Modular Homes VA Blog

The Reasons Why Custom Modular Homes Offer Greater Value For Your Dollar

How can you reduce the construction cost of your new house? There is an easy way to save up to 30% on the cost of construction...buy a custom modular home! Our modular homes are factory-constructed which are then delivered and assembled at your home site. Once assembled, your new home looks like any other home in your neighborhood, however, it exceeds all other homes in the neighborhood in terms of quality, strength, and durability.

Since your home is built in a factory, it is much less expensive than a custom-built home on-site. Remember when factories drove out craftsmen who worked with their hands? The same is happening now on a much larger scale! So how does all this save you money? As you know, factories use huge machines that build thousands of items in a short span of time. Thus, they deliver more savings in terms of time and labor. Instead of having a handful of construction workers on-site building your home in various weather conditions, you have a reliable, professional crew in a factory building your home in pristine conditions.

The homes are obviously not built with bricks and mortar which take lots of time and labor. The material for the homes consists primarily of wood, steel, vinyl and weatherboard. Factory owners buy the material from their original manufacturers and suppliers at wholesale rates which are heavily discounted. It is not possible for a retail shopper to buy his housing material as cheaply as the factory buyers can.

We cut and mold the components and modules as per pre-set designs which reduces large amounts of waste that occurs at the individual home builder's sites. And left over material is never wasted; we use all of our material and help protect the planet by constructing homes this way. The factories transfer these savings to their customers to attract buyers in a competitive market. The savings to a buyer of a factory built home can be as large as 30% which bring your home within much easier reach.

The home is then be transported to site on one or more trucks. The end result is a quality home, built in less time and for less money! Check out our quality floor plans like "The Austin" and "The Ashton" which can be customized to your needs. If you have an questions or concerns contact us today and we'll be happy to help.


Tidewater Custom Modular Offers More Options From Our Design Gallery

Depending on the style of home you are looking for there are many options available to choose from regarding our floor plans. Each one of our custom floor plans has maybe options available for your dream home. These options range from the kitchen, to the bathroom, interior, and exterior. The options we offer can be broken down into the following broad categories:
  • Ceiling Structures
  • Bath & Plumbing
  • Appliances
  • Doors
  • Electrical
  • Flooring
  • Heating & Cooling
  • Insulation
  • Interior Trim
  • Kitchen
  • Roofing
  • siding
  • Stairs
  • Walls
  • Windows
For example, options under kitchen category could include cabinets, trim, hardware, counter tops, faucets, sinks and more. We even have a broader category that features even more ideas for you home such as:
  • Laminated stone flooring - Canyon finish
  • Oak stairs with blue stain finish
  • Oak balcony rails on living room an foyer overlook
  • Arched entryways from foyer to living room
  • Wall sconce with antique bronze finish above stairway landing  
  • And many more!
So even though there are standard floor plans for each home style there is a lot of room for customization thereby allowing you to build your dream home. Contact us today to discuss personalizing one of our standard floor plans.


An Important Element To A Successful Modular Home

Today, the educated consumers that are seeking to have a new home built to their specifications are increasingly turning to modular construction to achieve a higher quality of construction without sacrificing architectural style, open floor planning and quality finishes. Invariably, when clients initially call us, one of their first questions is "how do I get started?"

If your interest is having your new dream home built with modern modular technology and you, too, want to know "how to get started", we offer here the most important element to insure a successful project: selecting the right manufacturer of the modular housing components.

The modular components of your new home will be manufactured in a factory and those components will be shipped to your home site and finished to turnkey by the builder. We are so confident that our modular homes will be perfect for your dream home that we’ve comprised a list of our best qualities.
  • We have a reputation for building a quality product.
  • We are capable of integrating architectural flexibility and custom design into our homes.
  • Our reputation for strong customer service is outstanding.
  • We have some strong financial capabilities
  • We can also provide construction financing, if your project so requires in this difficult financial market.
Be sure to check out our selection of custom floor plans here. We also have a video of our factory process to show our customers just how modular home construction works. As you can see we are very committed to the modular home industry and to helping out our customers in any way possible, so if you have any other questions feel free to contact us.

