The Manufactured Housing Forums

Okay, here's my story, sorry, this may be long as I'm chatty....

We are looking at 11 acres of land, which puts us on a budget for a home as the 11 acres isn't cheap. It is GREAT property, and more than likely I'll live there till I die and I'm in my mid 20s. So, we were looking at what type of home we can afford to put on the property, and it seems everything we want is costly, (of course) and we don't want to settle because this may be perm. and if it isn't, than I want a good re-sale value.

So the floor plan I fell in love with is the Fleetwood Eagle Tace it's the one that is 18 or 19 hundred square feet (angular floor plan). Anyway, with all the options/bells and wistles: to have it drywalled, can lights, upgradded roof pitch, ugraded appliances and counters, upgraded to 200 amp electric, and real wood cabinets, it is 85,900 (30x62). They want an additional 11,000 to make it a modular (not on frame). Which I don't get why as the upgrades already include all the "modular upgrades" except the floor joists and the window/door framing.

So I have some questions, is it smarter to put this thing on a basement rather than a crawl space, for future equity? Also, is it worth the additional 11,000 (which apparently doesn't inclue a furnace, WHAT??) or am I better off just getting it as a manufactured home and putting it on a crawl space and don't worry about it? The facts are, even if we weren't buying this property, I don't think we could afford a ranch with the same amenities, size, layout, etc. unless maybe it was on a tiny city lot with city sewer, as the septic laws in my area just changed and it now costs between 10 and 20 thousand to get a septic, depending on what the health department wants based on soil drainage....

And another question, can I expect a mobile to go up in value/still be good in 40 years when I'm in my 60s? or will the frame rust through? 85,900 is a lot to spend for a home if it will need replaced in 20-40 years.

Also, This home is a Fleetwood, and others on here have refered to their "poor quality" but I haven't seen real complaints about quality, they just say they have read about the quality,,,,where, I don't know..

The other question, they offered a warranty plan for $895 for seven years I think. It is 50 dollars to come out to fix something, no matter what it is, or how many times we call them to come out. I think this is a good idea since fleetwood only offers one year warranty, and how are they allowed to get away with that??????

Thanks in advance

You can search these boards for previous posts on this same question......resale w/land is related to the location..location..location.....This like all manufactured homes are built with an expected life span of 60 years (hence the mortgage companies willingness to mortgage for 30 years)...Of course like all homes it will require maintenance and upgrading over time...

The model you mention is indeed a base quality home....Fleetwood is still one of the largest builders in the nation mostly because of the LOW price less than $45/sq. ft. is VERY low for a home...Fleetwoods 1 year warranty is standard for the whole building industry...Remember many of the components have longer warranties of their own...ie: shingles...siding..a/c..flooring..appliances..often windows..fire alarms..fireplaces..on and on..Ask to see the owners manual and read all warranties...In the last few years Fleetwood's service reputation has improved...
Remember the extended service plan you are offered is NOT Fleetwood and IS an insurance company..Often claims are hard to make...Extended service plans can well be good for first time buyers who often do not budget enough for unexpected major repairs

The modular option price seems a little low...The rep should be able to FULLY explain all the differences in the home..My guess is that the option price mentioned does not include the site prep and foundation work....This often can be more than 11K by itelf..It sure does not include a basement which can be 25K all by itself...Yo might do yourself a big favor and visit the bookstore here and invest in some of the buyers guides offered here...They will save thousands of dollars..not to mention the aggravation of unexpected problems....

This does not include foundation or garage... Which for this size home we estimated 15,000. They said it was 85 per linear foot, but I'm not sure that we'll use them

I did not mean to ask "what will it be worth" as I know you can't answer that, but what I meant was should we spend the extra to get a modular for re-sale value, and should we spend the extra for a basement for re-sale value (ie is a home on a basement, in any area, worth more than a home on a crawl space?)

Can I ask why this is considered a "base" model/maker? I think that 85,900 for a "mobile" home, not including foundation and garage, etc, is a lot. I bet I could go to my local builder and get a home for the same cost that I'll have wrapped up in this little project, but no, it won't have the same amenities....


I didn't realize that 11,000 was low for the upgrade when the price I mentioned above is already about 10-15,000 above what comes "standard" and many of the features being paid for as upgrades in the mobile are what is considered part of the "modular" upgrade. Again, the differences, as I was told, is the roof load, the floor joists and the window/door framing, other than that, there is no difference in the upgraded "mobile" and the modular. The elctric and plumbing upgrades, along with drywall and roof pitch are already added into the upgrade price...

But, If you don't see this as "too much" than maybe it isn't.

Do you feel the extra 11,000 for a mod is worth it down the road if we sell it?


(again, not asking what it is "worth", it doesn't matter where a home is located; if a trailer is worth less than a modular, that is how it will be....)

First..the basement question will have to be locally researched...There are areas of the country that homes do not sell well without basements..Conversly there are areas where a home with a basement is a white elephant...Of course the market decades from now might well change...
As for mods vs manufactured on the same property....You are going have to do some math...
Mod is $26,000 more by the time you get foundation figures....Mod mortgage will be about 1/2% lower saving about $500 per year in interest..but you will be financing at least $26,000 (plus an additional $1300 in costs) more which means you will pay about $200 per month more in payments..or Mod is costing $2400/year more..It would have to increase in resale this amount MORE just to stay even with manufactured home...Since most of the resale decades from now will be in the location/land...It would be hard for the mod to out do the manufactured home..yet in the mean time you will for sure have a higher payment.....The best approach would be to put the payment savings in a IRA and insure the savings....Or pay your manufactured home in 15 years saving over $100,000 in interest...The payment for the manufactured over 15 years will be about the payment for the mod over 30 years..If you can afford the mod payment the 15 year manufactured option might well be the best...You will be in your 30's with a F&C home..Just in time for your kids college expenses to kick in...Many of us older folks wish we would have done the same..I still think you need one or more of the guides....Your salesperson should have shown you all of these scenarios...

Thank you for that info, as it was more what I was looking to learn about. I had never heard of a home without a full basement until two years ago when we moved a short hour west of where I grew up (whole family moved, lol). So my parents' "new" home is on a crawl space, the first of this I had ever seen. But it seems out here it is accepted (and this home is 50-60 years old). I'm in Ohio, and we moved from a wealthier area, but came out here due to the land available/already set up for our equine pursuits.

we are planning on a permenant foundation regardless of mobile or modular, as we want something that looks more traditional. We are also currently planning on a 15 or 20 year loan.

I have only visited two retailers so far, and have more to visit. But I'm sure if I asked they would explain it better. They did explain all the differences in a Mobile/modular, but what I didn't understand is if the price after the upgrades is 85,900, and most of those upgrades are what would make it a modular, why is it an additional 11,000. But since you feel this is "low" then maybe it isn't too far off.

Now I'm concerned with buying a Fleetwood as I want the best quality for the price, but If I sepend much more, I might as well go with a stick built, in our area we are already darn close to that price when you factor in the foundation and the garage, etc... it might not have as fancy a kitchen, but it also won't have the stigma...

I believe I will purchase at least one of the books before we move much further forward. I want to purchase the property before we do much else, which hopefully we can make an offer in the next two weeks. I just want to keep this project under 170,000 and it is looking more like 200,000....that's way over budget as origionally we wanted to spend 150, but bumped it up for the property.... We are looking for ways to get it back down to the 170 range.