House I'm looking at buying turns out to be "manufactured", what's it mean?

[sciguy]

Ok, I've been going through the process of buying my first home. I found one where I liked the floorplan, size, number of rooms, etc in my price range.

Last week we got the inspection and appraisal done. The appraiser came back with a worrying statement: up to this point, the house had been presented as a "modular" home, but it was originally "manufactured". The current owners (or maybe the realtor they bought it from, it's a little unclear to me at this point) did some major work on the building last year, including re-doing the interior and adding a garage.

After doing some research, here's what I figured out so far:
1) Modular and manufactured are both constructed at a factory (usually in multiple pieces), transported to the plot of land, and put together there.
2) Modular homes must meet local building codes.
3) Manufactured homes have a separate building code set at the federal level by HUD.
4) Manufactured homes do not have a permanent foundation, which makes it harder to finance and less likely to appreciate in value. I guess it's because it's easier to take the house away from the property, so it's a higher risk.

I was visiting my brother yesterday, and his mother-in-law (who has been working with investment properties for the past few years) started in a bunch of horror stories about manufactured homes. Shoddy construction of wiring, ductwork, etc. Depreciation of resale value. Increased insurance costs (2x to 2.5x).

Needless to say, this has definitely led to some worry on my part. The appraisal report did state that the house's value was what I offered. I haven't seen the report yet, but I am working on getting my hands on it. It being the weekend, I also haven't been able to get a hold of the company I'm going through for house insurance to see what impact this would have (since the quote I got was from before this information came up).

I am planning on keeping this for a while, it's not a "buy, fix, resell for profit" property.

So I put this out to the teeming millions: what should I bring up with my realtor and/or the seller to assure myself that I'm not getting stuck with a bad investment? Is there any valid, legal way for a "manufactured" home to be upgraded to a "modular" classification (maybe this is what the original owner thought he did)? Is the misrepresentation a possible sign of a scam, an honest mistake, miscommunication, or what? Is the "manufactured" stigma overrated?

[Ezstrete]

Ok, I've been going through the process of buying my first home. I found one where I liked the floorplan, size, number of rooms, etc in my price range.

Last week we got the inspection and appraisal done. The appraiser came back with a worrying statement: up to this point, the house had been presented as a "modular" home, but it was originally "manufactured". The current owners (or maybe the realtor they bought it from, it's a little unclear to me at this point) did some major work on the building last year, including re-doing the interior and adding a garage.

After doing some research, here's what I figured out so far:
1) Modular and manufactured are both constructed at a factory (usually in multiple pieces), transported to the plot of land, and put together there.
2) Modular homes must meet local building codes.
3) Manufactured homes have a separate building code set at the federal level by HUD.
4) Manufactured homes do not have a permanent foundation, which makes it harder to finance and less likely to appreciate in value. I guess it's because it's easier to take the house away from the property, so it's a higher risk.

I was visiting my brother yesterday, and his mother-in-law (who has been working with investment properties for the past few years) started in a bunch of horror stories about manufactured homes. Shoddy construction of wiring, ductwork, etc. Depreciation of resale value. Increased insurance costs (2x to 2.5x).

Needless to say, this has definitely led to some worry on my part. The appraisal report did state that the house's value was what I offered. I haven't seen the report yet, but I am working on getting my hands on it. It being the weekend, I also haven't been able to get a hold of the company I'm going through for house insurance to see what impact this would have (since the quote I got was from before this information came up).

I am planning on keeping this for a while, it's not a "buy, fix, resell for profit" property.

So I put this out to the teeming millions: what should I bring up with my realtor and/or the seller to assure myself that I'm not getting stuck with a bad investment? Is there any valid, legal way for a "manufactured" home to be upgraded to a "modular" classification (maybe this is what the original owner thought he did)? Is the misrepresentation a possible sign of a scam, an honest mistake, miscommunication, or what? Is the "manufactured" stigma overrated?

Permit me to offer some opinions on "stick-built","prefab"."Modular" etc.

In an area very close to my residence there is a Sears-Roebck Catalogue home which a co-worker of mine bought back in about 1930.

It's still making some one happy 'cause it's still occupies.

