Manufactured Vs. Modular Homes, How Can You Tell?

Pre-built housing is quickly becoming an alternative to what is known as traditionally constructed on-site homes. The reason is that these homes often can be cheaper and are still of high quality than traditional onsite built homes.

Manufactured homes are built to HUD standards. Before 1976, Manufactured homes were known as mobile homes. Modular homes are built off-site but need to follow all the federal housing standards and local codes or local requirements.

What Are Manufactured Homes?

Manufactured homes describe a home that most people know as a mobile home. The main difference between these two types of homes and whether they are legally called mobile homes or manufactured homes is the date they were built.

According to the department of urban development HUD, a factory-built home before June 15, 1976, is a mobile home. A home built after June 15, 1976, is a manufactured home. So if a buying a manufactured home or mobile home, the big difference would be according to the date that that home was manufactured.

Both Mobile Homes and Manufactured homes have a few things in common, such as:

Built-in a factory and then taken to the property where the home is set up.

It may be built on a metal base and will not have a crawl space or basement.
Sometimes the homes are tied down in place to have a permanent foundation.
Understanding if your home is manufactured or mobile is essential for insurance purposes.

In 1976 HUD made the term mobile home obsolete. But one way that many people can tell if this is a manufactured home is that many manufactured homes are located in mobile home parks so that the home can be moved to another location.

What Are Modular Homes?

Like a mobile or manufactured home, a modular home is also built in a factory setting. Since they can be built in a factory setting, they are usually built from the inside out, meaning the factories start to build the inner parts of the home and then the exterior.

The inside-out method is different from an on-site built home that will need to build starting with the exterior and then the inner part of the home is built. This is because on-site homes are built outside, and the weather could damage them if they were built any other way.

Modular homes are also built in the factory, but the modular or sections of the home are brought to the housing site and then assembled on a foundation.

These modular houses, built on a permanent foundation, are called on-frame modular homes. Those modular homes built on a temporary foundation are considered” off-frame” modular homes.

In the United States, the Modular homes need to be up to code wherever they are assembled, and they also need to be able to pass all federal buildings and other codes.

It can be harder for many of these homes to tell if they are modular-built homes as many modular companies are becoming very good at their modular manufactured homes. Many of these same companies claim that their quality is much better than on-site built homes because of the manufacturing methods.

Factory Build Homes

Both manufactured and modular homes are considered to be factory-built homes. Here are a few things to remember about modular and manufactured homes:

Safety – One of the significant concerns about buyers looking at manufactured or modular homes is the safety of the homes. These homes are constructed to the same standards as an on-site build home.

Built Inside Out – Manufactured and modular homes are usually built inside out, which means since they are built in a controlled environment indoors, they start with the inner part of the house and finish the building with the outer part.

Affordability – Modular and manufactured homes are usually more affordable than on-site homes. In the production process, less wastage is used, which can help lower the homes’ overall cost.

Land – For both homes, you need to have some land to put the home. People like mobile home parks because they offer them the land without purchasing it.

Suppose you are looking for a factory-built home that is permanently on a piece of land; modular homes may be considered. Today there are so many exciting modular homes on the market creating modern-looking designs with their homes.

These homes excite us so much because many of the homes are also considered high-tech smart homes. Because the homes are built in a factory setting, they can use the latest technology in their homes.

Also, many of the same homes are using what is considered to be green or sustainable materials in home construction. I have seen modular homes with solar panels, water systems, and other waste systems already built into the home price.

If having an off-the-grid smart home is important to you, you should be able to find a modular home company that has all the latest technologies already built into their homes.

We see this as a trend that will continue with modular housing becoming an essential player in the housing market around the world. And that modular housing will bring trends into this industry that we have never seen before.

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