Manufactured Homes

   Manufactured homes, formerly called mobile homes, are built on a non-removable steel chassis and transported to the building site on their own wheels. Some manufactured homes look like the houses you see in a traditional neighborhood–they don’t all resemble a traditional single or doublewide “trailer.” There are important considerations you should make before you decide to buy a manufactured home.

Can You Put it on the Land?

    Some communities and developments do not allow manufactured housing. Research local zoning ordinances, deed restrictions, restrictive covenants, and other similar documents before you buy land for a manufactured home.

Look  for Growing Equity

    One reason most of us want to own a home instead of rent one is for its investment potential. And since we often don’t live in the same house for enough years to pay down the balance very far, we depend on the rising cost of real estate to increase our equity, the portion of the home’s value that we get back to buy another home when we sell.

You Might not Get it with a Manufactured Home

     In general, manufactured homes decrease in value. That’s not true for every type of manufactured home or in every instance, but it is true overall. Even your land could decrease in value if it is surrounded by other manufactured homes that are decreasing in value. Do your homework! Learn as much as you can about the resale value of manufactured homes in the area before you buy. A real estate agent can help you find that information.

Land-Home Packages

    We see many people who opt into land-home packages, installment financing options that are are set up by the retailers who sell manufactured homes. The packages include the house, the land, and all work needed to get the home ready for occupancy.

But Hold on Before You Sign

    Land-home packages are fairly easy to get approved for, even if you have credit blemishes, but the interest rates can be high. Many people are making higher payments for a manufactured home than they would have made for a traditional or modular home–and those structures are nearly always a better investment. Explore your choices before you assume that you cannot buy a traditional home. You might be surprised at the financing options that are available.

Is it on a Permanent Foundation?

      Some lenders will not finance a manufactured home if it is not on a permanent foundation. The dealer will get if financed for you either way, but if you are putting the home on land you own, make sure it’s on a permanent foundation. Why should you care? Because if it isn’t, and you decide to sell, it will turn off some buyers and limit the number of lenders they can choose from. That means the home will be on the market longer.

Q: Where can I find details about my manufactured home’s build date and origins?

A: Look for a data plate located inside your home, usually on or near the main electrical panel, in a kitchen cabinet, or in a bedroom closet. The data plate offers information about the home’s heating, cooling, and other appliances and components. The data plate also shows you the wind zone and snow load for which the home was built. A red HUD label with a stamped serial number should be attached to the exterior of the home.

Q: May I move my manufactured home to another location?

A: Yes, make sure you use a transport company that is familiar with the laws for moving such structures. Never move a manufactured home to a zone with more restrictive wind, thermal, or roof load requirements than the zone for which it was built. Check the data plate for zoning information. Climate differences and the cost of moving your manufactured home might make it more practical to sell it and purchase another at your new location.

Q: Who will finance my manufactured home?

A: Many manufactured homes are financed with a retail installment contract, available through the retailer that sells you the home. Many lenders will grant a conventional mortgage for manufactured homes, but will likely require that the home is placed on a permanent foundation.

Q: Is my new manufactured home covered by warranty?

A: Most manufacturers offer a warranty that covers the home and its systems during a stated warranty period. Some appliances may be covered by their own warranties. Before you purchase a manufactured home, find out which items are covered by warranty, who offers the warranty, and how warranty repairs are performed.

     Formerly referred to as mobile homes or trailers, but now with many more style options than in the past. Manufactured houses are built in a factory and conform to the same code（Federal building code）, no matter where they will be delivered.      

    Manufactured homes are built on a non-removable steel chassis. Sections are transported to the building site on their own wheels. And multi-part manufactured units are joined at their destination.

    Not all lenders will grant mortgages for manufactured homes. And if they do, there may be specific requirements. Some do not make loans for single wide manufactured homes. Some will not grant a loan for a home that is not on a permanent foundation. Manufactured housing qualifies for FHA and VA loans.Many home buyers purchase manufactured housing as part of a land-home package.

    Well, how to recognize a manufactured home ?A manufactured home should have a metal tag on the exterior of each of its transportable sections. Walk around the structure, looking for a small, red metal identification plate. If it’s not there, look for holes that indicate something might have been removed.

    Besides，If your home’s identification plate is missing, HUD can retrieve historical information from details on the interior data plate. If both items are missing, you may need to gather prior financing history from the current owners in order to complete your own financing.

     Men do far more housework than they are given credit for, according to research that claims women do not notice because their male partners “don’t make a fuss”.
     Men said they spent 13 hours a week on household chores including cleaning the lavatory, taking out the rubbish and changing the bed linen.
     But 60 per cent of the 1000 men questioned said their efforts were unnoticed by the woman in their lives because they did not like to make a fuss.
    Almost half said they felt women were more prone to showing off about the amount of housework they take on.
The task most men said they did was taking out the rubbish – with 85 per cent claiming credit. Carrying the shopping bags was the second most popular chore among men, with 80 per cent saying they take the weight off their wife’s shoulders.
     Food shopping came in third place – with 78 per cent saying they are responsible for restocking the fridge each week.
    The research by Dove, the beauty brand, found men spend 4.7 hours a week on housework as well as 1.5 hours on DIY and 6.9 hours on childcare.
    Paul Connell, brand manager of Dove Men Care, said: “Our research shows that modern men are becoming more vocal about the contribution they make in the home, and the popular stereotype of men doing nothing around the house is no longer accurate.”

The Maldives faces the threat of extinction from rising sea levels, but the government said on Thursday it was looking to the future with plans to build homes and a golf course that float.

An increase in sea levels of just 18 to 59 centimeters would make the Maldives — a nation of tiny coral islands in the Indian Ocean — virtually uninhabitable by 2100, the UN’s climate change panel has warned.

President Mohamed Nasheed has vowed a fight for survival, and last month he signed a deal with a Dutch company to study proposals for a floating structure that could support a convention centre, homes and an 18-hole golf course.

“It is still early stages and we are awaiting a report on the feasibility,” a government official who declined to be named said.

The company, Dutch Docklands, is currently building floating developments in the Netherlands and Dubai.

There was no immediate comment from the firm but its website said it undertook projects that make “land from water by providing large-scale floating constructions to create similar conditions as on land”.

The Maldives began work on an artificial island known as the Hulhumale near the crowded capital island of Male in 1997 and more than 30,000 people have been settled there to ease congestion.

The city, which has a population of 100,000, is already protected from rising sea levels by a 30-million-dollar sea wall, and the government is considering increasingly imaginative ways to combat climate change.

Nasheed, who staged the world’s first underwater cabinet meeting in October to highlight his people’s plight, has even spoken of buying land elsewhere in the world to enable Maldivians to relocate if their homes are submerged.

He has also pledged to turn his nation into a model for the rest of the world by becoming “carbon neutral” by 2020.

His plan involves ending fossil fuel use and powering all vehicles and buildings from “green” sources such as burning coconut husks.

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