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Learn About Manufactured Homes

Buying a house can be overwhelming and confusing. We're here to provide every possible resource to make your purchase as smooth as possible.

Below is a list of resources sorted by category. Just find a topic you need help with, and see plenty of articles that will answer all your questions.

Manufactured Homes: Exposed For What They Really Are!!

Now that I’ve got your attention, let me tell you what the manufactured home is really all about and why it is the greatest housing value that is available to homebuyers!

Manufactured Homes Meet a Variety of Housing Needs

Manufactured home buyers are individuals that want to beat the high costs of site built housing with a home of equal or superior quality construction, comparable features, and amenities to fit any lifestyle and any budget.

The Advantages of Manufactured Housing

Cost-effective: Depending on the region of the country, construction cost per square foot for a new manufactured home averages 15 to 30 percent less than costs for a comparable site-built home. Independent appraisal studies confirm that manufactured homes can appreciate in value just like other forms of housing.

Manufactured Homes: The Affordability Factor

The affordability of today’s manufactured home is validated and appreciated by most of those that have explored the world of manufactured housing in comparison to the conventional site built home.

Selecting a Site For Your Manufactured Home

When you begin thinking about purchasing a new manufactured home, you should think about where your new home will be located. The truth of the matter is: shopping for a location goes hand-in-hand with shopping for your home. In some case, this can be a simple task. In others, it may bring up questions that will strongly influence your choice of the home you purchase.

How to Buy a Manufactured Home

Visiting Manufacturedhomes.com is an important step in the discovery of your dream home. This is the largest online resource for locating floor plans, retailers, lenders, and communities.

Manufactured Homes: When is the Best Time to Purchase a New Home?

You are considering the purchase of a new manufactured home, but you have reservations because of the negative banter regarding the state of the economy and its effect on the housing market. Great news! Based on industry research, recent indications suggest that your best opportunity to realize your dream of manufactured home ownership is now!

Buy a Manufactured Home: Practical Tips

Buying a home is one of the most important decisions you will make. Understanding key factors in how to buy a manufactured home will help make your experience a positive one.

Manufactured Home Dealers: Questions You Should Ask

Manufactured home dealers do what they do for a reason: They know their field well and want to create safe homes for their clients. Because of this, they are willing and ready to answer questions you may have during the home buying process. If you have any doubts about whether a manufactured home is the right option for you, make sure you are prepared with a list a questions to ask when meeting with your dealer of choice.

Budgeting For Your New Manufactured Home

You see an ad for a new manufactured home selling for $59,999 – maybe a 4 bedroom, 2 bath home. You think, “Wow, I can afford that.” Well, maybe you can, or maybe you can’t.

Manufactured Housing: Completing the Purchase

Establishing rapport with your seller is an often overlooked part of the home buying process, and is arguably just as important as the home you’ve selected to purchase. A professional manufactured home dealer will guide you through the purchasing and delivery process while paying particular attention to the details concerning the ordering, financing, delivery, and installation of the home, as well as site inspections. Any questions and concerns regarding your purchase should be addressed to your satisfaction. If the representative cannot answer a particular inquiry, they will always be ready and willing to contact someone at the dealership or manufacturer to secure an answer for you.

Manufactured Housing: Purchasing Tips

Purchasing a manufactured home can be both a pleasant experience and an efficient undertaking, so long as the purchaser has a basic knowledge of the process. Conveying your requirements to the seller will eliminate misunderstandings and/or omissions that might be difficult to correct at a later date.

Manufactured Homes: The Wave of the Future

Why buy an existing house when you can get everything you want in a brand-new, state-of-the-art home? While many people consider building from the ground up, they are often deterred by the prospect of the time it will take, potential cost overruns, dealing with contractors and subcontractors and the general headache involved in a traditional stick-built home.

Key Benefits of a Manufactured Home

Manufactured homes have come a long way from their once standard lengthy appearance. Today, you can find these beautiful homes in numerous modern shapes and sizes. In fact, with today’s technological advancements, the benefits of a manufactured home often outweigh those of a traditional house.

Applying for a Manufactured Home Loan and Possible Costs at Closing

When purchasing a manufactured home, it is advisable to prepare in advance what documents you will need when applying for financing. Having documents to provide your lender at the same time you submit a credit application will usually shorten the approval process and relieve the anxiety that comes with the status of the application.

