I've been reading a lot about these homes lately and am finding them offering a surprising number of floor plans, sizes, and options. They are now classed by Wind Zones. Zone 3 and Wind Zone 2 are the safest if you are on the Gulf Coast, followed by Wind Zone 1, which I think means you have no upgraded protection from the wind over and above what the average home has. Wind Zone 3 (and maybe 2) homes require more interior walls, judging from the floor plans. Tie downs are very important. Here is some interesting info on that subject.

http://www.mygreathome.com/fix-it_guide/tiedowns.htm#tiedowns

These homes generally start about $30,000 in my area (small single wide) but end up costing a lot more because of the upgrades. One popular upgrade is a Thermal Zone 3, offering 2 X 6 walls, allowing more insulation to get an R-19 rating. The roof has R-30. Now that is a cosy home for these parts. These homes are made in a factory controlled environment under strict specifications. It's not like a stick built where all the wood is open to the elements during the framing process. These manufactured home factories have skilled crews, and the inspectors and supervisors make sure everything is caulked and fastened and put together very well before they get an okay on them. All this information is very general and comes from reading a lot of these internet sites that stress that manufactured and modular homes are assembled under much more strict conditions than stick built homes. I did read that one in three manufactured home owners complains of leaks in the first few years. That's not good since the pipes (actually, it is the more flexible PEX tubing) are in the floor with the floor insulation. All I know for sure is that they can be moved if it is absolutely necessary, but to untie one and then move it and tie it back down again will be a big deal and very costly. However, it can be done. I know some people in this area have been trying to sell their homes for well over a year. With a manufactured home, if you have the ability to pay for it, you can uproot and take your home with you. You will have to move everything out of it first...but it can be done.

One interesting note...the 533 SF (1 bedroom, 1 bath) costs almost the same as the 900 SF home.

With a higher number of home owners losing their homes to foreclosure or having to short sale, I wonder if those numbers will fuel the manufactured home market.

If you are going to check out any of the manufactured housing sites, be sure and check out Cavco Park Models. If you want a home on wheels that is 400 SF and a loft, this is a good place to start. They are gorgeous inside.

Nice link... I'm an architecture / building dork and enjoy looking at construction drawings. Have had zero experience with the tie downs, so nice little page to illustrate it.

Thx,

Ken

I download the park model home floor plans off different web sites and then open them in the Paint program and start moving the walls and fridge and adding windows...sometimes I end up with a plan that looks just like what I started with, but at least I entertained myself for an hour. At first I thought all the manufacturers of these park models were stealing their floor plan idea from each other until I realized that CAVCO sells units to other manufacturers who finish them out inside and sell them under their own name. Before I learned how to use the Paint program, I went through a lot of graph paper.

I did like those tie down drawings and finally got a clear idea of how it worked.

Here's something interesting on the modular home front. Stick built homes may start to feel the squeeze soon. These folks will even locate land for you, apparently. I'm going to take a second look.

http://newworldhome.com/#/theProcess