Buying a home is one of the biggest purchases you'll ever make, and the home you purchase will be the home you live in for years, decades, or even the rest of your life. Because of that, we created this guide to help you understand what you’re actually paying for when you buy a modular or manufactured home.
We'll answer all these questions and more:
There are generally three categories that determine your modular or manufactured home’s price. These are your home’s:
Let’s walk through what each category is and how it affects the cost of your home.
The first category to determine your home’s price is called the base price. This is the bare minimum you will pay for your home.
Your home’s base price is calculated from two things:
First, let’s consider the factory’s charge to construct your home’s modules.
The cost to construct your home’s modules depends on the floor plan you choose and specifications you select. There are dozens of floor plans to pick from, and you can even make your own floor plan!
Customizability is one reason manufactured and modular homes are appealing.
Want to extend the length of your home? Go for it.
Want to lengthen a few walls in order to make a bigger bedroom or larger kitchen? You can do that, too.
You could even add extra bedrooms, change flooring, add nooks and cubbies, and dozens of other things.
All of this affects the cost to construct your home’s modules. Once you pick a floor plan you like, the factory can give your home builder a direct quote on how much building these modules will cost.
After that, basic components are factored into the home’s price. This will complete your home’s base price.
Every manufactured and modular home constructed by a reputable builder comes with basic components, such as cabinetry, appliances, siding, and more.
The cost to build your home’s modules and the cost of the basic components form your home’s base price. This is the minimum you will pay for your home before your optional subtotal, delivery, and setup are factored in.
Now it’s time to customize your home with additional options.
All your home’s basic components can be upgraded to options you like more. When you’re done upgrading your home’s accessories, your home builder can calculate your optional subtotal, which also changes your home’s price.
Almost everything in your manufactured or modular home can be customized.
Add an island to your kitchen, change the material and color of your cabinets, get a walk-in tile shower or a claw foot tub, change your molding, choose between hanging or recessed lights, and more.
What you can upgrade is almost endless, and all of this affects your home’s price to create your optional subtotal.
The optional subtotal will be added onto your home’s base price. If you want a detailed explanation about how all your upgrades affect your home’s price, just ask your home builder and they will be able to provide an in-depth quote.
Delivery and setup are the final costs that determine the price of your manufactured or modular home.
There are several processes and services involved with delivery and setup, and the cost of each service varies from time to time. However, here is how much these things will generally cost you:
These services can easily add tens of thousands of dollars to your home’s price, but they are essential. You can’t have a home without them.
However, you need to know that not every home builder includes these services in your home’s price. Some do, others don’t. We do! It all depends on how that builder wants to run their business.
Here’s an example. A home builder may say a 4 bed, 2 bath, and 1,664 sq. ft. manufactured home will cost $129,900.
But if they don’t include delivery and setup in the home’s price, will you really pay $129,900 for that manufactured home? No, you won’t. You’ll pay more.
When a builder gives you a price, make sure you ask what that price does include and does not include. If the costs of delivery and setup are not included in the home’s price, you will pay more than what the builder quoted you.
Of course, some builders do include delivery and setup in your home’s price, and Middletown Homes is one of them. But it never hurts to ask your builder what's included in the price. You may pay more money than expected if you’re unclear on this crucial detail.
*Prices below were calculated at the time of writing this blog post (April 2023). They have likely changed. Please ask an associate for updated pricing.*
Let’s get practical and see how all of this determines the price of the Hollingsworth 2.0, a modular home you can tour at Middletown Homes in Fairmont, West Virginia.
First, we calculated the base price. This is determined from the floor plan we chose along with the home's basic components. And except for the foundation, we also include the price of delivery and setup in the base price, although the foundation can be quoted for you. Remember, delivery and setup includes things like water and sewer hookups, A/C installation, furnace installation, and more.
With all that in mind, the base price of the Hollingsworth 2.0 at our Fairmont sales center is $266,524. So if you toured this home and wanted the same floor plan, this is the bare minimum you would pay for the Hollingsworth 2.0. However, if you want a different floor plan, the home’s base price would change.
Next, we customized the Hollingsworth 2.0 to be a home we love, so it has additional options.
We added 37 upgrades to the Hollingsworth 2.0 model, and they raise the home's price depending on the components’ cost.
The extra components create the optional subtotal, which raises the Hollingsworth 2.0's final price to $306,900.
What if you were buying the home for yourself? The Hollingsworth 2.0 you buy doesn’t have to be $306,900. You don’t have to purchase all the extra options we did, so your home would be less expensive than ours. Or you could purchase even more options than we did! It’s all up to you.
