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        This is perhaps the most misunderstood perception a home buyer has while searching for their new manufactured home, which name brands are the best. There is one major fact that everyone should keep in mind; if the home bears the name “manufactured home” it has the right to be built anywhere in and behind the walls of the home to the minimum HUD code standards. It is for this reason why most cities won’t allow them to go anywhere in the city like they do a Modular Home (see the difference between manufactured home and modular).

 

        Granted not all manufactured homes are created equal. There are manufacturers whose standards are higher/better than others. Essentially, a manufacturer’s standard features are basic starting points for the dealer buying them to offer for sale at their dealerships. Think of it like you are buying a pizza. The most important part of a pizza is its crust, then the sauce and last the toppings. The crust would be viewed in comparison as a manufactured home’s basic construction or standards. Its sauce is how well sealed, insulated, its workmanship, and essentially the techniques used to construct the basic construction of the entire home (what’s behind the walls and ceiling you don’t see). The toppings are simply the amenities, appointments or visual appeal that makes the pizza/home look tasty, smell good, etc. In all three areas a dealer has a choice to improve them as an upgrade. It’s solely the dealer’s choice.

 

        So when a potential home buyer asks me what brand of manufactured home I sell, I sell my brand, the Cliff Davis Home Center Brand. The mere fact a manufactured home buyer can get up to a 30 year loan leaves many with the assumption their home will last that long. Fact is, virtually all of them will, but it’s how well they last and hold up that is the real issue.Many home buyers confuse the toppings as a better made home, when in fact it’s often the opposite.

 

        Many dealerships load up on toppings at the expense of not upgrading the crust and sauce because, let’s face the facts, that’s what sells; toppings—big crown molding, loads of appliances, deluxe carpet, fancy cabinets, big tubs, fireplaces and so on: To see what’s behind the walls, I encourage you see my display building behind my office established solely for you to know the Cliff Davis brand as there are no others like it. Every manufacturer’s standards will make it through the warranty period which is usually, 1 year. But you may have a 20 or 30 year loan, so what about from year two on? Appliances wear out, fireplaces get used less and less and maybe you’ll get in that big tub 5 times a year while every month your home payment is due along with utility bills. With the upgrades I make to basic construction (the crust) combined with other upgrades I make (the sauce) to my homes I find they are necessary for my brand, “The Cliff Davis Home Center Brand” to last and perform year after year as assumed by the home buyer. Cliff Davis