Is Buying a New Mobile Home Like Buying a New Site Built Home?

Learn the similarities and differences between the home buying process for site built and manufactured homes.

Manufactured homes and site built homes are often compared to one another, but the truth is that many factors aren’t always considered. Each home building process is just that, a process. They each have their own way of getting the job done.

So, is buying a mobile home like buying a site built home? To help you compare site built housing to prefabricated homes, we’ve noted some similarities and differences between each of their processes:

Discovery –

Once you’ve decided you want a home, you must start planning.

Manufactured – You can start by viewing homes online or visiting your local home center. Both of these options will allow you to see numerous Clayton Built® manufactured homes available in your area.

Site-built – Use a real estate agent in your area that you feel comfortable working with to help find a home for sale that is already built, or that can get you in touch with contractors that will build your home.

Financing –

Manufactured – You will be responsible for finding and choosing a lender to work with in order to obtain financing for your new manufactured home. Research manufactured home lenders, and choose the one you are the most comfortable with. You can choose from national lenders or local lenders.

Site-built – Just like manufactured home financing, you will need to find and choose a lender that will help you finance your new home purchase. Whether you use a national bank or a local lender, do your research to find the financing that fits your needs.

Site preparation –

Manufactured – Site prep and land improvement options will be completed by local contractors that your home center will help you find.

Site-built – Before construction can begin, you must make sure you have all the proper permits, blueprints, approvals and site preparation completed by local contractors.

Construction –

Manufactured – Each Clayton Built® home is built inside one of our climate controlled home building facilities, preventing weather delays or damages, allowing us to build a home in a shorter amount of time than site built homes. Here is a quick overview of what the Clayton Built® building process looks like:

1. Weld together the steel I-frame that upholds the home’s foundation
2. Add insulation and the wooden floor frame to the steel I-frame
   1. At the same time, exterior and interior walls are being built by other trained craftsmen
   2. At the same time, roof trusses are being built and insulated
3. Install the interior walls
4. Begin adding cabinets and appliances
5. Add exterior walls
6. Install the roofing system
7. Add details like shingles, doors, siding, exterior wrapping, windows and more
8. Add finishing interior details like paint, trim, drywall and more
9. Perform inspections and send the home off to the home center
10. Home center makes sure home is to order
11. Home is delivered to the home site
12. On-site construction occurs
13. Final trim and finishing touches
14. Final walkthrough and on-site inspection occurs

Site-built – With site-built homes, there are countless factors that can play into how long it takes to construct the home. Home builders must obtain a variety of permits before they start building¹. It also depends on how large the home is, what the weather conditions are like, and if the supplies and workers are immediately available. From getting a permit to build to starting construction, it could take two weeks to a month, then it could take anywhere from six months to a year for a site-built home to be constructed². Here is an overview of the site built construction process:

1. Home is framed
2. Windows and doors are installed
3. Roofing and siding is completed
4. Initial electrical, plumbing and HVAC work
5. Insulation is placed around the home
6. Drywall is put up
7. Underlayment is arranged across the home before the flooring
8. Trimming is positioned along the walls
9. Walls are painted
10. Once the home is painted and dried, the electrical work is finished
11. Counters and cabinets are placed in the kitchen and bathrooms
12. Plumbing is completed
13. Carpet and/or flooring is put down
14. HVAC system is finished
15. Hookups to the main waterline and sewer are completed
16. Home inspections are done³

Ultimately, the choice is yours when determining whether you should buy a prefabricated home or a site built home. Compare the benefits of both to determine what fits your and your family’s needs.

1. Factory and Site-Built Housing A Comparison For The 21^st Century. 1998. PDF. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Policy Development and Research. https://www.huduser.gov/publications/pdf/factory.pdf
2. Zhao, N. (2015, August 18). How Long Does It Take to Build a Single-Family Home? Retrieved October 24, 2017, from http://eyeonhousing.org/2015/08/how-long-does-it-take-to-build-a-single-family-home/
3. Maurer, C. (2016, April 28). What to Expect When Building a New Home: A Timeline. Retrieved October 24, 2017, from https://www.safewise.com/blog/home-building-timeline-keep-sane/