Hand built buildins are. to some extent, prefabbed because the carpenter team will often cut all of the studs in one day and, as the work progresses, will fabricate tomorrows walls and then just stand them up and bang them in the following day.

The qualiity of structure is dependent upon the quality of the workman---------NOT on the system or the material used.

A CRAFTSMAN would not use shoddy material for his trademark.

A good pre-assembly can be just as good as an on the site final assembly.

Either can be sloppy or professional.

It's all part of the home buying crap-shoot.

After all---remember------the automobile,computer and blender you buy are all."prefabbed."

Nobody builds those things. "On Site."

For what it's worth!

EZ

[Wendell Wagner]

Ezstrete writes:

> . . . a co-worker of mine bought back in about 1930 . . .

So he'e been working for 75 years now? Was the mortgage so high that it's taken him that long to pay it off.

[Ezstrete]

Ezstrete writes:

> . . . a co-worker of mine bought back in about 1930 . . .

So he'e been working for 75 years now? Was the mortgage so high that it's taken him that long to pay it off.


Yuk Yuk Yuk

[Ezstrete]

Yuk Yuk Yuk

Ol' EZ forgets that all folk are not octogenatians.

Actully he retired back in the 60s and since has gone to his reward.------------if he we still around he'd have a been a centenarian.[is that correct usage?]

EZ

[itanitme_32301]

I don't remenber the terminology, but:

"Manufactured" usually refers to something that arrives at the site on its own wheels (think: "house trailer"). These are the ones which do not attach permanently to the real estate, and are therefore "personal property", not "real property".

There are houses built in factories using code-approved materials and techniques - these come in sections of walls (with real, live wallboard on real, live 2x's, all wiring and plumbing, etc. - it's a lot easier to build in a factory, using a roller-track and nailers, drills, etc. suspended from the ceiling, than to site-build. Hence, they are cheaper to build). The site preparation is the foundation and roughed-in utilities.
Once assembled, they are indistinguishable from stick-builts.
Easy test: how thick are the walls? The "house trailers" use scaled-down walls and roofs if it uses 2x6 studs for the exterior walls, and 2x4's for the interior walls, it's the same as a stick-built - it is a permanent install, and therefore become part of the land (anything permantly attached to the land is part of the real-estate.

"Mobile Homes" ("trailers) are getting quite good, but they are not the same quailty, us about "3/4 scale" everything.

If it looks like a house, it's a house. If it looks like a trailer, it's a "Manufactured Home".

Google is your friend.

[bizzwire]

I looked at pre-fabbed homes some time ago. From what I recall, the manufacturers claimed that the workmanship is typically better than "stick-built" construction, since it is manufactered in a controlled environment. The houses I was looking at most certainly required a foundation, although some (i.e. mobile homes, also known as "wheel estate," or tornado fodder) don't. "Pre-fab" is a term that covers a lot of ground.

[Balthisar]

There are lots of regional differences in terminology. It sucks. Here are a couple of easy tests.

Look for the utility room. If you see stickers everywhere about Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and federal codes and standards, you got yourself a trailer. Even if they don't call it a trailer, it's what we think of as a trailer. They have to meet federal codes which are the same everywhere. They don't have to meet local codes which are tailored to where you live.
Is there a basement? I've never seen a trailer with a basement, but that's not to say they don't exist.
How high from the ground is the main floor? Is there skirting around it? A trailer normally will be substantially higher than a real house (even a modular, which is a real house, just built remotely).
Can you get a peek underneath? Trailers will have steel frames below them. A real house will have a steel girder or two possibly, but most of the joists will be good, old fashioned wood.


When all else fails, call the inspector and have him clarify. He'll be happy to tell you if he means "trailer" or not. Because "trailer" is such a negative word, he probably just didn't want to put it on paper.

[clairobscur]

Hand built buildins are. to some extent, prefabbed because the carpenter team will often cut all of the studs in one day and, as the work progresses, will fabricate tomorrows walls and then just stand them up and bang them in the following day.


