Michael asks…
where can i find how much new mobile homes are? all the websites won’t tell prices?
anyone can help me with this? location is north carolina.
wrangler sw— i looked at websites that are local, they won’t even tell the prices, here in my hometown.
Contributor via RSS answers:
The websites won’t state how much the homes are, because the same home will be different prices in different parts of the country. A $60,000 home in North Carolina, will run $120,000 outside of Detroit… And it’s the same identical home. This is because of the housing markets in those different regions. Also, there are many many different options you can get with your home…
You are going to have to go shopping.
Now… First, there are different kinds of homes for sale at mobile home dealerships…. There is the ‘traditional’ mobile home. (The overall quality of the homes produced industry wide, are much better than they were 20 years ago, but there are some things to watch out for). Another type of home you may see at a dealership, is the “modular” home — this type of home is designed to have the steel transport frame removed once it has reached the home site, whereas the traditional mobile home, the steel frame is part of the structure, and has to stay in place. You need to keep this in mind, if placing the home on a basement, as it affects the ‘actual’ ceiling height. If you had poured cement walls to 8ft… Expecting to get an 8ft ceiling in the basement, you’d get a shock…. Lol…. The frame alone would take about a foot of that space.
Okay… What to look for in a manufactured home….
1: Structure…Walls…Many homes come with only 7ft exterior walls…. Usually, these have shorter doors… More about that later. Whenever possible, you want to look at homes with the full 8ft exterior walls, these are usually, the better built homes.
The only load bearing walls in a manufactured home, are the exterior walls, and, in a double- or triple-wide, the marriage walls. (those are the walls where the halves, or thirds, come together… All other interior walls are just decoration… They do not carry any of the weight of the roof) This fact is important to know, because some of the lesser quality homes try to pass themselves off as good quality homes by saying they have “2×4 load bearing walls”… And most folks would think that meant ALL the walls were made of regular house studs…. They are NOT. In a home with that kind of description, the interior walls are actually made up of 1 /12″ x 1 1/2″ studs… Leaving you with very thin walls, which noise passes thru very easily.
What you want to look for are homes with 2″x6″ exterior walls, and standard wall studs on the interior walls.
2. Roofing: Many manufacturers, even tho they may use shingles, will use a ‘lower grade’ of shingle… What you want is a name brand with a minimum of a 25 year expected life on it (Owens Corning, Certainteed… Both are good brands) UNDER the shingles, you want at least 15 lb felt paper… 30lb is better… Unfortunately… Some of the lower quality homes do not even use felt paper… Instead, they use a two-ply brown paper… With wax on it… It’s no heavier than your local grocery store paper bag. Think about that. For the roof decking… 7/16″ OSB (oriented strand board – also known as ‘wafer board’) is common, tho, you can upgrade to a full 3/4″ with many manufacturers.
By all means stay away from any homes with rolled sheetmetal roofing, and metal siding. This type of home is closer to the ‘old’ definition of what you would see in a ‘trailer’ home. If you just absolutely must have the metal roofing… You should know that ‘rumbling’ is common… It is SUPPOSED to make noise. The metal roof has to be able to expand and contract, with the temperature change, and therefore, it is noisy in the wind….DO NOT put anything on top, to weigh it down, to try to stop the wind noise! You run the risk of causing problems with leaks, from the metal stretching, and/or tearing, at the seams, or other locations, because of the extra weight.
Inside the Attic….ALL manufactured homes make use of “engineered” trusses. The weight load has been calculated, and the trusses have been built to carry that minimum load…but there are different ways to achieve that. So.. Do not simply let the salesman tell you the home has an ‘engineered’ truss… They ALL have that…. That’s like going to a hardware store, and buying a hammer… That has a ‘handle’…. Of course it does… They ALL have handles, lol. Some of these manufacturers use smaller timber, to make their trusses…. They may be using only 1 1/2″ square lumber to make these trusses. Yes… The overall truss is rated to carry the weight… But the individual components can be pretty weak. The better quality homes use full ’2×4 studs’ to make their trusses. The result is stronger roof… It not only carries the weight required of it, but it is stronger overall… It will not come apart, as easily as one made of smaller components.
