We just moved out of modular and built (sm)

We lived in a modular, what some would call a 'double-wide', for about 8 years, and while it was by no means what one would call a trailer, neither was it as sound as a site built house.  It was a great starter home, but there were a couple of things about it that anyone looking to buy a modular should be aware of.  The first thing is that resale on modulars/manufactured homes is not as brisk (at least in my part of the country) as a regular, site-built home.  We ended up selling ours via land contract.  The second thing to be aware of is that these homes off-gas.  If you move into a new house, there is going to be a smell associated with that new construction but in a manufactured home, because of the way they are built, on an assembly line, some things are done differently than in a traditional house.  There is a lot of formaldehyde used in the construction of these homes. 

Heating and ventilation are other things to be concerned about, as well as insulation, and what type of foundation to put underneath the home.  My suggestion is that if you go with a modular/manufactured home, go with a full slab. 

As far as settling goes, any house is going to settle.  If the home is set up properly the settling will be held to a minimum, but if it isn't done well, the settling will be more obvious.  I would check with the BBB where you are looking to buy and see if there are any complaints on file with them re: the company/ies you are looking at. 

Another thing to consider:  Where are you putting this home? Many subdivisions have regulations against modular homes of any type, including the one we moved into.  These people (small subdivision) freaked out completely when they found out we were building a house in THEIR subd. and that we lived in a modular at the time.  I guess they thought the trailer trash was coming to town...let's just not go there. 

We were able to go through a service where we hired a consultant who is a licensed builder to guide us through the process, and we actually did the general contracting ourselves.  We managed to save a significant amount of money in the process, and while there were very stressful times we managed it well and are extremely pleased with the results.  While we are not what could be considered tree huggers, we did want to build a house that was more environmentally friendly and energy efficient.  There are several ways to do that, and it really is so much simpler than you may think.  We just moved in about a month ago, and we do still have quite a bit to do, trim, paint, landscaping (we have a beyoootiful mud pit right now), but it is so very much worth it.

In any event, good luck with whatever you decide to do, and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. 

HC

• Building a house - Curious George
  • Give me a house that survived 65 mph anyday! - Hayseed
  • There is modular and there is modular - sm -
  • Modulars - MEMT
  • Sorry but what is stick? I do like how modulars look - don't know anything about them though (nm) - Curious now too
    • Stick Vs. Modular - donna
      • Think about future resale - when I was looking for preapproval
      • We just moved out of modular and built (sm) - HappyCat

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a couple of years ago and my husband and I did several different things throughout the floors in the house.  The living room is hardwood floor.  It looks really nice but it does tend to show dust more than linoleum or tile would.  Our kitchen is next to the living room and we tiled the kitchen.  It doesn't look tacky next to each other.

I would go for linoleum in the kitchen for several reasons actually.  If you get water on the hardwood floor and it soaks in between the joints of the hardwood floor, it will swell and you will start to get some creeks in the floor.  I think linoleum would hold up really well with all the spills that happen in a kitchen. 

My husband and I actually went to a flooring place and looked at their back room of tile that was discontinued.  Not only did we get really nice tile but we got it a heck of a lot cheaper because that tile was discontinued.  I love our tile.  We have it in the dining room, kitchen, foyer, and all the bathrooms.  We have carpet in all the bedrooms and we have hardwood floor in the living room.

The hardwood floor, however, will add more value to your home than linoleum and that same goes for tile.

Therefore there is nothing to compare it to. I don't know how they came up with the $200+ initially. But since the natural gas bill rarely runs more than $30-40 per month even in winter, I am not going to do averaging on it again, even after the 12-month period is up.

