What is your opinion on pre-fabricated homes? Do any of you have ANY experience with purchasing or building one of these houses? Is it worth all the trouble? Any hidden fees?

For those of you who are not familiar with prefab homes, they're basically like a giant 3-D puzzle. The company supplies you with everything you need in order for you (or your contractor) to build the house from scratch.

I've been browsing this place and i must say, these houses look very nice.
http://www.maplehomes.com/


Also, if you know other companies like the one above, I would appreciate it if you can link me to the web site.

 

nobody huh?

 

The MapleHomes site you linked definately isn't prefabricated. Prefabricated, as far as I can tell, would mean a modular home. fwiw it does look like businesses like Maplehomes greatly simplifies the process, though I didn't find the costs involved on their website. It saves you the trouble of finding/designing a floorplan on your own and having you/your contractor purchase all the materials separately. Basically, it's a big kit. They supply the matierials and instructions.

If you like the design and it doesn't cost any more than purchasing or paying for custom blueprints plus building materials, I don't see anything wrong with it, but I don't see any advantages to this approach unless you are attempting to build it yourself and you are not a professional contractor.

 

We use modular buildings at work, and we've had trouble with subcontractors. Just make sure you double-check everything.

...water heater going straight to the water fountain (heating the water to be cooled)
...220 volts going to the power outlets and lights while A/C gets 110V.
There were other mistakes that would not affect a home, but did us.

Just make sure you check everything and get the subcontractors to agree to fix any problems that surface.

 

how is the quality?

which modular company did you use?

 

GE Capital. Better than good quality. Keep in mind that we buy commercial buildings that aren't used for residential purposes.

 

I would expect that there will be some signs in the home that it was a modular after you are done it might have some "cookie cutter" look to it. If you are ok with that and it might save you some money there are probably some nice ones out there.

When it comes to a home though, like anything else, you usually get what you pay for. If you already have a lot and are looing at putting something on it, I would go look at home plans, find one that fits your lot and be your own general contractor. You will save lots of money that way if you can get a construction loan, and probably be more pleased with the result.

I have a friend that has looked into modular, and I don't remember the company, but they did not look that great, but I think that was just this one particular company.