Manufactured Home Financing Tips

During their inception, manufactured homes were called “mobile homes” and were considered an unconventional and temporary housing option. Yet, as times have changed, so have the perspectives regarding this residential option. Manufactured homes have now become a popular choice of American homeowners as permanent quality housing that is at least equal or, in some instances, superior to a typical site built home.

Understanding Your Credit Score and Credit Reports is Key to Obtaining a Manufactured Home Loan

I have previously discussed the types of financing available for manufactured homes. A lender will consider your debt to income ratio and other stability factors such as length of employment and how long you have lived at former residences. However, your credit history can be the determining factor as to whether or not you will qualify for financing.

Manufactured Home Insurance: Important Things To Know

If you have decided to purchase a manufactured home, you’ll find yourself in need of manufactured home insurance. Whether you are new to the manufactured home lifestyle or you’re an old pro, there are a few important aspects to look at when considering the right plan.

Decor Tips and Equipment Suggestions When Ordering Your New Manufactured Home

Purchasing a new home is probably the biggest decision any of us will make in our lifetime. If you have finally made that momentous decision to become a manufactured home owner, then you are on your way to realizing the American dream of homeownership. The decision to buy is the “big” decision, however, there are still lots of “little” decisions to be made that are also important and will contribute to your enjoyment and satisfaction for many years to come.

Build Your Dream Home: Floor Plan Designs in Manufactured Homes

Every manufactured home retailer offer a variety of floor plan designs. Although it is impossible to offer every option with every home, most floor plans can be customized. This is the beauty of a manufactured home: design flexibility. With design flexibility, it is fairly easy to take a feature from one home floor plan and add it to another. A buyer has the ability to customize his home from an existing pre-approved floor plan so that it is the best fit possible.

Survey Says: Technological Home Features Preferred by Next Generation of Manufactured Home Purchasers

“Perception can be deceiving.” You might assume that I must be technically-smart, considering I work for a high tech manufactured home web-site. Your presumed assumption is totally incorrect. Like many of the senior generation I am a “dinosaur” when it comes to relating to the “techy” generation. (Forgive me, I’m not sure I even know the correct words in describing what I am talking about).

Manufactured Home Options: Secrets for Designing a Fantastic Home

When you think of a manufactured home, do you automatically imagine a cookie-cutter house with unappealing features? This picture of manufactured homes is out of date. The truth is, you can pick out manufactured home options to suit any style or design taste that you envision for your home. You can make a manufactured home look just as elegant and high-end as a stick-frame house just by selecting certain fixtures and cabinetry.

Manufactured Home Plans: The Choice is Yours

Spacious, bright and airy are popular words to describe today’s manufactured homes. Technological advancements, along with a lot of practical planning and general creativity, have made these homes as modern as traditional houses. Long gone are the days of dark and gloomy homes. Today’s modern manufactured home plans offer you more choices than ever before.

The Process to Build Your New Home

When it comes to the construction process, you may need a little advice to build your new home. Ordering a manufactured home is not the same as building a traditional house, and there are a lot of decisions to be made.

Manufactured Homes: Regulation and Federal Inspection Assures Quality and Safety

Today’s manufactured home is the most quality consistent housing choice in the United States. It is the only form of construction that is subject to a Congressional Federal Construction Code administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Community Development (commonly known as the HUD CODE). The HUD CODE went into effect June 15, 1976

Manufactured Homes: Frequently Asked Questions Part II

On May 9th of this year I posted an article on this site titled “Frequently Asked Questions.” Recently I was informed by a retailer of manufactured homes that there were more questions posed by prospective home buyers that are also frequently asked. Without seeming redundant here are some additional inquiries that are often posed to the retailer.

10 Reasons Why Manufactured Homes Are Better Than Site-Built Homes

The evolution of the modern manufactured home has been quite extraordinary, and can truly be anointed as the realization of the American Dream of homeownership. Unfortunately, many potential home purchasers have not yet explored the world of manufactured housing and it’s many advantages.

