Modular Homes VA Blog

Tips on How to Prioritize Your New Modular Home Construction Budget

Over the years, through research, we've compiled a list of the most common regrets that new home owners have about their property.  We have a great track record of complete buyer satisfaction in part because we take the time to consult you on how best to proportion your home building budget.  Some of the "lessons learned" below are just simply must do's.  Some are things we think new home buyers should strongly consider for budget prioritization.  Look the list over and then call us as there are is so much more to consider.  But for now, consider this:

• Build floor joists at 12-in. on center versus the traditional 16-in. The stability of the floor and feeling of structural rigidity are a simple thing and overlooked by most people. The additional cost is fairly small, but well worth it!

• Nine foot ceiling heights. The feeling of expansiveness is great and the additional cost is value based.

• Comfort height commodes. Size does matter and a few inches in height contributes to your comfort greatly, hence the term comfort height.

• Upgraded door hardware and solid core doors. Again hollow core doors work just as well, but can't compare in imparting a feeling of quality.

• Using a quiet floor system and gluing the wood flooring in place wherever possible.

• Staggered 42-in. kitchen cabinetry.

• Utilize 18-in. floor tile if the space allows. Again it is a small thing, and more difficult to install, but it's something you see up close each and every day. So prioritize quality here.

• Upgrade the windows as nothing cheapens a house as skimping with cheap windows.

• 2-in. x 6-in. exterior framing. The energy savings created by the increased insulation cavity will pay for itself in no time.

• Ample high hat recessed lighting. Again the showcase type effect is great and additional cost is minimal at construction.

• Energy Star, Green or LEEDS Certification... the energy savings are truly amazing.

These are just a few tips on where to prioritize your new home budget. We will spend hours together with you on these and other subject when the time comes for your to build your dream home with us at Tidewater Custom Modular Homes.

Tidewater Virginia's Award Winning Modular Home Builder Advises There's Never Been A Better Time To Build

Building and buying a new modular home is exciting and there has never been a better time to build! Interest rates are at rock bottom and there is some talk that interest rates may start to climb.  There are many details to consider as you begin this process. Whether you’ve built several homes or this is your first, we’ll strive the make the experience a pleasant one. With so many different floor plans to choose from you'll be able to have the perfect dream home in no time. If you like one of our floor plans but want to add your personal touch, we say GREAT....the word "Custom" is core to our business name and model.  Of course this is a great feature of modular homes, you can custom build from the bottom up and we are here to help every step of the way.

Our website contains a vast array of information which you can easily navigate through. Our blog is constantly being updated with the new and exciting facts about modular homes and our design gallery helps customers visualize their custom modular home. We like to go above and beyond with our gallery; while most sites offer blueprints of what the floor plan is, we like to show what the home looks like. Not only that but we go into detail about the kitchen arrangement, bathroom looks, and even more great ideas such as oak stairs or a classic rock surrounding fireplace. All this and more to educate new customers on the modular experience and to keep our existing modular owners updated.

It's an exciting time of your life when you've arrived the decision to build your custom dream home.  Start with these four basic questions then give us a call:

• What budget you are trying to stay within?
• Your time frame for building your new home.
• The style of home you are looking to build.
• The area or area(s) you have interest in.

Building you new home is one of the greatest and biggest investments you'll make. The depth of our commitment to you, our industry knowledge, and tireless energy have all combined to make us the most trusted custom modular home builder in Tidewater, Virginia.  We'd be proud to go to work for you. 

Buying A Home Is Big Investment -- Here Are Some Budget Planning Tips

The development of a household budget is a "must-do" activity both before you build a home as well as during your ownership of that home. Long before TC Modular Homes goes to work for you, you have some important preparatory work to do.  By preparing a budget you can better focus on mortgage payment goals and how the new house will affect your total expenses. Maintaining a budget during the time you own the home can help to prevent potential financial disasters as well as point you in a money saving direction so you have more funds available for those things that you need or want.

You will need a little time to develop your budget but it should not take longer than a few hours if you gather the necessary information first. Get everyone who will be involved in spending involved in developing the budget.

