say a townhouse or condo.

 

[migtig]

Originally posted by sleuth14
I think a mobile home refers to a trailer and a modular home refers to a pre-fabricated.

There are some pre-fab homes right outside of gate 3 of the base, made by Select Homes.

Mig, that's good to hear. But for investment purposes, I wonder if a pre-fab is better or worse than say a townhouse or condo.

I would say it's better just because of the fact you have land to go with it. :shrug:

 

[sleuth]

Originally posted by cattitude
We bought a modular that was "built" in 1973. It is a Gibraltar Home. It's not bad, but we've done gobs of renovations... adding insultation and wall board, wood floors, etc. We pretty much gutted the upstairs and redid it. They are not trailers and they are not bad houses.

Catt, when you were gutting the house, did you find that the construction only met the minimum or cheapest specs, or did you find that they had exceeded the minimum in some areas (e.g. width b/w studs, 2x4 studs vs 2x6, insulation types, etc?)

 

[cattitude]

Originally posted by sleuth14
But for investment purposes, I wonder if a pre-fab is better or worse than say a townhouse or condo.

A house is definitely better than a townhouse or a condo and I doubt that pre-fab has anything to do with it. Our house has 3 acres and that's where the $$ are. But, we have a nice home and it's worth almost triple what we paid for it 14 years ago.

 

[BullDawg]

Many modular home are pretty ordinary in appearance. Not much more than a small rectangle with aluminum siding. From the inside the rooms tend to be narrow and long. The ceilings are usually vaulted on the inside to give a triangle type appearance. And the walls tend to be a little thin where noises, sounds, and smells tend to carry throughout the house. But not a bad starter home at all.

 

[sleuth]

Another general question...

Would you say there is a "stigma" against pre-fab/modular homes? This home has been on the market for 30 days, although the write-up on it does not indicate any major problems. 30 days is an eternity in this market.

 

[cattitude]

Originally posted by sleuth14
Catt, when you were gutting the house, did you find that the construction only met the minimum or cheapest specs, or did you find that they had exceeded the minimum in some areas (e.g. width b/w studs, 2x4 studs vs 2x6, insulation types, etc?)

You'd have to ask Otter about that. I know that we put up sheetrock in place of what was used originally. The house was soundly built, though. My brother bought a house built by Kain and I'd put mine up againt his any day construction wise.

I also believe that just as with stick built, modulars can be upgraded in the construction process.

 

[migtig]

Originally posted by sleuth14
Another general question...

Would you say there is a "stigma" against pre-fab/modular homes? This home has been on the market for 30 days, although the write-up on it does not indicate any major problems. 30 days is an eternity in this market.

Duh? Of course there is. Look at Sxy's response and Bulldawg's (even thu so far all his posts have been negative).

 

[cattitude]

Originally posted by sleuth14
Would you say there is a "stigma" against pre-fab/modular homes?

If there is a stigma, it's because of ignorance. I don't know....of those of you who've seen my house, whaddya think?

 

[sleuth]

Originally posted by migtig
Duh? Of course there is. Look at Sxy's response and Bulldawg's (even thu so far all his posts have been negative).

I saw that... I was just wondering if it was an extremely common stigma that would affect the value of the home.

 

[migtig]

Originally posted by sleuth14
I saw that... I was just wondering if it was an extremely common stigma that would affect the value of the home.

Not to an educated buyer and with any improvements that may be made, not to mention land value.

 

[BullDawg]

Originally posted by sleuth14
Another general question...

Would you say there is a "stigma" against pre-fab/modular homes? This home has been on the market for 30 days, although the write-up on it does not indicate any major problems. 30 days is an eternity in this market.

I wouldn't consider it to be a stigma. Most people consider them to be a nice starter home for someone who prefers not to live in a townhome community. As for the 30 days, maybe it's more of a fixer-upper. :shrug:

 

[SeaRide]

Originally posted by BullDawg
Many modular home are pretty ordinary in appearance. Not much more than a small rectangle with aluminum siding. From the inside the rooms tend to be narrow and long. The ceilings are usually vaulted on the inside to give a triangle type appearance. And the walls tend to be a little thin where noises, sounds, and smells tend to carry throughout the house. But not a bad starter home at all.

Sounds like a double wide mobile home to me. sheesh.

 

[JabbaJawz]

Originally posted by sleuth14
Would you say there is a "stigma" against pre-fab/modular homes?

I definitely think there is. Lots of people consider pre-fab a trailer, and that's not the case. My old sitter lived in a wonderful pre-fab home, and you'd never know the difference. Before I met Dean and did the whole committment thing, I had considered buying some land and putting a pre-fab on it. Nothing wrong with it to me!

 

[Otter]

Originally posted by sleuth14
Catt, when you were gutting the house, did you find that the construction only met the minimum or cheapest specs, or did you find that they had exceeded the minimum in some areas (e.g. width b/w studs, 2x4 studs vs 2x6, insulation types, etc?)

Bare minimum in all respects, but as Catt said, we have completely gutted about 85% of the upstairs over the years...replaced fiberboard with drywall/paint/wallpaper, wood flooring, all new kitchen/cabinets, insulated all outside walls with better insulation....I don't get caught up in having to have a new house, I love my location and as long as the house is comfortable, Im happy..

 

[Sharon]

There's nothing wrong with a modular house that's well put together. They withstand being picked up by a crane and set into place so I would think there's a lot of structural integrity. I saw a TV show that gave a tour of the plant that makes them (forgot the name) but I was quite impressed.

There's one on my street that was recently remodeled, they added a 2nd story. It was scary to see them tearing off the roof and I thought the owner was crazy. But now that's it been done for a while and hasn't collapsed, it looks just like a cape cod and you would never know what it was before unless you saw it them building on it.