Manufactured Homes: Safer Than Site-Built

In 1974 the U.S. Congress passed the National Mobile Home Construction and Safety Standards Act (HUD CODE). Manufactured homes are the only form of single family housing subject to federal legislation.

Are Manufactured Homes Built Well?

When you hear the words “manufactured home,” a certain image pops into your mind. Unfortunately, for a lot of people, that image is an outdated one.

How Are Manufactured Homes Built?

When you picture a house being built, you likely see a bunch of guys swarming over a slab foundation in the middle of a muddy plot of unfinished land. They frame the house, raise trusses for the roof, form the exterior with plywood, shingles and siding, then move inside for the Sheetrock, flooring and final touches.

Green Building Techniques for Manufactured Homes

Aside from modern technology and contemporary floor plans, a manufactured home can also offer green building techniques. This means you can build a manufactured home to your liking while keeping it environmentally friendly.

Finding Land for Your Manufactured Home: Pitfalls to Watch out for

So you have found a manufactured home plan that you love and you want to get the ball rolling so that you can move into your new home. Before you proceed with the commitment to purchase, you will need to find the right land for your manufactured home. Not all land is the same. In fact, some lots and acreages have specific building code restrictions that may limit manufactured homes to be installed on the property.

Manufactured Home Pre-Occupancy Walkthrough and Re-Inspection

At the completion of the installation (also called” set-up”) of your new manufactured home and prior to you moving into the new home, your retailer, or sometimes a representative of your home’s manufacturer, will conduct a thorough walk through to inspect the condition of your home and explain features, proper operation, and maintenance requirements of your new manufactured home. You should also receive instructions on who to contact for any problems you may have in the future with your new manufactured home and how to contact them (i.e., in writing, telephone, or e-mail).

Manufactured Homes: Anticipating Utility Service Requirements on Your Private Property

An important consideration when placing your new manufactured home on your own property is the “what, where, and how” to prepare for utility connections, such as water, sewer, gas and electricity.

Tips on Placing Manufactured Home on Land You Own

Placing your new manufactured home on land you own, or intend to buy, allows you a certain amount of freedom both in the location of the land itself and in the location of your home on the land. However, if you plan to place a manufactured home on private property, there are several things you need to know and consider before you can site your home.

Selecting a Site for Your Manufactured Home

When you begin thinking about purchasing a new manufactured home, you should think about where your new home will be located. The truth of the matter is: shopping for a location goes hand-in-hand with shopping for your home. In some case, this can be a simple task. In others, it may bring up questions that will strongly influence your choice of the home you purchase.

Delivery And Installation – What You Need to Know

If you are like most new manufactured home purchasers, you are likely not familiar with the details and procedures in the delivery and installation of your new home. Why is this important? Understanding the processes involved can help eliminate delays and extra expenses that sometimes occur in the “set-up” of your new home.

Defining Manufactured Home Terminology For Shoppers and Buyers of America’s Dream Home

The manufactured home salesperson will use terminology when interacting with a manufactured home shopper or buyer that the customer may not understand. Even people who write about manufactured homes and the manufactured housing industry (myself concluded) commonly use words and terminology within the manufactured housing industry that we assume other people would understand. Therefore, I have listed below some of the definitions for “mobile home speak.”

Manufactured Homes: What Homeowners Should Expect

You probably have experienced dealing with customer service representatives at some point in your life where the “attitude” was not the attitude referred to in the above statement. I know I definitely have.

Is a Manufactured Home a Good Investment?

Many potential home buyers never consider manufactured homes for purchase because of preconceived notions of the “mobile home” of long ago. One conception that has been passed down from generation to generation is that mobile homes are like automobiles: “They depreciate.” That characterization has not been accurate for many years, yet that myth is still prevalent with those that have not explored the realities of the manufactured home of today.

Manufactured Homes: Safer Than Site-Built

In 1974 the U.S. Congress passed the National Mobile Home Construction and Safety Standards Act (HUD CODE). Manufactured homes are the only form of single family housing subject to federal legislation.

Manufactured Home Insurance: Important Things to Know

If you have decided to purchase a manufactured home, you’ll find yourself in need of manufactured home insurance. Whether you are new to the manufactured home lifestyle or you’re an old pro, there are a few important aspects to look at when considering the right plan.