Pole Frame Home Vs Traditional Stick-built Home

[andrew81]

we are seeing more barn homes being built and even old metal buildings converted to 1/4, 1/2 or whatever finished living space and the remainder open storage or finished workshop

i haven't seen enough listings/resales to give a good indication of market reaction, but i can say with confidence it is becoming more common

 

[Mark K]

IN MY REGION (and this varies by locale) there is basically no difference in value or marketability between the modular and site built units when built with the same materials. You can get 2x6 framing and 10ft ceilings and additional insulation and whatnot with these units.

In this area, there's a significant difference between stick-built and mod/manuf home value. Problem is...Manuf/mod home prices are not that much cheaper by the time the dealer sticks the poor owner with all of the required, INFLATED priced extras. Things like driveway, well/septic, foundation/basement, porches, sidewalks, detached garage, etc. They usually charge the owners about 50% over actual cost and the owners end up paying nearly as much for a mod/manuf as they would for stick built/custom. Last study I completed showed mod/manuf homes selling for about 20% less than similar size/amenity stick built.

I know they make and sell some nice mod/man homes but they aren't found around here. We typically get the 28 x 72 rectangular box with 3/12 pitch roof, just butt-ugly things.

 

[Deleted member 128537]

In this area, there's a significant difference between stick-built and mod/manuf home value. Problem is...Manuf/mod home prices are not that much cheaper by the time the dealer sticks the poor owner with all of the required, INFLATED priced extras. Things like driveway, well/septic, foundation/basement, porches, sidewalks, detached garage, etc. They usually charge the owners about 50% over actual cost and the owners end up paying nearly as much for a mod/manuf as they would for stick built/custom. Last study I completed showed mod/manuf homes selling for about 20% less than similar size/amenity stick built.

I know they make and sell some nice mod/man homes but they aren't found around here. We typically get the 28 x 72 rectangular box with 3/12 pitch roof, just butt-ugly things.

I don't know where you are getting your numbers, but I owned and built modular homes for 5 years. There is about a 10% to 15% profit margin in modular homes. And as per all the other costs most builders make a general contracting fee of 15 to 20%. So your numbers are completely bogus. In fact one of the reasons I got out of the business is there isn't much profit in modular home building. Sold my half to my partner.

And I can guarantee you that modular will come in cheaper than an onsite built home; unless the onsite homes are mass produced with cheap materials.

 

[Walter Kirk]

In addition to my appraisal business I work for a modular home dealer. We sell, transport and set up the houses to the customers lot. We do not get involved in foundation construction, water, sewer or HVAC work, we leave that to the customer who can save lots of money if they shop intelligently. We also sell to general contractors since we can deliver and set a house cheaper than they can build it.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

fully finished pole-frame house with a concrete slab appraise for less then a traditional foundation-based stick build house with the same metal siding, same interior finishe

It costs less therefore should sell for less. Lots of these in E. Oklahoma. The builder I know can save about 20% of frame and foundation costs. They can look indistinguishable from conventional housing on slab however, thus can fool an appraiser. But the red flag is termites because the posts are in ground contact. As for Morton, I consider them over priced compared to less well know builders. And their construction technique is different. The posts are 3 2x6 treated boards nailed together, cemented in the ground to just above surface in a staggered configuration. Then the rest of the post is non-treated boards nailed together. I might consider light iron frame instead. No ground contact, etc.

https://adamstruss.com/popular-packages/

https://www.worldwidesteelbuildings.com/steel-buildings/homes-residential/

Can you tell the difference in these two houses?

 

[techbiker]

Note I'm not an appraiser.

Unless price is a real issue, I would stay away from manufactured homes. From my limited experience, it seems manufactured home values are highly dependent on year of construction. After so many years, properties with old manufactured homes seem to sell for less than land value. I've never heard of a flipper rehabbing a 1970 mobile home and selling for a profit for example. For me, long term durability and ease of maintenance play strongly into resale value. I want a building I can renovate for a profit at year 30.

