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- What Are Netting Escrows & How Does It Work?: The Best Guide - January 2, 2024
- The Secret About Prescriptive Easement: Top Guide 1 Must Know - December 4, 2023
- About Home Equity Loans In Texas And How Can One Obtain It - November 27, 2023
About Prefab Home
As a potential homeowner, you have two options to live in your dream home. You can either buy a move-in ready home or built a new one.
Buying a move-in ready home is one of the most common options that people choose.
When it comes to building a new home, there are many options such as old-fashioned stick-built or prefabricated homes.
In this post, we will understand what is a prefabricated home in detail.
What Is A Prefab Home?
Prefab homes, also known as prefabricated are built outside in a factory and then shipped to the customer’s property for assembly.
These houses can be built much faster and at a lower cost than conventional stick-built homes.
These can be single-family or multi-family homes though traditional homes provide more customization, prefabricated homes can also help customization to a certain extent.
What Are The Types Of Prefab Homes?
Prefabricated homes come in three main types: kit, manufactured, and modular. Below is a brief description of each type.
Kit House: Kit house follows a similar architectural style but is much simpler than a manufactured house. Most home buyers can do the kit themselves.
Manufactured Homes: Homes in this category are built in sections and finally assembled by professionals and heavy machinery.
However, it must meet US Department Of Housing And Urban Development (HUD) requirements.
Modular Homes: These homes are more customizable and often have floor plans choice given to you by the companies.
However, unlike kit and manufactured homes, modular homes have a fixed foundation.
What Are The Pros And Cons Of Prefab Homes?
The Pros Of Prefabricated Houses:
1 - Extraordinary Energy Efficiency
One of the advantages of prefab homes is that they are generally very energy efficient. Tight seams and state-of-the-art windows reduce energy costs while maintaining temperature.
Additionally, the elegant construction of modular homes is renowned for its resistance to natural disasters.
Most people misunderstand prefabricated homes for mobile homes which is not correct. Prefabricated homes (sometimes called modular) come with a foundation just like any other home.
They can be high-quality, modern, and stylish homes and are perfect for those who want a lower carbon footprint than typical American suburban homes.
2 - Speedy construction
Speedy construction is one of the great advantages of prefabricated houses. Since the parts of the prefabricated house are ready, it is enough to assemble it and connect the house to the required utilities.
That is the reason why it is called modular homes. Since the houses are partially constructed in the factory, helps the speed final construction of the property.
This means fewer days and less susceptibility to weather delays and illnesses that can extend the construction process by days or weeks.
But just saving time on construction is not enough, site preparation, including obtaining a permit, can also be time-consuming.
3 - Affordable Housing
Building a prefabricated house is usually cheaper than building a similar house from sticks. Some of the savings are labor-related. Fewer workers need to work fewer days to get ready-to-use prefabs.
This will save you money. Also, as already mentioned, manufactured homes cost less to heat and cool than traditional homes.
When you are ready to buy a move-in ready home, compare the market value of the existing home to the cost of building a prefabricated home.
Keep in mind that different levels of fitment and customization can increase or decrease the cost of your prefabricated home. Contact the manufacturer for available cost-saving strategies.
The Cons Of Prefabricated Houses:
1 - The Cost Of The Land
To build a prefabricated house, you must own the land beneath it. If you don’t have land yet, you need to buy it.
You also need to build a prefabricated house on the land and make sure it can be connected to electricity, water, and sewage.
Soil testing needs to be done for the land on that you are planning to build the home.
Land insurance, inspections, and permits can be costly and time-consuming.
Some companies that sell prefabricated homes help you through the process, obtain permits on your behalf, and include the expenses in the final cost of building the home for you.
2 - Higher Upfront Payments
If you’re buying a move-in ready home, you’ll pay about 20% down, and the rest of the mortgage can be paid off over time.
Although construction and finance loans are available for many manufactured homes, you will need to pay to build the home before you move in.
The contract contains a schedule for installment payments during the construction of the home.
This pay-as-you-go feature of prefab means you need to make sure you can afford it before buying and installing a prefab. On the other hand, paying more upfront can save you interest.
3 - Utilities Can Be Hard To Find
One of the disadvantages of prefabricated houses is that it can be difficult to organize utilities and other details of the site. If your site is uneven, you need to level up.
Next, you need to lay the foundation and prepare for a sewer strike and electrical connection.
Not to mention hooking up to city water or finding well water. If all of this seems too intimidating, search for a construction company that can take care of all these details for you.
Conclusion
Though conventional home purchase is on the rise, building a prefab home is still more affordable compared to buying a move-in ready home.
Before buying a home, make sure that you consider calculating the cost it would take to build a prefab home as well to make an informed decision.
It would not only be more cost-effective but also give you the best customization options as well.