Attic vents….many homes come with the very simple ‘ridge vent’. This can be a cardboard like product…(naturally, that doesnt hold up as well)… Or it could be a product that looks like a Scotchbrite cleaning pad. A lot of ‘stick-built’ homes are even using this particular type of ridge vent. Then, under the eaves, you will have vented soffets. Other manufacturers, offer an electric fan, that will pull the heated air out of the attic space. This type of fan runs off of a thermo switch, and is a low voltage fan. It will use about the same electricity as a light bulb, and turns on, when it senses the heat build up in the attic.
3. Siding — go with vinyl siding, or, ‘Hardiboard’. Some of the newer homes are offering ‘Hardiboard’ as an option for siding. The ‘Hardiboard’ (brand name) is a cement product, that looks like wood plank siding. Obviously, it is resistant to bugs, and lasts an extremely long time. Some homes use ‘Hardiboard as exterior trim. The vinyl siding actually comes in two thicknesses. There is a cheaper product about 30 mil thick, and the better quality at around 45 mil. Just goto your local home supply store, and ask to see a sample of what they have in stock…. Most of these stores carry the heavier vinyl… Then, when you are shopping you can compare the feel of them. The thinner vinyl is much more susceptible to breaking, than the heavier vinyl. There are many styles of vinyl siding… And the actual ‘style’, or pattern, is not going to affect the quality, as much as the thickness of the vinyl. The better quality vinyl comes with a minimum of a 15 year warranty, provided, you keep it cleaned as instructred.
Under the siding — some homes offer wood sheathing as a standard, and some as an option — keep that in mind when comparing prices. The better quality homes will come with 7/16″ OSB sheathing. The lesser quality will come with ‘blackboard’, or just a thin layer of foam sheet insulation. This affects the strength of the walls, and the insulating properties.
4: Floors — Most manufactured homes come standard these days with a 5/8″ OSB subfloor. Some manufacturers offer actual 3/4″ plywood. The big factor here, between these two products is how long they can be expected to last, and what happens to them if they get wet. Plywood tolerates getting wet better than OSB. The OSB will be ok, if you dry it off right away… But if you let water set on it for any length of time, it WILL warp. Many homes come with particle board flooring… This is usually smoother on the surface than OSB, and allows vinly flooring to lay directly on it, with no underlayment. Again… If it gets wet…. You need to dry it immediately.
The floor studs need to be AT LEAST 2×6 floor joists… Many of the newer homes are offering 2×8 joists… The larger the stud you can get, the better off you are.
5. Floor covering — you can, of course find all kinds of floor coverings out there… From the traditional rolled vinyl flooring, and carpet, to laminate flooring, wood flooring…even ceramic tiles.
For the vinyl floors.. You want a heavy grade of vinyl floor….the thinner stuff tears too easily, and does not last as long. “Armstrong” makes a lot of vinyl flooring for manufactured homes, and is usually a good choice in vinyl.
For carpeted floors… You want a good foam pad under the carpet… At least 5/8″ thick…. 3/4″ if you can get it. The carpet itself should have a good backer, and heavy thread, or loop, count. Quick test… If you can poke an inkpen tip thru the carpeting, without disturbing the fiber or backing…. Its a low quality, lol.
For laminate floors…. Laminate flooring comes in many styles these days… From actual wood veneers and plywood backing to HPL (High Pressure Laminate — like the stuff on the countertops) with MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) backing. “Pergo” is a well known brand name…. Even with that.. You have to be careful of what you are getting. Most of the ‘snap fit’ laminated flooring comes with an MDF core, or backer… MDF is very stable… As long as it stays moisture free… Notice, I said “moisture”… Let alone actually getting ‘wet’. There are a whole list of do’s and don’ts for installing flooring with MDF core. I would rather have the wood veneer, or heavy vinyl flooring, myself, than the HPL laminated flooring. If youre looking for the wood flooring… Make sure it is either glued, or tongue nailed…. Do not accept anything that is “face” nailed (this means nailed thru the top of the board, straight down…. These nails WILL back out, and you run the risk of cutting any bare feet that are walking on them)
Ceramic, marble, manufactured marble, etc… Tiles are about the best you can get for long lasting flooring. Of course, in a manufactured home, that has to be transported, and then set-up… You can expect some mortar cracks that will need to be repaired. Some of which may not appear for up to a year, as the home settles. I like certain kinds of tile, myself, but not all kinds… This is really a matter of personal preference. But any of the heavy tile will last a good long time.
