How much for site prep, sewer and water connection fees (or well and septic tank) and electrical /gas/ cable connection? I have read that site prep plus foundation and these expenses are about 30% of the total cost of building a home. You might not yet be able to afford that house. Do your homework on all thatbefore you commit.

Everything except for the foundation itself has been taken care of. I have added some more fill in the front since this Aug pic.

Our home, with which we are very happy, was built in the factory at Wakarusa, Indiana. It has since been bought by Clayton. I include a link to the website of what seems to be the line of quality homes built there. Mine is plan 154, extended 4 feet longer. 16 inches in living-dining, 32 inches in the smaller bedrooms. Wakarusa factory homes

So you're looking at a modular? I went to the Unibilt home page and they said modular.

Modular and manufactured are different. Both are made in a factory and both can be built to whatever the customer wants. But one comes with the metal frame as part of the home and the other does not. With modular, the boxes come on a trailer and must be lifted off with a crane.

So does the price include the cost for the crane and finish work? This is where you must make SURE the dealer is reputable as s/he is the one who will either make your new home something you love, or a nightmare.

The place I sent him seems to offer complete start to finish and factory-direct, which is good. They do both modular and manufactured. But obviously check into them.

Thanks so much Cathy and Chris. Cathy -the link you sent has a number of options that are exactly what I am looking for. I sent them an email as my location appears to be about 20 miles outside their delivery range. My biggest issue (I think) is going to be if it is physically possible to get the pieces and a crane up my narrow tree lined driveway (on right)- I will cut trees as needed. The price is right so assuming they can deliver and get it up my driveway, i need to see about the "all-inclusive price". thanks again, looks promising!

Ended up going with Unibilt Homes, model Lakeside(finally, 6 years after buying property). http://www.unibiltcustomhomes.com/Portals/0/Floorplans/RanchLakeside.pdf

Modified with many extra windows and an attic that can be converted to two bedrooms and a bath. Visited factory in Dayton, OH and was impressed, so far, so good. This house is done and will be dropped off in two halves shortly.

Will be similar to this (sides switched, attic/2nd floor added, no porch just steps)

Thanks for posting back! It is always nice to hear how things have gone. We want pics when it is all set! Hope you love it as much as we do ours!

House delivery was changed from yesterday to Monday bc of rain. The only thing different now than in this pic is that the perimeter has been filled with dirt. I decided to paint the top block layer. Dirt will come up to bottom of top layer. The black stuff is a tar/tar-like sealant. The entrance to the crawl space is shown.

House was delivered today. Half is in place and tomorrow they will put the 2nd half in its final resting spot, pop up the 2nd floor, and connect them with some type of pin system. With bigger houses they use a crane to put them in place but for this smaller house they slide them (hand cranked with a chain)on steel rails that extend out from the truck bed as seen in pics. First pic is front left corner, 2nd pic is front, and third pic is back.

Thanks! This is what it looked like the day after last pics, and still does today. The roof was hinged in two spots on both sides (hinged mend plates) and they popped/angled it up. I didnt see them do this. Monday the guy coordinating everything meets with electric company and I will have to cut down some pine branches to get line of sight to house. Then natural gas line will need to be brought down the street a little and up to house. Tuff-R insulating panels will go on front and back(already on sides). There will be a window in the front and back of the second floor as well.

So exciting!

That looks great! It is a very nice looking home, and your lot is lovely, too. That is one steep roof!

Thanks Cathy. There will also be a stream/incorporated koi pond running down the front yard.

Nice house! Congratulations.

Thanks Cathy and abbisgram! Here is a pic showing the roof being put up. You can see the two hinged locations on the roof. I didnt see this being done, someone else took this pic. Getting it up my 275’ tree lined driveway was not completely smooth sailing. They had to take down some trees and some of the lowest shingles on the right were damaged/had to be replaced. They also had to take out part of my fence nearest the house(see above pic). The guy in charge underestimated the amount of trees/branches I needed to cut (and fence I needed to remove). No big deal, just sayin. Overall extremely happy so far. For those interested, I believe the breakdown was about 133k for house (delivered) and 11k for foundation/prep work. Prep work was a bit more bc despite me adding a bunch of fill to footprint of house (leeches live in my “soil”, and I have a vernal pool (and spring peepers!) that lasts until aug/sept, last house was rotted at bottom, it was toooo low) they ran into the footer of the previous house. I also will need to pay about $32/foot to bring natural gas line down street and possibly up to house. Hoping this will be under 2k but could be more. Better to pay up front and save $$ long term.

Seems like there is always something that comes up, no matter what the project is! I love your location. Beautiful house, beautiful setting!

Thanks again Cathy! Lot is about 90’x950’ and planted out with conifers. This has been a long time in the making. I spent 2 years and a lot of time and money trying to fix the old house. Doing things like replacing walls one 2x4 at a time. I ended up tearing it down- me, myself, and a sledgehammer. I had it so the back of that house was held up by two 2x4s (one of which was two of them nailed together to make one, apparently they were running low on wood when they built it lol) and the front room by one. Ive also moved a lot of fill dirt (clay) by wheelbarrow or 5 gallon bucket. If anything is roaring at night at the Columbus Zoo(outdoor Africa exhibit), I hear it. May pics.

Following.

Not much is happening, though I havent been back inside. Upper front and rear windows are in. Apparently there was a misunderstanding so there will only be natural gas to furnace. Stove, water heater, and dryer are electric. Need to get stacking washer/dryer since water heater is in this room. This laundry room is when you enter the side door. I will use this as the main entrance. This is why the combined living room/dining area in front is open and fully carpeted.

Hello, ilusn dweller. Are you in your house now? Would like to see how it all worked out.