Make MH into Modular ?

[janie]

I got lucky? After the cretins at PH got though with me, I was just discouraged, had given up. Then i met my contractor, he built me a nice house for 105,000. More like $48 sq ft. Why did I not do this in the first place? Thought I had no choice. And for Martha, do you have kids? My child was totally discrimanted against as she she lived in a "trailer", very definite class lines out here, horrible to deal with. It"s " trailer trash" vs the others. I don't agree with it, but again, just life.

[Tanya]

Well, sure there's "stigma." Just the other day, I was riding the shuttle bus to work and the busdriver made a joke, something like "he must live in a doublewide". I said "I live in a doublewide! And I'm in the process of buying another!" Well, it was all in good humor, and we laughed about it. I knew he wasn't being mean-spirited.
But kids are cruel, no doubt. And it's a horrible thing to go through. But do you really think that if they lived in a "stickbuilt" home that other kids would not find any reason to tease them? I grew up in an upper middle class suburb. My parents had a nice suburban house with a big yard with huge maple trees in a pretty neighborhood. However, we shared a school district with an incredibly wealthy neighborhood where people lived in veritable mansions with quarter-mile driveways whose kids wore diamond tennis bracelets and different outfits to school every day of the year. My friends and I grew up thinking we were poor!! And we were constantly teased and alienated. It was very traumatic. I'm almost 40 now, but my friends from childhood and I still talk about those days and how it affects our lives now. But I can honestly say now, it would have helped a little if I had realized that there was truly nothing wrong with me, my family, or the way we lived, and these kids were simply cruel, and nothing I did would have changed that or appeased them. Please remember, that that is the message your kids need to hear! By trying even indirectly to appease these peoples' idea of "class" by letting it influence your family's home purchase, you are letting your kids know that at some level you agree with these jerks! I don't mean that as a judgment. I don't have kids, and I know if my kids were in pain I'd be desparate to find a way to stop it. But I thought it might help to hear from someone who was there.

[Eric S]

In order of cost, manufactured homes are the best value. Modulars are more expensive, and site built are the most expensive per square foot, with equivalent square footages and features. I can send you specific figures if you want them, as well as source of that info.

Manufactured homes sell for very close or equal to what site built homes sell for, if they are ordered and setup properly. There are many choices in how to do this. Doing it right makes a huge difference. Buying the cheapest home will not make you the money with appreciation in most cases.

For example, a very cheap and shoddily built manufactured house with no eaves, vinyl walls, and vinyl cabinets does not appreciate well in most areas. Location is also a factor, but both together should be considered. I offer four different manufacturers to pick from, all rated Top Pick in a Comparison Guide to Manufactured Homes. If you need further help, feel free to call Eric at
1-888-676-8105.

[janie]

somehow "upper middle class" and "trailer trash" seem different

[Tanya]

Well, of course they are! But my point is, it's all relative. The lesson I needed to learn from that is that there is always going to be someone richer, prettier, thinner, more powerful and more fortunate than I am. And the converse is also true. There will always be those who think that my situation is much better than theirs. But what should my parents have done in that situation? Should they have wiped out my college savings so that I could drive a Porsche to school like my classmates? Should they have taken out a second mortgage so I could wear designer clothes and expensive jewelry like the "in crowd" did? I'm sure you're saying, "Of course not! That would be stupid!" We may not have been called "trailer trash". But as kids who didn't know any better, we were made to feel as if we were, simply because the difference in affluence was so extreme in our community and some of the children of these people were extremely cruel and nasty and used us as their targets all through our growing up years.
So I'm curious, now that your child lives in a stick-built home, have the other kids stopped discriminating against her?

[martha]

I lived in a stick built, had a very normal name, no outstanding physical handicaps or any of the issues like they dealt with on "The Swan" { ) }. And yet those who for some reason or another needed to make fun of someone else chose me and many others like me (relatively normal kids) to pick on. All I am saying is that you have to teach your children to be strong, walk tall and act kind! My daughter is three and I dread the first time she comes home in tears because someone makes fun of her. I sincerely hope that it is not because of where she lives. More than likely it will be the fact that she is very tall (she looks like a 5 yr old!), or that she is a blonde, or that her nose is too small or too big, or, or, or, . . . I will tell her that the boy or girl who said that wasn't acting very nice and then i will try to help her think of something nice she can do for them that will make that person feel better about who they are.... or something....I don't really know but I think I will ask my mom because she did a pretty good job comforting me every time I hurt from something someone else said or did.

[Bob]

Hello;

This 70 SQ FT price that you quoted is that include the foundation in that Sq foot prcing.

thanks

Bob