The subprime mortgage crisis has affected just about every form of housing within the country. Lending is more restrictive, current home inventories are still tremendous, and a large percentage is unable to make their current mortgage payments. And while the modular home industry has felt the effects, the impact has been much less than on the site-built housing industry.

Recent trends at the end of 2008 and thus far in 2009 has seen new customers considering modular homes in greater numbers. The largest group is those that normally spend $200,000 for a home but are looking to maximize their value while keeping the price within their budget. Modular homes boast greater value through better durability, larger square footage and more amenities compared to most equally-priced site-built homes. Given the continued pricing instability of new and existing homes, modular homes give a more stable value.

Fortunately, lending practices for many banks have now loosened enabling easier financing for modular homes that had met resistances previously. This will likely continue for both new and existing modular homes as incentives to banks to make these loans become more accessible to the homebuyer. Because some people are selling their existing homes out of necessity, getting into a new home at a lower price is their eventual goal. For the same amount of money, modular homes offer more than traditional site-built structures.

In addition to modular homes offering a better value solution, modular home manufacturers and retailers are expanding their markets. By being more creative, those in the modular home industry have found new customers who benefit from this technology. For example, some retailers have been supplying individual units to ski resorts for condo-type additions as the ski resorts see a need. This makes it simple for the ski lodge to increase their capacity without taking on a huge expense.

Commercial uses of modular homes for schools and government buildings has been present for decades, but other areas in commercial construction are just now beginning to explore modular construction for its use. Compared to residential housing, the commercial market has been less affected in the current housing crisis. This is an ideal area for the modular industry to explore in greater numbers.

While global economic effects are present, some international markets have not been hit as hard as the U.S. Canada represents one such market. Many modular retailers and manufacturers, especially in the northeast, have expanded their territories to include locations across the U.S. border. Despite the currency exchange difference, this has been a profitable endeavor for several.

While modular homes offer better technologies and greener living compared to site-built homes, their greater value and their flexibility in use is what is proving to allow a strong competitive edge. While 2009 is certain to be a less than banner year for most businesses, the modular home industry features a good foundation to weather the storm. When the dust settles, modular homes have the best value and opportunity to gain momentum moving into the future.

Forget your preconceived notions of what you think modular homes are – these look just like regular homes but they are built offsite in units and transported to the built site and put together in just a couple of days. Modular homes are the less expensive, more efficient, eco-friendly alternative to a conventionally built house. Oh, and they can be fully customized at less than the cost of a non-customized stick-built.

Here are 10 things you won’t hear on a custom modular home building site:

1.    “I’ve got bad gas!” When conventional builders need machinery to help them build, they leave them there over the weekend. Young punks can come by and add sugar to the gas tank (or water or just about anything else, really). This causes delays and delays cost money. (Oh, did you think we were talking about something else?)

2.    “Hey baby, you’re looking fine”. Homes are built in a factory-like setting, among professionals who are focused on their craft. This is different than the stereotyped construction worker who keeps one eye on the job and the other on people walking by on the street.

3.    “Looks like rain. I guess we’ll take off for the day”. Weather delays wreak havoc on a stick built schedule. A day of rain might result in a day or even a week of delays, as well as potentially damaged building materials. However, modular homes don’t have those issues because the setting in which they are built are weather independent.

4.    “The inspector hasn’t shown up yet and we can’t do anything until he does. Oh, but you still have to pay us”. Crews are to be paid even during downtime. And with scheduling issues like bureaucratic inspectors, it could be days (or more) until they arrive. That time costs you money. However, in a modular home, the homes are built under the supervision of inspectors and they are erected onsite quickly so inspectors can come and go without delaying the project.

5.    “Shut up! I’m trying to sleep!” A sure way to anger your new neighbors is to start your machinery too early. You might comply with local laws, but you may still get that one neighbor who works nights, sleeps days, and now you’re on their bad side before you even move in. Modular homes are stealth-built! They are built offsite and only take a day or two to assemble onsite. It’s a great way to keep your neighbors happy.

6.    “Should I bury this wasted material or burn it?” Building stick built homes often wastes material. And that’s costly. But a custom modular home wastes far less material (because material not used on one home can be used on another, especially since it’s not ruined in the weather).

7.    “Let’s hose the homeowner!” Stick built homes may not be intentionally more expensive but they do cost significantly more than a custom modular home. The cost savings are found through lower material costs, saved labor costs, minimized delay costs, lower building loan interest costs, and lower costs because the home is more efficient.

8.    “I hate the environment, and I support global warming”. Conventionally built homes leave a much larger environmental footprint to build than modular homes. And, when you’re living in your modular home, you’ll find it’s more efficient, too.

