I would start with talking to the bank about financing. The interest rate in my area is more on those types of homes. Mobil homes are considered personal property (since they can be hauled away), not Real property (like a traditional stick build house is), and modular homes have their own issues.

My last house was a modular- arrived in 3 pieces and was put together onsite. Ranch with a full, walkout basement. It was an incredibly solid house. We did jokingly call it The Double Wide, though. I did not build it, so can’t comment on the process. I am considering buying a lot in WV and eventually building, though. My research had me conclude that you need to spend a few hours in a showroom to find out all the ins and outs. Have you tried to find a blog, vlog, or anything like that?

I just did a quick search, and may have missed some, but this one looks fairly active:

https://forum.mobilehome.com

(Your handle — one of my favorite movies.)

I agree with Patriceny. Modulars are not mobile homes. Modulars are like regular stick built homes that are partially built in a warehouse and delivered in several chunks to your prepped lot of your choosing and then finished on site. Some companies that sell modulars will tell you that these houses are built sturdier than onsite built homes because they must endure the shaking and jostling that delivery causes the parts. I do not know if this is so or not, but we owned a modular home (a 3 story cape cod) that was delivered to our mountain location in two pieces. The foundation (daylight basement) was already built based on their plans and ready to receive the chunks. The house was solid and like any other normal home once finished. Some modular companies will prep your lot for you, setting the foundation footprint,etc as part of their pricing; some don't. There are a number of companies that sell modular homes and even offer financing for them. Mobile homes are of course a whole different world, delivered with their very own set of wheels and axles, even VIN numbers. Those companies also offer financing of their own. Banks will offer financing for both, but with very different rules and rates...Good Luck..

OP, can you elaborate your concerns about the MONUMENTAL undertaking?

Is it time, money, effort, design, maintenance, logistics, regulations, family?

Aziline, manufactured home can be personal or real property. If a manufacture home is on self owned property, anchored on a foundation with the wheels and axles removed and manufactured after 1976 it is real property. It has a title just like a stick built home. If not anchored it is titled through the DMV. FYI They are not called mobile homes if manufactured after 1976.

@functionthenlook You are right. However, in some states/counties with hurricane codes, whether it is called a mobile home or not, whether it is anchored like "real property" or not, it can no longer be placed in certain areas, which differentiates it from a modular home, and loan officers define the two differently as well.

K Brown. That hold true of many areas. Each area has building codes specifically for that area. A stick built home from Florida would not pass building code where I live.

Thank you all for the responses. Sounds like my next step would be to start talking to modular home manufacturers about cost and financing as well as what model would suit my needs.

@Jilly Thank you for the link, I'll check out that forum!

@strategery I guess I'm just worried about hitting some kind of massive difficulty and wanting to know how the process works from start to finish. I live in CA where housing prices make it virtually impossible to own a traditional home unless you have a six figure income (which I do not) and I'm tired of paying rent and looking for a permanent work around.

Pay attention to the interest rate. I've heard quotes up to 8%.

@Jack Walsh The process depends on the company you go with and the financing you find. I cannot list companies here, but the one I am most familiar with is out of VA and serves the southeastern US. They do offer financing, but they also can lead you to banks/loan officers. The modular company creates most of the shell, delivers it, and hooks you up with a local builder from your area who has a relationship with them. That builder will create foundation, help set the pieces when they arrive, and then finish them off (dry wall, wiring, trim, fixtures, etc..) In the end you have a regular house. It does save you money in the long run usually compared to having a custom build on your site, but it is not as simple nor as cheap as buying a single or double wide "trailer" and having that delivered and anchored to the ground on your lot. Does that help?

CA is pretty darn restrictive on mobile homes. Start with your towns zoning office. Find out where they are allowed to be located, and the issues eith the septic, water, and power, that the property will need. plus a driveway. You’ll have 100K+ in raw land imorovements required before you can ever put a trailer on it.

Modulars aren't cheaper than an existing house of similar finishes, at least around me. They're going to tend to cost more because you have to develop the raw land, get utilities to the site, and pay a bizallion dollars in various fees. It sounds like you're hoping a modular would be cheaper than a similar existing home....and that is unlikely.

Where modulars save you is on time. You can generally be in quicker than a new site built home. You save on interest payments.

I live in California…Be sure to look into insurance for the modular home BEFORE you purchase it.

You might want to start by talking with a lender. Our experience was that financing for a new modular home plus piece of property purchase would be done via a construction loan and required 20% down while purchase of a home that’s already built could be done for much less of a down payment. Does your state offer any loans or grants for first time homebuyers? A lender could also help you answer that question.

Mr. Jack, have you made any progress...? :-) Have you at least decided between manufactured and modular?

My husband and I are also considering a factory-built home, here in Texas. We have had crazy explosive growth in our area, and now can't afford to move to another city/town in the Dallas/Austin/San Antonio areas, unless we buy auctioned land at a county tax sale and stick a factory build on it.

I haven't contacted Palm Harbor yet, but they tout "customization" all over their website, and would like to ask them if they can marry 3 single wides in a U-shape (or 2 singles in a T-shape) along the short sides, rather than the typical double-/triple-wide construction of marrying along the long sides.

Did you find a good, active manufactured home discussion forum? Pass it along!

Can you move out of CA?

We used to work/live there and have lots of friends who have also moved to other states ... and we had nice homes there, but not happy with taxes, cost of living and crime.