A modular home is what she should be looking at. And under no circumstances should she buy a manufactured (mobile) home. Double wide or single, it will decrease in value like a rock. Also the rates are what is higher on the manufactured homes not the origination fee's. With a modular home, stick built homes in alot of cases can be used as the comparables for the appraisal.

 

Oddly enough, as of TODAY I've been in my modular 20 years. A Medallion built by Ritz-Craft of Mifflinburg, PA. 2x6 walls, all drywall with FINISHED drywall ceilings (none of that popcorn junk or 2 inches of spackle that look like moon craters), oak hardwood floors, R-38 fiberglass in the ceiling, triple-glazed windows, etc... It's built to the same codes as any other house in New York State. I got a few dirty looks from the neighbors when the two "modules" arrived, but once I got the 14x20 breezeway and 3-car garage added on (with trim, windows and siding right from the plant, so everything would match), no one knows the difference from any conventional 1600 square-foot ranch. Just choose your builder carefully, as there are good ones and bad ones putting up modulars, just like conventional house builders.

Oh yeah, almost forgot: she sits on a full basement with 13-course walls. As a result, the finished basement has 8' ceilings, while the first floor has 7'-6"

 

That may have been true 30 years ago, but not any more. Just like regular homes, manufactured appreciate in value, just not as much as a stick built. They do hold there value.

 

i am a partner in a mortgage company, rates and origination fees are the same thing. they are the two places to make money on a note. if you want a lower rate you pay more points, if you want no points you get a higher rate. its all the same money...

 

The only comment I have on the modular homes (pre-manufactured) is to have the company give precise details on what kind of heating and cooling duct and equipment they are putting in them.

I have seen some that had flex duct out of this world EVERYWHERE and it looks so crappy and poorly done. I would have them leave out the duct and equipment completly and have a good HVAc contractor put it in. maybe that's just me though, having done it for several years I am kind of particular (ok, EXTREMELY ****) about the HVAC system in my house.

 

My brother-in-law is a building contractor. He's currently building an Endeavor Home

http://www.endeavorhomesales.com/

which is basically a kit home in panelized construction. He's not terribly impressed with the quality so far, but it's not too bad. I've seen it going up and there are a few things I would have done differently had it been mine. Still, the neighborhood it's in, they figure on getting about half a mil for it.

 

That's one of the things that kills me on new stick-built homes. When I walk through some of the houses going up locally, with breathtaking prices, I have to believe I've burned better quality wood in the fireplace years ago than they're using to frame with.

 

Manufactured homes, like many industries in the last 20 years, has changed drastically. They MUST be built to the code of intended delivery. And because it is third party indipendent inspectors, not your local inspector, they require everything to be within specs to the letter. There is 5 or 6 factories around here (Ritz-Kraft, Deluxe, design, Muncy, and a couple others I can't remeber) And they all operate under very simmilar practices. Deluxe homes also does steel and concrete modular buildings. They built a 500 unit hotel in the bahamas that withstood a 200mph hurricane with only loosing some sheetmetal and gutter downspouts. The modular industry, as a whole, must build to BOCA or better specs, and also withstand traveling on a frame. Therefore, you never find substandard framing or materials used in construction. From double plated 2x10 floors(wraped around entire unit.) to 3/4 T&G plywood. 7/16th OSB and 1/2" Sheetrock. Most places now even run just 12-2(3,4) romex (or in commercial MC) even on a 15 amp circuit. All units, prior to leaving, must have full plumbing and electical tests.(hy-pot for elect. and pressure and drain flow function for plumb.) In this area, I have found that the modulars are doing as much if not more work than stick built, and the quality is better. Plus you are in your home in less than three months on average, instead of six+. I watched a builder use 2x4 roof trusses 24" centers 24/12 pitch on a 50' span. even after sheeted with 1/2" T&G and stiffened with bracing, you could stand on the roof and make it sway. Yet the local enforcement officer allowed it. Right after BOCA came in, but he got awaw with it because he got the building permit before it was enacted. I feel bad for the new homeowner because she is going to have a lot of issues in the next 20 years. I smell a lawsuit.
Here is where I worked for many years and recommend personally.
http://www.designhomesllc.com/
And here is a few others
http://www.ritz-craft.com/
http://www.deluxehomes.com/
http://www.muncyhomesinc.com/
http://www.apexhomesusa.com/
Also, do a google search on the home builders association in your area and see what they say about the modular home manufacturers.
Also, here is a cool article in popular mechanics(my bible )
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home...tml?page=3&c=y