Understanding How Modular Home Construction Loans Work

First, a construction loan for a modular home will carry a greater interest rate than a standard mortgage, because it is actually a line of credit and will cover only as much of the cost of building your modular home as been determined in advance. We recently posted an article about how mortgage loans differ between traditional built homes to modular homes. Well we wanted to break apart from that article (so to speak) in an effort to explain how construction loans work in your modular home building experience.

What Construction Loans For Modular Homes Won't Cover
You'll need to find other ways to finance the early stages of your modular home instruction, including soil and perk tests, building plans, and your site plan, which must be approved by your municipal zoning board before you will be have access to the funds from your construction loan for a modular home.

How Construction Loans For Modular Homes Are Disbursed

None of the work being done on your modular home will be paid for until your lender has had it inspected, and when a particular phase of the construction has been completed and met inspection standards, payment will be made directly to the suppliers and subcontractors. If you need to ask for more payments than the number to which your lender originally agreed, you may be charged an additional fee for each extra payment.

Qualifying For Construction Loans For Modular Homes

Like traditional mortgages, construction loans for modular homes may require you to come up with a down payment. The chances of this will be higher if you are requesting a very large loan, or don't own the lot on which your home will be constructed. But there are lenders of construction loans for modular homes who will give 100% financing even if the person building the home doesn't own the lot outright.

Feel free to contact us today if you have any questions about modular home construction. Or even if you want to take a look at our inventory of beautifully built homes. We are more than happy to help any individual in regards to modular homes.


Is There A Difference Between Modular Home Loans From Traditional Mortgages?

If your dream is to build a modular home on your land, you may be wondering what kind of mortgage you will need to achieve it. In this case a modular home loan is different from a typical mortgage. The most common mortgage for people building a new home on their land is a Construction to Mortgage loan, or Construction to Permanent loan. As the name implies, the loan starts out as a construction loan until the modular home has been placed on your land and it has been completed and inspected. At this point, the loan can be converted into a more traditional mortgage.

When looking for a lender for a modular home loan it is advisable to find an agent that has some experience in this type of mortgage. For one thing, there are still some lenders that are unclear on the difference between a modular home, manufactured home, or mobile home. Overall, many more agents have become aware of the difference and even point out to their peers that they have worked with modular homes and have found many to be superior to stick built homes. So even if you do run across a lender that is not familiar with modular home loans you should not be discouraged. There are plenty of qualified lenders that are very knowledgeable and would love to have your business.

One unique thing about modular home loans which makes it important to have a lender that has experience in this type of loan is that the payment schedule must include a payment to the manufacturer for the total amount of the home at the time it is delivered to the home site. This is only a portion of your total cost, but generally the manufacturer will not release the house to be set on the foundation until it is paid for in full. As long as the bank is aware of this and has provided for it in the payment schedule this should not pose any problems. There are many banks that have extensive experience dealing with modular home loans. Some seem to favor the builder more, some the home buyer. Ideally, the loan should allow payments to the builder in a timely manner so he has the money he needs to complete each step of the process, but still leave the builder with the proper incentive to finish the job on your timetable.


TC Modular Has The Safest Built Modular Homes Around

Our modular construction is safe and sturdy, and is more resistant to natural forces because of precision cuts that are fit and fastened in the factory. The construction technology for modular homes calls for glue-nailed sheathing and decking plus additional framing members which makes modular most likely to endure nature's onslaughts. The structure has to withstand being hoisted by crane and hauled on carriers over roads. The motion and forces that the structure is put under during these processes exceeds that of healthy earthquakes.

We ensure that our 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. Stick- built homes are sometimes constructed in areas where local building codes may be less, and the safety of the homeowner and family may be compromised. We make sure our modular homes are built in a safe environment and according to HUD standards. We go above and beyond to make sure you have the home of your dreams.

If you have any concerns or questions about modular construction or if you would like to come and take a look at our inventory feel free to contact us. As stated above we take pride in our safety standards to ensure that your home is built with the finest materials while keeping the look of quality and simplicity.


Three Beautiful Modular Homes For Those Thinking About Downsizing

People downsize for a host of reasons.  The most common being the simple fact that our kids have moved on and we simply don’t need that much home to manage, clean, and pay taxes on.  Also, downsizing, particularly into an affordable custom modular home frees up investment dollars to improve the quality of your life.  Let us introduce to you three superb custom modular floor plans that serve as perfect downsizing options.  

