My husband and I are looking to build a custom home in the next year, and I just happened to stumble upon modular homes. They truly seem too good to be true... There is SO much information on your website, but I'm so completely new to this entire process I'm a little overwhelmed. I was quoted a price from a builder that said, "The pricing also includes the foundation, delivery, set up, finished out, permanent wall under home, permanent step, and a/c. The only thing not included is hooking the utilities." I am wondering what extra costs there might be? Site prep? Any hidden or unexpected costs? We don't want to go with the price quoted and then find out once we're 1/2 way through the process that there are thousands of extra dollars worth of expenses, as we are on a strict budget. The price he quoted came out to only $70 a square foot. Definitely sounds too good to be true, but it would be perfect if that is the actual price we will pay! Any information or advice you can give would be immensely helpful. Thanks!
Hi June2012, Thanks for taking the time to post this question, it's one that we get all the time and it's not an easy one. $70 per square foot does sound a bit low, but it's technically possible when all of the conditions are exactly right. The likelihood of that being the case however is extremely low. For a quick intro to VERY rough pricing, check out our video on our pricing page. The very first thing you need to do is to make sure that your builder is talking about a true modular home and not a manufactured/mobile/trailer home. Some unscrupulous manufactured homes salesmen call their HUD homes "modular," but don't be fooled! This can sometimes account for the lower-than-expected quote since you're getting a lower-than-expected quality product. If they're a real modular builder (and every company listed on our Builders page is), then ask for a detailed breakdown of costs. You're absolutely right to wonder about site prep and other extra costs, so make sure that everything is addressed. On that list should be site prep including exploratory digging, wells, and septic systems if applicable; foundation work (basement or crawl space?); home manufacturing including customizations; delivery; set up including extra costs like crane rental; finish work; appliances not supplied by the manufacturer; additional on-site building for garages, porches, etc; driveway costs; landscaping costs (some builders offer this at a low cost or freebie while others won’t do it at all). At this point, you may not know what sort of customizations you'd like to make to the home, but unless you're going to build a standard modular floor plan with no changes, you'll generally end up paying extra for additional design work and upgrades (though not always). Building a home straight from the plan book is a great way to keep that cost per square foot down if you’re on a tight budget. Finally, I highly, HIGHLY recommend that you get a quote from more than one builder. As we talk about in the page on how to pick your builder/GC, getting quotes from multiple builders not only gives you more options, but also gives you a better idea of what each aspect of your homebuilding process will cost you. Also, some builders work with only one or two manufacturers, so talking with multiple will give you more design options and flexibility. If you want, you can post information here with what builder and type of design you’re looking at so we can get even more specific. I'm glad you're making use of the information already on the website. Some recommended reading for you to go along with this advice: 6 Things A Modular Home Is NOT Do You Know The Difference Between Prefab And Manufactured Homes? The Infinite Possibility Of Modular Home Design
I've looked at the specific pages you have recommended. I guess I will not be getting any detailed quotes yet, as we are still just looking and haven't yet selected a builder. Is it common to ask for detailed quotes before selecting that builder? Seems they wouldn't want to do that much work unless it was for a signed client (at least that's what I encountered from the conventional builders I've interviewed). What I put in my question in quotes was his exact wording in his email. We have already purchased our land, so that will not be an added cost factor, but it is not prepped yet. This builder is definitely talking about a modular home--I've made sure of that. That's ALL his company does. No manufactured homes at all. The company exclusively builds custom modular homes. His company is not listed on your builders page, but I've been shopping around and we are certainly getting quotes from multiple builders. The quote he gave me was based on the custom floor plans I sent him--single story ranch, 2,700-3,000 sq. ft. (he gave me a quote for each sf size, as we aren't sure how large we want to build yet). One thing that is confusing to me is the GC. When building a home you obviously have a GC. Is that an added cost outside of hiring the building company? Or do they include GC work with their pricing? I am confused on that part. Maybe I'm not reading clearly, but it has appeared that maybe they are separate, but the quote I received seemed to be an "all-in" cost. Thanks for the help! I may have many more questions to come....
Also, I'm a bit disappointed, but this builder said we cannot do concrete floors. We wanted to do stained concrete floors, but he said that isn't offered "because all of our homes are pier and beam." What does that mean? We wanted to do concrete floors not only to save flooring costs, but to have durable flooring we can easily cover later. Is it common for this to not be an option with modular homes?
