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New Modular Homes And Manufactured Homes Are Here To Stay

In the wake of the US housing crisis, a tidal wave of new modular homes and manufactured homes is about to hit US markets. The fact is, factory-built modular and manufactured homes offer many clear advantages over traditional site-built houses. They cost much less money to build, and those savings get passed on to consumers. The process of putting together a factory-built home wastes considerably fewer resources. Factory-built homes take less time to build than regular houses. Finally, once the homes are built, they tend to be more energy-efficient and less expensive to maintain.

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People used to hold severe misconceptions about modular and manufactured homes. It was assumed that “modular” or “manufactured” described a look, rather than a process of construction. It was believed that modular and manufactured homes had to look a certain way–boxy, small, and cramped.

Today, more and more people are beginning to understand what “modular” and “manufactured” homes really are. These words describe a highly practical method of construction. Modular homes and manufactured homes are houses that are pre-built in a controlled factory environment, and then transported to their final destinations.

Modular homes are also factory-built. However, they’re built according to local and State building codes (that is, the building codes governing the locality where the homes will ultimately stand), rather than according to the HUD Code. Modular home components are built in a factory thean transported piece-by-piece to their final destination, where they are assembled on a foundation or basement by a specialized team of builders.

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Eager Buyers Push Up Manufactured And Modular Home Sales Figures

Manufactured and modular home sales are taking the housing and home-building industry by storm. Right now, modular homes comprise somewhere between 7 and 8% of the US housing market. That’s not an impressive figure in itself. However, the figure becomes impressive considering the rate at which manufactured home sales have been going up during the last decade-and-a-half.

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The Building Systems Council, a committee formed by the National Association of Home Builders, has issued a report on the rapid growth of manufactured and modular home sales since the early 1990’s. According to this report, manufactured and modular home sales have increased by 48% during the period between 1992 and 2002. That’s faster than any other segment of the housing industry at the time.

The meaning of these statistics is clear. This is an exciting time for the housing industry, because modular and manufactured homes have finally achieved mainstream acceptance. To understand why, one must understand the difference between modular homes, manufactured homes, and site-built homes.

Both manufactured homes and modular homes differ from site-built homes, in that both kinds of homes are pre-fabricated–in whole or in part–at a specialized facility, then shipped to their final destination. Manufactured homes in the US, however, are built according to federal specifications set out in 1976 by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development . To facilitate transportation to their final destination, manufactured homes typically have a chassis with wheels on a frame. Thus, they are usually shipped to their final destination in one piece.

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Prefabricated Modular Homes: Engineering Meets Architecture

Prefabricated homes, also called prefab homes, have been built on and off throughout the 20th century. Ever since mass-production and industrialization became widespread, there have been people in architecture, in design, and in government office, who looked to manufactured housing as a solution to the industrialized world’s housing ills.

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What are prefabricated homes? Unlike “modular home” and “manufactured home,” the term “prefabricated home” does not have a precise definition within the housing industry. It is a colloquial phrase. It refers to the notion of a house built far from the site where it is intended to stand. In this way, a factory can theoretically build a large quantity of identical homes in an assembly line fashion. Then, the structures can be transported to many different locations, either as complete buildings, or in several separate components. When prefabricated homes are transported to their final destination in several components, they are considered to be prefabricated modular homes.

Lately more and more and more architects and engineers are starting to recognize the aesthetic potential and practical utility of prefabricated homes. One of the first architects to do so was Buckminster Fuller during the late 1920’s, with his dome-shaped Dymaxion House. The Dymaxion House was one of the first prefabricated homes especially designed to be easier to build and to use resources more efficiently than conventional site-built houses. These days, Richard Rogers, designer of Paris’s innovative Pompidou Center, is continuing the legacy of Buckminster Fuller. Rogers is building innovative prefabricated homes in the town of Milton Keynes, England.

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How To Find Modular Home Builders

There are dozens of web sites and directories that offer listings of modular home builders all over the USA and abroad. This is definitely a good thing, because finding a modular or manufactured home builder is the first step to living the dream of owning your personal modular home.