Some of the items and information you will need to develop your budget are:

•   All current monthly loan payments.
•   All other monthly expenses (such as child care, dues, etc.).
•   Records of variable expenses (for example, utilities, food and car repair) from the last 12 months. This will give you an estimate of your monthly expenditures.
•   Records of annual or semi-annual expenses (such as insurance and taxes).
•   An estimate of what your new mortgage payment will be.
•   Records of other non-fixed expenses (for example, medical expenditures) for the last year. This will give you an estimate of average expenses of this type.
•   Records or an estimate of personal expenses (entertainment, travel, etc.)
•   Having a current copy of your credit report can be very helpful. Not only will it reveal any inaccuracies in your credit history, it will also give you a clear picture your monthly obligations. You can get a free copy of your Credit Report.

Be realistic in your budget assessment. Make provisions for possible increases in some items (for example, school tuitions, insurance and taxes). Then, look for ways to get (and maintain) control over your budget.

Most People Spend 10% More Than They Make! You probably know how much money you made last month, but do you know how much money you spent? Or do you know how much money you have left to spend this month? If you don't you're not alone, most people have no idea. The fact is most of us spend 10% more per month than we make. If at all possible, involve your financial advisor (or other independent financial expert) in the budgetary planning process.  

Some Active Duty Military Still Has Access to the $8000 Tax Credit

Very few are aware that $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers (and the $6,500 tax credit for repeat home buyers), although expired for most, is still available to some active duty military personnel.  Military service members who were on official extended duty outside of the United States for at least 90 days between Jan.1, 2009 and May 1, 2010, may qualify for a one-year extension.

Congress has acknowledged the unique circumstances affecting members of the military, the foreign service and the intelligence community by making the following exceptions that apply to both the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers and the $6,500 tax credit for repeat home buyers.“Qualified service member” means a member of the uniformed services of the U.S military, a member of the Foreign Service of the U.S., or an employee of the intelligence community. “Official extended duty” means any period of extended duty outside of the United States for at least 90 days during the period beginning after December 31, 2008 and ending before May 1, 2010.

So the bottom line, qualified service members have until April 20, 2011 to take advantage of the tax credit.  Our deep respect for our military family compels us to publicize this little known fact and to ask all of you to pass the word to your military family and friends wherever they may be....whether shopping for modular homes in Tidewater Virginia or in Timbuktu Alaska (if such a place exists).    Call us for more details.  If this message results in a single military family getting educated and ultimately saving money on their new home purchase, then we will be most grateful and humbly celebrate. 

Tidewater Modular Homes Are Only of Superior Quality

The Custom Modular Home construction process is a proven superior manufacturing process as compared to traditional stick-built construction. There are many reasons. This blog post will focus on two specific reasons: 1) Quality Control process and 2) Craftsman specialization.

Regarding our quality control process, it begins before we step foot on the lot. There are endless quality control gates that govern the prefabrication process back at the factory. The quality control checks span every possible angle from quality of cut of wood, every supporting piece of hardware, to the quality interior and exterior paint. Every single element of building material must meet strictly defined quality codes.

One very important (but often overlooked) benefit of modular construction is the fact that modular home materials are built in a climate controlled factory and protected from weather. This means that the framing members remain dry before and most often throughout the entire construction process. Keeping lumber dry in the construction process is a major means of insuring against future defects in walls and ceilings.

Regarding Craftsman specialization within the modular home industry, modular home builders develop truly focused specialists in every process. The skilled workers assembling the home each perform limited, specific tasks. Because a certain worker will only perform one (or few) specific functions, he/she is essentially a focused specialist in their profession. The multitasking nature of the stick builder undoubtedly means they conduct tasks with less than complete subject matter expertise.

Excellence is no accident. The exacting nature of Tidewater Custom Modular Home's product provides a superior alternative to stick built homes.

Tidewater Modular Homes Are The Safest Constructed Homes

Modular homes are the way of the future; they are state-of-the-art homes at a low price but high quality. But because these homes are built at such a faster rate that modern stick-built homes, people are concerned if they are safe or not. Well here at Tidewater Custom Modular Homes, we ensure that our homes are built to the highest standards of the HUD code, with the strongest of materials. Our construction resists natural forces better because of precision cuts, which are fit and fastened in the factory. The construction technology calls for glue-nailed sheathing and decking plus additional framing members which makes modular homes most likely to endure nature's onslaughts. The motion and forces that the structure is put under during these processes exceeds that of healthy earthquakes. The structure also has to withstand being hoisted by crane and hauled on carriers over roads.

