The Rising Quality of a Modern Modular Home

Drawing a comparison between a modern modular home to traditional stick built homes is difficult when you find there is a stigma surrounding the idea of modular homes.

Perhaps it is because in its infancy the modular home industry produced cookie-cutter houses that looked less expensive than traditional homes that were constructed on site. But as Bob Dylan sings, “Times, they are a changin’.”

US News and World Report quotes Sheri Koones, journalist, and author of “Prefabulous” and “Modular Mansions” both books on prefab or modular homes as saying, “It’s faster; the quality is better. … It’s absolutely the best way to build a house.”

What is a modern modular home?

A Modern Modular home is a house entirely constructed under strictly controlled conditions in factories. When the factory construction is completed, the house is transported on flatbed trucks and assembled onsite.

Most modern modular homes are indistinguishable from their stick-built counterparts.

In fact, financing, building codes, and inspections are all exactly the same for modular homes as they are for site-built homes.

While some builders and real estate agents might still look down their noses at modular homes, the rest of the world thinks of them as just another house.

Time, money, strength and resilience are all advantages associated with building a modular home.

Time – Because modular homes are being constructed off-site for the most part, they often take less time to build. Foundation work and utility installation that must be done prior to framing a stick-built house can happen at the same time as a modular home is being constructed in the factory. There are no construction delays due to bad weather. According to several home building websites, a stick-built house takes anywhere from three to six months and sometimes longer to be built. A modern modular home only takes 8 to 14 weeks.

Money – While finance companies treat stick-built and modular homes the same, the price tags can be significantly different. There are several variables that contribute to the lower cost of a modern modular home. A shorter building time means paying fewer workers for less time. And due to the nature of standardization used in factory building, there is less waste. As with any home, design choices and upgrades will impact the price, but overall, the cost of a modular home can be 20 percent less than a comparable stick-built home.

Strength and Resilience – Because modern modular homes are constructed under strict quality control, they tend to be sturdier. This is partly because modular homes must withstand the jiggling and stress of being transported to their building sites. Finally, according to the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, a study by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) found that modular homes withstood the wind and water of Hurricane Andrew better than most other homes in the area.

One thing we’ve discovered recently is that the topic of modular homes brings up a lot of questions. The good news is: Michigan Mobile Home Connection has the answers.

As a full-service company, we are here to help you with your housing from start to finish – from providing information to moving you into your beautiful new home.

If you’ve got questions, we’ve got answers. Give us a call today or stop by our South Division Avenue location in Grand Rapids.