Cost of the steel sub frame

[cloudybright]

I'm evaluating the purchase of a new home to replace an existing DW.
If I purchase a new double wide, then I'm paying for a lot of steel sub frame support.
So, I'm wondering what I'm paying for. . .steel? The ability to move the home again?
What kind of dollar figure can I put on the steel?

It seems that dollars spent in the purchase of a lot of steel need to be considered when looking at NOT buying steel in the purchase of a stick built or modular home.
I hope you get my drift. . .
What is the cost of the steel support structure?

[rmurray]

The steel frame is an important part of the structural foundation of the home..A manufactured home CANNOT be without the frame..

[David Oxhandler]

cloudy -

The steel frame becomes an integrated part of the foundation for a manufactured home. Manufactured homes are designed for the frame to carry a significant part of the weight and so require considerable less foundation built on-site

[cloudybright]

hmmm. . .
The cost of the steel? How much would it cost to buy just the steel frame?
That's what I'd like to know.

[David Oxhandler]

The price of steel changes daily you would have to know what the weight of the frame from a particular home was and then call a local salvage yard to find out the market value.

The one thing you can be sure of. Manufactured housing is the most affordable type of single family residence you can find in America.

A cooperative effort between HUD and the MH industy in 1976 created a single preemptive national manufactured housing building code. This joint venture established a single standard of excellence in affordable housing and created the HUD-certified manufactured home that currently provides many Americans with their only opportunity to achieve the goal of quality, affordable homeownership. (http://www.huduser.org/periodicals/city ... 3/ch6.html)

Look at the homes for sale by owner in your state. Compare to site built homes in the same neighborhoods.

In todays market you can shop around and find excellent prices in foreclosures of every type of structure. Check out the MH foreclosures near you. You will find them to be the best opportunity for home ownership in the last 50 years.

[cloudybright]

Thanks David. . .rather than call a salvage yard, I think I will track down the manufacturer since that would be the real cost of that component in the home.

Bear in mind, that the original question was cost of the steel frame, not scrap.
Manufactured homes have their place, but when it comes to "value", its in the details. . .

I'm getting off topic here, but;
"Value" can always be purchased. . .but at what price?
For example, if a stick built site house costs 40-percent more than a manufactured home, then I would expect to have 40-percent more quality, right?
That site built home might have a better foundation, better insulation, better standardization of components, etc, etc.

BUT, if that site built house cost 40-percent more and has 15-percent better quality features in construction, etc - THEN I would NOT consider that a good "Value".

Some would say, "Which is the better deal?"
But without firm cost numbers for the construction components, the "value" cannot be easily determined.

I realize that the above is only part of the overall "value" equation.
Things such as replacing windows, or adding electrical wire, CAT 6 cable, etc, or building a second story addition - those values would entail a new discussion.

Thanks for the previous links, I think they will be informative.

[Celtlund]

If you are trying to equate value strictly on the cost of the materials used in the two types of homes you are way off the mark. You must also consider the quality of the materials (grade of lumber etc) and the quality of the workmanship which is very difficult to measure unless you are there when the home is constructed. You know the MH meets HUD standards, but what standards does the site built home meet? Are those standards comparable? I firmly believe that if you were able to compare a MH home with a site built home of the exact same design, with the same quality and quantity of materials and workmanship, the MH home would be the better value. Why? Because of economy of scale. It is less expensive to build X number of homes in a factory in a single location than it is to build the same number of homes in different locations in different states.
Another factor you are not considering and can't be measured is the intrinsic value. How do you view the home? How much do you like the home? If you love the design and features could you put a value on that?
In the end only you can decide if you want a MH or site built home, so the value is not in the $$$ but are in your eye. In my eye, $ for $ my MH was a much better value than any site built home of equal size and quality of materials and construction.

[mhbratt]

Not sure where you are located, but I do know this much, if you are in Howard County, Maryland or perhaps other counties as well, you'd better have anchors that go 30" below the frost line.
It will not be issued a permit nor pass inspection otherwise. This law has been on the books now for several years, which I only recently learned about.
Refer to my previous post regarding which party was responsible for the anchoring of my home in a privately owned park to see exactly what I'm refering to.
Good luck.