9.    “If anything goes wrong with the house, let’s hope it happens on day 366”. Most stick built homes come with a 1 year warranty. After that, it’s up to the homeowner. Modular home warranties are ten times that amount: homeowners enjoy 10 hassle-free years.

10.    “I just peed in the neighbor’s rosebushes”. Stick built home construction workers are onsite for long workdays. They’re not always professional or respectful. But modular homes are built by professionals in a clean, factory-like setting, so your rosebushes are safe.

A home is one of the largest purchases that someone will make in their lifetime so it’s important to know the facts – all the facts – before buying. Most people will buy a stick-built home just because it’s all they are aware of. But what they don’t know is that they could save money and time by spending a few minutes looking at another option.

Custom modular homes. There are misconceptions around custom modular homes and this article aims to correct that.

Myth: “Custom” means it is expensive, right? After all, if I choose something for my unique needs, it should cost more.
Fact: The buyer works with a designer to take units and assemble them into a floor plan that suits them. In this way, homes are fully customizable. Homeowners can design the house of their dreams.

Myth: Isn’t a modular home a mobile home?
Fact: No! Modular homes look just like regular homes. They have a foundation, they are 1 or 2 stories, they may have an attached garage. In fact, if you drove down the street, you wouldn’t be able to tell a stick built from a modular home.

Myth: Modular homes are poorly constructed compared to stick built homes.
Fact: Modular homes are, in fact, constructed to be stronger than stick built homes. They’re built in units by professionals (and these professionals are supervised by qualified inspectors). They’re built in a controlled setting which means that the building materials stay dry (wood doesn’t warp and insulation doesn’t lose its R value that way). And, they come with a 10 year warranty, compared with most 1 year warranties that come with a stick built home.

Myth: Stick built homes are easier to build.
Fact: While it may seem that way because materials are brought to the site and assembled there, it actually takes far more work. Every delay – from weather to crew problems – pushes the project back, and that is costly and management-intensive. However, a modular home is built in a setting that is not weather-dependent. Rain or shine, dry home modules are built! Then, they are assembled onsite in just a couple of days.

Myth: Modular homes are less efficient because they are modules that are stuck together.
Fact: Modular homes are more efficient. A recent study shows that modular homes exchange the air only 7 times per hour while a stick built home exchanges air 11 times per hour. That will translate into real savings on heating and cooling costs. And, because the home is built in a weather-free setting, insulation doesn’t lose its R-value by getting wet.

A customized home at a low cost that is built faster and more efficiently than a stick built home? Wow! It can’t get better than that. Actually it can: these homes are also better on the environment.

Once upon a time there were two friends – Jack and Jim – who went to a car dealership. They each sat down with a salesperson and made a deal for the same kind of car.

Jack settled on a price and the salesperson told him to come back in a week to pick up the car. However, later that week, the salesperson called Jack and said “I’m sorry, there’s been a delay, your car will take another two days”. Jack was disappointed but acknowledged that these things happen. As he hangs up the phone, he hears a noise in the driveway. He walks outside and there is Jim, sitting in his new car, smiling proudly.

Surprised, Jack asked how he was able to get the car so quickly. Jim told him that it was finished quickly and it was customized. And, when they compared prices, Jack discovered that Jim’s car cost significantly less than his own.

If you were in this situation, how would you feel? You’d be legitimately upset and no one would begrudge you if you called up the salesperson and gave him a piece of your mind. Everyone wants a good deal, and if they find out that someone is getting a better deal, they understandably want it, too.

Well, my friends, you are getting ripped off. If you bought a home that was built brand new – “stick built” as we call it in the industry – you were hosed. It’s not that the contractor set out to purposely rip you off. It’s just that they have the traditional way of conducting business and it’s inherently inefficient and expensive and those costs get passed on to you.

There is a better way. If you are considering buying a new home, you have choices beyond what you might initially have considered.

Modular homes look just like any other home you might see when you’re driving down the street, but they have some fundamental differences. They can be customized; they cost less to build and they cost less to live in; they are built faster; they are better on the environment; and they come with a 10 year warranty. In other words, if you own a stick built house now, you’ve had the same experience as Jack: you had the regular experience while a custom modular homeowner got the far better deal.

The advantages of modular homes over conventional stick built homes are tremendous. If you are considering buying or building, make sure you know all of your options to avoid paying more for a lesser home.

There’s no denying it, we’re in a serious economic crisis. Financial organizations are collapsing under the weight of bad debt that they have taken on and consumers are experiencing uncertainty and a lack of confidence in the market. As a result, lending companies are lending less money and the average person is watching their expenses very, very closely.

In spite of the crisis, life goes on. People still need to buy homes to live in. And to do that, they need to get a mortgage. Rather than buy a brand-new stick-built home, a preferred solution for consumers (and the institutions that lend them money) might be to custom-build a modular home.