Also, I recommend strongly considering your septic/sewer options. Consider upgrading to a larger double chamber tank. Also if you have an option, consider benefits and drawbacks of aerobic systems. I've heard aerobic is cleaner, however maintenance is much more expensive and intensive. Sometimes it makes more sense to buy a larger lot if septic is easier/simpler.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[andrew81]

Note I'm not an appraiser.

Unless price is a real issue, I would stay away from manufactured homes. From my limited experience, it seems manufactured home values are highly dependent on year of construction. After so many years, properties with old manufactured homes seem to sell for less than land value. I've never heard of a flipper rehabbing a 1970 mobile home and selling for a profit for example. For me, long term durability and ease of maintenance play strongly into resale value. I want a building I can renovate for a profit at year 30.

Also, I recommend strongly considering your septic/sewer options. Consider upgrading to a larger double chamber tank. Also if you have an option, consider benefits and drawbacks of aerobic systems. I've heard aerobic is cleaner, however maintenance is much more expensive and intensive. Sometimes it makes more sense to buy a larger lot if septic is easier/simpler.

Just my 2 cents.

i have seen it a couple of times.

this one is a 1975 mobile home. it was purchased from an estate for $9000. lots in this village sell for around $2000/$3000. from what i was told it was original and unlivable.

of course this was special circumstances and not something that is related to the original post, sorry!! just wanted to share that ive seen it.

 

[techbiker]

i have seen it a couple of times.

this one is a 1975 mobile home. it was purchased from an estate for $9000. lots in this village sell for around $2000/$3000. from what i was told it was original and unlivable.

of course this was special circumstances and not something that is related to the original post, sorry!! just wanted to share that ive seen it.



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Wow! Judging by the roof line, I am guessing this was a higher-end mobile home. Hope the buyer made money.

 

[Mark K]

There is about a 10% to 15% profit margin in modular homes. And as per all the other costs most builders make a general contracting fee of 15 to 20%. So your numbers are completely bogus. In fact one of the reasons I got out of the business is there isn't much profit in modular home building. Sold my half to my partner.

You haven't seen the numbers in this area, I have. I've appraised hundreds of new custom homes and dozens of mod/manuf and have all the numbers. Man/mod homes sellers charge $10K for a well that other builders charge $5K. They charge $15-$20K for a crawl space when other legitimate builders charge $8-$10K. Septic systems that cost $7,500 are billed at $12-$15K by the mod/man sellers.

So yeah, I've seen the numbers. Not unusual for a 28x72 mod/man seller to end up charging $100-$110/sf, roughly the same as stick built. The buyers get screwed so badly that most local banks won't lend on them since the buyers nearly always walk away in a few years when they find out that they're drastically underwater as soon as they close.

 

[Deleted member 128537]

You haven't seen the numbers in this area, I have. I've appraised hundreds of new custom homes and dozens of mod/manuf and have all the numbers. Man/mod homes sellers charge $10K for a well that other builders charge $5K. They charge $15-$20K for a crawl space when other legitimate builders charge $8-$10K. Septic systems that cost $7,500 are billed at $12-$15K by the mod/man sellers.

So yeah, I've seen the numbers. Not unusual for a 28x72 mod/man seller to end up charging $100-$110/sf, roughly the same as stick built. The buyers get screwed so badly that most local banks won't lend on them since the buyers nearly always walk away in a few years when they find out that they're drastically underwater as soon as they close.

Then the consumers must be a bunch of idiots. I know that when we were in business we would constantly go up against site-built home bids. The consumer knew exactly all the up front costs. We broke every item out to the penny (except wells since we really didn’t know how deep we would need to go.) And we would never win the closing on the house unless we were significantly cheaper than the site built home.

So either you have some pretty ignorant consumers or in your area some very unscrupulous mod/manuf. builders.

What we actually found is that the site built homes were skimming on their bids. In fact the feedback we got is that most site builders actually underbid the project by about 5 to 10%.