June2012, Yes, and you absolutely should! A detailed quote in this instance doesn't mean how much each lightbulb will cost, but rather than just a dollar amount per square foot, the quote should be itemized for foundations, manufacturing, site work, etc. Most modular builders will fill the role of general contractor themselves, especially smaller builders. Some give you the option to hire your own contractors and then they'll fill in the gaps with others that they've worked with before, but in general it's a good idea to let the builder choose their own workers. If they're a dedicated modular builder, they'll know what they're doing better than contractors that don't have experience with modular. The picture below gives you a good idea of pier and beam. It just means that it's not built on a concrete slab and can be used to create a crawl space or a full basement. Modular homes are only very very rarely built on slabs because they generally don't hold up well, are prone to cracking and settling, and can cause the home major damage in the long term. I HIGHLY recommend not putting any home on a slab that isn't a single or doublewide trailer home. Unfortunately, concrete flooring is one of those rare things that modular building doesn't lend itself very well to. It is very, very rare with modular homes, so much so that I can only think of one instance where I've seen it used. This is because the flooring is installed while the home is still in the factory and so pouring contrete floors only to put the modules on a truck and ship them to the build site doesn't make much sense. That being said, if this is a must-have, it's something that can probably be done as on-site work either by the modular builder or a separate contractor.
I never knew slab foundations are a bad thing... I would think they would be more sturdy? I can see why though, with the image you've given me of pier and beam, concrete floors aren't offered. That makes total sense. I was picturing a frame of a house being set onto a foundation. I am working on getting another quote right now. I will see how comparable this company is. It's been a little difficult to find reputable modular home builders in my area (central Southern region). I see modular homes are much more popular up North.
It's a common misconception that slab foundations are more sturdy. The truth is that they're too rigid. It's similar to how skyscrapers have to bend ever so slightly - if they didn't, they'd snap and come crashing down. For the first few months and years after a house is built, it "settles." This means that the weight of the house presses down on the earth underneath it and sinks just a few inches lower into the ground. It doesn't settle evenly across the whole house however, so when one side settles more than another, the inflexible slab gets cracked. With pier and beam foundations, this isn't an issue. Having cracks in your foundation can lead to a whole host of problems and it can be incredibly expensive to repair. The cost savings at the start are generally not enough to make it worthwhile in the long run.
That makes sense! I never thought of it that way. We currently live in a slab foundation home that was built in the 60s, and haven't had too many cracking issues until the last few years. We've had an increase of earthquakes in our area which has contributed to the increased cracking/settling, so that is one reason we are looking to build the sturdiest home possible. We want as few structural damage factors as possible. What are the negatives to having a pier built foundation?
If the pier and beam (also called post and beam) foundation is properly constructed, there aren't many drawbacks. They're more expensive to construct. But with reduced maintenance costs and less of a chance for a major issue, they're no more expensive in the long run. In colder climates if the crawl space or basement isn't insulated, you can lose a lot of heat that way. If it's not properly sealed you may have issues with rodents or pests (termites can be an issue) Similarly, mold, mildew and other problems may present themselves if they're not properly constructed. Basically, if they're done well by an experienced crew, the only reason not build with post and beam is if you don't have the money for it.
You typed in #5 "Unfortunately, concrete flooring is one of those rare things that modular building doesn't lend itself very well to. It is very, very rare with modular homes, so much so that I can only think of one instance where I've seen it used. This is because the flooring is installed while the home is still in the factory and so pouring concrete floors only to put the modules on a truck and ship them to the build site doesn't make much sense. That being said, if this is a must-have, it's something that can probably be done as on-site work either by the modular builder or a separate contractor." What about stone floors? I too, wanted concrete for it's durability, and because with the passive solar oriented modular house that I hope to create, it would be a brilliant solar collector to release heat during the night time hours. Stephie
Stephie, Sorry to be responding to your question SO late. I know I may be too late to help you, but hopefully this response will help others who come across this question. With any type of construction, modular or otherwise, using common building materials is generally the least expensive option. This is not only because the materials themselves are cheaper, but also because the builders are used to working with those materials, they don't have to special order them from a new supplier, and they know how to properly work with them. It may well be that a builder you're working with has experience working with stone floors, but since it's far less common than wood, carpet, or laminate flooring, it will likely be more expensive. If you're set on having stone floors in at least some areas of your house, that's a detail that you would want to discuss with prospective builders during the interview stage. Let them know up front that it's something you're thinking about and ask them for their input on the idea.
