Hi folks, My wife and I ( and my 85 year old mom) are looking to move back to some property where I was born and raised. Last year we tore down the old place as it was beyond repair. We have sewage and septic already out there, but the prices of modular homes in our area have gotten out of control in the last several months. To put it into perspective a new modular that sells for $ 145,000 normally is now something like $ 170,000. And it is going up every week.

Do any of you guys now of an alternative for modern housing? I was thinking of something like a steel home kit and finish it ourselves. Or possibly a pole barn type structure and finishing it. Am I fishing in the dark here? I just can't stand the idea of getting gouged 25-30,000 bucks for the same product.

Thanks Moparts for any advice!

A lot of things are out of control price wise at the present time. Several factors are at play not just the Cv-19 fiasco. If at all possible I would suggest waiting a bit until the supply chain catches up and hopefully things will start returning to this galaxy price wise. However they may go the other way as well It's a roll of the dice

they may or may not still have this issue, but many mobile home parks have abandoned, or used ones you can buy and have moved. pennies on the dollar compared to new.
they used to have some they nearly gave away as long as you paid for the move.
you might check around you and see if they still have that issue.

I got a quote on a 24x48 basement sometime back for a small modular home on the family farm for my wife and I. It was 48500.00 I imagine that has gone up too! The septic system would need replaced and new electricity poles run in to where the house would go. Certainly not a cheap venture. I have a friend who did a pole type building with full living quarters and they did most of the work themselves. It was over 225 large...

Menards has whole home kits for sale, might be something to take a look at.

You sound like a creative thinker.. Have you surfed around for houses built using steel shipping containers? There are a whole slew of interesting solutions people have come up with to create some amazing homes with them.
They are readily available, so the raw boxes aren't suffering from the whole global supply chain crisis..
The supplies you need to fit them out might still be a problem, but that's the current norm with any construction.
Cheers,
- Art

You'll probably find the same price increase for everything that you'd want to comfortably use for a house.

One possibility is see if there is any house mover type places around that have something. From time to time you see free houses advertised that are being moved off a lot to make room for a newer house. The house is free but you have to pay for all the fees involved with moving it and get the foundation made and deal with repairs from being moved but at the end of the day the prices for that shouldn't have gone up as much as building something new because the house is already built. Or look at buying a trailer park type trailer to use until what you want to build is affordable again. Then use the trailer as extra room or sell it.

Northern Michigan has had a run on pole barn style housing the last 5 to 10 years. Many communities are now banning these structures and I think it is just a tax issue.

There are some great designs out there and the best part is low maintenance.



Check these builds out: https://mortonbuildings.com/projects/residential

There are several companies making building "pods" that consist of kitchen and bathroom fixtures. Pre-plumbes and with electric circuits.
In some areas there is a building type "K" or "K Class" that allows marginal improvements and occupancy before final.
I've seen a "Pod" used with 4 storage containers in a pinwheel pattern with the pod located in the center.
Two storage containers can also be places parallel to each other 10' or more apart and trusses installed over the entire "building, or truss the gap and construct shed rook over the two containers.
Make sure to provide ancors to foundation for the containers, slab in between, and I beams wherever you cut out the storage container sidewalls.

^^^This. Even if it requires a total remodel, you'll still save tens of thousands, especially if you can do some of the work yourself. Mobile homes are depreciating assets. It makes no sense (to me) to buy a new one.

Thank you guys for the replies, but I am not talking mobile home or " doublewide" trailers. The modular homes we are looking at are exactly like a stick built house, with the exception that they are built in a plant as opposed to the site.

We had very briefly started to consider something like what these folks do. Sounds like some of them have a frame, then they use SIP panels for the walls. Supposed to go up pretty quick.

https://www.vermontframes.com/timber-frame-floor-plans/classic-timberworks-timber-frame-designs/

Some years ago I checked into getting a Modular home and in my area there was not much of a cost difference between Modular and stick built.

Even before the current run up in lumber, the big selling point was the money saved by rapid construction and occupancy. They didn't really compete, dollar for dollar, with stick built.

The contractor I hired for my roofing jobs said that one way a modular is better is that they are built indoors in a controlled environment.

Want to go really unique ....think airplane home in a rural area.

OR ... I’m thinking huge shipping containers welded together and finished off inside and outside ....

Virtually Hurricane proof !

In the west there are also companies doing palletized homes. Much like tilt up construction. Pre-fabbed walls trucked out to site erected and finished by local subs or owner.

I didn't see a location listed. I believe so much depends on this. Weather extremes, types of storms, average temps. If I'm not mistaken modular provides better insulation, but if you are in a hurricane prone area, I wouldn't go modular.

So I believe location must play a big role making this decision. A lot of people in Florida choose frame houses for their insulation benefits, but come hurricane season wish they had CBS construction.

Also, as someone wrote, I believe you will see the same percentage increase in all types of construction and not just modular.

My mom still lives in the modular home her and dad built 49 years ago. That modular sits in a subdivision where 4 stick built homes were all built the same year as theirs was. Her home is the only one of the 5 that has not been reconditioned, but only one of the other 5 still have the original owners, that one was reconditioned a couple years ago. Mom's could stand a reconditioning, but her being 85, I don't expect to see it happen.

