A site built home built indoors

Modular vs "Stick-built"

Modular homes are more popular today than ever before. There are plenty of reasons why people trust the quality, reliability, speed and generous pricing that modular homes provide.

Modular home quality has never been better than it is now. A modular home meets and exceeds traditional stick-built standards. Here are some of the advantages of choosing a modular home over stick-built:

Advantages:
1. Higher Quality Materials - Because a modular home is built using similar materials between each home, modular home builders purchase higher quality materials that are of more consistent quality.
2. Lower Cost Materials - Because a modular home builder purchases in large quantities, the materials used to bulid your home can be purchased more cost-effectively and those savings are passed down to you.
3. No cost overruns on site - How many times does a traditional builder have to run to Lowes etc... to get extra materials he/she didn't get in the first place? This problem is eliminated when choosing a modular home.
4. Less Time To Build - A traditional home takes between 6 - 12 months to build. A modular home usually takes between 6 - 12 weeks to build and set on your property.
5. Material Integrity - Because your modular home is built in a climate-controlled workspace that is protected from excessive heat, water and wind, a modular home's exterior and interior are not subject to rainshowers, windstorms and snow storms as well as the dirt and dust that plagues every traditional home build site.
6. Build Quality & Consistency - A traditional stick-built home may have a different person working on your home from day-to-day, picking up where someone else left off and sacrificing build quality and consistency. Modular homes are built using consistent build practices and personnel to ensure your home is built to the highest quality standards all with professional supervision.
7. Fewer & Shorter Delays - Have you heard horror stories about a traditional stick-built home taking months longer than expected to build and going thousands of dollars over budget? Wells Fargo did a study and what they found is that "modular homes are much less likely to go over budget."
8. Customization - Many people stray from building a modular home because they feel they won't be able to receive the options they want. This is incorrect. With modular homes you can often pick from different materials for construction such as OSB or Plywood, choose different types of floor joists like 2x8 or Open Web, pick insulation values, choose different window manufacturers or window styles, change snow and wind load requirements, choose from flooring such as hardwood or laminate, pick out kitchen cabinet styles & types, and much, much, more.
9. Modular Homes Cost Less - We know that price factors into your decision in selecting a home once you know you will receive a high quality home. FEMA found that modular homes withstand severe weather conditions better than site built homes as they have more lumber- you can save money AND have a well built house!
10. Look at value- pick a company that helps you through the daunting process of building your home and stands behind their homes long after you have moved in. Research your builder, make sure they have taken good care of their other customers because that will help predict how they will treat you!

I is for insurance

Posted a few weeks ago by a builder friend of ours out of the area. I thought it beared repeating.

Question: What happens if during the building of your new home, there is a fire? You have closed on your construction loan and the bank has made several dispersement payments for the construction costs. You now have a mortgage but no home, who covers the damages?

Answer: Your Builder’s Risk Insurance Policy.

Most banks require that a Builder’s Risk policy be in place at the initial closing of a construction loan. They want to ensure that their interests (the money loaned for the project) are insured in the event of a catastrophic loss during the construction of a new home. Builder’s Risk Insurance is a physical damage policy that covers all phases of construction. From the moment equipment arrives on site to occupancy of the home. Some of the losses this insurance covers include theft and vandalism, water, fire and weather damage. This coverage is for the interests of the General Contractor, sub-contractors, bank and homeowner. Each policy is project specific and should be reviewed between the General Contractor and homeowner.

Does your G.C. have Builder’s Risk Insurance?

For more information, check out these links:

http://www.buildersriskinsurancehelp.com

http://www.ehow.com/how_2049312_prepare-builders-risk-insurance-checklist.html

Is it real or is it memorex?

We just updated our building feasibility worksheet, under the "financing" section of our website. The worksheet has average costs on items such as your heating system or foundation.

We prefer to provide you with "real" numbers to avoid the "oh by the way" conversation later. While these numbers are just based on previous projects, and not yet site specific, they are designed to be realistic.

We want to earn your business for the right reasons, not because we tricked you into a low price and then do the old bait and switch technique.

As I have said before, I want to be able to sleep at night. And boy do I sleep like a baby.

Our next home building seminar is set for next Friday night- hope you can join us for a pizza party and some great information.

All the details at www.plattsburghhousing.com under the event section!