At first, those unfamiliar with the concept might wonder two questions: “aren’t modular homes just like mobile homes?” and, “isn’t custom building usually expensive?”

Custom modular homes are not mobile homes. They look just like regular homes. The difference is that they are built in units in a factory-like setting by professionals and those units are shipped to the site and put together within just a few days. This method is actually cheaper to build in general AND it allows for customization, because prospective homeowners can select different units and put together the floorplan they want… at a price that is lower than a conventionally built home.

Custom built homes at a price that is lower than a conventional home is attractive to anyone thinking about having a home built. But modular homes are attractive for other reasons, too:

Because modular homes are faster to build than stick built homes (taking weeks instead of months to built and erect), there is less money required in a building loan and it gets paid back faster.

And once built, modular homes cost less to live in because they are more efficient to run and they come with a 10 year warranty.

Lastly, consumers need to spend wisely on a solution but they also need to consider the future… How will they leave the earth for their children? Custom modular homes are more environmentally friendly because they are faster to build and there is less wasted building material.

The benefits are clear: In today’s tight economic times, custom modular homes are the right answer for consumers who want to spend less now and in the future, who want to enjoy the home they live in, and who want to still make purchasing decisions that are good for the environment.

Let’s say you bought a modular home. In doing so, you saved thousands of dollars while still getting a customized home. What would you do with that money?

1.    Go on a vacation. Why not? Your home is done. It cost less than you expected and it finished faster than you expected.

2.    Buy another home. Hey, after all, you’ve got the money. Maybe flip this one. Flipping a custom modular home is a great idea because it costs less, looks just as nice (or nicer) than a stick built home, and it goes up fast.

3.    Buy a nicer car. You’ve got a gorgeous house that’s customized. You need the car to go with it.

4.    Get a bigger house. If your house isn’t built yet, why not use your saved money and customize an even bigger house for the same price you’d have bought a stick built home for?

5.    Go on another vacation. The first one was nice. But you saved enough money to maybe enjoy a second one. (This time, without the kids!).

1.    They are happier. Probably because they’d paid far less than their neighbors AND they got a customized home.

2.    They are healthier. This is likely because the home was built in a factory-like setting which means the building materials were not sitting in the rain while the home was being built.

3.    They are more relaxed. Modular homes come with a 10 year warranty while most stick built homes come with only a one year warranty.

4.    They have more money. Modular homes cost less to build and cost less to heat and cool.

5.    They are tinted more green than the rest of us. Okay, maybe not literally, but they are concerned about the environment and a modular home is built in an eco-friendly way.

6.    They invite you over. A lot. Chances are, they’re proud of their home and want to show it off.

Some people are simply stuck in their methods and it doesn’t matter whether or not better things come along – they’re happily oblivious.

Builders who build stick-built homes are in this category. This has been the way to build homes since, well, since homes were built! And you probably won’t see them changing their ways any time soon. Here are 5 things they won’t tell you (probably because they just don’t know).

1.    Stick built homes cost more to build than custom modular homes. This is because there is plenty of waste, there are delays due to weather, and one team has to wait for another to finish before they can start on their part of the house.

2.    Stick built homes are not affordably customized. This is because builders develop a handful of floorplans and build those. And if consumers want diversity, they pay for it.

3.    Stick built homes take longer to build. This is because the crew is dependent on the weather and the availability of supplies and inspectors.

4.    Stick built homes have a greater impact on the environment. This is because there are plenty of wasted materials when building, and diesel-powered machinery is often running for the months of production.

5.    Stick built homes are more expensive to live in. This is because they are less efficient to heat and cool, and they usually only come with a 1 year warranty.

Custom modular homes have none of these problems.

This award is given out in recognition of…

•    A willingness to pay higher costs of building
•    An acceptance that higher energy bills are a way of life
•    Embracing eco-unfriendliness (because, who cares about the children?)
•    A love of a lack of choice
•    Indifference to extended timelines and their impact on costs
•    A willingness to give up control to the weather
•    A love of paying building loan interest
•    The sweet smell of diesel fuel
•    An indifference toward soon-to-be neighbors and their peace and quiet

This award is given out to those who have bought a stick-built house.

Congratulations!

1.    The kids. Modular homes are custom designed so you can give the kids their own rooms and a play room. (Heck, give them their own kitchen and living room, too!)

2.    Complaints about heating or air conditioning bills. Custom modular homes run more efficiently: the air exchange is less than stick-built homes, and the insulation is often superior because it was installed in a controlled environment.

3.    “Why did the previous owner put the bedroom right off of the kitchen?”. Weird design choices are a thing of the past when you get to design your own home.

4.    Lecherous whistling. Building sites of stick-built homes seem to be magnets for ogling construction workers who whistle at people walking by. But a modular home is built in a factory-like setting and takes only a couple of days on-site to put together.