Modular homes popular as low-cost option

Looking at Neil Sullivan's two-story Marshfield home, no one would guess that it arrived in two pieces on trucks and took one day to assemble.

And, sitting in his spotless living room watching ''Who Wants to Be A Millionaire," the retiree is happy to say it was less expensive than what he expected it would cost to replace the beach cottage that was on the lot. Sullivan's new dwelling is a modular house -- built in sections in a factory and put together and finished on location by a construction crew.

Sullivan is one of a growing number of homeowners in the region turning to modular homes instead of traditional ''stick built" houses.

''I wanted a new house. I didn't want to put money into this old cottage," said Sullivan, 72. He also didn't want to follow the path of a neighbor who tore down his house and took two years to rebuild it.

In August of last year, he bought a modular home from Marshfield-based Sandcastle Group, which distributes and installs modular homes and modular additions to existing traditional homes.

Sullivan bought his former cottage and its land in 1958 for $7,200. His new house, with three bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a top-floor Atlantic Ocean view, cost $178,000. (He still needed to finish the top floor's interior.)

Officials at Sandcastle Group and other local modular-home builders say the rising costs of traditionally built new homes, buildable land, and the labor it takes to construct them are driving some home buyers to consider an alternative. Even an area town building inspector has gone modular.

Eric Fulton, with the National Association of Home Builders, estimates that modular homes can cost 5 to 10 percent less than similar traditionally built homes, depending on the style and size. And, while it takes weeks from start to finish for a modular, it takes three to eight months to build a traditional home, not counting weather delays, he said.

According to the US Census Bureau, 11 percent of the new single-family houses built in 2003 in the Northeast were modular, up from 9 percent in 1993.

Francine and Paul Townsend, who own Sandcastle Group, began distributing and installing modular homes in 2000 as part of their home design and remodeling business. In 2000, they sold three modular homes. This year, they said, they have sold 30, including to buyers in Abington, Hanover, Halifax, Norwood, Plymouth, Quincy, Scituate, and Weymouth. Like Sullivan, many of their customers want to tear down existing homes, said Francine Townsend. Some want to add room for in-laws.

The homes are popular because they save time and money, said Francine Townsend, who serves as marketing director at the Sandcastle Group. New England's finicky weather can extend the construction schedule for traditional homes, she said. ''Time is money in construction."

It takes three to five days to construct the modular home in the factory (depending on the complexity), up to five weeks for engineering work and permitting, a day to assemble it on location and about four weeks to do finishing work, said Townsend. Buyers can supply floor plans or use existing ones to build any style. Modular homes have to go through the same permitting process as traditionally built homes and are built to meet state building codes.

Although the speedy production of modular homes has made them popular, they have had to overcome an image problem, builders say.

''The perception used to be that it was more like a trailer home. A lot of people couldn't differentiate between modular and mobile," said Paul Oliveira, president of Stoughton-based Avalon Building Systems. ''They are becoming more popular because people are seeing them. They're saying, 'my neighbor did it' or 'my cousin did it.' "

A 3,600-square-foot, two-story contemporary with a two-car garage sold by Avalon is being built in Milton on Hemlock Drive, just off Route 138 and not far from two sprawling mansions.

Oliveira's company has been in the general contracting business for 16 years. Five years ago, he decided to focus on building modular homes.

Patty McNulty, president of McNulty Realtors in Norwood, said she has received a number of inquiries about modular homes from people who have heard about them from other homeowners. Her company, which also sells traditional homes, became a modular home distributor four years ago. Since then, McNulty said, she has sold 40. A new development being built off of Route 1 in Norwood will have at least seven modular homes, she said.

McNulty sold her own home, a traditional ranch, to move into a modular Colonial that is more than double its size but less expensive, she said. Her company distributes homes from Quebec-based manufacturer Pro-Fab.

Mark Chubet, a building inspector for the town of Norwood, said he bought a modular home through McNulty. ''They are extremely energy efficient. They are very tight homes because they were built in a controlled environment," he said.

Sandy Coleman can be reached at sbcoleman@globe.com.