Hijack : you seem to assume that a random house will be build by c

[clairobscur]

Hand built buildins are. to some extent, prefabbed because the carpenter team will often cut all of the studs in one day and, as the work progresses, will fabricate tomorrows walls and then just stand them up and bang them in the following day.


Hijack : you seem to assume here that a random house will be build by carpenters. Does it mean that american houses are commonly, or even usually, made of wood?

[Ezstrete]

Hijack : you seem to assume here that a random house will be build by carpenters. Does it mean that american houses are commonly, or even usually, made of wood?

Not only picky-picky-----but nit picky-picky

[clairobscur]

Not only picky-picky-----but nit picky-picky



:confused: :confused:

[ElvisL1ves]

Does it mean that american houses are commonly, or even usually, made of wood?
Yes, for most of the country. Wood is plentiful and easy to build with. Brick is more common in regions with plenty of clay, and adobe predominates in much of the Southwest.

[Metacom]

Does it mean that american houses are commonly, or even usually, made of wood?
Yup!

Most single-family dwellings are framed with wood. Even houses that look like they're made of brick or stone are often just a veneer of brick or stone over a wood-framed wall.

[Sunspace]

Hijack : you seem to assume here that a random house will be build by carpenters. Does it mean that american houses are commonly, or even usually, made of wood?Basically, yes. It's the cultural heritage of coming from a forested area. Plus, there is a well-developed tradition of do-it-yourself construction with wood framing.

In the northeast, the oldest part of the US (and Canada), the default style of house is "stick-built": a wooden frame (floors, walls, roof) on some sort of foundation. The wood frames of the walls are covered in some sort of cladding. Even when the house is covered in brick, the structure remains a wood frame, and the brick is attached to the outside of the walls and rests on the top of the foundation.

This wood-frame/tree tradition was carried to other parts of the continent. Where my mother was born, on the treeless prairies of Saskatchewan, the first wave of immigrants was poor farmers from eastern Europe. They built semi-underground turf houses using available materials. Later, people of British extraction arrived, and they imported complete wooden houses. And trees. As you drive across the Praries, you can spot towns thirty kilometres away by the trees planted arojnd them.

Metal wall framework is very uncommon in detached houses, although it is quite common in commercial construction or high-rise construction. Often there will be a few major beams and posts of steel, however.

Except for fire separation walls, concrete wall structure (blocks or poured) is uncommon in detached houses above those parts of the foundation and basement that are below ground.

I know some people who lives in a rammed-earth house, but that house is such an exception that they give tours of it. Their roof and wondows are framed in wood.

I know someone else who lives in a straw-bale house, where the wall structure is of bales of straw laid up like bricks. Even then, the floors and such are wood, and there's plenty of wood framework arounf the bales. (I can't remember whether the straw bales are load-bearing; I think not.)

How is it done where you are, clairobscur?

[Metacom]

Even then, the floors and such are wood, and there's plenty of wood framework arounf the bales. (I can't remember whether the straw bales are load-bearing; I think not.)
IIRC, the bales (at least on exterior walls) are load bearing.

[clairobscur]

Thanks for the detailled answer



How is it done where you are, clairobscur?


I don't know much about house buiding, but for cheap houses I've seen being build, breeze blocks seem to be quite common. I suspect concrete is used too. For regular houses, stone and in some regions, bricks. I think wood houses are only to be found in some mountain areas where it used to be the traditionnal material.

I didn't even know metal frames existed.

I notice that you didn't mention the most obvious (in my mind) material for a house : stone. Is it rarely used, or did you forget it?

[Sunspace]

I forgot it, which probably gives an indication of how often it's used here. Cut stone is rarely used, except for decorative purposes. Or, if you're rich, for driveways and sidewalks and such.

Even then, there are quite a few companies that will pour concrete driveways and sidewalks and texture them to look like stone (this is popular among subirbanites who go for the image).

I suspect that this is because of the amount of labour incolved in building a masonry wall: it's either expensive precut stone that fits in the same place as a brick veneer, or less expensive 'naturally-shaped' stone that needs more space (and, hence, non-standard design), plus more work to build.

Re: pre-WW2 suburban building...

