Frequently Asked Questions?
- What is a Manufactured Home ?
- What is the difference between
manufactured homes and mobile homes ?
- Who are the top Manufactured and
Mobile Home Manufacturers ?
- How can I obtain financing to
purchase a manufactured home ?
- How affordable are manufactured
homes compared to site-built homes ?
- Is my new manufactured home covered
by a warranty ?
What is a Manufactured/Mobile Home?
Manufactured Homes are built entirely in a factory under the
federal building code administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). These homes are
constructed to meet the Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standard Act of June 15, 1976. The federal
standards regulate manufactured housing design and construction, strength and durability, transportability, fire resistance,
energy efficiency and quality. The HUD Code also sets
performance standards for the heating, plumbing, air conditioning,
thermal and electrical systems. HUD is the only
federally-regulated national building code. Each home or segment of a home is
labeled with a red tag that is the manufacturer's guarantee the home was built to conform to the HUD code. On-site additions,
such as garages, decks and porches, often add to the attractiveness of manufactured homes and must be built
to local, state or regional building codes.
Manufactured homes generally come in single or two-section units
and their dimensions range from 8 feet or more wide and 40 feet or more long. Manufactured homes can be placed
on a basement and include multi-wides and expandable manufactured homes. Excluded are travel trailers, motor
homes, and modular housing.
The term Mobile Homes is often used interchangeably with
the term Manufactured Homes but in fact they mean quite different things. Mobile Homes refers to homes
built prior to 1976 when the HUD code governing building
standards for factory-built homes was instituted, greatly improving
quality standards. Homes built from that year on should,
technically, no longer be referred to as Mobile Homes but
instead are Manufactured Homes and are built to a
higher standard of quality than yesterday's "Mobile Homes" and, in fact, often featured
better quality construction than site-built homes .
But, by whatever name, today's factory-built homes are a great option
for the most home for your dollar!
Manufactured Homes are built by a variety of manufacturers
ranging from small, independent producers of highly customized modular homes to large publicly-traded manufactured home
manufacturers.
Some of the largest manufactured home builders include:
-
- Fleetwood Manufactured Homes
- Clayton Homes
- Cavalier Homes
- Skyline Homes
- Palm Harbor Homes
- American Homestar
- Fairmont Homes
- Patriot Homes
- Horton Homes
- Southern Energy Homes
- Liberty Homes
- Cavco Homes
- Giles Industries Homes
- Four Seasons
- Jacobsen Homes
- Manufactured Housing Enterprises
- Nobility Homes
In addition there are many smaller manufacturers of homes
ranging from compact park model homes to multi-story modular
homes that would be at home in any neighborhood in the country.
The list of manufactured home manufacturers is in flux as
the industry goes through a period of consolidation; to find the
home manufacturer that is right for you, take your time and
research the wide variety of options available. Start by
searching on Google and Yahoo! but also plan on visiting
manufactured home retailers and factories and walking through a
number of different models to find the factory-built home
that is perfect for you!
Manufactured homes are usually purchased through dealers or
retailers that sell the homes.
Western Heritage has an on-site
finance department to assist you with your loan.
Many lenders will grant a conventional mortgage for manufactured
homes, but will probably require that the home be placed on a permanent foundation. Manufactured homes are also
eligible for CalVET home loans.
Compared to site-built (traditional stick-frame) homes,
manufactured homes are about half the cost per square foot. In 1998 the average sales price of a manufactured home in the
U.S. was $52,300. The average cost per square foot was $30.21. By comparison the average cost of a single-family
site-built home was $136,425 excluding land costs and the cost
per square foot (excluding land) was $62.29.
The efficiencies of building homes in factories rather than
on-site allow manufactured homes to match or beat the quality of site-built homes for a fraction of the cost.
Most manufacturers offer a warranty that covers the home and
its systems during a stated warranty period. Some appliances may be covered by their own warranties. Before you
purchase a manufactured home, find out which items are covered
by warranty, who offers the warranty, and how warranty
repairs are performed.