It's worth it for the electricity because it runs around $100 a month with averaging and it goes up and down a lot more. I live in Oklahoma and it can get as high as 100 degrees plus in the summer, and down to zero or below in the winter.

nearby, multiple relatively new retail buildings still have available space for rent or have been abandoned. 

you think she would have built the school for girls somewhere NEAR DARFUR where they are beyond poor.  The people in S. Africa have lots and lots of $$ and as a matter of fact, I read about Oprah's school there, that the kids there had their CELL phones taken away and that the rule is the parents cannot visit unless they get written permission from her school.  KIDS WHO HAVE CELLPHONES go to her school....HOW POOR ARE THESE CHILDREN, really....

get real please...........

the people who lived here before us had a rabbit that got out of the hutch and they couldn't get it back in, so it lived in our yard.  One nice warm evening I took our house cat out with me while I was outside.  I looked away for a minute and in the blink of an eye, the male rabbit was...um...having nonconsensual relations with my poor, terrified female cat.  I could not believe my eyes. Needless to say, my cat stayed in the house after that.  

14 years ago I was filling out that pile of paperwork for my sons and came across the document about paddling....I was appalled.....How archaic!  My mother has taught in NY for 42 years and I assure you it's not an acceptable practice!  I just wrote "What, are you kidding me?" and got called into the principal's office to explain myself.

Also, when asked about race I checked OTHER and wrote HUMAN....Got called in again to the principal's office.    Cat 

Except now it has a drillbit sitting on top of it for some reason.... 

I really need some opinions.  So when it get's moved, please follow it over.

My son's school called me this morning to tell me that they have not yet received my son's transcripts from his the private school he attended last year.  The secretary at the new school tells me that she when she faxed her request for the records along with my signed release, the school only sent her my son's shot record and any other medical history they had on him and that was it.  They provided no explanation whatsoever.  When she called the old school, she was told that I have an outstanding tuition balance and they refuse to release his records until the balance is paid.

Regardless of whether or not I owe them money, can they legally do this?  I have tried to research this to no avail.  All I have found out is a court case in Louisiana where a judge ruled that a private school can refuse to release a student's records to the student's parents if they have not paid tuition, but that legally the school cannot keep the student's records from the student.  Wouldn't this be what the school is doing?  I am not the one requesting copies of my son's records, it is the public school district in which my son is a student that has requested the records.  I simply signed the release forms and gave them my son's proper identifying information, i.e. social security # and birth date so that the school district would be able to obtain his records.

I am very angry.  This private school and I have not seen eye to eye for quite some time on a number of different issues.  My son attended there only at the behest of my father-in-law who is a member of the church that owns the school.  My father-in-law offered to pay half the tuition if I let my son go there.  I agreed because it was a small private school and I felt that my son would benefit from the small class sizes and the "Christian" values.  However, over the  four years my son attended that school, I found that these values weren't so "Christian" after all.

I had trouble with the school "losing" my tuition payments a few times.  I am not the only parent that had this trouble.  A number of parents received collection calls saying we were behind on our tuition payments and that we needed to pay immediately or our children would not be allowed to attend; only to find that when I presented the school with a copy of my canceled check, the payments were simply not written down in the ledger and were called a "common bookkeeping error."  This happened on more than one occasion and I have contacted my former bank in search of the tuition payment they claim is missing now that has caused them to withhold my son's records.  There were also rumors of embezzelment within the church that owns the school.  Apparently the Pastor embesseled some money from the church to invest in real estate "for the church" and when the IRS starting sniffing around, there was a fall guy that the church refused to press charges on, and a number of church board members were given high paying, useless jobs at the school as a "thank you for keeping your mouths closed."  There are four principles and two superintendents at the school.  This is a school that has maybe 100 students total counting all students, K through 12th grade.  Why on earth do they need that many principles and superintendents?

So you see, there are some shady things going on in that school and I have to wonder if this isn't just another ploy to extort more money from me.  Which brings me back to my initial question, can they legally do this?  Even if I truly did owe them money, can they withhold my son's records from a public school district who requires those records in order to make sure my son is placed in the appropriate classes?  Should I contact a lawyer?

I am sooooooo mad right now, I can't even see straight! 

Come see us at ARE new location - on both sides of the sign!