In the Toronto area, the stone is shale under clayey soils, and does not lend itself to building. We were famous for bricks. :) In the mid-to-late 19th century, after the first wave of European imigration to Ontario had become settled, wood houses became associated with The Frontier, and when the people of the 1880s wanted some class and sophistication for their growing towns, they built in brick.

Bricks were produced in standardised sizes by the new factories, and (I suspect) outcompeted stone because they were cheaper and easier to handle. Many Ontario towns date from this time, and their old downtowns are all three- and four-storey brick buildings. Brick houses are still the default construction style. Structures with actual stone walls above the foundations are extremely rare.

Further east, there are the level limestone plains around Kingston, Ontario, and that city indeed has many grey stone buildings from the early 1800s. The heyday of stone construction was before 1850, just a little too early for most of Ontario. (Quebec, on the other hand, was settled earlier, and I gather has much more stone construction.)

If you go north to the Shield country, the stone is easily-accessible (but very hard) granite, and the buildings tend to be wood or (imported from our area) brick. Settlement there was even later than in the Toronto area, and they often went straight from the first wooden buildings to post-WW2 suburban construction, skipponmg the 1880s brick. Indeed, the canonical "cottage" (rural leisure home) is a wooden building from the 1930s or 1940s, when the highways were first openmed to motor cars and people started to come north.

[Sunspace]

I don't know much about house buiding, but for cheap houses I've seen being build, breeze blocks seem to be quite common. What are breeze blocks?I didn't even know metal frames existed. I'm thinking here of the thin metal studs that are used for interior partitions in buildings of otherwise concrete and metal construction. They are quite wobbly by themselves, and need to be fastened to wallboard to gain rigidity. They're typically fastened with nailguns.

Walls built with them are IMHO not as easily modifiable those built with wooden studs. People have been trying to convince homebuilders to use matal framing for fifty years, and so far few have paid attention.

[Sunspace]

Another reason to use stick-built construction: wooden studs leave plenty of space for thermal insulation, and don't conduct heat themselves like metal ones would. Makes a difference when it's -30 out. :)

[ElvisL1ves]

I notice that you didn't mention the most obvious (in my mind) material for a house : stone. Is it rarely used, or did you forget it?It's rarely used in North America. It isn't easy to get in much of the country, and it's highly labor-intensive (as in expensive) to build with it, with all that cutting and mortaring. Many older houses in stone-rich areas, such as New England, have stone foundations and wooden structures, though.

[Missy2U]

What are breeze blocks?

Cinder blocks. That's what they call 'em in Europe.

[sciguy]

While the discussion on house building materials is fascinating, does anyone have any input on my original post? :)

After digging around inspection reports, appraisal reports, sites found with google, and discussions with various involved parties, the key seems to be the type of foundation. Stick-built and modular homes have to have a permanent foundation. Manufactured homes can have permanent foundation, but they're not required to in all cases. If you're outside a trailer park, it's most likely that it is on a permanent foundation.

So I guess my question is now: what's considered "permanent"? The main foundation support on this house is a pier & stilt system, so it is mounted on concrete pillars embedded in the ground, with steel (I believe, might be wood) posts connecting those to the underframe of the house. The house is also set up with a crawlspace which to me implies some sort of shoring system on the soil around the house perimeter. Although I suppose it's not necessarily load-bearing. I have not actually been into the crawlspace, which I suppose was a mistake on my part given all this confusion. This appears to be referred to as a "pit set", and seems to generally be considered more permanent (and at the very least makes the property look less like a trailer).

I am feeling a bit less nervous about this purchase than I was when I first posted, but I'm still trying to pin down any possible future issues with insurance, refinancing, selling the house, etc. I'm also still curious about whether or not "manufactured" status can be upgraded to "modular" in any way (foundation type, garage being attached, remodeling, etc).

[Sunspace]

Cinder blocks. That's what they call 'em in Europe.Do you mean 'concrete' blocks?

I was wondering whether breeze blocks were the decorative (http://users.ev1.net/~michaelb/bend/315iso.htm) kind of concrete block that was used around here back in the fifties...