First, consider the “TIMBERLAND I” ( Single Level Ranch). It has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and  1510 SQ.FT. The Timberland I is a single level ranch style home which includes a master suite and two bedrooms with adjoining bath, Flexibility abounds including the options of a TV/family room or private dining room off the large kitchen. Lost restrictions are not a problem as the Timberland I is designed with narrow lots in mind.

For those of you who don’t want to give rooms of furniture away when you downsize, consider the “TIMBERLAND II”, a Cape Cod style home with an unfinished 2nd Floor.  It offers 1 bedroom,  1 1/2 Baths, and 1132 SQ.FT. The Timberland II maintains a distinctive curb appeal while significantly reducing the overall footprint of this master-down charmer. A 12/12 roof with shed dormers affords growing families the opportunity to complete the upper level as their needs and means allow.

Finally, one home sure to please, “ THE POPLAR” (single level ranch).  It offers 3 bedrooms, 2 Baths, and 1207 SQ.FT. A magnificent kitchen/dining room combination highlights The Poplar. The optional bump-out window enhances the home’s appeal. Three bedrooms and two full baths complete the design of this ranch home.

These are just a few of the more popular smaller homes in our inventory.  We’d love to show them all to you.  >


A Brief History Of Modular Construction



click to view Traditional Homes

Ever wonder how modular construction came about? Modular homes can be designed from colonial style to estate style homes.
 
Modular buildings are also called pre-fabricated buildings. Modular construction began near the end of World War II but really took off in the 1950's. As soldiers came home, housing demand rose. Stick built construction could not keep up, so a new way of building was created, modular construction. Modular building has stood the test of time.
 
Of course, modular construction has evolved over time.  Today's modular buildings can be any number of modules.

As the demands of homeowners have increased, the ability to customize modular homes has also expanded. Custom modular homes have become the norm.

For information on Custom Modular Homes, contact us.


Thinking Of Buying A New Custom Home? Make Sure You Have A Budget Plan

The development of a household budget is a must activity both before you build a home as well as during your ownership of that home. 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. Some of the items and information you will need to develop your budget are:

  • All current monthly loan payments.
  • All other monthly expenses
  •  Records of variable expenses from the last 12 months. This will give you an estimate of your monthly expenditures.
  •  Records of annual or semi-annual expenses
  • An estimate of what your new mortgage payment will be.
  • Records of other non-fixed expenses for the last year.
  • Records or an estimate of personal expenses
  • 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 once every year at the official credit report government site.
Be realistic in your budget assessment. Make provisions for possible increases in some items. 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.

Once you have prepared your budget the next step is to look for the dream home of your choice and what better way than to use a Tidewater Customer Modular home as your choice? Contact us today to see our floor plans and how we can help to make your home a reality.

TC Modular's Popular Homes Include The Ranch And Cape Cod Styles

Every Tidewater Custom modular home is carefully crafted and tailor made to the precise requirements and specifications of the consumer.  Our floor plan design process starts with a host of different home styles  and floor plan templates that we customize in close consult with our clients. Two of our most popular styles are the Cape Cod and Ranch style homes.

Ranch: This type of modular differs quite significantly from the Cape Cod variety, whereas the Cape Cod variety features a second story to the home, the Ranch does not. The Ranch style home offers a horizontal (vice vertical) orientation.  The emphasis here is about effective usage of space rather than large rooms, and one of the most readily identifiable aspects of this type of modular home is the notable presence of a basement. Ranches are also very popular among families, as the generous number of bedrooms makes it far easier to accommodate the children.

Cape Cod: This particular style of modular home features warm wooden flooring and stairs as a prerequisite, along with a carefully sloping roof, which will feature any number of dormer windows and will tend to make use of a rather minimal footprint. Complete with large-scale garden and greenery both from the front and back of the home, these types of modular home feature at a minimum, 1000 square feet of floor space. Given that they tend to include a maximum of two bedrooms, they may not be well suited for large families; Perfect for a couple or even a vacation home.

View the variety of Cape Cod and Ranch style custom modular home floor plans (along with a host of other types)  and then speak to us about customization options that will deliver you a truly unique and enjoyable home for life.  


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