6. Frame — As I mentioned at the top of this post… ‘modular’ homes are made to have the steel frame removed once they get to the home site…. Therefore, the floor joists actually have rim joists and boards, like homes constructed on site, or ‘stick built’ as they are called. Any frame that is going to stay under the home, as with most mobile homes…. Needs to be a heavy gauge steel… Believe it or not… Some companies try to save money by putting a weaker frame under a home. This WILL result in problems down the road.
7. Plumbing — this is probably one of the fastest ways to tell what the overall quality of the home is going to be like….if you see ‘grey’ tubing with a copper band at the fittings or joints…. That’s a bad sign. While the tubing is acceptable, and does the job…. It will cost YOU more money later, to make any repairs, or changes. Qwest brand fittings are made of the same kind of plastic, and are compression fittings… They will cost you TWICE as much, at least, as any other type of fittings. Those copper bands are ‘crimped’ into place with a $100 crimping tool… Looks like a big pair of bolt cutters….so, you can either spend $100 on a crimping tool, or buy overpriced compression fittings.
The better quality homes will have cpvc plumbing (this is a cream colored plastic… Actually quite popular in ‘stick built’ homes too.) The cpvc is easy to repair, and maintain, and lasts a long time… As long as you don’t let it freeze, lol.
Copper pipe is often found in older ‘stick built’ homes…but the cpvc has become the plumbing standard over the recent years.
Shut off valves, and supply lines to fixtures… If you look under a sink, or at the toilet… You SHOULD see a shut off valve. I recommend a shut off valve for EVERY supply line, under EVERY sink. Even if this is an “upgrade option” — do it…. It means that if you ever have to fix a leaky faucet… You can leave the water on to the rest of the house, while you fix that one…rather than having to shut off the water to the WHOLE house….lol… The women and children will very much appreciate this fact, as the bathrooms will still work, while the problem fixture is being worked on, lol.
Now… Some manufacturers will have an ENTRY SUPPLY shut off valve. This one valve will turn off the water to the whole house. Some manufacturers do NOT offer this valve… If you buy a home without one… PUT ONE ON! These valves can sometimes be found UNDER the home (as is the case with most homes with the tubing), or it will be located IN the home… Usually near the washer hook-ups, or hot water heater.
When your home is installed…. Make sure your supply line is insulated, with heat tape applied to the length of it. The better quality homes will ALREADY have an electrical outlet under the home, near the supply inlet.
8. Windows …. Here, you want to see vinyl ‘double hung’ windows….with insulating glass panes. If the home has aluminum windows… That’s a lesser quality home. Whether the window has “battens” or “mullions” in it, is only a preference in looks, and does not alter the quality of the window any. If you buy a home with vinyl windows… Do NOT use oil to lubricate them… The oil will break down the plastic. Do not even use silicone sprays… As they also contain oil. Instead…. Lubricate vinyl windows and doors with WAX. Johnson’ furniture wax is an excellent vinyl lubricant, and I used to carry a can with me all the time, when servicing mobile homes.
9. Interior Amenities… Appliances, tubs, etc… GE, is a very popular brand with a lot of manufacturers. It’s a good brand too, and comes with its own warranty.
Bathtubs, showers, etc…. Many of these in the homes today, are made of acrylic. This is a heavy plastic. As long as it is supported properly, this isnt a problem. Some homes offer ‘garden tubs’, or even ‘spa tubs’.
Sinks…whenever possible, look for metal sinks…even in the bathrooms… They last longer. Some companies use plastic sinks in the bathrooms, to save money.
