Purchasing a Prefab House?

I am 53 and was raised in a 3 bedroom 1 bath prefab house that daddy had set atop a dug out basement (that he later finished off into a nice recreational room for his teenagers to hang out in - yet still be in the house).

The house is still standing & looks very good years later.

Lord only knows how may families have raised their children in it now...I would suspect at least three families have.

It was a very well built home and in the Iowa winters that is very important as it is below 0 degrees 4 to 6 weeks at a time each winter.

It was always very warm and economical for my folks (my mother has said).

Hope this helps -

Annie Rios Hill
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July 27, 20070 found this helpful

prefab house are built INSIDE and are supposed to
be actually better because of that.
Here in Missouri, USA I have seen houses being built
in winter and the temp is below freezing
and they still pour cement and put up houses
That cannot be good.

These homes are actually better built then homes you or contractors do. The reason? They are ALL
built according to government specifications. They are extrememly well built and long lasting. My son-in-law has purchased two (sold one when his family expanded) and purchased another that he and his children still live in. Very nice homes!!

Please remember, you get what you pay for. Nothing and I mean nothing is better than a home built by a contractor in terms of quality. These prefabs are manufactured inside! They are slapped together using the cheapest materials possible,with speed in mind using the least expensive fixtures. Save your money and buy a home or build what you can afford and expand later. Being married to a contractor I have learned what people say to my husband about the poor quality of the prefabs they regret blowing their money on. Sure they look good when you see the model homes but remember no one has lived in them so you don't see how quickly they wear and also how so much is glued and stapled.

My husband built National and Best Homes which were pre-fab. Lumber had to go thru saws in factory so had to be good lumber. We built over 300 of these homes. They have all maintained good resale values and are not on the market for long when put up for sale.

We live in a prefab home and I love it. I agree, I think they are built just as well as stick built homes and in some ways maybe better. We looked at several before we bought. I suggest you do that, as just like anything, some are better quality than others. Even the new stick built homes go up so fast anymore and corners are cut so you need to be around and aware of what is actually going on.