Find Land for Your Prefabulous® Home

https://www.claytonhomes.com/studio/why-you-should-invest-in-land-for-your-manufactured-home

Here at Clayton, our goal is to help each and every customer find their dream and have an excellent home buying journey along the way. There are many important parts in the journey, including finding out your Prefabulous® style, but one important step that can be forgotten about is finding land. There are plenty of benefits of owning land such as:

• Cost advantages of owning versus renting
• Expansion opportunities
• Freedom
• Privacy And more! Check out how these few benefits can help you in the future.

Benefits of owning the land your home is on

There are several pros to buying land for your home. Here are a few reasons you may want to purchase and own the land your manufactured home will be placed on.

• Privacy – Owning the land your home is on can give you more privacy than if you were to rent the land in a community. And the more land you can afford, the more privacy you can have. You can also maximize the privacy your land gives you by strategically placing your home on a more secluded part of your land or further away from the road and other houses providing such placement is permitted by applicable zoning laws and homeowner association requirements.
• More freedom – Having a home of your own lets you take back your freedom, but owning the land your home is on instead of renting land provides you with even more freedom! You will be able to utilize the land as you want. You will have the freedom to landscape to fit your style, entertain when you want and you can even add a garden if you have a green thumb!
• Expansion – When you own the land your home is on, you have the opportunity to use the land as you want so long as you are following state and local laws.¹ You may be able to add things to your property such as a detached garage, a greenhouse, a pool and more.
• Build value – Owning land with your home may also help your prefab home appreciate, letting your home gain value over time, especially if your home is permanently affixed to the land.

Now that you’re well aware of the value of owning the land your home is on, we’ll glance at a couple questions about finding land for a Clayton Built® home like:

• How to find land for my manufactured home?
• Does my manufactured home come with land?

These are both great questions that can have complex answers, but our home consultants are eager to help you as you begin your home buying journey. Although each situation can be different, we’ve put together a couple tips to keep in mind when you’re ready to find land.

Tips for Buying Land for a Prefab Home

• Ask a professional – Some local zoning laws or Homeowners’ Associations may restrict the type of home that can be built in a specific area. Before purchasing land, you should ask a professional, such as a Clayton home consultant, if they can help you find available and appropriate land to place your manufactured home on.

*If your home center consultant is unable to help you find land, they may know some local real estate professionals who can assist you in your land search.

• Location, location, location – Whoever said “location is everything” is spot on. Choosing land with a good location to place your home is a smart move if you want to build equity in your manufactured home.
• Find out if you need to obtain an easement – An easement is the legal right to be on the land owned by another property owner for the purpose of accessing your own land. This means that to access your land, you will have to cross someone else’s land.² An easement must be documented by a recording in the local land records.
• Look into rural areas – In most places, land costs drop in rural areas. The closer you are to a city, the more likely the land will cost more. Look to the country or outside the county lines to find cheaper land.²
• Pay attention to elevation – Some elevation characteristics on a property site can cause trouble for different types of home foundations. Find out if the land you’re considering is near any potential hazards, such as landslides, and talk to your home center about what kinds of elevations could be a risk or unsuitable for home placement.²
• Know your zone – You’ll want to check with local authorities to determine what zoning ordinances apply to the land you are considering. Some zoning ordinances may put restrictions on the type of home that can be built in an area, size requirements for home that will be placed on the land that construction will be done on, and other considerations.²

Finding the right land for your home can be very rewarding, especially as your family grows into your home. You can check with your local home center to see if they know of any available land in your area. Owing your own land can be one of the many benefits that come along with achieving your goal of homeownership.

1. Neil Kokemuller. “The Advantages of Buying a Small Home with a Lot of Land.” Budgeting Money. Accessed February 15, 2018. https://budgeting.thenest.com/advantages-buying-small-home-lot-land-22859.html
2. Elizabeth Weintraub. “Pros and Cons of Buying Land to Build a New Home.” The Balance. May 13, 2017. Accessed February 15, 2018. https://www.thebalance.com/land-buying-tips-1798965