Cabinets …. This is another area, that some companies like to ‘glitz’ up a home… That is… They put in a cabinet that LOOKS pretty… But is actually, weaker structurally, than others. First thing to look at, is the cabinet door… What is it made of? The better homes will have a wood door frame, with wood veneer in the center panel… An expensive cabinet, will have raised panels, or the very expensive, will have actual solid wood panels. The cheaper quality (whether they charge less for it or not) cabinet door will be a particle board core, with a paper-like surface. The same applies for the ‘face frame’ of the cabinet…. The face frame is the wood that the doors are screwed into, that you see between the doors, etc… The better quality cabinet will have actual wood (normally oak is very popular here)… The lesser quality cabinet will have an mdf product with that same type of paper surface.
Trim throughout the home… This is usually the same kind of product as the cabinets….the lesser quality homes will have an mdf core trim, wrapped in paper. The better homes will have either an actual wood trim that has been ‘fingerjointed’ together, with a wood veneer, or thermoplastic coating. Just ask to see a sample of the trim, and flip it over and look at the back of it.
Interior Walls … MOST manufacturers, will use a 3/8″ inch sheetrock, with a vinyl coating (like a wall paper, over the entire sheet). This type of wall cover has a flat trim strip over the joint of each sheet, called a ‘batten’. This has the matching pattern on it. A lesser quality home… Will actually use paneling! But ONLY paneling.. As a wall cover. This was quite popular with a lot of older mobile homes. Today… It is common to see a ‘family room’, or ‘great room’ with ‘finished drywall’ — that is, they apply joint compound, and tape to the seams, and sand them. Then, many manufacturers will apply a texture pattern to the wall… “knock-down”, or “orange-peel” is fairly common. This texture is sprayed onto the walls with a hopper gun, like many ceiling textures. Most of the “good quality” homes will at least offer this type of wall cover as a standard for their large common rooms. The best quality homes will have 1/2″ sheetrock, finished, throughout the entire home.
Ceilings — the older ‘trailers’ all had an ‘insulated’ tile as the ceiling of choice. These days it is more common to see a ‘popcorn’ or ‘plaster’ texture. These finishes are really, just a matter of taste…. The ‘popcorn’ texture is sprayed on with a hopper gun…as is some of the ‘plaster’ type textures… Some of the ‘plaster’ texturing is done with a foam paint roller, that has the pattern cut into it. The ‘plaster’… Is actually just wall joint compound.
Now, some homes offer ’rounded’ corners, as a feature… This is actually a plastic moulding that is staped to the corner, and mudded in… Then painted over. This is really a matter of taste… And not an indicator of overall quality. The ‘square’ corners are usually made of the standard metal corner beading. Both of these items are found in ‘stick-built’ homes too.
Interior doors… You can find the flat surfaced doors, or, becoming more common, the ‘six panel’ doors. Actually, both are made of the same product usually, so its a matter of preference… But take a moment to look at the hinges….The better quality homes will have 3 house-type hinges on each door. The lesser quality homes will have 2, or sometimes 3, of a different kind of hinge. The better hinge has two full hinge plates… The lesser quality hinge, will be made so that one half, will close into the other half… The metal is thinner too.
Door Knobs… The cheapest homes will use plastic knob sets…. Stay away from those. The more common quality homes will have knobsets like you would see in the hardware store. E-Z set is a good common brand of knobsets and locks found in a lot of manufactured homes, and hardware stores.
Entry doors …. The better quality home will have a FULL size steel door (80″ tall — a lot of mobile homes only have 78″ high doors, and are a royal pain to find replacements for, lol) Storm doors are becoming an ‘option’ with more and more manufacturers, these days. But look for that 80″ steel entry door. That’s a good sign. Now.. Most companies, will put a cheaper door on the back…. Most of the time, it’s not a steel door… Sometimes it has a window, sometimes not. These doors often enter at the utility room…. Which.. As many homes as Ive worked on over the years…. This is the most commonly used door, with families, lol… So… Opt for the better door here if you can.
