modular home: Why Continue to Use Traditional Methods of Construction?
- 04/01/19 04:07 AM
The enemy of change is the adage, “We have always done it this way”. While using a more efficient method of construction sounds good to the home buyer, the home builder now has to learn a new building process. The new process can cause stress and then add to it the fear of the unknown and most site builders become trapped using a construction process that hasn’t changed much in over 150 years. Building codes change all the time. Modular construction, because of its process, ensures that a home built in a rural area with no inspections is built to the … (1 comments)
modular home: Ready for a Construction Loan? Get Your Credit Card House In Order
- 02/04/19 03:57 AM
When you decide to build a new home, it doesn’t just happen overnight. Most home buyers that are thinking about building a home have been contemplating it for six months or even years. It’s the same with getting a construction loan. You should start thinking about getting your financial house in order well before you apply for a construction loan. While reviewing house plans, looking at home elevations, and picking colors are the exciting part of building a new home, one of the first things you should do is understand your current credit standing. A large part of most home buyer’s credit picture is their credit card debt. Credit card utilization is one … (0 comments)
modular home: On the Path to a Zero Energy Home: Highly Insulated Windows and Doors
- 01/07/19 03:07 AM
Windows and doors can be the big holes in what is otherwise a very well insulated home with an airtight building envelope. You can better control heat loss and heat gain by using the right doors and windows in your new home. An often overlooked aspect of windows and doors is selecting the right size and correctly orienting them in the home based on the homes siting on the building lot. Here is a primer on windows and doors for an affordable zero energy ready home. WINDOW PERFORMANCE (A.K.A. ENERGY EFFICIENCY) Windows are extremely important when it comes to designing energy efficiency into our home. … (2 comments)
modular home: The Reality of Home Building: 5 Things to Think About
- 12/31/18 05:00 AM
Homebuyers today face a decision: Do you buy an existing home or do you build a new home? With tight home inventories, it makes it hard to find the perfect house. If you can’t find the right house, you have to define what you want and decide if building a home is right for you. With existing homes, you look, you buy, you move in. Building a new home is much more work. But for many, the advantages of building a new home make the effort worth it. You are able to design a home for your lifestyle. You can pick the colors, the finishes, and style. You even choose … (2 comments)
modular home: Think Off-Site Construction is Risky?, Try Traditional Construction
- 11/19/18 03:05 AM
When many people think about building a home today, they naturally think about what they have seen in the past. The old, traditional way of home building. This means working with a home builder to develop a home plan, sign a contract, create allowances for items such as tile, flooring, cabinets, counter tops, etc., and then scheduling construction to start. But the traditional way means that you are depending on a builder to find skilled employees to build your home. He is depending on his suppliers to meet material delivery schedules. He is hoping the weather holds to allow him to build and that … (1 comments)
modular home: What to Expect When You're Expecting... a Modular Home
- 10/15/18 03:12 AM
The term “modular home” is really a misnomer. Modular actually describes a method of construction, not a type of home. Some may think the difference is trivial, but it’s not. A home built using modular construction is built to the same building code as a home that is built onsite, however it is built offsite in modules and assembled in LEGO-like fashion on a foundation. The modular construction process creates a home that is superior in construction to one that is built onsite. The process produces a home that is built quickly, at a consistent level of quality, and at the … (2 comments)
modular home: Confused by Home Building Lingo? Let's Decipher it!
- 09/24/18 03:24 AM
Most homes purchased are used/existing homes. What you see is what you get. You don’t get to have any input into the design of the home, the construction of the home, or the way the home is built. When building a new custom home that all changes. There are hundreds of decisions to make and hundreds, if not thousands, of new terms to learn that are unique to home construction. If you are like most people, you are usually too embarrassed to ask what a term means. It is easier to take the “smile and nod” approach and avoid asking about … (0 comments)
modular home: Getting a Home Mortgage: The Ten Commandments
- 07/23/18 03:18 AM
Buying a new home is exciting! Most people will only build and finance a new home just a few times in their life. When you need a mortgage to get your new home there are a few rules that you need to know about. While some may seem like common sense, they still get broken by many home buyers. When they get broken, they can add weeks to the mortgage approval process or even worse, sink your hopes of getting a home for a year or even more. Here are 10 “Thou Shalt NOTs” you need to know about. THE TEN COMMANDMENTSThou … (1 comments)
modular home: On the Path to a Zero Energy Home: It Starts with Design
- 07/16/18 03:46 AM
The path to zero energy has gotten much shorter in recent years. Building materials have improved, building science awareness has increased, and home buyers are demanding lower energy costs and more comfortable homes. But a zero energy home is more easily achieved when it is designed in from the very beginning. While it may cost a little more up front, today those costs are minimal compared to the years of energy bill savings and the increased comfort to be enjoyed in a new, high performance home. ZERO ENERGY IS EASIER WHEN IT IS DESIGNED INTO THE HOMEHere are several key items to … (0 comments)
modular home: Why Do I Need a Higher Credit Score for a Construction Loan?
