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Not too long ago, if you wanted to build your dream home from scratch, a conventional on-site residential construction was your best bet. Nowadays, alternative forms of building methods, such as modular home building, have been improved to the point where you can find solid, legitimate reasons to consider these alternatives. In fact, the biggest obstacle to building your dream home is often simple plausibility, particularly financial plausibility, and Seattle modular home building is an efficient and dramatic way of reducing the cost of building your home.
Modular Homes in Seattle, WA
First, you have a built-in advantage in Seattle in that property values have not taken a freefall as they have in much of the country. The economy of the Pacific Northwest remains relatively strong, all of which is good for home building, since you'll be less likely to find a "steal" on the market for an older house and your new home won't see the same disparity between the building cost and its resale value. Of course, this doesn't mean you can just write yourself a blank check for the cost of building your dream home.
The Cost of Hiring a Modular Home Builder in Seattle, WA
You can't really estimate the cost of hiring a modular home builder in Seattle, or any other kind of home builder, without the basic specifications of your floor plan. Seattle modular homes can range anywhere from less than $100,000 to more than $1,000,000. The real question is how much, on average, a modular home project costs versus a comparable on-site construction project. Different sources may tell you anything from 10 to 35 percent, and depending on the exact home and situation, these numbers can be accurate. The overall average is likely to fall somewhere in between. The best way to tell how much money you stand to save is by soliciting estimates from each type of Seattle home builder. If you stop to think about it, though, even 10 percent on a half-million dollar home is $50,000, and very few people can scoff at a number like that.
Understanding Seattle Modular Homes
Other than cost, the biggest benefit of modular home building is the factory controlled setting for the majority of the construction. This takes the construction out of the Puget Sound climate. Given the typical home building process can take six months or more, it's almost inevitable on-site construction will see a good amount of moisture than can infiltrate building materials, regardless of how many precautions are taken. A modular home builder, on the other hand, can build without letting the elements get an inside track at your insulation and other materials that are meant to be protected from the weather. When done properly, this creates a generally more durable and longer-lasting building.
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Build a Modular HomeThis is in stark contrast to "manufactured" homes that many people frequently confuse with modular homes. Manufactured homes are built to be mobile, hence the more commonly used "mobile home" or "double wide." Modular homes, while they can still be seen traveling the highway, are designed to be permanently installed and include all the amenities and appearances of a conventional home construction. In fact, once the home is finished, a casual observer will not be able to discern the difference.
Other Benefits and Drawbacks of Seattle Modular Home Builders
One benefit purely indigenous to Seattle right now is that with the enormous influx of luxury condos being built downtown, Seattle residential builders may have unusually free schedules as some many people moving into the Seattle-area gravitate toward these urban dwellings.
The one obvious drawback of modular homes is their lack of customization and versatility in possible house plans, although even this gap is disappearing. Certainly, you'll have exponentially more choices than, say, half a dozen basic floor plans. If you have a unique and unconventional home in mind, you may need to seek out a custom home builder, but otherwise you should at least see what Seattle modular home builders have to offer.