[Sunspace]

While the discussion on house building materials is fascinating, does anyone have any input on my original post? :)Oh yes, the OP.
:: blush ::

After digging around inspection reports, appraisal reports, sites found with google, and discussions with various involved parties, the key seems to be the type of foundation. Stick-built and modular homes have to have a permanent foundation. Manufactured homes can have permanent foundation, but they're not required to in all cases. If you're outside a trailer park, it's most likely that it is on a permanent foundation.

So I guess my question is now: what's considered "permanent"? The main foundation support on this house is a pier & stilt system, so it is mounted on concrete pillars embedded in the ground, with steel (I believe, might be wood) posts connecting those to the underframe of the house. The house is also set up with a crawlspace which to me implies some sort of shoring system on the soil around the house perimeter. Although I suppose it's not necessarily load-bearing. I have not actually been into the crawlspace, which I suppose was a mistake on my part given all this confusion. This appears to be referred to as a "pit set", and seems to generally be considered more permanent (and at the very least makes the property look less like a trailer).

I am feeling a bit less nervous about this purchase than I was when I first posted, but I'm still trying to pin down any possible future issues with insurance, refinancing, selling the house, etc. I'm also still curious about whether or not "manufactured" status can be upgraded to "modular" in any way (foundation type, garage being attached, remodeling, etc).To me, the terminology seems a bit misleading, but maybe that's just me. Both 'manufactured' and 'modular' seem unclear.

Can you find out how the house you are considering was moved to site? Was it moved in one or two units on wheels, or was it built onsite from smaller components? Could it be disconnected from the foundation and moved again?

(Hmm. The more I think about this, the blurrier it gets...)

[Kevbo]

..... adobe predominates in much of the Southwest.

Adobe is used, but it doesn't predominate.. not real adobe anyway. Faux adobe construction is common: Wood framed, flat roof, vigas even, finished with stucco. Probably 20-50 of these around for every real adobe house.

While the raw material is mud, factory made adobe bricks are expensive, and made-on-site is extremly labor intensive. Bottom line is that these mud huts are one of the most expensive ways to make a dwelling.

[ratatoskK]

I'm not an expert by any means, etc..... But not having a permanent foundation equals trailer home, in my opinion. So maybe the only issue isn't the foundation itself, but other aspects of the construction. You really need to talk with the inspector and find out all the ramifications of this.

[BMalion]

My friends bought a manufactored house last year. It was delivered in 2 parts and put together over the basement and foundation that was waiting for it. Amazing to see, the carpet, drywall, wallpaper, everything was practically already there (they splurged) and it just snapped together like a giant playmobile toy. I could discern no difference between it and any other on-site built house.

Definately not a "trailer".

[ratatoskK]

BMalion, that home had a permanent foundation. The home in the OP does not.

[sciguy]

BMalion, that home had a permanent foundation. The home in the OP does not. Well, it seems that "permanent foundation" is a fuzzy concept, depending on who you're talking to.

The inspector and my realtor (and I believe the appraisal report) are stating that a pier & stilt system is a permanent foundation because it is actually embedded into the ground. The insurance company seems to have a little stricter requirements and may require a perimeter foundation (which isn't always necessary with manufactured homes due to different supoprt structure on the underside of the house) to be considered "permanent".

Anyone have any aspirin? :confused:

[Metacom]

Anyone have any aspirin? :confused:
This may be venturing into IMHO territory, but...

If it's giving you this much consternation, and there are other houses you can afford, walk away. Chances are the person that you sell it to is also going to do a double take, and you don't want that.

Have you asked your realtor how long the home has been on the market? Make sure he or she does a search of closed listings, to make certain that the home wasn't taken off the market and put back on in order to "clear the counter" and hide having been on the market for a long time...

[AskNott]

Let's clear up the terms, OK?

Trailers, and double wide trailers: Also called mobile homes, these are often framed in stamped steel frames. Often, they have thin walls, poor insulation, and cheap vinyl-coated wall surfaces. They are typically driven onto concrete pads in a trailer park (sometimes mated to the other half of a double wide) on the wheels. The best anchoring you can hope for is "hurricane straps." Here in the midwest, we call them tornado snacks, because tornados seem to go out of their way to eat them. Though they are called mobile homes, a ten-year-old mobile home is risky to move. Unlike a real house, they depreciate in value over time.

