Tidewater Custom Modular Homes Blog

In the last few years, interest in modular homes has increased. Surprisingly there is still some confusion.

Modular homes often get confused with mobile homes. Mobile homes are smaller and are don't meet all of the same building codes as modular homes.  Modular homes mimick stick built construction in quality and design.

Modular homes can be custom designed.  You can choose from any style home: two story, cape, and ranch style homes. They can  also be custom designed to your needs, add a beautiful deck, or vaulted ceilings.

There are standard floor plans available which can be changed or added to depending on your needs.

Tidewater Custom Modular Homes can help you custom design your new home. Modular homes can range in design from 1000 square feet to 4000 sq feet and up.  

Contact Tidewater Custom  Modular Homes for a custom designed newly built home.

In Virginia, the housing market is in a slum. Because of this, many homeowners are hesitant to put their houses on the market for fear they won’t get the asking price or that it will sit on the market too long. What about building your new home?

There are many homeowners out there who think that building a home will take too long, or be too stressful. However, building a modular home takes those two issues out of the equation.

When building a modular home, from the decision and design stage to actually moving into your new modular home, the process can take as little as 10-12 weeks. That is much sooner than it would take to sell your house.

Once you decide on a home style and custom floor plan along with your add-ons (hard wood floors, deck, etc) we will present to you how much this modular home will cost you. Once you have that proposal, there will be no change in the cost of building your home. What you see in what it costs.

When building a stick-built home, the cost of construction is constantly changing. This is one of the main reason why building a home can be so stressful.

Contact Tidewater Custom Modular Homes if building a new home seems like the answer you have been looking for.

There are many homeowners who are contemplating downsizing their homes. There are many reasons for downsizing, the most common being the children have moved out. Perhaps you are looking to stay in the same town or remain near the community you have grown to love over the years, or perhaps you want to move to the waterfront.

Building a modular home may be a great choice for you. Thereare many styles and floor plans that will fit your needs. And building a modular home is cost effective, efficient. Also, downsizing can save you tax dollars.

A ranch style home, our favorite being the Austin, single story living at its best! This quaint three bedroom, two bath home offers a large master suite complete with a walk-in closet and a master bath featuring a garden tub. The foyer opens into a spacious living room/dining room combo, providing an abundance of space for entertaining or simply relaxing.

If it is the waterfront that draws you, we have vacation home floor plans to suit your needs as well. The Southport is one of our most popular vacation home floor plans. This quaint Cape Cod home with its charming front elevation features almost an entire wall of glass, bathing the great room in the front of the home in natural light, thanks to a towering vaulted ceiling. The large master suite is to the left rear of the home and offers privacy while an extremely open great room, dining room and kitchen area on the opposite side offers a gathering place for family and friends.

Then of course, we have the traditional cape. The Kingston, has a combination breakfast nook/kitchen design makes this area of The Kingston the gathering spot of the home. A bathroom, two bedrooms and an expansive living room complete the first floor. Two bedrooms and the home’s second bath complete the suggested second floor.

Feel free to ask us about any of these style homes or any other styles that we offer. And remember, at Tidewater Custom Modular Homes, we can create the home you are looking for within the price parameters you require.

Mortgage rates are still at all time lows and right now they are the lowest they have been in eight months. If you have been contemplating building a new home, now is the time to do it.

Modular homes can be built with many different floor plans for those seeking to build their own home. For the budget conscious land owner modular construction is the perfect solution, and this is the perfect time to build. Low mortgage rates and a way to build a home which allows you to really manage your budget. Modular homes are more accommodating to your budget than traditional stick built homes; there are no hidden fees or unexpected costs. There are no weather delays or material issues. Because the modules are built to specific standards in a factory, there are no additional costs as a result of wrong measurements, bad cuts, or bad weather. Each piece of wood is cut precisely and assembled consistently inside a factory.  

As the homeowner, you go into the project knowing what it will cost for the site work, the home construction and assembly process, and the landscaping; without “hidden fees” or rising costs due to unforeseen circumstances, your budget is sound as is your timeline to completion which is significantly less than with a traditionally built home.

If you have always dreamed of building a new home, with rates this low, do not just think about it, now is the time to make your dream come true. Contact Tidewater Custom Modular Homes.

Although the concept of modular construction seems relatively new because of the increasing interest, it has been around awhile.  The concept of modular construction is confusing for new home buyers mainly because it is confusing trying to discern the information you do come across about modular homes, the modular construction process and modular home manufacturers.

We would like to help clarify these myths and help you make a good educated decision for your personal situation.
Modular homes are built in factories to specifications created by the manufacturer and the state and local building codes. The design can be standard or it can be enhanced by the customer/new home owner.

A General Contractor, such as Tidewater Custom Modular Homes, works with the manufacturer. The General contractor coordinates the construction of the home in the factory and the delivery and assembly of the home on the site.

The general contractor provides and coordinates the site work (foundation), plumbing, electrical, and licensing and permits. This is why they are called the general contractor. Once you select a GC, you don’t need to do anything else regarding the construction of the modular home.

Many people think that modular homes are cheap or inexpensive. As compared to the cost per square foot of a stick built home, they are less expensive. However, modular homes are an expensive investment especially depending on how large a home you build. They do, however, generally cost 10-35% less to build than traditional homes. When you are comparing new home construction prices, make sure you are comparing the same type of house i.e square footage, amount of bathrooms, etc.

