You’ve been house shopping for weeks, possibly months, maybe even a year or more, and you haven’t found your forever home. You’ve come to the conclusion that it may not even exist – so you need to build it. Start by contacting Acipe Design to go over your design options and pick the build that’s best for you. You can choose everything, from the layout to every last detail. But there are a number of ways to get that dream home, and some may not take nearly as long as you think.
Table of Contents
Stick-Built Homes
What Is a Prefabricated Home?
Types of Prefabricated Homes
Pro: Exceptional Energy Efficiency
Pro: Stability
Pro: Fast Construction
Pro: Affordability
Con: Before the Building
Con: Land Costs
Con: More Up-Front Payments
Con: Financing
Final Thoughts
Stick-Built Homes
Stick-built homes are traditional home builds. They start with a pile of lumber and eventually are built into the frame of the home that will then be outfitted with everything that makes it a livable home. The construction of a traditional stick-built home has to go up against time, weather, and other hiccups along the way. As long as inspections pass and permits continue to be approved, your stick-built home may be ready for move-in in about 12 months, depending on the size, complexity, and location. Keep in mind location may dictate when and how long you can build. While a home build in the Arizona desert around metro Phoenix may be able to be worked on all year long, a home build in the Midwest is at the mercy of winter weather bringing the whole build to a grinding halt on the first snowfall of the season all the way through the final spring thaw.
What Is a Prefabricated Home?
Prefabricated, or “prefab” homes are homes that are prefabricated or prebuilt off-site from where the home will ultimately exist. These homes are built in a factory setting, an immediately transferred as a full build and set on a foundation. The first pro: a prefab home is extremely easy to make and move when compared to a traditional ‘stick-built’ home.
Types of Prefabricated Homes
When you think of a prefab home, what comes to mind? Is it a mobile home park with various styles and sizes of trailers? Or is it a community with homes that look no different than any traditional stick-built home – so much so that you may not even know the home you’re looking at was not built on-site? When it comes to prefab homes, there are three main types:
Manufactured homes are homes built in sections in a factory and then pieced together by professionals with heavy machinery at the home site. Strict HUD (Housing and Urban Development) guidelines that require the home to be built on a permanent steel chassis must be followed from start to completion. These HUD guidelines supersede any state or local building codes or laws.
Kit homes are a simpler version of manufactured homes, but are created in the same style of building; they are built of sections that are pieced together. The simplicity means homebuyers can build their home from a kit either with the help of professionals or all on their own!
Modular Homes are prefabricated homes built similarly to manufactured homes – in modules or sections in a factory and then transported to the site. Once at the site, they are assembled on a permanent foundation. Unlike manufactured homes, they are not built on a chassis. Modular homes can range from simple, one-story designs to more complex, multi-story structures.Pro: Exceptional Energy Efficiency
In today’s world of sustainable building practices and materials, as well as energy efficiency, you’ll be glad to know that most prefabricated homes are highly energy efficient. Tight seams, and the use of state-of-the-art windows and doors keep heat in, reducing your energy bills, sometimes significantly. The building process for a prefabricated home also leaves a lower carbon footprint than a stick-built home.
Pro: Stability
A modular home’s tight construction (mentioned above) has also given them a reputation for being able to withstand many natural disasters.
Pro: Fast Construction
If you’re one of those people who has been looking for their dream home for some time, you might want to get into it fast. That’s another big check in the ‘pro’ column for prefabricated homes. Because all of the parts have been built off-site and come ready, the only thing left to do is put it all together and hook up utilities. The home arrives partially constructed, meaning fewer days with laborers on-site and less vulnerability to changes in weather and the delays it may cause.
Pro: Affordability
Your prefabricated home will generally be a lot less expensive than the fully stick-built home just a few miles away in the same town. Why? Part of the reason is labor costs. It will take fewer laborers, and a shorter amount of time, to make your prefabricated home move-in ready, resulting in a big money savings. The tight construction and its heating and cooling savings we spoke of previously is also a big check in the pro column when compared to stick-built homes. Note that the more you customize and the levels of fittings you include can raise or lower the price, just as with a stick-built home.
Con: Before the Build
While it may be easy and quick to build the home off-site and transfer it to the prepared site and foundation, there’s a lot to do before the home gets to the site. You’re not going to plop a home down on an unprepared site, you’ll have all the site preparation that goes into building a stick-built home.
Like traditional stick-built homes, your prefabricated home will need level ground, a foundation, and the ability to be hooked up to all the appropriate utilities. Arranging for electrical, water, and sewer, or drilling a well or installing a septic tank is a daunting task.
Con: Land Costs
If you building a custom stick-built home, you have to own the land it’s going to be built on. The same is true for a prefabricated home. If you don’t already land, you’re going to have to purchase a property for tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even before you buy, you’ll need to make sure prefabricated homes can be built on the land. Zoning laws and community guidelines may dictate the the type of home you can build. You’ll also have expenses like soil testing, grading and drainage, and hookups for electricity, water, and sewer or septic systems. Pre-construction inspections and permits need to be considered and calculated into your upfront costs as well.
Con: More Up-Front Payments
Shopping for your dream home among a number of existing homes typically includes a down payment of about 20% and securing a mortgage to pay over time. Financing and construction loans may be available for prefabricated homes, but you’ll need to pay for the construction before you move in. When purchasing a prefabricated home, your contract will include a payment schedule of installments to meet while the home is being constructed.
This model for payment means you need to be sure you can afford the payments on the schedule outlined before committing to the purchase. A plus side to this payment model: you’ll save money on interest you would be paying on the mortgage of an existing home.
Con: Financing
A word of warning, there are often specific guidelines and rules for financing prefabricated homes. Be very clear with your potential lender about the type of home you’re building and be sure to use the right wording. Misunderstandings about the type of home you’re building can lead to denials and extra time needed to find a lender that will work with you.
A note about financing for manufactured homes, according to the HUD website: There are many alternatives for financing your home, including a growing number of lending institutions that are providing conventional and government-insured financing plans for prospective owners. Some lending institutions that offer conventional, long-term real estate mortgages may require the homes to be placed on approved foundations. Manufactured homes are eligible for government-insured loans offered by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Veterans Administration (VA), and the Rural Housing Services (RHS) under the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Final Thoughts
We at Acipe Design know there is more than one way to get you into the home of your dreams. We can help you navigate the prefabricated home build process, or help design whatever your custom dream home looks like.
Contact us today!