Cost of Preparing Private Land

Industry pros offer their experience in manufactured housing to help first time buyers to make informed decisions with confidence and peace of mind.
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ronr
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Jun 06, 2006 10:56 am

Cost of Preparing Private Land

Post by ronr » Tue Jun 06, 2006 11:12 am

My wife and I are planning on retiring in western Washington in about three years. At this point, we've pretty much decided on a manufactured home on our own land. Research on available floorplans and costs for the home have been easy. Likewise finding real estate is relatively easy. The only remaining major factor now is the cost of site development. I know there are many variables, but we're looking for a ballpark estimate to give us an idea of what to plan for. We currently live 2000 miles away, so talking directly to a contractor is difficult at best since we're not even in the area to find one to talk to.

Basically, I'm looking for guestimates for septic, water, electricity and probably some minor clearing. I've seen other posts asking similar questions, but have never seen any numbers to answer the poster's original question. Can anyone give me a ballpark guess. I don't know if I should expect $1.27 or $127,000 for land prep.

rmurray
Posts: 1086
Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 6:49 pm

Re: Cost of Preparing Private Land

Post by rmurray » Tue Jun 06, 2006 1:58 pm

Welcome aboard...I hve answered the best I can in another place...Augustaga

admin
Posts: 327
Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 6:36 pm

Re: Cost of Preparing Private Land

Post by admin » Tue Jun 06, 2006 5:36 pm

Home buyers should take responsibility for their home installation. If you want to enjoy your home for years to come the site prep and installation must be handled properly. Even if you're not planning on doing the work yourself, it is critical that home buyers understand the entire process. The fist thing you need to establish is exactly what needs to be done... then you can price each item for your market

The most effective way I have found to learn about the step by step process involved in properly getting the land ready and installing a manufactured home is a great five-part video series with George Porter, the industry's most respected installation specialist. Mr. Porter leads you through a two hour viewing experience that will prepare you for the numerous operations and complexities involved in the installation of the modern manufactured home.

Take this crash study course now Click Here for More Details This will give you an edge when taking bids, choosing sub-contractors and help you make sure the site preparation and installation is done right and to your expectation.
David Oxhandler
mailto:[email protected]

ronr
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Jun 06, 2006 10:56 am

Re: Cost of Preparing Private Land

Post by ronr » Tue Jun 06, 2006 6:14 pm

Thanks for the sales pitch. My original post was a request for numbers. It's the first part of the decision making process. Is it more economical for me to get a MH or a site built home. Without some kind of idea of the numbers, there's no way I can make the determination. Once I've decided to buy a MH, then I'll get into the how's and wherefores.

Upon hearing about this website, I assumed at least a couple of the frequenters havwe put manufactured homes on their own land. In doing so, I assumed they would have some idea of what the land improvement cost them. I was further hoping they would be willing to share the information. I guess I was wrong.

mccoyae
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Jun 07, 2006 8:32 am

Re: Cost of Preparing Private Land

Post by mccoyae » Wed Jun 07, 2006 9:44 am

I'll share...and if you browse through other posts, you'll see a MH is much less per square foot than site built. There have been several recent discussions about it.

When you are looking for land, make sure utilties are close by. Getting utilities in can be a big chunk of change. You'll have to ask local utilities about setting meters, etc. Prices vary. Do all this before you fall in love with your land and then find out you can't get power to it. Our land had both electric and water right next to it. Easy hookup. Neighbors down the road paid $10,000 for the water line to be run less than a quarter mile. Or you could put in your own well. A good Realtor should have knowledge of the area and have estimates for this. You should check with the county court house for restrictions and permits.

Land prep done by private dozer operator or excavator can range from $5,000 to $40,000 or more depending upon how much fill is needed. Our area is extremely rocky and if they have to blast, that adds $$. Our dozer guy took care of initial land clearing, put in the septic, installed electric and water. We are fortunate to live in an area where neighbor recommendations and a handshake makes the deal. You'll just have to do alot of checking around.

We had a fifth wheel on the land for two years and then put in the house. More tree cutting to make room for the house was $700. The dealer prepped the home pad and poured the concrete runners, etc. He also took care of all utility hookups from the original fifth wheel utilities and did all the house set-up. Including the decorative concrete block skirting, this added less than $10,000 to the price of the house. Some of the work he did himself and some he contracted out. Ask dealers if they will turn-key a job for you. Since you are so far away, check out dealers carefully and find a reputable one that will handle all the prep and set-up for you. Ask dealers for references of people they have sold to in the area you want and follow up with the homeowners. A GOOD REPUTABLE dealer is INVALUABLE.

Keep in mind, costs can very alot depending upon the area of the country. Compared to other posts, we got by very reasonably. Take some vacation and plan on doing a lot of legwork. Good luck!

ronr
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Jun 06, 2006 10:56 am

Re: Cost of Preparing Private Land

Post by ronr » Wed Jun 07, 2006 3:15 pm

Good info. Thanks.
Good point on rocky ground. I'll keep an eye open for that when we do our final land search.
I'll definitely be taking vacation time to set things up once we get a little closer to retirement. The current plan is a little apartment life at the other end while the land is being preped and the MH being built.

We have our eyes on a couple of Palm Harbor and Karsten models, so we have an idea of the MH price. The whole package has to fit into our current home equity/proceeds and our retirement budget. We have a fairly large MH in mind, but if land and prep are too high, we may have to opt for a smaller place.

tawnp
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Jun 12, 2006 12:45 am

Re: Cost of Preparing Private Land

Post by tawnp » Mon Jun 12, 2006 1:08 am

Hi, I am now in the process of doing exactly that. Let me break it down for you based on my experience.1) Land prep approx $1,500.00 2) Sewer and water hookup if there is some available on the road. approx $375.00-$575.00 that is for each. 3) cement pad if you put the mobile home on this or a parking area is approx. $ 50.00 a square foot 6 inch deep.I'was told this is a good price, so expect it to be higher. 4)running electricity to a pole on your property will be approx. $1,500.00. This should include the meter. 5) Cable if you need it, will be priced according to availabilty. so expect it to be approx. $150.00 then your hook up fees per line, can run from $30.00 per each room. I don't know if you will be having tree removal, but it can start approx. $5oo.00 for two good size trees ground down 6 inches. and removed from property. I am just now getting the price for air conditioning hook up and plumbing hookup, and running electric into the mobile home. Can get back to you on that. I sugest you up these prices approx. 10% for inflation over the next 3 years. Good luck!

cohiba
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Jun 27, 2006 1:39 am

Re: Cost of Preparing Private Land

Post by cohiba » Tue Jun 27, 2006 2:08 am

I just finished having my 1600sf Champion home set up in Central Washington. I had costs of around $45k,,,8400 for pressure system septic, around 8k for well,10k for set up and transportation,,,,8k for the pit set foundation with concrete stem wall,,,,4k in trenching plus alot of other small charges for misc work,,,,it will add up in a hurry, septic stystem will vary anlong with the price,, anywhere from 3-4k to 20k, well,,,depends how far you have to drill, how far the water has to be piped,,,,,my property it pretty flat and did not have to have the hillside or mountain top leveled off. Something to keep in mind when looking at property.

Good luck

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