I am not a builder I am cosidering having a home built but I’m caught in a delima; should I go with a stick builder or a manufactured home. The most important things to me are best value combined with high quality and resell value?
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
By considering things like energy-efficient mechanicals, window orientation, and renewable energy sources, homes can be evaluated to meet the energy codes. Here's what the IRC has to say.
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
Manufactured homes generally have lower resale value. In the US, quality is suspect by reputation, if not by reality. In this area, there are neighborhood covenants specifically against having a manufactured home.
Edited to add - I wouldn't consider SIPs to be manufactured homes. They are still 'stick built' after a fashion, since it is assembled on site.
Edited 10/25/2004 11:30 am ET by aimless
You can get a good idea of resale by asking some local real estate agents. Tastes are often local.
My suspicion is that resale perception depends on size. For small, starter homes a well made manufactured home may not sell at a discount, whereas in a move up neighborhood market it might be discounted a fair amount. It would also depend on what types of homes are nearby. If it's different, that could be worse than if it's similar. Especially bad would be to go into a neighborhood of two story Queen Anne Victorians, and build a one story home with a shallow pitched roof, for example.
My experience with quality is that both depend on the skill of the builder. Manufactured homes depend somewhat on how well the foundation is constructed and how the home is placed. Stick built homes vary much more in quality, from much worse to much better than manufactured homes, depending on the skill of the builder.
I think we know what you're talking about, but to clarify: modular homes are constructed in several large sections off site and then assembled on your foundation. SIPs are preconstructed individual panels that are assembled at your site, and manufactured housing is what the building industry calls the homes on wheels that tend to get blown away when a twister comes through (mobile homes).
Fine Homebuilding did a story on this a few issues back, #164 July
Edited 10/28/2004 4:56 pm ET by 6milessouth