Modular homes appreciate and gain value the same way traditional homes do. Once a modular home is built, it is near impossible to tell the difference between it and a stick built home.

Modular homes can all be customized. Each modular home manufacturer or contractor has different designs to choose from. Those designs can be further customized. Additionally, you can easily customize the windows, doors, siding, colors etc. Modular homes make it very easy to have a custom home at an affordable price.

Tidewater Custom Modular Homes would like to build you a custom designed modular home.  If you just look at our photo gallery you can see how much customization you can really have.

Option for modular home customization

When building a modular home, the most common customization options are usually the siding, the style and amount of windows and the type of floors. If you are only interested in minor customizations like these, and you don't necessarily need to add or change a floor plan, take a look at the more inexpensive predesigned modular homes in our inventory.  Even these modular homes are beautiful and look just like stick-built homes.

Upscale customization options
Customized modular homes means you can add to the home design what you need. Add rooms, add bathrooms, add a sunroom or add a garage; move walls or add windows or fireplace. 

Modular homes are most often less expensive than traditionally built homes. No matter what type of home you build, however, as you customize your price will increase. You will save more when building a modular home, so even a customized modular home is less than a customized traditionally built home.

We get this question all the time.  "What is the price of a modular home?" Just like with stick built homes, so many things come into play in making this determination.

Ranch homes generally cost more per square foot  than a two story home. In the end however, they end up having a lower final price because they have less square footage. The fixed costs: foundation, site preparation and septic, all cost the same no matter what style home you build. Two story homes  use a smaller foundation. However, the square footage is greater because you have more than one floor. The larger the home, the more modules you will require, and more modules means higher costs. When you customize the modular floor plan, the costs increase as well.

Modular manufacturers have factory model homes which cost less than custom designed homes. Obviously custom designed homes will cost more.

For more information on the cost of a modular home, contact Tidewater Custom Modular Homes.

What is the buying process for a modular home?

1. You choose your home and options
2. A contract is signed contingent on financing and a small deposit
3. Plan revisions are made and new engineered floor plans are drawn
4. You close on your Construction-Permanent loan
5. Your basement or crawl space foundation is built
6. We release your home for production
7. We set your new home
8. Finish work of your new home is completed

How complete is the home when it is set?
Depending on the floor plan and style, between 75-85% complete.

How long does it take to finish the home after it is set?
About 4-6 weeks.

Will you build my garage and/or porches?
Yes. However, this may be at an additional cost.

What is the difference between a Modular home and a Mobile Home?
Mobile Homes - built to a lax code with generally substandard building products (when compared to modular or site-built homes). Built on a steel frame to hold it together, most have wheels.

Modular Homes - built generally to the toughest codes required in the state, built out of the same type building materials and name brands you would find in site-built homes. There are no steel frames underneath, only approved floor system. There are no wheels of their own, they are transported and then lifted off the transporter and set with a crane.

How much do modular homes cost?
As with stick built construction the cost of a modular home will vary depending on what you put in the home and the style of home you choose. Modular homes prices compare favorably with an equivalent site-built home.

Can modular floor plans be customized?
Yes. There are standard floor plans of course; however, floor plans of each style home can be customized, as well as the amenities inside the home.

We are often asked this question “What is the Difference Between a Manufactured Home and a Modular Home?”and it is a good one. With today’s advances in the factory built construction industry, it is difficult to know the difference between a manufactured home and a modular home. This blog is designed to clarify the distinctions.

Essentially, a manufactured home is built in a factory and remains on its transport frame throughout its useful life. The truck backs into the desired location and unhooks the chassis and drives off.

A modular home is built in a factory in the form of modules. The modules are built to your desired design and floor plan, and built to exact and stringent specifications and standards. The modules are then taken via transporter from the factory to the site. It is then lifted off the transport trailer by crane and set on and connected to a permanent foundation.

Although manufactured homes come in double width units, they are never more than two boxes, or modules, and never have a second story. Conversely, modular homes can be any number of boxes; they can be designed as small vacation homes or large estate style homes and everything in between. A standard colonial style home would likely by four boxes.

Modular homes offer a vast range of pre-designed homes, as well as custom designed homes with many benefits, to fit any family’s needs. Each home can be further customized to specifically address the individual home-buyer's desires. Spring is here and this usually brings with it an increase in home sales. Many people around Virginia are starting to think about buying a new home. And, as the low mortgage rates slowly rise, buying a new home sooner rather than later is the most optimal choice.
 
For those who are considering a newly built home, you should consider building yourself a modular home. As oil prices increase, all industries are victim to increased costs. However, modular homes companies are less affected than the stick built construction contractor.  The modules for Tidewater Custom Modular Homes are built in controlled environments to exact specifications. Therefore construction costs are already lower than the traditional builders’. The modular homes takes less time to construct; therefore, you are paying less for the worker’s time on site thus decreasing labor costs as well. The modular home factories have their materials on site in bulk, therefore are less victim to the immediate increase in transportation costs of goods and materials that most shipping companies are adding onto their invoices. Therefore, your materials cost is lower as well.

In spite of the economic situation people still need to buy a home. Rather than buy a brand-new stick-built home, a preferred solution for consumers (and the institutions that lend them money) might be a custom-built modular home.