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They're referred to as trailer homes, mobile homes, manufactured housing, and modular homes. The common thread is that these homes are prefabricated - meaning that all or a portion of the home is manufactured elsewhere and transported to the home site.
Demand for Prefabricated Homes
In case you didn't know it, there is a robust market for prefabricated homes. In the United States, recent estimates indicate that over 250,000 housing units are sold annually. Shipments are expected to continue to rise around a 2% annual pace, and annual sales were over $5 billion in 2008.
You might be thinking to yourself - these are the same homes that are always destroyed in major storms, hurricanes, and tornados. Well, to a certain extent that is true, if you are talking about a prefabricated home built before 1975, however, the homes built today are manufactured to completely different quality and structural standards.
If you are considering buying a prefabricated home, then it might be worth reading through the next several paragraphs as we explain where the manufactured home industry was back in the 1950s and where it is today. Later on, we'll talk about some of the special considerations consumers of these homes need to think about before buying a home. We'll finish up by introducing you to some online tools that can help you compare mortgages and calculate expected monthly mortgage payments.
History of Prefabricated Homes
Today's prefabricated homes had their beginnings as the simple house trailer, which was developed after WWII, and designed to be pulled behind a motorized vehicles such as a car. These house trailers were remarkably durable, and many are still in use today as homes, long after their road-worthy days were over.
Mobile Homes
In the 1950's, these house trailers morphed into larger mobile homes, which could still be towed by a motorized vehicle; although by now they needed a special truck to move them around. The marketplace was extremely competitive, and companies attempted to gain a larger market share by lowering their prices. The quality standards began to suffer, and these homes became a cheap way for many Americans to own a house.
Prefabricated Homes
Soon afterwards, several states began to realize that if these prefabricated structures were going to be used as a permanent home, then they also needed to comply with state and local safety standards. Since safety standards could be different from state to state, this presented a problem for prefabricated home manufacturers.
The economic benefits of mass production, would be lost if a prefabricated home had to be custom made to each buyer's home state's regulations. Thankfully, the federal government took the lead, and in 1976 the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) began to publish a set of building standards for prefabricated homes. These standards greatly improved the overall quality of the homes being built; however, the standards were so challenging that prefabricated home sales dropped dramatically in the mid to late 1970s.
Revival of the Prefabricated Home
In 1994, the HUD building code was updated to include even higher standards for a manufactured home's thermal insulation and wind resistance. Regulations now include design and construction, strength and durability, transportability, fire resistance and energy efficiency. While these quality standards would drive the cost to produce a prefabricated home higher; the consumer was now living in a much safer and stronger house.
The prefabricated home industry today has evolved quite a bit from its trailer home beginnings. The industry also goes to great lengths to emphasize the differences between today's homes built to HUD's quality building code, and the homes built prior to the 1970's.
Prefabricated home manufacturers today offer a true "turn-key" approach to buying a home. They can help you to find a location for the home, offer a variety of design options, and even provide financing such as mortgages.
Buying a Prefabricated Home
If you're interested in buying a prefabricated home, then we have several articles that can help you through the process. A prefabricated home will be built at the manufacturer's plant and transported to its final destination. The transportation of the home presents the buyer with some very serious logistical problems - the utmost being getting the home there in one piece.
If you're interested in learning more about this process, then you really should take a look at our article entitled - buying a manufactured home. That article discusses topics such as:
- Manufacturer Warranties - including what to look for in a new home warranty such as length of coverage, items covered, and the claims filing process.
- Site Selection - how to figure out where the home can be located.
- Building / Zoning Boards - working with local officials to make sure the home meets local standards.
- Site Preparation - making sure the location you choose is ready to receive the home.
- Transportation - the special transportation considerations that need to be thought through before buying a home.
- Home Installation - making sure the foundation or slab is prepared properly to have a home securely attached.
Financing a Home
Finally, if you're considering buying a prefabricated home and you're not sure if you can afford the home, then we have some online mortgage calculators that can help including:
About the Author - Prefabricated Homes
Bill Sharlow is the Editor of Money-Zine.com. Copyright © 2004 - 2010 Money-Zine.com
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