10. “Zoning” and Heavy appliance units — air conditions, furnaces, water heaters…. Don’t skimp on these items. By federal law… All homes are required to have a “data plate” located somewhere in the home. Many times, this is located on the backside of a kitchen cabinet door. On the data plate, you should find the home manufacturer, the model number, and serial number… And… What “zone” it was made for. There are two kinds of ‘zones’… The first relates to temperature. Naturally, a home going to an area with more winter, or colder winters, require slightly more insulation than those in a nicer climate. The second ‘zone’ refers to winds.. And how much wind penetration the home can stand up to. The homes sold in your area, MUST meet the minimum requirements… This will also be stated on the data plate…. It will most likely look like a map of the US. With the zones shaded into it. You CAN order a home with a higher zone rating then what is commonly offered in your area. SOME manufacturers AND/OR dealerships will offer homes made for the higher zone ratings. Ive been to a few dealerships across the country, that, as a matter of course, ordered the extra insulation, and wind zone packages, and they were standard features of their homes. They simply offered better homes than the other dealers in the area. Keep the zones in mind, when you are comparison shopping. Also, many manufacturers offer only a 30 gallong hot water heater, as their standard option… You want at least a 40 gallon. Rheem is a poplar brand. Whether it is gas or electric, depends on you. (Some electric companies will offer you a bonus, if you use an ‘all electric’ home…be sure to check with your utility company for that)
Same goes for the furnace/central air system… Do not settle for a unit that is not large enough to properly heat or cool your home.
Floor vents are another quick indicator of the overall quality of a home…. The lesser quality homes will have all the vents right down the middle of the home. The better quality homes will have the vents along the perimeter walls.
When you have the home set-up… Make sure that when they install the air conditioning… That they run the drain tube to the OUTSIDE of the home… Do NOT let them simply drop it thru the floor, to under the house. This will cause a moisture buildup, that will cause problems for you later. (Same goes for a dryer vent… It needs to run OUTSIDE the home, not under it).
Now, there are other options you can get with a home… Fireplaces, skylights, etc…. These are just ‘add-ons’, and are not a good indicator of quality. ALL manufacturers that offer ‘finished’ drywall rooms… Will put a PRIMER on it, whether it is mixed in with the texture or you get smooth walls. But it is ONLY primer…it WILL get dirty fairly quickly, and WILL NOT clean up well. It is ONLY primer. If you want the rooms to have actual PAINT… That will cost you extra, if they will even agree to do it. You should PLAN on painting the walls (at least… And ceilings when you can) after the first year of ownership.
Some dealerships offer a complete package deal… Setup, land, everything included… Others charge for each stage of the process…. So be sure to get that information too.
Financing — Watch Out here… You can get hit with hidden costs and fees, and high interest rates…. Compare the financing the dealership offers you, with a mortgage from your bank. Oh, and don’t think you can simply stop making payments on the home, if you have problems with your dealership, later on….the home mortgage is NOT the same company as the dealership… The dealer already has his money… And if you fail to keep up payments, while trying to resolve problems with a dealership… You WILL lose your home. It is better to keep making the payments… And goto the manufacturer, if you cannot get your issues settled to your satisfaction with the dealer. A dealer that becomes known as a ‘problem’, will get dropped by the better quality manufacturers.
Finally…. Most manufacturers offer a variety of home types, based on price range…. Much like the big car manufacturers do….you can buy a Chevy, Pontiac, or Cadillac… Or Ford, Mercury, or Lincoln… Each with a common frame, and different choices in trim and options, to accomodate the budget. The trick when comparing homes… Is to look at the overall quality of the home you are looking at.
Pay close attention to the details, and don’t let a salesman rush you into anything, hehehehe… Insist on taking pamphlets, floor plans, and any other information they have (and yes, they will have it all printed up, already), with you, to comparison shop… Do NOT be afraid to ask why one home is different from another….even on the same dealer’s lot.
I know this is a long post… I hope those that read it, benefit from it. Ive spent many years working on mobile homes, and to be frank… There are some manufacturers that I turned down for service contracts. I knew they were trouble, hehehe.
Happy Shopping!
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