Definitions

[Bernard Lynch]

What is the difference between manufactured, prefabricated and mobil housing?

[rmurray]

Mobile Home....any dwelling built prior to 1976 that was substancially complete and transported to the site with wheels(most of these are single section but there were some multisection homes in this period)...

Manufactured Homes....built from 1976 to now...they are homes with one or more sections certified that they are built to the HUD preformance code...By federal law...the federal code take presidence over state and local building codes..These homes are inspected and regulated by HUD or its contractors in the various states (often a state government agency)...

I believe prefabricated home..is a general term refering to many types of homes...such as panalized (which is a home substantially built in pieces and final assembly is on the site,..manufactured homes and modular homes (also called by many other names such as factory built structure)...

Modular homes are factory built homes that are built to one of 3 national building code models and are state specific..The states monitor, inspect and regulate these manufacturers..Often modulars are not tranportable from state to state...Each state will have different specs required..

All have their place...manufactured homes are far larger market...mostly because they are the same code in every state with regional differences that have to do with wind and climate differences..This allows large effecient plants to ship to multi state distrubution network....Good Luck...hope this helps..