Why don’t more people buy land and then put in a modular house?

[Anonymous]

I've been thinking about buying land and putting a tiny house on it. Or a shipping crate house. I'm not in the DC area.

[Anonymous]

Modular homes are not cheaper, mobile homes aka trailers are

[Anonymous]

In DMV, the expense is the land, not the house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Somehow I thought they meant Dwell mag modular not trailer trash modular. My bad.

The company we looked at had an 18 month wait and 650k delivery with an IKEA level kitchen

Yikes. That's a bad look for you, PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Modular homes are not cheaper, mobile homes aka trailers are

And they both blow away and fall apart the first time inclementvwerather/high winds hit.

[Anonymous]

I want to do this!

[Anonymous]

Someone in my neighborhood did this. I suppose it happens exactly as often as makes economic sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Modular homes are not cheaper, mobile homes aka trailers are

And they both blow away and fall apart the first time inclementvwerather/high winds hit.

No, they don't. Modular homes are just like traditional homes, except they are built in sections indoors and then those sections are transported to the site. They are made of traditional materials, anchored to a foundation, etc. They look like traditional homes. The advantage is that they are built in a climate controlled facility -- so no weather delays, rain-warped lumber, contractors wandering off to other jobs. The disadvantage (or one of them) is that because the segments have to be transportable you are somewhat limited in your design.

Some of the PPs must be thinking of repurposed shipping containers; I guess those are technically modular in nature, but not what is meant by the term.

Agree with the first PP that modular homes are not always cheaper. Also I understand it can be harder to get financing, because they're uncommon.

[Anonymous]

So far “premium” modular homemakers have not been able to deliver meaningful savings over stick building.

I like the idea of modular, but it’s got to get more cost effective to take off.

[Anonymous]

Small lot size will constrain the allowable footprint (factor in mandatory setbacks from property lines).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So far “premium” modular homemakers have not been able to deliver meaningful savings over stick building.

I like the idea of modular, but it’s got to get more cost effective to take off.

Yes I strongly considered modular at one point and it just didn't make financial sense. By the time the contractor was done adding everything up it was in the neighborhood of stick built. But with very little flexibility. The real advantage is you can save some time. Not sure how that works these post covid days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My parents did this, but they bought an old, very small farm that had a house on it that wasn't amendable to renovation (like, there were floors that weren't level, there had been several additions that were don't pretty slapdash, etc.) and it was easier to just raze the house. They put on a nice modular home, which they love (very energy efficient, enough options to customize, and it looks nice). But that situation isn't all that common in more developed areas.

My ILs did something similar - they subdivided their huge lot and put their modular on one part. Sold their family home (which was a really old Victorian that the buyers tore down to like three original walls). I don't know what company they used, but it's a nice house. It looks like a regular house and has nice finishes.

[Anonymous]

The site, utility, and foundation work for a house is significant, usually at least 20%, and has to be done on site regardless. Pre manufactured modules are generally energy efficient, but expensive to truck, obviously, and modules are limited by truck size, so site assembly is always required. Also large modules have to be moved by cranes, expensive to use. In this climate that energy efficiency gain is not a huge payoff vs, say Alaska. Also, in this climate it’s generally possible to build outdoors year round. There’s just no financial incentives to use that method. Theres an interesting recent ‘this old house’ episode on prefab wall module company in New England, which specialize in building extremely energy efficient walls and being able to build portions of s home year round, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where is this vacant land that's zoned for housing and hooked up to electricity, sewer, etc., that doesn't already have a house on it? People do this in rural areas., but it's hardly a problem that can scale in already developed areas.

Nanticoke homes are popular in Sussex County Delaware.

[Anonymous]

Land value $1 million
Cost of your home $100,000
Sells for: $1 million

Land Value $1 million
Cost of your home $500,000
Sells for: $1.7 million