Need help w/ manufactured home selection

[BlueSkyJaunte]

I know there are construction, RE, etc. experts here so I hope I can tap your brains a little bit.

We recently bought some property in the Casper, Wyoming area and have decided to start building soon. It's "rural residential" with some nice hills and generally high prairie landscape.

We did a little asking around and have basically been told that the only cost-effective way of building is through a manufactured home. So far that's all we've been investigating--and I'm starting to suspect the advice.

The reason is that the "turnkey" prices we're looking at seem to reflect pre-collapse pricing. 2000-2500 sq ft. homes in the $325+ range. If this particular area of Wyoming were Jackson, I wouldn't be so unhappy about the prices (nor would I be thinking of moving...if I wanted to live in Kalifornia Jr., I'd stay in AZ). I've come to think that if we spend $300-400k to build the home, as soon as it's done it'll be worth $200k or less. I'm not looking at this as an investment but I'd like to get my money's worth!

We've looked into two mfg'd home companies, Wardcraft Homes and Nelson Homes. Nelson has a very limited selection in the 2000+ sq. ft. region and never sent us the catalog they'd promised. Wardcraft has some more suitable models but those are accompanied by the aforementioned sticker shock.

At this point I'm ready to start talking to local and not-so-local residential construction companies.

Any suggestions? Am I way offbase on prices?

[kach22i]

In remote locations local labor is often very affordable.

Half the cost of a home is the labor.

I'd ask the locals, might find a guy, son/dad or couple of brothers that everyone swears by and be all set.

Alternate route........................

Google search
Casper Wyoming architect
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=Casper++Wyoming+architect+&btnG=Search


AIA WYOMING
http://www.aia-wyoming.org/public.html
AIA WYOMING WANTS TO HELP YOU FIND THE RIGHT AIA ARCHITECT FOR YOUR PROJECT ARCHITECT FINDER

ARCHITECT FINDER
http://architectfinder.aia.org/

[craigster59]

Here's a website that explores alternative building methods,
http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/natural_building.htm

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Thanks for the tips guys. I'm definitely going to look into "custom home construction" before making ANY commitments. We've found maybe 5 mfg'd home floorplans that meet our needs and the prices seem way out of whack for what you get. And that's without any garage!

Procon that's a scary story. Did your girlfriend have any recourse? Warranty? Anything?

Craigster I'll admit I was initially afraid to click on that link -- I had visions of living in a teepee or something -- but there is a TON of useful info there. Thank you! Concrete sure has come a long way!

The issues with building and living in Wyoming: 1) Wind 2) Cold 3) Wind. We'll definitely be investing in a windmill down the road.

[ckissick]

Here's a link to the best modular home company I could find. A client of mine built one. It's the nicest looking house on the street. It fit together very well.

http://timbercreekhomesinc.com/

The only problem was he hired a contractor who never built a modular before, and he got a bit confused and it took too long. The owner fired that guy and hired an experienced modular contractor, then it went smoothly.

[krichard]

what about a pre-fab home instead of a manufactured?

http://www.kodiaksteelhomes.com/

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Huh...I thought "pre-fab" and "manufactured" were synonymous...shows what I know. Time for me to get a little more edumacated.

I like the "Aspen", Kerry. Very nice!!! Thanks for the link.

My wife is a little more picky about all of this than I am...as long as I have a garage/shop, bedroom, and a library/study/office, I'm happy. Could be a plain box for all I care. She is being a little more sensible, however, and wants to avoid what she calls "trailers"--as well as floorplans that don't meet our needs as a growing family.

Now that the price has become an issue I'm going to have to take a more active role in this search, I think.

[allaircooled]

I own a company that does the finish work for a company out here that does 1 to 2 modulars a month. Every single one that we have done has cracks in the drywall in just about every corner in every room. Alot of times the modules don't sit even so one section of your house may sit a fraction higher or lower then the rest. If the time ever comes for me to purchase a new house, it will be stick built.

[krichard]

Sure thing. I've been looking at these for a while now. There are a lot of benefits to building a metal frame house, one being straight walls. If you are handy you can do most of the finish work and just bring in the experts for the hard stuff.

Originally Posted by BlueSkyJaunte

Huh...I thought "pre-fab" and "manufactured" were synonymous...shows what I know. Time for me to get a little more edumacated.

I like the "Aspen", Kerry. Very nice!!! Thanks for the link.

My wife is a little more picky about all of this than I am...as long as I have a garage/shop, bedroom, and a library/study/office, I'm happy. Could be a plain box for all I care. She is being a little more sensible, however, and wants to avoid what she calls "trailers"--as well as floorplans that don't meet our needs as a growing family.

Now that the price has become an issue I'm going to have to take a more active role in this search, I think.