 

My folks are thinking about buying a manufactured home, so I spent some time looking at a few and even going to a factory in Bean Station, Tennessee. We were looking at Clayton homes (http://www.claytonhomes.com/). I was very impressed with the quality. Full sheetrock walls and ceilings, real rock fireplaces, very good name-brand appliances, very well built. I asked about the difference between modular and mobile, and they explained that any home they built can be made modular, for about a $3,000 upgrade. The only difference is that the subframe is made so that the entire home can be lifted off of the metal frame rails by crane and placed on a foundation. There is no difference in construction techniques, which are made to meet or exceed all states building requirements. True, many banks balk at loaning for a mobile home, but generally don't bat an eye at a modular. Also, many areas have rules forbidding mobile homes, but they cannot forbid a modular, since it is considered exactly like a stick built once the frame rails are removed. As for keeping value, a mobile home cannot be compared to other "real" homes when deciding market value (looking for "comps"), but must be compared to other mobile homes. However, remove the frame rails and your home will be compared with any other "real" home in the area and will appreciate along with the rest of them. As the factory rep explained to me, if you are looking for a home-- a place to raise a family and live in for the rest of your life-- you can save money by having the your home remain on its rails. If you are looking for an investment or plan on selling, you can spend the money up front to convert it to modular. Either way, the house is the same, it is just a matter of perception.
They had houses which looked like typical (newer) mobile homes on the outside but were luxurious on the inside (french doors leading from the master bedroom to the master bath, which had a raised garden tub and full separate his and her cabinetry, with a walk in closet larger than my living room). They had 2 story homes which looked like million dollar homes inside. The best thing is that their price was about $35/square foot, delivered and installed.

 

Definately beats the $60-$100 SqF. Custom builders charge around here. However, does that include the foundation(basement), water, and sewage?

 

The price is to have the house brought in and set up and hooked up to either your drain system or city water/sewer. For mobile that would include leveling, attaching (if double or triple wide), interior finish work. If you didn't have city water or sewer, you would have to have your own drain field, or they also have subs that can do that. A drain field installed is generally not part of it.
For a modular the cost includes all crane work and building of foundation, but not digging a basement (to be honest, not many people where my folks live have basements).

 

They are all in the "Manufactured home" category the mobile or double wide has a steel frame and is usually installed on piers. The modular is a stick built unit but built in a factory under controlled conditions, and installed on a basement foundation. You have a choice of several floor plans. If going the modular route, and later might have an attached garage specify that to the manufacturer so that fire code sheet rock can be installed during construction on the appropriate wall. Modular would be the way to go, also in that you would not have to be sure of the tie-down specs to keep a mibile from blowing away.

 

Mobile homes just don't blow away. You need hurricane force winds to cause any real problems. Modular and stick built have the same problems with wind as mobile homes. Difference being that things like roofs have to be bolted down with special fasteners to side walls and side walls to foundations.

 

In my opinion, you can pour a perimeter footing around the outside of a manufactured home and it would be no different than a normal stick home built on a conventional foundation....meaning piers. The house I grew up in was built on a conventional foundation with concrete block wall footing.

Speaking of piers.....the house my girlfriend owns is over 140 years old. When her great-great grandfather built the house, he cut down a tree that looked to be over 4 feet in daiameter and used the stump as a pier. That stump looks like the tree was cut down yesterday.

 

I just happen to be a mortgage banker myself. And if you think origination and rates are the same thing, you might want to talk with your partner about the difference.
How many lenders do YOU have that will still offer 100% on manufactured housing today compared to 2 years ago?
I'll wager that you are lucky if you have one. Alot of lenders won't even touch them anymore because of the forclosure rate on them.
I fund loans in CO, and I'm aware that they don't require training or licensing in your state.

In some areas, manufactured housing may be going up in value. But in this country as a whole they are not.

Don't think manufactured and modular are the same, there are major differences in the construction. Also If a modular is sitting on a steel frame, most lenders will consider it manufactured housing.
Also if it is a true modular home (off steel frame) stick built comparables can be used for the appraisal in most cases.