The main difference between a manufactured home and a site built home.
Let’s assume for this illustration, you’re a family with a 1 month old baby. You just moved into your new manufactured home bought from Cliff Davis Home Center. One of your neighbors built a stick-built house next to you with the same square footage as your Cliff Davis home (2000 sq. ft.) and moved into it the same weekend you moved into your new home. You paid $59,900 ($30 sq. ft.) and they paid $150,000 ($75 sq. ft.) (Both prices are the going rates for minimal constructed homes from each industry).
The biggest difference between the two homes is this:
Your manufactured homes monthly payment is $447 for 20 years, but your neighbor’s stick-built house payment is $920 for 30 years. You save $473 per month in payment differences, or $113,520 over the 20 year period. If you kept your manufactured home another 10 years to equal the 30 year loan obligation your neighbors mortgage is on their stick built house, you’d save another $920 per month for 120 months or $110,400. This is an all total grand savings of $223,920. That's nearly a quarter of a million dollars you had available to spend during those 30 years for raising a family. If you took the $473 per month and the $920 for the ten years and invested it, it could have more than quadrupled to more than a million dollars.
Cliff Davis manufactured home
$447 per month for 20 yrs.
Total = $107,280
VS
Neighbors stick-built
$920 per month for 30 yrs.
Total $331,200
You saved your family $223,920
Your neighbor’s stick-built house doesn’t gain monetary equity until they sell it, if then! While your equity in a manufactured home is the money left in your pocket month after month as illustrated above. Also your interest paid on your manufactured home loan is tax deductible, just as it is on a stick-built house giving you back a portion of your monthly payments at the end of the year in your income tax refund.
With what I’ve said here it could be construed I’m advocating a manufactured home is better than a stick-built house! I can only say this with absolute confidence: A home built to my standards at Cliff Davis Homes will easily be standing when your baby has children and the children have children! Simply perform the same regimen of maintenance with your Cliff Davis Home as would be done on any stick- built house and it will last. However, I don’t ask you to take my word for it, do the math for yourself!
Cliff Davis