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Most manufacturers can customize standard designs or build custom homes to meet clients' needs. This can mean extra costs, but it results in a home designed to your needs. It also means that you can solve some problems, for instance, building a home for a property that is on a slope. You can add or take away rooms and features, leaving you with the space you need, designed for what you need it for. By Matt Barker
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Prefabricated Homes - Green and Growing
By Matt Barker
Prefabricated homes are on the rise and home buyers are taking notice. A prefabricated home is built in
a factory, disassembled and shipped to the property where it is erected. More "prefabs" are being
purchased as people see that this type of home is a far cry from some of the shoddily constructed
buildings of the past. Advantages of the prefabs are their quick construction and installation, the option
for "green" materials and construction and the customizability of many models on the market today.
Now that they are coming into vogue, prefabs are definitely an option for the property buyer, as more
and more lenders are starting to include the purchase and placement of a prefab homes in their
mortgage options.
The prefab has gotten a bad rap from shoddy building practices in the past, due to mass-produced, low-
quality buildings of the past. Also, prefabs have been erroneously associated with mobile homes, which
have their own stigma. It has taken interest in economical, customizable and "green" buildings to
overcome the perception that homes manufactured in a factory are inherently ugly and poorly
constructed.
A prefabricated home is, as the name indicates, built before it is placed on the property where it is to
stand. Some of the advantages that people cite are that the factory process results in less waste, less
chance of environmental damage, less overhead from stolen tools and equipment (that might be left
during the building process of a traditional home), and less chance that structural faults will be
overlooked. Once built, most prefabs don't look different from "stick-built" or traditionally constructed
houses. High quality prefabs also age and appreciate in value similarly to stick-built houses, making them
a viable choice for the property owner who wants to have a home constructed according to their
specifications.
Recently, a number of award-winning environmentally sound designs and structures have awakened the
public's interest in manufactured homes. There are now a number of reputable companies producing
these buildings for a market increasingly aware of their "footprint" in the world. Many prefab homes are
being sold as "green" due to their efficient method of construction, their adherence to "green" codes
and their space saving design. Some prefabs use a large amount of recycled material for the structure
and interior features, like recycled glass tiles for bathrooms and countertops made from recycled plastic
resin. Solar power and other alternative forms of "green" energy have also been utilized in some prefabs
for exceptional savings on heat, light and power.
Most manufacturers can customize standard designs or build custom homes to meet clients' needs. This
can mean extra costs, but it results in a home designed to your needs. It also means that you can solve
some problems, for instance, building a home for a property that is on a slope. You can add or take away
rooms and features, leaving you with the space you need, designed for what you need it for.
Prefabs need property to stand on that is zoned for the type of building you are planning to put on it.
Also, most companies do not provide foundation laying; you will have to organize that yourself.
However, once the foundation is laid to the specifications of the building and the prefab is completed,
the prefab can be set up in a matter of days instead of months. This helps prevent weather damage that
can be sealed up inside the building and end up causing further damage that is only found years later.
These structures are not for everybody, of course. There are some situations where a home built on the
property is best. Also, today's prefabricated homes are not all to everyone's taste in their design and
function. In many cases, the prefabricated home can cost just as much or more as a home built onsite.
Also, you need to take into consideration that plumbing and electricity setup may require an extra
outlay of cash.
Prefabs are worth checking out if you are considering a likely property that needs a home on it. Consult
with your real estate professional for more information about your area's zoning requirements and the
permits you may need for the erection of such a structure.
prefabricated homes prices