Custom Modular homes

are built with high safety standards in accordance with federal laws requiring smoke detectors, escape windows and incombustible materials around furnaces and kitchen ranges. Our modular homes assure the buyer that all electrical, plumbing, mechanical and structures are built to a HUD national code, which exceeds any local standards. Also, according to recent studies stick- built homes are often constructed in areas where local building codes may be lax or not enforced, and the safety of the homeowner and family may be compromised. Customer satisfaction is our mission and quality custom homes are our specialty. Contact Tidewater Customer Modular Homes today for more information on our custom made homes.

Tidewater Custom Modular Homes Explains How Modular Homes Are Built

How are modular homes constructed? Most people know how standard stick-built homes are built; slowly and costly. And people know about modular homes, but how are they built? What are the tools needed?  Well modular components are typically constructed within a large indoor facility on assembly lines much like Henry Ford originally began with his automobile company. Facilities such as these use an assembly line track to move the module components from one workstation to the next. This is a quick and cost effective way to get many module components together. However it’s not just modules by themselves, there are independent building inspectors on site to supervise the construction and ensure that all building codes are taken care of during assembly. The modules that will combine to form the house are assembled on site with your supervision.

The construction of these modules can take one to three months to be completed but only take as little as 10 days actually to construct when they are first started. Afterward, the modules are transported to the building site where a crane is brought in to assemble the modules together. The placement of the modules generally takes several hours or days to do so. A great thing about modular homes, once assembled, are that they are essentially indistinguishable from typical stick-built homes. While mobile manufactured buildings often decrease in value over time, our modular built homes have the same longevity as its stick-built counterpart, increasing in value over time.

Want to see more about how our Virginia Modular Homes?  Check out this video from our manufacturer, HandCrafted Homes:

Green Seal Certified -- Good For The Environment and the Wallet

Some of you are wondering what the "Green Seal Certified" logo on our home page means.  Great question.

The Green Seal™ is awarded to products that have less impact on the environment and work well. To earn the Green Seal™ a product must meet the Green Seal™ environmental standard for the category as demonstrated by rigorous evaluation and testing. Green Seal™ standards are set so that they identify the most environmentally preferable products currently available; thus, they are leadership standards.  All of our products are "Green Seal Certified".

We consider environmental care as a top priority.  The modular home construction process produces a fraction of the waste as compared to the stick-built construction process.  As you might image, less waste equals less cost...another major advantage of modular home construction. 

But beyond the cost of construction benefit to you, "Green Seal Certified" means our homes are better insulated which directly translates to money back in your pocket each and every month by way of lower utility costs. 

Consider the Word "Custom" In our Business Name

Custom means you are NOT locked into any architectural design.  It appears that it is going to be a long time before the general public discards the misconception that modular homes are restricted in design.  Nothing could be farther from the truth. 

We enjoy the professional satisfaction of building dream homes.  Dream homes by design are products of very specific personal preferences.  Rarely can a building plan be pulled off the shelf and converted into a dream home.  Dream homes only START with a basic plan and then is CUSTOMIZED to turn the plan into a dream.  This is what we do and why the word "Custom" is such an important pat of our business name and business model. 

Whether you've been planning your dream home for a day or a decade, bring your thoughts to us and we'll be glad to demonstrate how we can surround that dream with the strength and quality of modular design. 

Financing and Insuring Modular Homes--No Different Than Stick Built

Input from banks and insurance agencies is universally consistent…..There is no difference between stick-built and custom modular homes in terms of both availability, approval ratings, and cost.

Financiers and insurers are well aware that modular home construction strength and building standards exceed that of traditional “stick built” homes.  In fact, some insurers predict that the cost of insuring modular construction will become more affordable in time as actuaries continue to compile statistical evidence of the modular home’s structural superiority.  This is yet another reason the new home construction pendulum continues to swing in favor of modular home construction.