Manufactured homes: This term can include modular homes, but originally, it meant the National Homes style of house. That was a stack of prebuilt framing, put together on precision jigs in a factory and brought in on a coupla trucks. With a crane, the walls and roof trusses were thrown together in a day, and the drywall, siding, wiring, and such were added in a few days. The plumbing "spider" was cast into the slab ahead of time. It was a cheap, cookie-cutter thing, but it was a real house, firmly attached to the ground.

Modular homes: These go a step further. A house is factory-built in two halves, which are shipped on trucks to your lot. A big crane sets down each half directly on your foundation (slab or crawl space,) where it is firmly attached and the seam between the halves is disguised. Since these houses are built on jigs in factories, the corners are square. Since they are designed to ride on a truck, the studs are closer together than in a stick built house. This is still a fairly small, inexpensive house, but the overall quality is arguably better than a stick-built home of the same size.

[Sunspace]

Thanks, AskNott. That's what I wanted to be clear on. I knew about mobile homes (trailers), but I did not know the differents between manufactured and modular homes. It makes more sense now.

So if I'm going to work one morning and the bus is following half a house down the freeway (as happened one time), it could be a half of a doublewide mobile home or part of a modular home? But a manufactured house would be a stack of components on a trailer?

[AskNott]

Sunspace, the clues are in the size and the truck frame. If it looks like half a house on a substantial truck-trailer frame, it's modular. A double-wide trailer is usually smaller, and it has it own integral frame. Below the house part, you'll just see wheels. If it has a "wide load" banner, it is probably modular. The National Homes package of wall-frames on a truck isn't done much anymore, but stick-built homes often use prefab roof trusses, so you'll sometimes see a truckful of those.

Once on the ground, the trailer's floor is knee-high above the ground, and the space is hidden by "skirting." The trailer hitch still sticks out from one end. In a modular home, you'll usually walk in at ground level.

[whatsittoya]

I build houses for a living so I could be a bit biased.

That said, in my area (SW Oklahoma) A "stick built" house tends to appreciate in value more than a "modular" house. A "modular" house tends to keep its value if it is done well but a "manufactured" house aka mobile home loses value almost as quickly as a car. I will admit there is a bias here because a modular home tends, at least around here, to built to the highest codes in the area and therefore can actually surpass the quality of stick built. But the stick built will generally, unless it is crap, tend to appreciate faster. I have yet to see a "manufactured" house go up in value unless there have been substantial improvements to it, and even then generally no more than the actual cost of the improvements at best.

So, sadly, even a more expensive, less well built stick built home can be a better long term investment than a modular home and is virtually guarenteed a better value than a mobile home.

[clairobscur]

Do you mean 'concrete' blocks?

I was wondering whether breeze blocks were the decorative (http://users.ev1.net/~michaelb/bend/315iso.htm) kind of concrete block that was used around here back in the fifties...

I found the name in a dictionnary. Yes, they are concrete, mostly empty, blocks.

Here's a picture (http://www.businesslab.com/clients_cas_lpdb_01.htm)


And sory for the hijack......

[Jpeg Jones]

I'm building a modular home right now. Currently, the modules (there are 4 of them) are almost complete in the factory. The foundation for it is still being finished.

I think the best pragmatic indicator for you is what code it was built to. Mobile homes are built to the HUD federal code, which is different and, I believe, less stringent than the UBC, or Uniform Building Code.

All the inspections for code compliance occur at the factory, before the modules are shipped. The local agency only concerns itself with the connection of the home to its permanent foundation, and of course all the various other permitting and fee requirements for building a new home.

Now, if you're talking about appraisals, it does seem that you can get dinged just because it is not "site built". This sucks horribly, because it could well be a much better built home than one that was built on site. For example, my own pre-appraisal got dinged $55,000 (!) just because it's being trucked in.

The appraisal is still high enough that it's a worthwhile venture for me, but there's a lot of horrible bias in my area against this type of thing. It doesn't make any sense to me.

