Hello and welcome to the Modular home series. My Wife and I would like to share all the steps that we went through to get a beautiful house placed on the land.

First I would like to say that we went with a modular home instead of a stick built home. The reason for this was to save money and also have a better home. Now don’t confuse a modular home with a manufactured mobile home. There is a big difference between the two. A mobile home is a trailer. It comes in on a trailer and stays on the trailer when it is installed on the property. A modular home is brought in on a trailer and is then picked up with a crane and placed on a permanent foundation.  Over time the mobile home is going to depreciate while a modular home should become more valuable over time. Just like a car you get a title on a mobile home where as with a modular home you get a deed.

Now lets start the series! I have a video for almost every step of the build. Please feel free to ask questions down below.

The intro to the series. 

Video #1  Trip to Home Crafters

We first went to a place in Boone NC called Cash Custom Homes. We talked to the guy there and set up a time for the site assessment but that time came and went and we never saw the guy. After many emails and calls we never heard back from them. That was a good sign that we should move on to another modular home place. Luckily for us we found Home Crafters. I called and made an appointment and Ashley and I went to talk to them. It was a great experience. We found the house we wanted and setup a time for the site assessment.  After the first visit we were sure that we had found the right place.

Video #2

After going to HomeCrafters and deciding on the home we would like it was time to get the paperwork and finances covered. We went to the bank to talk about loans and quickly found that the bank was not the way to go. At the bank we would have to pay two closing costs. This means over $4000 extra that we did not want or need to spend. We ended up going with a mortgage company with a low interest rate.

Video #3 New House Spot

HomeCrafters set up a time for a property assessment just a few days after the first visit. I met up with them and my grader to go over the possibilities for house spots. The original spot that I wanted was actually a poor spot. They talked about the need for proper drainage and cost of the road and many other things. After the assessment I was reassured that the house we wanted was going to work. It needed to pass the roads and fit on the new location.

Video #4 Perc Permit

Before the house can be installed the land has to be tested for drainage. This is called a perc test. Basically the septic tank has to have a place to drain to and that is what this test is for. My neighbor came over to the house with his small excavator and dug four holes 4 feet deep. The inspector come by and looked in the holes to make sure that there was no water. We have clay soil and it drains well. .. apparently. Big thanks to my neighbor for helping with his machine. I dont know what happens if the soil does not perc.

Video #5 Mark the Property line.

The place the house is going is close the the back property line and we need to have it marked to avoid cutting a tree that does not belong to us. (later I purchase this land and dont have to worry about this step)

 

Video #6 New Property line.

There was an auction at the courthouse to sell the land behind our house. I talked them into splitting off the small portion that I wanted inside the driveway. Now that I have purchased this land it is time to re-mark the location of the property line so that the house can be installed without border issues.

Video #7 First day with the Excavator.

Now that the property line has been marked and the perk test has been completed it is time to start the real work. An excavator is brought in and the trees are pulled down. This is a multi part step.