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Why are you building this house?

This is usually a pretty easy question to answer, but it is also very important. The most common
reasons people build modular homes are a) To create their custom dream home on the perfect
piece of land b) to live in for a short time and sell it or simply “flip it” for a profit as soon as it is
finished or c) to create income by using it as a rental property.

The reason it is important to consider why you are taking on this project is because the answer to
this question will have an effect on the decision making process when selecting which options and
upgrades to include in the house.

If you are building a home to live in and enjoy for the rest of your life you will want to select the
options that fit best with your lifestyle. You may be willing to pay a little extra for the options you
consider most important and feel you will get the most use out of.

If you don’t have the money to get everything you want right away, you will want to consider which
upgrades will be easiest to add later. On the other hand, if you are building a home that you plan to
sell or rent, you will benefit by making different choices.
If your goal is to build a modular home on your property and sell it for a profit your main objective
should be in maximizing your profit.

You will want to do a little research by looking at houses in the area that you will be building to get
an idea of what kind of houses are there already. You want to see if there is a specific feature that
all of the other houses have in the area that would be a selling point. For example, if the houses
overlooked a beautiful view and all of the houses had decks to take advantage of this, you would
probably want to include a deck.

On the other hand, you certainly do not want to add any extras that would not be an obvious selling
point to the great majority of the people who will be interested in buying the home. Even if you
have always wanted to have stadium seating in your basement to watch football games and
movies, you should not spend the extra ten thousand dollars to do it. Save that idea for the house
that you will be living in.

Cabinets and appliances, etc. should be good quality, but again, don’t go overboard. Every person
or family has a different idea of which options and features are most important in a house. Even in
a brand new spec house the buyers will probably want to make a few changes, so don’t spend too
much on extravagant options and upgrades since you can never be sure which ones provide any
added value for a prospective buyer.

When building a modular home to use as a rental property you will want to consider many of the
same things that you consider when building a modular home to sell. You will definitely want to
minimize the upgrades you choose in the house.

Since renters do not generally stay for long periods of time, they are less likely to be concerned
about things like color and quality of cabinets, appliances, etc. The standard white oak cabinets
that come with most homes will be fine.

You may be able to leave the white primer on the walls instead of spending a lot of money painting.
And keep in mind the more amenities you add to a rental property (ceiling fans, etc.), the more
often you will be getting calls from your tenants asking you to fix things.

Renters are also less likely to take care of a house the way an owner would so you may want to
consider things that will make it easier to maintain the house like putting tile flooring in an area
where the carpet is likely to be damaged from use. In general, you will want to make the home
nice and livable, but you don’t want to spend any more than you have to on extras for a house that
will most likely be lived in by several different people, all with different likes and dislikes.

Modular Home Pricing (continued)

                                           It is easier to build up than out

More importantly, it is less expensive to build up than out. It is especially true in modular homes
that it is less expensive to build a 2500 sq. ft., 4 bedroom , 2 bathroom two-story house than a
2500 sq. ft. 4 bedroom 2 bath house all on one level. There are many reasons for this.

For one thing, the cost of the foundation and roofing for the house is less since the total area or
footprint of the house is smaller, therefore less material is used. This fact will certainly become
evident when you start pricing different models of modular homes.

For example, an 1800 square foot ranch house may cost $90 per sq. ft. to build on your land, while
a 2400 sq. ft. two-story home from the same manufacturer, built to the same specifications may
only cost $75 per sq. ft. to build on your land.

One of the most popular types of plan you will find among modular home manufacturers are plans
with a “Bonus area”.    Usually a bonus area refers to an unfinished upstairs area that can be
finished to add additional space to the house. The buyer has the choice as to whether to buy the
upstairs finished or unfinished.

One thing to note is that generally when you buy a home with a finished bonus area upstairs, the
upstairs finishing work is completed on site by the builder. The benefit of this is that the buyer may
be able to customize the upstairs to fit their needs. This can be beneficial for a family that needs
extra bedrooms for a growing family, or it may allow a couple to build a large master bedroom on
the second floor.

Here are some things to consider that will benefit you financially when looking at bonus plans:
If you are building a modular home to place on your land and live there through retirement you may
still opt for a simple one story plan, even though the price per square foot will be higher. After all,
if you are in a good financial position and don’t need extra room, you may be happier with a house
that will not require you to climb up and down stairs in your later years.

In many other cases however, you may want to consider buying a home with an unfinished bonus
upstairs area. For example, if you are buying the home as an investment that you will eventually
cash in by selling you can benefit from buying a house in which the builder finishes the upstairs.

footage at a reduced price. Since the price you receive from your investment will be influenced by
an appraisal of the property . One criteria that is very highly weighted in the appraisal process is
the price per square foot of neighboring As we have already noted, a house with a finishing the
upstairs adds extra square properties.

Therefore a home with the extra square footage you can add by getting the upstairs completed will
bring you significantly more money on the sale for a small investment.

Another way to benefit from a modular home plan with an unfinished bonus area is to buy the home
with the upstairs unfinished and finish the upstairs yourself at a later date.

One benefit is that if you don’t have the money to buy as much house as you’d like you can get a
house with an unfinished bonus area and when you have funds available you can finish off the
upstairs without disrupting your living area downstairs.

These plans come with a future plumbing package which makes adding a bathroom upstairs
relatively easy.

In addition, you will save money by either finishing the upstairs yourself or arranging for contractors
to do it as opposed to having the builder sell you the house as a completed two-story home.