Tidewater Custom Modular Homes Blog

Modular Homes are strong, affordable and elegant prefabricated homes.  Modular homes are easily available within everyone’s budget, and they can be customized by the manufacturer. In recent years, modular homes have become more and more popular over traditionally built homes. 

There are many reasons for the growing popularity of modular homes. The construction process is considerably shorter than stick built homes. This makes buying and building modular homes a great option for home builders and a home owner.

The modules are built indoors. Therefore, the construction process is never hindered by weather. However, this is also a greener way to build a home. The specs are exact and, with no weather issues, construction waste is less.

Also, the cost of building and maintaining a modular home is up to 30% less than traditional homes, which makes these houses more affordable.

If you are interested in building a new home, and would like to talk about the benefits of modular construction in Virginia, contact Tidewater Custom Modular Homes.

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.

One of the biggest questions, or deterrents, pertaining to building a new home is the construction timeline. What is the process and how long will it take? With modular homes, are large part of the “decision to build thru moving in” time line is removed. Believe it or not, it generally takes from 60-120 days until you can move in and call your new house a home.

Modular homes are similar to on-site construction or stick built homes in appearance and performance. But one huge advantage of modular construction is the shortened timeline which results in cost savings.

The parts or modules of a modular house are constructed in a climate controlled factory which removes weather delays entirely. This also increases efficiency which allows your home to be built faster which also costs less.

By having a workspace for building the modular home that is separate from the construction site allows for many steps to be done at the same time. In other words while your building site is being prepared; the ground leveled, the foundation poured, your walls and roofs are already being built at the factory.

Contact Tidewater Custom Modular Homes if you want to build a new home, but you don't want to wait for it.

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.

To build a modular home you need to pay the modular home company for building the modules and the general contractor for his services. If you do not own property, you also need to purchase that.

There are two typical sources of these funds. The first is private funds, such as personal savings, an equity loan on another property, or the sale of personal assets. The second is obtaining a mortgage through a lending institution, like a bank or mortgage company.

There is one major difference between paying for an existing, already built home and paying for building a new home. When you buy an existing home you pay the seller in full before you take possession of the home, usually through the mortgage. When you build a home, you make periodic payments as the work is completed. This protects you and the lender should something prevent the completion of the home on the GC end. Receiving compensation as the job progresses also protects the modular home company or dealer and the general contractor should something prevent you from paying for the finished home.

When you use a lender to build a home, you obtain a "construction loan" which is a short-term loan usually four- to twelve-months' duration. The loan provides for a series of payments as work is completed. Once the local building inspector issues a certificate of occupancy and the lender agrees that the home is essentially complete, the lender pays off the construction loan and issues you a mortgage.

What is the most different regarding construction loans for modular home construction is the time line. With traditionally built, stick built homes, the construction process is very long, a year or longer in some cases. The modular construction process is much shorter, a couple of months only.

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.

A new construction home loan is not the same as a typical home loan. New construction loans have different requirements and a different set of rules. However, the new construction loans are used for both new construction stick built and new modular construction homes. After learning about these types of loans you will find it is easy to finance and build your dream modular home.

A new construction home loan requires the lender to provide the money to build your new home. Firstly, your mortgage provider requires a detailed accounting on the estimated costs to build the modular home; including how much you are going to spend and what it will look like when it is complete. After these initial questions are answered you begin the credit check and annual earnings process.

There are a few different construction loans out there but the most popular one is a “construction to permanent” loan. Instead first applying for a construction loan and following that up with a typical home loan, a construction to permanent loan is a two-in-one loan which, in most cases, only requires you to pay closing costs once.  This loan is a combination of construction loan and permanent financing, and can help you save money and time.

Keep in mind that with new construction loans it is very difficult to lock-in a permanent or fixed mortgage rate. This is because with traditional construction, you usually won't be closing the loan for six months to one year depending on the build time. With modular construction, because the build time is so much shorter, you can more often get a fixed rate, or the fixed rate you close with after construction will be very close to the variable rate you had when you took out the loan. 

Of course you will be required to pay monthly interest on the construction loan amount during the modular construction process, but the amount you owe each month will depend on the amount you have used to date. If you are approved for a construction loan of $100,000 but you have only drawn $50,000 then your interest payment will be based on $50,000.

Sometimes lenders like to interview or see the license of the contractors who will be building your new home, so often it is beneficial to speak with the bank where the contractor has a relationship.

Many people wonder about the resale value of a modular home and how it compares to that of a stick built home. Modular homes cost about 10-15% less to build, but they sell at the same price as a stick built home. This is because modular homes are appraised to the same standards and specs of a site built home, which means that both style homes are assessed at the same amount.

It takes about 10 to 12 weeks from the day a customer decides on a modular home to the day that same customer get the keys to their new house. While the house modules are being built at the factory, we are pulling permits and doing the site work. When the modules arrive on site, it is about a 3-6 week process to build your new home.

But the best part of building a modular home is the guaranteed pricing. When you decide on a floor plan, the cost of the home can practically be priced out to the penny. At Tide Water Custom Modular Homes we know how much a home is going to cost and how much our on-site labor will be cost because it is essentially the same for each job. There are no surprising materials costs or labor costs. That is a big advantage for the home buyer.

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.

Having a modular home built is one the most cost effective ways to build a new home. The floor plans are easy to view, and there are many options to choose from when it comes to picking the perfect floor plan. Whether you need a floor plan for a ranch, a vacation style home, or Cape Cod Style, modular homes can be built for your needs. Many people have a misconception that modular homes are cookie cutter in style. But, did you know that modular homes can be custom designed? Our floor plans are designed by builders and architects in order to maximize the space and practical use.

Often, when people think of modular homes they think simplistic, nothing special, and undersized. However, this is far from true today. Manufactured homes are well made, versatile and customization is available in the layout and design. Although we have floor plans for many “in-stock” homes, modular homes are not limited in design and can range from 1000 square feet to 4000 sq feet and up. Additionally, if you already have a floor plan but have opted against a traditional stick built home, or are investigating your options in modular homes, many floor plans can be modified to accommodate modular home construction.

Modular homes are for those who want a new, beautiful home with a controlled budget, and they want it in less time than it would take to build a traditional stick built home. When considering a new home keep in mind that manufactured or modular home plans are easily customized, with varying amounts of square footage and multiple bedrooms to meet your needs.