What is a Manufactured Home?

One of the stereotypes of Manufactured Homes is that they are similar to the recreational vehicles that we often see traveling on the road, with possibly a car towed behind.  While Manufactured Homes are considered homes that are sometime mobile, they do not typically travel except from the factory to the site.

There are two types of Manufactured Homes.  The Single Section home is built to completion within the factory.  It is constructed in various lengths with usual widths of  14 to 16 feet.  When completed, the single-section home is transported to the site and placed on the chosen foundation.

The Mulit-Section home is also built in the factory, but it is transported to the home site in two or more sections.  Many developers and contractors prefer multi-section homes because  their quality, durability, and style fit perfectly with neighboring site built homes.

What is a Modular Home?

A Modular Home is built to the Commonwealth of Virginia's Uniform Statewide Building Code, the same as a site-built home.  The state building code is enforced at the factory level as the home is being built rather than on the building site.  A modular home has all of the code advantages of a site built home and all of the building condition advantages that factory construction offers.

What is the difference between an "on-frame" and "off-frame" modular?

In Virginia, legally, there is no distinction made between an off-frame and on frame modular.  They are both built to the Uniform State-Wide Building Code.  They are transported to the buildng site via different modes of transportation, but other than that they are the same home.

What is the difference between a Manufactured Home, a Modular Home and a Site Built Home? 

The simple answer is the code that the home was built to.  Manufactured Homes are built to the National HUD Code promulgated by the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.  Modular Homes and Site-Built Homes are builit to the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code.  Today, both code minimums are very similar.  The differences come via how much, if any, a builder wants to build above the minimum specifications.

The Code of Virginia defines manufactured homes and modular homes as follows:

"Manufactured Home" means a structure subject to federal regulation, which is transportable in one or more sections; is eight body feet or more in width and forty body feet or in in length in the traveling mode, or is 320 or more square feet when erected on site; is built on a permanent chassis; is designed to be used as a single-family dwelling, with or without a permanent foundation, when connected to the required utilities; and includes the plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, and electrical systems contained in the structure.

Modular building (know in the State Code as an "industralized buiding") means "a combination of one or more sections or modules, subject to state regulations and incuding the necessary electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilating and other service systems, manufactured off-site and transported to the point of use for installation or erection, with or without other specified components, to comprise a finished dwelling."

What is the difference between a factory-built home and a site-built home?

Site-built homes are comprised mostly of factory-built components.   Modular and Manufactured homes are factory built homes.  They are built using the same materials and are ordered from the same sources.  The difference between the two types of home is that a home built in a factory is delivered already constructed and ready to set on the foundation.  A site-built home is delivered in pieces which are then assembled over several months.  Both types offer quality, safety, comfort, beauty, and value.

In a factory, skilled craftsman work under quality-controlled conditions to meet strict government standards.  By working indoors, costly weather damage, pilferage and theft are eliminated.  And there are virtually no interruptions in the construction process,  no weather delays and no contractor or crew scheduling problems.  Plumbing, electrical systems, furnances, hot water heaters and other components are installed at a building stage when easy access allows precise placement.  The inspection process occurs in the factory.

What is the cost of a home? 

The average HUD Code manufactured home price (home only) is just over $54,000. depending on the retailer and how many additional options are built-in for your convenience.  If garage and foundation are added on, the costs would be up to $70,000.  Modular homes vary greatly by size, number of stories and features.  They too generally save consumers money and more importantly---time.

The average sales price of a site-built home is about $195,800 with the land price added in.

It is not uncommon to save 20% by purchasing a factory built home of similar size and features as a site-built home.

Are manufactured homes built as well as other forms of housing?  Do manufactured homes last as long as site-built homes?

Manufactured homes are built with virtually the same construction materials and techniques as site-built homes.  The only difference is that manufactured homes are built in a factory environment, where building materials are protected from weather and vandalism.  Manufactured homes are built to the Federal Home Construction and Safety Standards, better known as the HUD code, which is administered by the U.S. Depatment of Housing and Urban Deveolpment (HUD).

The Hud Code is unique since it is specifically designed for compatibility with the factory production process.  Performanance standards for heating, plumbing, air conditioning, thermal and electrical systems are set in the code.  In addition, performanace requirements are established for structural design, construction, fire safety, energy efficiency and transportation from the factory to the consumer's home site.

To ensure quality, the design and constructon of the home is monitored by HUD and its monitoring contractorr, The National Conference of States on Builing Codes and Standards (NCSBCS).  The familiar red seal (the certification label) attached to the exterior of a manufactured home indiates that it has passed perhaps the most thorough inspection process in the homebuilding industry.

The Manufactured Housing Institute conducted a study in 1990 to examine how long manufactured homes are habitable.  The study found that the habitable life of a manufactured home depends on the year of manufacture.  This habitable life has increased form 10.4 years for homes built in 1945 to 41.8 years for homes shipped in 1964.  This figure has held steady at the 41.8 year figure through the year of the study.