[movingfinger]

I am feeling a bit less nervous about this purchase than I was when I first posted, but I'm still trying to pin down any possible future issues with insurance, refinancing, selling the house, etc. I'm also still curious about whether or not "manufactured" status can be upgraded to "modular" in any way (foundation type, garage being attached, remodeling, etc).

Since the type of home was misrepresented (mfg. vs modular) when you placed your bid, you may have a valid reason to rescind said bid without losing your earnest money. This is something to discuss with your RE agent, and also request a clarification from the buyers - I would try to get the name of the builder so I could check out the quality of homes from that source.

If you are still interested in the house, you may be able to ask the sellers to lower the price by a few thou. (I agree with some other posters that even well built mfg. and modular houses don't have the investment quality of traditional stick built, but I think it's often more a matter of perception rather than acutal quality.) Since you're buying this property as a long term home, rather than an investment, the 'mistaken identity' may be a good thing in the long run.

Let us know what happens.

(IANA home builder, but did some serious research on the mobile/mfg./modular distinction a few years ago while planning a move. We haven't moved yet, but will probably end up with stick-built since we want to go custom - and SO designs houses for a living. :D )

[sciguy]

AskNott: that helps a bit, thanks.

In case it matters, this is a pretty new structure. The original construction was done in 97 or 98 (can't remember exactly right now), with major remodeling done last year. Unless I'm misunderstanding the terminology of the responses I'm getting from people, it does not have a perimeter foundation, which may disqualify me for getting insurance with the company I've been dealing with up to now (although having a "crawlspace" may be some sort of loophole).

Metacom, don't think I haven't been considering it. With all the other things that have gone on, my realtor (a buyer's agent) has said that if I do decide to walk away there is little chance of losing my earnest money. The only non-refundable part of this deal paid out of my pocket so far was the inspection, and I'm certainly willing to eat that cost to save myself future pain.

The house taken as itself does seem to be worth the price I'm paying, and the inspection went smoothly. It's got a lot of features that I really like, the only downside to the property is a very badly kept yard (which I see as a fun project anyway). It's all these other things (switching lenders due to the original not underwriting manufactured homes, insurance, appreciation/depreciation of future value) that's causing the headache. Plus the fact that there was a long period of waiting (the property is a "short sell", the sale price isn't going to pay off the current owner's mortgage) followed by a hectic week of information overload once the sale approval went through. Add to that a case of "big purchase" jitters (it's my first home), and the fact that people keep telling me that we can close tomorrow ( :eek: ), I'm surprised I'm holding up this well. :)

[kanicbird]

Once on the ground, the trailer's floor is knee-high above the ground, and the space is hidden by "skirting." The trailer hitch still sticks out from one end. In a modular home, you'll usually walk in at ground level.

While it could be true, is it not concusive. Trailers (aka mobile homes, aka manufactured homes) generally don't have the 'hitch' anymore (nor wheels for that matter).

[Balthisar]

(switching lenders due to the original not underwriting manufactured homes, insurance, appreciation/depreciation of future value)
I don't know how I missed that. Right there's the biggest clue that you're looking at a trailer. Modular homes that meet local codes will happily be financed by the vast majority of banks and mortgage companies.

[Metacom]

Plus the fact that there was a long period of waiting (the property is a "short sell", the sale price isn't going to pay off the current owner's mortgage) followed by a hectic week of information overload once the sale approval went through.
If the current owners are the original owners, that there's a warning sign. You said the place was built in 98; that means they've owned it for 7 years--and it hasn't appreciated enough to pay off their mortgage? Unless they overextended themselves on home equity loans, or they weren't the original owner, this would make me very, very nervous...
Add to that a case of "big purchase" jitters (it's my first home), and the fact that people keep telling me that we can close tomorrow ( :eek: ), I'm surprised I'm holding up this well. :)
If people tell you that you can close tomorrow, tell them you can just as easily close next month.

Almost everyone involved--from the real estate agents, to the loan officers, sellers, and insurance agents--benefits to varying degrees from selling this home to you as soon as possible. However, it doesn't sound like buying it as soon as possible is in your best interests, and it doesn't sound like it's a market hot-potatoe. So, no matter what you decide, take your time and do your research. Don't get rushed into it.