Why Factory-Built Homes Make Sense Now

Posted on October 7, 2024 by Dana DeTray

As we move closer to 2025, the housing market continues to struggle with some challenges, including affordability issues, lingering supply shortages and environmental concerns. As a response to these challenges, creative solutions like factory-built housing are giving the housing industry a shot in the arm, so to speak.

Factory-built Manufactured Homes offer a very practical solution to these challenges. They are built in a controlled factory environment, which allows for greater efficiency, cost savings, and quality control in comparison to a traditional stick-built home.

Here are some advantages of Factory-Built Housing:

· Cost Efficiency: Factory-built homes can be produced at a lower cost due to bulk purchasing of materials, economies of scale and lower labor costs. The McKinsey Global Institute emphasizes that factory-built housing can actually decrease construction costs by 20%. Sometimes even more!

· Saves you time: Factory-built homes are built much faster than traditional homes, as construction can move ahead without delays due to weather, site prep or even material outages. Factory-built homes can be finished 30-50% faster than a stick-built home!

· Benefits for the Environment: Factory-built homes create less waste and are often more energy-efficient. The Environmental Protection Agency states that these homes normally have a smaller carbon footprint in comparison to traditional construction processes!

Factory-built housing stands out as a reassuring answer to many of the housing market questions happening currently. With cost efficiency, saving of valuable time, design advancements and benefits for our environment. Factory-built housing is well situated to play a leading role in coping with the current housing shortage and making home ownership an actual reality! By embracing creative ways and supportive strategies, we can generate a more sustainable and affordable housing future.

Contact DeTray’s Custom Housing for more information about how a manufactured home can be an affordable, quality option for your new home.

Tommy Rosamond, DeTray’s Housing Consultant

Value or Price in Housing?

Posted on June 26, 2023 by Dana DeTray

Ben Franklin said “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten”.

A quality home costs more up front, but breakdowns, repairs and replacements will cost much more over the life of the home, financially and emotionally.

Usually, the difference in price means just a few dollars a month in the payment. As time passes, the payment becomes a smaller portion of your income, while the frustrations and expenses of poor quality grows . A home is the most expensive investment most people make. “You can have high quality OR cheap price, but you can’t have both.” Choose wisely.

With over 60 years of experience in the manufactured home industry, we can help guide your choices as you make this most important investment decision.

Lora Whitemarsh, DeTray’s Housing Consultant

Why Consider a New Manufactured Home Now?

Posted on July 1, 2022 by Dana DeTray

Is this a good time to commit to a new manufactured home? The manufactured housing industry is currently experiencing long build times of 10-18 months. Supply shortages and prices continue to fluctuate. Worse, interest rates are rising rapidly. Should I move forward to get my dream home now, or wait it out?

MARRY THE HOUSE, DATE THE RATE!

What does that mean? It means buy the house you want now, so you can begin enjoying everything you love about it. But committing to the house does NOT mean you have to commit forever to the financing that is available now. As time goes by, your home becomes more valuable, worth more, and more. A 30-year mortgage rarely lasts 30 years. You can always change your financing to more favorable terms later, should better rates and products become available. Homeowners re-finance, or use a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC), to take advantage of equity build-up. They use the cash for investments, college funds, pay down debt, vacation, buy a boat or car etc. Smart homeowners watch for a better financing opportunity, and make the move when the time is right.

And if rates only get worse, you will be really glad you married the beautiful DeTray’s Custom Home you love when you did!

Lora Whitemarsh, DeTray’s Custom Housing Consultant

The Time to Act is Now!

Posted on May 13, 2022 by Dana DeTray

Do you have land? Should you move forward at this time to have your dream home built, remove and replace an old “trailer”, or add an ADU (Additional Dwelling Unit)? The costs will continue to go up on both the house and the site-prep work. The prices have skyrocketed since Covid shut down so many businesses.The cost of every component is up, and it is difficult to get parts and supplies. Workers in every field are demanding higher wages. That forces prices even higher. On top of that, interest rates are climbing up.

“I should have done this before!” can’t be helped now. Wouldn’t you rather look back in 2023 and say “I’m GLAD I did it then!” You will be enjoying your beautiful, custom, one-level manufactured home, on your big property, with a 30-year fixed rate mortgage. In the meantime, house and development costs, interest rates, delays and inflation will continue to soar, and you will not be affected by the chaos. We truly believe you will regret not putting a home on the property as soon as possible.

Come in and let us help you!

Lora Whitemarsh, DeTray’s Custom Housing Consultant

An ADU Offers Many Benefits

Posted on January 24, 2022 by Dana DeTray

An ADU (Additional Dwelling Unit) on your property can be a terrific multi-generational investment. You may have heard of these by other names such as mother-in-law suite, granny flat, coach house, laneway house, Ohana dwelling unit, granny annex, granny suite or in-law suite.

Grandparents:

Aging parents can continue to live independently.
Grandma and Grandpa can enjoy the grandkids, and adult children.
Grandparents can help care for grandchildren, drive them to activities, encourage, and teach them.
Grandparents can influence, and develop close relationships with their children and grandchildren.

