I thought a great way to kick off a manufactured home group would be to discuss the 3 Ms…

1. Mobile

2. Manufactured

3. Modular

Many people use the terms interchangeably, but they are very different and it's important to understand what type of home you are actually talking about.

•1.       Here is the definition for a mobile home...

A large trailer, fitted with parts for connection to utilities, that can be installed on a relatively permanent site and that is used as a residence.

My definition would add the home your grandmother lived in back in the 70s, metal siding and typically found in a park setting with other mobile homes, and a big trailer hitch off the front implying that it could be towed if you really wanted too.  Hence the term mobile, a home that could be moved from location to location.

•2.       Here is the definition of a manufactured home...

In the United States, the term "manufactured housing" specifically refers to a house built entirely in a protected environment under a federal code set by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  The term describes factory-built homes produced after the 1976 HUD Code enactment.

  My definition would reiterate a home built in a factory environment to the HUD code.  Some of the companies that build these are Silvercrest, Palm Harbor, Karston, Champion and Fleetwood to name just a few.  These homes are brought in on wheels but sometimes attached to permanent foundations, and are still classified as HUD homes.

•3.        Here is the definition of a modular home...

Modular homes are homes built in modules at a factory.  Modules are transported to the home site on flat bed trucks. Unlike manufactured homes, modular homes conform to all state, local and regional codes where the home is to be located.

My definition would be simply, modular homes are built in a factory to the local codes where placed, not to the HUD code.

So in reality they are three very different homes.  Probably the most similar characteristic is they all start with an M.  Outside of that its important to use the right terminology when talking about these homes so others know what you are really referring to.

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