- 04/16/18 03:55 AM
Banks are averse to risk. This means that when they loan money they typically want collateral to make sure that if they aren’t paid back that they have some type of asset that they can sell and attempt to recoup their losses. In some cases, it is the reputation of the borrower. If the collateral isn’t enough, then a borrower’s credit history of making regular and timely payments plays into the decision of making the loan. A construction loan is unique. A lender is loaning money on something that isn’t done or complete. The lack of a finished asset (house) means … (9 comments)
modular home: Building a New Home versus Buying an Existing Home
- 04/02/18 03:52 AM
Let’s face it, building a new home takes effort. Buying an existing home is just plain easy. You look, you buy, you move in. Well… it’s not exactly that easy. Today’s housing market is tough. Home inventories are the lowest they have been in years. With interest rates rising and the low inventories, good existing homes are hard to find. The best homes sell fast creating a pricing competition in some areas. Your other option is to build a house of your own. In today’s market, the cost of building a house is comparable to buying an existing home. THE EXISTING HOME MARKETBuying an existing home … (1 comments)
modular home: Increasing Interest Rates: Your New Home Just Got Smaller
- 02/26/18 03:58 AM
It’s happening and you don’t even know it. The silent increase in home mortgage rates is impacting your new custom home. If you are purchasing a home and you need a mortgage to do it, every interest rate increase means you qualify for a lower loan amount. This means you will make the exact same payment, but that payment will buy a smaller home or one with less amenities. Every time the rate goes up just a .25% means you could have lost the ability to get the mudroom you have always wanted or the granite countertop you have dreamed about. … (0 comments)
modular home: From Misconception to Clarity: Understanding Modular Construction
- 01/08/18 03:09 AM
Have you ever watched a baby as it learns to walk? As a parent you watch your child try to take its first steps and fall. They try again and fall. You worry they will hit a wall, land too hard on the floor, or hit their head on a piece of furniture. They don’t have those same worries. Their reactions are based on their physical drive to walk, on making a bold step forward. A parent’s fear is taught by external forces. The parents dwell in a fear that the child cannot fathom. The child learns and adjusts as she … (3 comments)
modular home: Home Styles 101: Every Home Isn't a Colonial
- 12/18/17 04:01 AM
Open up any real estate guide or look at descriptions of homes for sale on any website. How many say “Nice Two-Story Colonial” or “Cute Colonial”? While most homes in communities tend to look the same, there are many homes out there that do belong to a specific style. There are actually dozens of them. An architectural home style is characterized by features that make a home or building notable or identifiable. A style is usually defined as when a home has similar elements such as form, a similar construction method, common building materials, or regional character. Let’s review several of the … (4 comments)
modular home: Busting 7 Popular Credit Score Myths
- 11/06/17 07:51 AM
Your credit score is complex, but having a better basic understanding about how it really works can help you to improve your credit report. While there’s more credit score information available than ever before, many potential home buyers continue to have misconceptions about credit scores that can actually hurt them. Here are seven common credit score myths, that once you understand them, can help you take the right steps to raise your credit score… and avoid hurting it. CREDIT SCORE MYTH BUSTINGMyth #1: I believe I have good credit. Busted: This one always gets me. Many potential home buyers tell me they “have … (4 comments)
modular home: Hybrid Construction: Get the Best of Two Building Systems
- 10/09/17 03:21 AM
Custom home builders for years have used the term “stick built” to label their homes as higher quality. The logic is that if you build a home one stick at a time, then you have taken the time to cut, place, and fasten each “stick” correctly. This is a distraction from what it really is. “Stick built” is actually their term for onsite construction. Do you really think you can cut, place, and fasten each stick correctly building outdoors in the heat, cold, rain, and wind and without automated tools? And all of this being done on uneven ground where the tools needed … (3 comments)
modular home: Custom Home Floor Plans: Getting the Home You Want
- 09/11/17 06:30 AM
For most, designing a new home begins with a lot of false starts. Questions need to be answered. How big of a house do you need? How many bedrooms and bathrooms are needed? Do you want an open floor plan? Do you need porches or decks? Which home styles do you like? Once most of the questions are answered then the process of finding a floor plan begins. Where do you look? Can you afford an architect? What about home plan websites with thousands of plans? Can you design your own home? There are lots of options and by working with … (0 comments)
modular home: Did You Know Your Home's Roof Isn't Waterproof?
- 08/21/17 04:23 AM
I think there is a fundamental misconception by homeowners that a home’s roof is waterproof. After all, we always think of sitting inside our homes on a cold, dark, rainy night and being warm and dry. However, we stay that way because a typical home’s roof is water-resistant, not waterproof. This may sound like a minor difference in wording but there is a world of difference between the ways you build a roof to be waterproof versus water-resistant. HOW DOES MY HOME’S ROOF WORK?With a typical residential home roof, and even most light commercial office buildings that take on a residential look, they … (0 comments)
modular home: Getting to the Credit Score You Need to Build a New Home
- 07/31/17 04:11 AM
In a recent survey is was found that most Americans (80%) have a basic understanding and knowledge of what a credit score is. Millennials in that survey had a poorer understanding of the basic facts than did Gen-Xers. In most cases, all of that goes out the window when it comes to applying for a construction loan. Construction loans are different from car loans, credit cards, and even 30 year mortgages for existing homes. Why is a Construction Loan Harder to Get? When you apply for a loan, lenders typically have specific loan programs. The lender have established criteria and terms for each … (0 comments)
modular home: The Great OSB vs. Plywood Debate and the Future of Modular Homes
- 07/24/17 06:18 AM
Did you know that today, OSB dominates the construction industry for sheathing in new homes? Except for a few states in the northeast, its use far exceeds that of plywood for the construction of side walls, sub-floors, and roofs. It wasn’t always that way. OSB, when it first hit the market, was viewed as a cheap and inferior product. It took years to achieve its position of superior quality and market acceptance by quality builders throughout the country. The path of the modular home industry appears to be very similar to that of OSB. OSB: A LITTLE HISTORYOSB, short for Oriented Strand … (4 comments)
The enemy of change is the adage, “We have always done it this way”. While using a more efficient method of construction sounds good to the home buyer, the home builder now has to learn a new building process. The new process can cause stress and then add to it the fear of the unknown and most site builders become trapped using a construction process that hasn’t changed much in over 150 years. Building codes change all the time. Modular construction, because of its process, ensures that a home built in a rural area with no inspections is built to the … (1 comments)
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