The Manufactured Housing Forums

I've been looking at manufactured homes, Jacobson & Palm Harbor, and because of the problem with land and where to put one of these manufactured homes I've decided to look at modular homes. I understand that these are allowed in most areas like site built homes. Does anyone have any experience with these modular type homes? Do you have any information on builders that I could contact in west central Florida? Is there anything I should watch out for when shopping for a modular home? What do you think would be the time table from when we sign a contract and when we could move in? I've spoke with some builders of site built homes and was told anywhere from 6 to 9 months to move in. Thanks,
Pete

Both Jacobson and Palm Harbor in FL...as well as Homes of Merit...offer there home as a modular or HUD home....In most of these cases the homes are the same...price is the same,,floor plan is the same...These HUD homes meet or exceed either code...

Be carefull when looking at modulars. Many manufactures say they offer modulars but they are "on frame" which means that the home is built just like a doublewide except the code it is built to is different.

If you are going to go modular make sure you stress "off frame" other wise you may run into many of the problems you have seen with HUD code.

Also be advised "on frame" is treated the same as HUD code by many appraisers and lenders.

Also be advised that when a home is built to mod code the HUD preemption letters are no longer valid.

Good Luck,

The manufacturers I mentioned build either on or off frame modulars..The only difference is the floor joists...and the foundation requirements of course..

Federal preemption is not an issue in FL...All modulars inspected and certified by the Department of Community Affairs are prempted from any local building code or zoning restriction..

As a matter of fact...The Florida Department of Community Affairs has a great web site devoted to "manufactured buildings" as they call them...Even detailed plans are available for every approved floorplan in the system from every manufacture that is allowed to deliver into Florida...
Go to

http://www.floridabuilding.org/mb/mb_plan_srch.asp

Government address are not the easiest to remember..

Mr. Murray, did you say the price of a modular home is the same as a manufactured home? I thought modulars were more expensive. In fact, I saw a beautiful modular home on the Fleetwood lot with a price of $110,000 which is pretty pricey to me! (I don't know what the square footage was).

I said the above high quality manufacturers offer their homes as mods at the same price as the HUD homes...

There is a full range of modular product available out there..There are custom factory built homes available up to the millions I suspect...

Many of the highest quality HUD homes are built better than the minimum quality modular homes...Real confusing for most folks..I remind my customers that modulars come in all different styles...Think about it..portable class rooms are all modulars...My office is a modular with 7 1/2 cielings, wallpaper covered sheetrock, plastic sinks, plastic fixtures, cheap windows and Masonite siding...To say the least...my office was cheap..but it is a modular..

I recently made the decision to purchase a modular home from Unitbud, and I must say it has been a fantastic experience so far. I can certainly relate to your observations and questions regarding modular homes.

The first thing that struck me was the cost-effectiveness of modular homes. The initial sticker price is often considerably lower than what you'd find with traditional stick-built homes. While it's true that additional expenses like land, permits, and utility connections need to be factored in, the overall cost savings can still be substantial. The company helped with the paperwork, ordered a house here https://unitbud.com/modular-homes/