Modular or ?

[Socalled]

I've made one thread about this home..but I have some new information and questions. This is northern LP Michigan. I put an offer on a home listed as a modular home. 2x 12x40 sections...so 24x40..860sqft. on a block foundation. Under the home is about a 5 ft crawl. when looking up I see 2x8s or maybe 2x10s. I've seen under many mobiles or manufactured homes and this doesn't look like a manufactured home to me. It's all wood. However there is 1 steel beam down the center marriage line...like a 4x4 I would guess just as support. That steel beam is on stacked blocks with footings. I couldn't find any tags or anything anywhere. 1 thing I noticed Is the power line is attached to a pole on the roof of the house..the meter is mounted to the home near the fuse box. I'm not sure if this means anything.

There are other homes in this small neighborhood that are similar...and there are a few that are exactly the same...but...I had a chance to look under one of the twins...and it has a steel frame. ..it is listed as a mobile/manufactured. Another similar home home in the neighborhood..not a twin.. is listed as a boca modular...I got a chance to get under that home...and it has a steel frame as well.

Alot of these homes were built from 1973-1988. ..the home I'm question is listed as 1977 .

My question is...how can I tell what this is ? I thought that if it's not on a chassis..it's a modular...I looked pretty close but I plan to look into this further before I sign anything.

 

[Socalled]

I should also include there is attic access inside the home. Though I wasn't able to look of there ..yet.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Just a shot in the dark, but I suspect it is likely built to local building code and not a HUD home. I would assert that to the appraiser if/when you get one. But in a community of mixed MHs and BOCA built price differences may be minimal. If in a regulated community all you have left is to find a title or a certificate of occupancy to tell you.

 

[shrubberyvaluation]

If it is manufactured there should also be a label/certification in the home that is typically under the sink or near the electric panel.

 

[sputnam]

By definition, modular homes are not manufactured homes. It can be confusing since both are built in a factory and thus, are manufactured. In the appraisal world, a manufactured dwelling is one that is built to HUD specified codes. A modular dwelling is built to state or BOCA building codes. In some cases, that's really the only difference. I know of companies that build both types on the same factory floor.

 

[Socalled]

This is another home In the subdivision. Steel frame. Joists? Are 4 ft apart...the subfloor is my guess 1 and a half inches thick ply wood. Maybe 2x 3/4..it's not the compressed saw dust type wood...it would have had to be sturdy with 4 ft in between ..joists?

This is a mobile home right?

 

[Socalled]

Problem getting the image to upload

 

[Socalled]

Here we go.

 

[VolcanoLvr]

I worked selling Modular homes prior to becoming an appraiser. You have a MODULAR home. The red "beam" is actually TWO wooden 2x10, one for each section at the marriage line. These are bolted together when home is set. Piers are the center of the fndn. Home is built to same code as site-built homes.

 

[Dublin ohio]

If it is manufactured there should also be a label/certification in the home that is typically under the sink or near the electric panel.

True. But the odds of them being there on a home built in 1977 are generally slim to none