If you are going to build, why not go modular?
Let's face it, modular homes have an image problem. For years they have been confused with the old cheapo manufactured home on cinder blocks popular in poverty stricken rural hamlets.
Of course, these are two entirely different animals.
Modular homes are made of wood - and it's hard if not impossible to tell them apart from any other suburan home. But instead of being built on site by your local contractor, the individual sections are hammered out in a factory and then assembled on site in day or two.
Hoping to get the word out about modular homes, Westchester Modular Homes of Greater Boston has built a modular home/showroom, perched on the northbound side of Route 1 in Saugus. The showroom is a 2,900-square-foot "Bostonian," one of a number of different home designs the company is offering.
A relatively new company, Westchester was launched a year ago by a local North Shore home builder who for years had also offered modular construction, but had never particularly focused on it.
That said, there are a number of pros and cons for a home buyer to consider before going modular.
I was also surprised to learn that the overall cost of one of these modulars - $200,000 to $300,000 - is not that much different than what Joe contractor down the street would charge to build a home the old fashioned way.,
If you want to make inroads into the Boston market, price would seem a logical starting point.
That said, there are some potential advantages to weigh:
- The construction time is cut down dramatically, with the first stage, putting up the house itself, shaved from weeks to a day or two. There's still all the interior work to do - plumbing, wiring, insulation - but that is a big boost. If you are renting or camping with relatives while your new house is built, that's no small matter.
- You have more control over what you will get in the final product - basically you are ordering something from the store. That hopefully translates into fewer surprises, from budget to design, than you would ordinarily get going the traditional route. After all, when you hire a contractor it can be a gamble - if you get stuck with a dummy you could be faced with some huge problems down the line.
