Generally, a home is a great investment. Appreciation of both factory-built homes and site-built homes are affected by identical factors: the stability of the community and neighborhood, supply and demand in the local market, style of the home and of course, location. 

Most model home sales centers have an inventory of homes for you to tour. Your NDMHA member retailer can explain available options, or if you choose, they will assist you with designing a floor plan best suited to your lifestyle and needs. 

Your professional housing consultant and NDMHA member can be a knowledgeable resource for information about the construction upgrades and interior amenities. It’s common for buyers to custom design floor plans, upgrade appliances, or include an attached garage and full basement. The best way to start your search for a new home is to make a written list of what is most important to meet your needs and then use it as a guide when visiting model home centers and asking questions. 

In many cases, modular homes and manufactured homes are built in the same factory with most of the same component products and by the same highly skilled workers-the difference is in the building code. Manufactured homes are built to a federal building code, often referred to as the “HUD Code,” a performance-based building code. The federal building code allows for greater flexibility in integrating the latest in construction technologies while still meeting the code’s requirements. Modular or prefabricated homes are built to the IRC Residential Building Code, which is the same building code that applies to on-site construction. Both manufactured homes and modular/prefabricated homes are inspected throughout the construction process and must receive either a State or Federal “Seal of Approval” before leaving the factory. Once at the home site, and the home is placed on the foundation, the work then is inspected by the local building official.

You bet! Both types of factory-built homes offer spacious floor plans, vaulted ceilings, walk-in closets, fireplaces, brand-name appliances, customization packages, whirlpool tubs and many other upgrades. In addition, exterior designs can be compatible with almost any neighborhood. 

From as little as a few weeks for a manufactured or modular/prefabricated home being placed on a basement or permanent foundation as real estate, to even less time when purchasing a model home at a sales center and placing it in a land-lease community. 

Today’s factory-built homes can be financed with traditional 30-year and 15-year conventional mortgages offered by your local bank and national mortgage companies; FHA, VA, Rural Housing Administration, MN Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans may also be available.