A friend, who is a builder, was hired to go to facility that built modular homes in Canada. He thought construction was excellent and the controlled environment helped a lot.

Depending on how much of a rush you are in, I'd buy a used mobile home and put it out there to live in while waiting out this mess. Then once things get back to normal have your real house built and sell the trailer.

Don't laugh, but if you have not, check into "Tuff Shed".
I've been wanting one of their custom sheds for awhile now and I follow them on social media and there have been several instances where they custom designed living quarters and the buyer finished the inside themselves or farmed it out.
Might be worth a look?

https://www.tuffshed.com/


https://www.simplemost.com/home-depot-tuff-sheds-make-affordable-tiny-homes/

I purchased a 14x36 Amish built garage in 2018. I live in the township so it was required by code to be a permanent structure. The vinyl siding and shingles must match my house and that was not a problem. The building construction easily complies with the inspectors extra EXTRA stringent frost, heave, snow load and hurricane requirements. I bolted it to my thickened concrete slab with Titan bolts. I electrified it insulated it and installed a 240 volt heater. Its my mancave/ motorcycle workshop car repair- all around hobby shop. Heats up nicely (only on weekends- electric heat is $$) and looks great. Building code inspector was pleased with the construction quality. Built by the Amish in an indoor environment in Fremont Michigan.

I was going to build a tiny house from a kit or from a storage container for my property but at the end of the day it was cheaper to buy a trailer.

The problem isn't with the Modular industry, its with the wood/building materials industry, whether its traditional stick built or modular, lumber prices have skyrocketed...steel has gone up considerably as well. Maybe an old barn move/renovation?? still substantial materials cost associated with that.

Merle Haggard's father was way ahead of the times. Haggard was born in 1937 and the family lived in a converter boxcar. The boxcar was transformed into the family home by Haggard's father, James Haggard, during the Great Depression.

You're welcome, for the irrelevant piece of information

Have you considered a couple of sea cans ??

Pre covid housing prices were out of reality. But now the cost of lumber, materials and contractors lack of hired help its now a terribly expensive scenario.

I don't understand this. You can go to sporting events, car shows, swap meets and presumably just about any other sort of venue or activity. But you can't work ?!?!?

That's correct. You can safely riot too.

No we are paying people more to collect unemployment than they would make working. Stupid.

Nearly ever business in our little town has " Now Hiring" signs hanging on the doors and windows. The government is giving people $600 a week unemployment to stay home without having a requirement to even look for work. Most people just love that idea, free money! You can do whatever you want with your time and have cash in your pockets. On top of that, since its government money, lots of lending companies are willing to loan people money because of those untaxed unemployment checks.

Why would a person want to get a job that pays the same money or less? Even if that pay check is a little more, you still loose all that free time. The fat and lazy are getting even fatter and more lazy.

I've been looking at building a second dwelling (approved) on our parcel properly zoned.
I've considered all options and have pretty much settled on stick built.
While I do not know your location/approval jurisdiction I'd suggest talking with the local manufacturers in your area, and surrounding areas.
Sometimes there is very lax requirements that one may want to avoid.
I guess you are looking for an energy efficient and convenient home.
A couple things to consider. Slab or raised floor, group all the plumbing and mechanical in one portion of home.
2x6 and dual pane vinyl and extra insulation in floors and attic. Properly vent the attic.
Orient the home to obtain as much solar gain, and possible photovoltaic in the future.
Also, if the foot print is fairly modest locate it so that it could be converted to garage use in the future. Install headers over windows that can later be opened up for garage doors.
Lastly I believe the current market is unsustainable. You are likely not able to wait, yet building now may be tough.
Do consider some finishing paint, cabinets and counters, appliances and systems to do, or sub out yourself.

A lot of what you can do is dependent on the zoning, codes, laws and regs of the local and/or state authorities where you are building.

My wife and I bought 2 acres and put up a manufactured home in 2007, just before the bust. Call it a double wide if you like. A nice one. Paid a lot less than we could have - we knew the bubble was about to burst and we had plans for other stuff besides a big mortgage. Lots of bad stuff has happened since, but we still have it. Never regretted the choice, Would do it again today. Had we gone for the McMansion, we'd have been done for.

Find out what the options are. Pole building? A shop building with an attached living quarters? A gently used quality double wide? Small manufactured house?

Housing market is a mess now. Materials are high and scarce. Existing homes are crazy high. With the current situation, I would recommend, first and foremost, do something that you can afford, even if the wheels fall off and things go completely sideways for you.

Sheeting
Framing studs
Just look at the cost of the materials for a simple structure.. Prices are nuts... anyone building or buying now is going to take a bath later ( read as negative equity) this is the only time I have ever advise to rent and see what happens rather than buy or build. My house market value has almost doubled in less than two years. It had only risen 20% in the last 30 yrs, nothing in my area has changed... just more ignorant people.

Stanton wrote: "I don't understand this. You can go to sporting events, car shows, swap meets and presumably just about any other sort of venue or activity. But you can't work ?!?!?"
Even before Covid existed there was a lack of people (Young people) entering skilled trades. Contractors, trucking, auto repair you name the career there is no one applying and giving a serious effort. Now bring in covid and its lockdowns, increased costs of materials and $$ incentives for healthy people to NOT work and its the knock out blow.