• Welcome to the FREE TUGBBS forums! The absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 32 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 32 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 32nd anniversary: Happy 32nd Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    All subscribers auto-entered to win all free TUG membership giveaways!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $24,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $24 Million dollars
  • Wish you could meet up with other TUG members? Well look no further as this annual event has been going on for years in Orlando! How to Attend the TUG January Get-Together!
  • Now through the end of the year you can join or renew your TUG membership at the lowest price ever offered! Learn More!
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    Tens of thousands of subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

Pre Fab house??

judyjht

judyjht

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
1,128
Reaction score
10
Location
Otisfield, Maine
Anyone have a Modular house built. We bought 4 acres of land in Maine on a lake and are just starting the process. Neither of us has ever built a house before so we went to visit with 2 different Modular companies and I must say I was impressed. I don't know what I was expecting but was curious if any of you have been where we are now??
 
Last edited:
My friend had one built on her family's land and I must say I didn't know the difference. It was done quickly and effieciently, and its beautiful. Go for it!
 
My son and dil lived in a prefab house for many years until their family grew too large and they had to move into a larger house. I don't remember them having any more problems than people who live in a regular house.
 
I have a friend in one. The process is very efficient and economical. There is no reason these can't be of the highest quality. Good Luck!
 
I love the ease and cost of the pre-fab. And from the information, I've received they are actually built better and stronger than site built.

Here's my problem with them; they tend to use all light weight finish materials so they can be moved with their trucks. The sheetrock is 1/4 or less, their cabinets are cheap, their sinks and tubs plastic. Also, they don't have a good pitch in their roofs. They are made short to go under power lines.

If you could buy one without the finishes, and then simply have the finishes put in once it was set, or buy a used one and have it gutted and re-finished, I think that would be the best.

They are a good product, structurally and weather wise. I just don't like the light-weight siding and finish work. If it doesn't bother you, you'll get a good product at a great price and so much easier than site built.
 
We've been looking into Modular homes (vs Manufactured homes) for a future project. We've found lots of favorable information ... and one really nagging drawback: perception by realtors and prospective buyers. The local realtors really stress the words "stick built" in this area and buyers are shy of the modular concept (often confusing modular and manufactured). They (both realtor and buyer) claim that bank appraisals are also lower for modular than stick-built and non-existent for a manufactured home on any given parcel.

Will this change in the years to come??
 
I don't see any difference between Manufactured, Modular, or Pre-fabbed. All are assembled more than 50% off site and moved in. The Kits are assembled more than 50% on site. Even stick built homes are commonly using pre-fabbed parts, walls, trusses.

You can call it whatever you want. Some people are just ignorant about what goes into building a house and because of that still feel that any house that is moved is a mobile-home or trailer-house.

I own a couple manufactured homes and I placed one right in the middle of town. It is on a full pad foundation and my fire insurance cost less than other houses I own because it is newer. The house was appraised for a higher amount than it's neighbors because it's newer. It is not listed on the taxes as a manufactured home because it was disabled (the trailer under side) and I gave up the title (motor vehicles) now it lays with the land and cannot be moved.

If there is a fire, my insurance will cover it as re-build, not buy another Manufactured Home. I don't know who says a manufactured house is worth less. Perhaps the old trailer houses and double wide trailer houses with the aluminum wiring are worth less, but certainly not the newer ones. We had a vacation home built recently and I can say without a doubt that the pre-fabbed houses are built stronger. I just don't like the roof lines, siding and finishes.

I hope people continue to have that unjustified value that you speak of, because that will give educated buyers less competition in making a home purchase. One of the things I really love about manufactured houses is that they are so economical from an energy stand point and they rent out for every bit as much as a site built house.
 
The ones we are looking at are actually called "Modular Homes" . The brochure says that a "Manufactured Home" was formerly referred to as a mobile home or trailer. It says that "Modular Homes" are built in sections in the factory.

So, I guess my original question should be asking about Modular Homes. :wave:
 
judyjht said:
The brochure says that a "Manufactured Home" was formerly referred to as a mobile home or trailer. It says that "Modular Homes" are built in sections in the factory.
Click to expand...
Matches the definitions I'm working with exactly.

Mydogs2big said:
... and they rent out for every bit as much as a site built house.
Click to expand...
How true! :)
 
There is a big difference between a manufactured/mobile home and a boca modular. We own a cape cod boca modular and you cannot tell the difference between it and a site built home. The building inspector said that it is actually better built than alot of homes he has seen. Our home was built by All American Homes.

A manufactured home is rolled down the highway and has it own wheels and tongue which is disassembled and usually shoved under the trailer.

A boca modular comes in pieces and it is put together on site. A boca modular also comes in on a flat bed truck and a crane is used to pick it up and placed on it's foundation.
 
Last edited:
All the better! I'm sure it's just as strong as a site built house even if it doesn't have the extra ties, steel beams, etc of a manufactured house. Like someone said earlier, those are only added for movement and are totally unnecessary once it's on it's foundation.

And if you can have a nicely pitched roof and some cedar, stone or cement siding with a more original shape than a box, I would definitely chose it over site built.

One of the biggest added benefits of a pre-fabbed house is that every part of it has already been approved and rated by an engineer to be at least as good as local building codes and many times better because they sell all over the country and must meet all minimum requirements.

That saves you from having to get inspections, make changes, etc.
 
We have been living in a 2800 sq. foot 2 story (4 sections) modular home for 19 years. It was manufactured by Royal Homes in Wingham, ON and trucked to our lot on 4 flatbed tractor trailers. We chose the floorplan, making a few minor adjustments and chose all our flooring, cabinets, bathroom fixtures, style of interior trim & doors & hardwear ect. The whole house was built indoors in 1 day in their huge factory even my kitchen cabinets and all the light fixtures were installed. Royal Homes told us the delivery day & my whole family turned up to watch the crane lift all the sections onto our basement (that they arranged to have dug & poured). I took dozens of pictures (wish I had a video camera then!) and put them all into a photo album. We were in the house walking around an hour after they bolted the last section in. If we had arranged for Royal homes to do all the finishing we could have moved in 4-6 weeks later but we saved a lot of money by living with the in-laws for 5 mos while my Dad & DH did it on weekends. We love the house and how all the walls are so straight & true. My kitchen is 14 x 24 ft and when I wall-papered it with an obvious horizontal design I only needed 1 plumb line -went around all the corners and stayed perfectly straight back to where I started.
I know Royal Homes is a Canadian company which doesnt help you much but if the company you are thinking of using has a good reputation (ask if you can call some of their previous customers) then you wont be sorry.
~Diane
 
Our home was a modular, but we can only tell that because my husband found a join line under the paint in the hall. (It was built in '85 and we bought it in '94). It is appraised and insured as any other house, not as a mobile on a foundation, which is a whole other thing.
Liz
 
Our 2 story cape cod came in two pieces. The roof was sort of folded down and that was lifted into place with the crane. The dormers were created on site by the All American crew. Our home has 2x6 walls, georgia pine wood studs, the cupboards and cabinets are Merrilat, the windows and doors are Anderson, we opted out of their light fixtures and got credit for them and I bought what I wanted myself. We modified the floor plan to what we wanted. Now you can also bring in your own floor plan and they will make it. We had a different local contractor put on the country porch and the garage. Again, we have an All American Home. When I called for our Occupancy permit the inspector that came out said that he was familiar with them and that they were excellent built homes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top