The youtube tour of the other modular home recently erected in Carlsbad:
Jim Klinge
Klinge Realty Group
Broker-Associate, Compass
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Admirable attention to detail.
What does it cost to grade the land and pour the cement slab? Can you do a basement?
This kind of house is very interesting. I really like all little features built throughout.
Thank you Jim for putting this video together and thank you homeowner for allowing us to check out your new pad.
You mentioned that the company was based out of Tempe Arizona — could you post the web address of the company.
BTW – I have been following your site for quite some time now and have been consistently impressed by your professionalism and approach — I only wished other realtors approached their business with the same level of commitment.
Thanks Aidan!
U.S. Modular Inc. is based in Hemet, CA
(he said that this home was built in a Tempe, AZ factory)
Here is their San Diego website:
http://sandiegomodularhomebuilders.com/
Their tour of other house in Carlsbad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_L8HAVXffc
That is a nice house. I have been following modular/pre-fab stuff for a few years. There are some cool offerings but I think some people think it means a “trailer”.
I have often wondered why new houses do not do a better job on the AC and heating systems. I live in a newer house in Bressi Ranch and it amazes me that a 4 year old home still has huge temperature differences all of the house. There are no zones and one thermostat. The system in this house is label as “green” but I would say it is more just good design.
Thanks for the tour jim.
shadash,
I don’t know about costs, but I do know that many of the modular companies have plans with optional basements. Obviously, the basement has to be done on site as part of your foundation plan, subject to local permits/inspections.
I really wish Haven Homes (or a legit competitor) would bring their modular mansions out west – I think they could kill it out here on the high end with custom modular builds and premium finishes done on site.
Hey Waiting_for_ever_to_buy,
Until recently, I was also having problems with huge temperature differentials in my home. Upstairs would be cooking while downstairs (where the only thermostat is) would be freezing. The simple and free fix was to close or nearly-close the hvac vents upstairs and angle the ones downstairs so that they were pointing more downwards. Now there is very little temp diff. We’ll just reverse it when things warm up and we switch to AC.
I too am very curious about costs from beginning to end…Can anyone provide an estimated breakdown of securing the plot, prepping the foundation, getting permits, “designing” the house, transportation from factory, “installation” and final hook up? And any other costs that would be included? If the owner of the house that was toured is a reader of this blog, any thoughts on “ballpark” figures without revealing too much of your personal info?
My opinion of the home is that it’s a blend between Craftsman, Cape Cod and Contemporary with way too many details that seem to detract from the overall design direction. Almost like it was designed by a comittee rather than a single architect/designer.
There were many cool details, esp the thermostats, etc but, just my opinion, that the overall effect was way too much of a melting pot of design.
One other point I noticed has to do with the wine storage rack. If you are going to install that much wine storage, you’d be WAY better off with a fridge-size wine refrigeration appliance.
Both the homeowner and builders knew I was doing the video for the blog, so they’ll chime in at some point.
He paid $290,000 for the lot a year ago.
They figured $60/sf for the construction costs, with $100/sf for total costs.
2,800sf x $60/sf = $168,000 construction
2,800sf x $40/sf = $112,000 site prep, garage, etc.
Total = 2,800sf x $100sf = $280,000 + $290,000 for lot = $570,000 invested
Thanks JtR – I’m pulling out my checkbook right now! =) Seriously, though, the modulars are really opening my eyes to another possibility. With the strict quality control checks at the factor coupled with the cost savings, I guess the only issue people will have is finding their ideal lot. Not sure if this is a fair analogy, but automobiles are built at a factory with strict quality control inspections and we buy those all the time w/o thinking about it…why not a house?
I am living in my second modular home, this one for the last 10 years. There is much to be said for having something built on time and on budget!
This house is 2300 sq feet, built in 3 months, delivered with another month to finish interior details (laying of tile floors, hanging doors, wood trims, furnace and water heater install, carpet laying,etc.), application of a metal roof, and the construction of the garage on site. A foundation allowance was included in the price.
There is nothing ‘mobile’ about these homes. They are built to the Uniform Building Code, same as site built. They are just built somewhere else.
I’m not a fan of the uber-modern home experience, but its clearly well done, so, props for that. For those of you who are of a certain age, you may recall that Sears sold modular homes out of its catalog. I’m not of that age, but my grandfather lived next to one. You wouldn’t be able to tell it was modular unless someone told you.
OK, so how would a potential buyer move ahead with this idea? Does the buyer have to do all the heavy lifting (lot, permits, etc.) or does the modular builder put the package together and do it all?
This is such a great idea. $290,000 for a lot, wow. The tear downs in the nice zips are 2-3x that, right?
In our case we owned the property (7acres), although I understand that some companies own lots and built to sell.
Permitting was part of the package, thankfully. The only thing we had to arrange for with the county was the ground rod inspection and the final.
Susan
Great vid Jim.
I thought perhaps your visitors might be interested in this similar construction that was shown over here in the UK. It was by a German company for a senior couple.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2784715121086172729#
Jim – Nice job on the video and description of my home. Having built and survived several homes via traditional site built construction – with permitting delays, inspection delays, subcontractor delays , change orders and cost overruns – I WILL NEVER BUILD A TRADITIONAL SITE BUILT HOME AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!
Modular Home building is easy and actually fun. USModular Inc. (www.USModularInc.com) and their factory partner – had plans permitted at State of California – and I deliverd the APPROVED plans to City …. 3 days later we had a building permit – No Delay. When the site work and foundation were being completed the home was already built and ready for delivery. No Delay. Home was craned into place in 1 day and 60 days later after USModular finished the work to connect the modules, electrical and plumbing – we were moving into home. NO Delay.
I estimate that when I add the savings on carry cost of land and construction loans , rent (savings for 1 year) and taxes – I am about $100,000 ahead of someone that spent 18 months building a similar size home.
Wow, so cool. Thanks for getting this vid and thanks to the owners for letting us in.
Solid solid house, and much less stress and hassle than trying to build one.
My spider sense is tingling, feels like we are seeing into the future.
Wow, awesome video, Jim. Mahalo to William for his comments (#17) and letting us have a tour. I’ve built two homes with my late husband, and there are delays–no matter how hard you try to make sure there aren’t!
My friends had a modular put on their land, and have lived there for about 11 years. They love it, and no complaints on quality or durability.
This house was installed in one day? Amazing I say, and the finish details look exquisite–just like an upscale home. Love the hickory hardwood floors too. Yep, it sounds like the future is here…
I really like the idea of modular homes, but to my surprise I find myself agreeing with MB Mike. Stained glass windows, a copper tub, sloping attic ceilings, a wine storage area, thin horizontal backsplash tiles, a flat screen over the fireplace — to me this is like every house cliche of the past 5 years shoehorned into once space. It’s as if they had a suggestion box at the design studio and decided, what the heck, we’ll use ALL of them. But the concept is certainly nice.
Cliche or not, it’s a very beautiful home. I especially like the design of the back wall over the kitchen counters. And that copper bathtub looks incredible! But man must it cost a lot to fill that sucker up with hot water! 🙂
We’ll see a lot of these in our future. The Midwest market is really adopting these modular homes en-mass. Jim, visit one of the factories (maybe Tempe facility?) and you’ll see that overall build quality is much higher tolerance than site-built.