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Once you’ve taken that first step, the process seems to take hold of you. Before you know it, you’re talking to modular home manufacturers, and you’re reading about modular home companies. When your friends come over, you find that you’ve turned into something of an amateur lecturer on modular home construction and manufactured home construction. Yet, getting in touch with a builder is definitely the first step.

Before beginning your search, you must take into account how the process of modular home building works. Modular homes are built on assembly lines according to precise, uniform standards. You simply cannot put together a modular home on your own, even if you have all the parts in front of you. That task requires the services of professional modular home builders.

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Modular Home Plans To Suit Any Taste

Skilled workers build modular homes piece-by-piece in a controlled factory environment. As result, modular homes are more affordable, and take less time to build, than traditional “site-built” or “stick-built” homes.

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Upon hearing this, the cynical economist in us immediately assumes that this cost-effectiveness and speed must require some sacrifice of quality or variety. However, for once, the cynical economist is proven wrong. Modular home plans can accommodate a startling variety of designs.

Modern technology has made it so that modular homes are indistinguishable from site-built homes. These days, modular homes can be built in any architectural style. If there is a plan among site-built homes that catches your eye you can order a modular home built in that same style for a fraction of the cost.

For example, many first-time homebuyers purchase ranch-style houses. Not coincidentally, the ranch style is also one of the most popular modular home designs. These modular dwellings look simple and graceful, evoking the great, horizontal, open spaces of the American prairie and the honorable, humble lives of American pioneers. Their rectangular floor makes ranch-style homes an economical, as well as an aesthetically appealing, choice.

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Why Build, And Why Buy, Manufactured Or Modular Homes?

Modular homes are residential constructions that are better built than traditional site built housing. Like traditionally built houses, they can get quite large. They can be complex constructions, with intricate floor plans divided into many levels of rooms, galleries, and hallways.

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No matter where they are, modular and manufactured, modular homes can come in a range of sizes and have a wide range of uses. Modular dwellings can be many-gabled single-family mansions. Alternatively, they can serve as apartment buildings housing tens or even hundreds of families–for example Lexington Station and The Skylofts in Asheville, NC. both are a pioneering modular housing complex.

What are modular homes, and what distinguishes them from site built homes? The difference is that modular homes are built in a controlled factory environment. Then, they are transported to the actual location of the home and efficiently put together on-site, for a fraction of the cost of “traditional” (or “stick-built”) home construction. Today’s technology allows modular home manufacturers to create modular homes out of the same material as site-built homes. The only difference is that the modular home is put together in a specialized facility with numerous quality control checks, and that most of the construction process is already over by the time the home is brought to the site where it will finally stand.

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Good News Regarding the $8000 Tax Credit Act!

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced on May 29 that the Federal Housing Administration will allow state housing finance agencies to provide second mortgages “monetizing” the tax credit so that borrowers can use the funds for upfront costs for the purchase of homes with FHA-insured mortgage loans.

“This is great news for thousands of families who want to take advantage of today’s low interest rates, competitive prices, great selection and the federal tax credit that is only available until Nov. 30, but could not save enough money for a downpayment and closing costs,” said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson.

HUD announced that FHA-approved lenders can purchase the tax credit from the home buyer in advance, so that the home buyer can use the funds for closing costs or make a downpayment in addition to the 3.5% minimum. Home buyers who go directly to FHA-approved lenders still need to come up with the 3.5% minimum downpayment that is required for an FHA-insured loan.

What exactly does “monetizing” the tax credit mean?
The term “monetization” is defined as the act of converting something into money. In the context of the first-time home buyer tax credit, monetization means treating the payment of the credit as if it were cash and allowing its use as a payment for certain closing and downpayment expenses.

What is a “bridge” loan?
A bridge loan is a type of loan that is intended to be outstanding for a very short time period, often only a few days or weeks. Bridge loans are used to provide funds in situations where the borrower is expected to receive funds, such as the payment of this tax credit, within a very short time. Read more

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