Adults:

You can check in and help parents or children without driving miles or wasting hours in the car.
Adult children and their family can live near (but not WITH you).
Adult children can save on rent until they can afford their own home.
You could rent the ADU for supplemental income, or use it as an AirBnB.
You could live in the ADU and rent the big house, or sell it to your kids.
Rental rates will increase as the years go by, insuring steady income in the future.

Building material costs keep going up, which will continue to increase home prices. A DeTray’s Custom Housing ADU is a smart investment that will benefit your family financially, physically, and emotionally now and in the years ahead! Come see me for additional details.

Lora Whitemarsh
DeTray’s Custom Housing Consultant

June is National Home Ownership Month

Posted on June 21, 2021 by Dana DeTray

Home ownership is the American Dream. Let DeTray’s Custom Housing help you celebrate this achievement every June in the future, by starting today!

Home ownership is the most important financial decision most people make. While rent prices go up every year, your mortgage payment remains the same for 30 years. Your income grows, and the payment becomes a smaller and smaller percentage of your expenses.

Each monthly payment acts as a kind of forced savings. As you pay down principle, your equity (the amount of your home you actually own) grows.

It’s smart to build equity and financial stability while you enjoy your beautiful home. The equity in your home can eventually become liquid cash that you can access, either by selling your home, or borrowing against it. When you own a home, it is more than just a place to live; it’s also a financial asset.

History shows that overall, homes become more valuable. Think of what your parents paid for their home, and how much it is worth today!

What is the leading wealth producer for average Americans? Home Ownership!

DeTray’s has helped hundreds of families celebrate the thrill of this great achievement. Our experienced team has guided the process of designing, delivering, and finishing, beautiful custom homes at our location at 149^th and Meridian in Puyallup for nearly 30 years. Let us help you have the joy and satisfaction of home ownership.

Lora Whitemarsh
DeTray’s Housing Consultant

If You Snooze, You May Lose

Posted on December 14, 2020 by Dana DeTray

Covid-19 has affected every aspect of our lives, especially in housing. Businesses have been shut down completely or temporarily, causing shortages in product availability. Our Kit and Skyline manufacturing factories have protected their employees by closing and cleaning several times.

The building industry has been hard-hit as lumber, roofing, sheet rock, insulation, flooring and other housing component prices have sky-rocketed in the past 6 months. The factories have added a “Material Surcharge” to cover these increases. Customers that were not ready last spring are shocked at the increases when they come back now to get started. Some things to ponder:

They aren’t making any more land. More building means less land available. Many “Parks” are full.

Summer fires destroyed thousands of acres of trees. Lumber prices will continue to go up.

Some suppliers will not recover. Selection and availability will be limited, raising prices, causing delays.

Kit and Skyline will continue to protect employees by closing and cleaning, delaying deliveries.

Site development costs will also rise for all the above reasons, besides the difficulty of Permit Departments, Inspectors, Appraisers, Septic Designers etc., working sporadic hours and not being available.

Every part of your project: House, Land, Development will cost more going forward than if you act now.

Interest rates are still historically low. You can borrow more money and have a lower payment. Limit the increases by moving forward now. If you need more room for a growing family, or want to downsize, this is the time to act. Waiting will make every part of the process more difficult and much more expensive. There will never be a better time to have a beautiful DeTray’s custom home for your family. Begin now. Enjoy the home sooner and relax, no matter what lies ahead. DeTray’s Custom Housin g is offering a $500 discount with your deposit to start before January 15, 2021! Let us help you “Live happily ever after” in a beautiful DeTray’s home.

Lora Whitemarsh

Housing Consultant
DeTray’s Custom Housing

Building Codes Ensure Quality

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Dana DeTray

Manufactured Homes are built to strict, national building codes that regulate design, construction, strength, durability, transportability, fire resistance, energy efficiency and quality control. Performance standards for heating, plumbing, air conditioning, thermal and electrical systems are also set.

This code is the part of the National Manufactured Home Construction and safety Standards Act, otherwise known as the “HUD Code.” The familiar red seal attached to the exterior of the manufactured home is your assurance the home has been built to high standards and passed as many as 200 inspections during its construction.

Congress passed this act for three interrelated reasons:

To preserve access to affordable housing for all;
To facilitate interstate shipment of homes from factories all over America that would meet or exceed building codes no matter where located; and
States were not uniformly regulating home construction

An independent study by the University of Illinois Architecture – Building Research Council concluded that the HUD Code is comparable to – and in some areas exceed – commonly used local building codes. Where the HUD Code differs, results in important benefits to manufactured home buyers.

Local codes will tend to be “prescriptive.” The Hud Code is performance-based. The difference can be summarized in this manner:

Prescriptive codes tell the builder, “use this material, no matter what;”
Performance-based codes tell the builder, “here is the standard the materials you use must reach.”

Unlike local building codes, the HUD Code is specifically designed to be compatible with the factory construction process. Prescriptive codes, the HUD Code is specifically designed to be compatible with the factory construction process. Prescriptive codes often lag years behind materials and technology available to builders. Performance-based standards allow builders to take advantage of current technology, improved construction methods and superior raw materials.

And just like any other standard, a building code is only as good as its enforcement. HUD Code enforcement is more uniform and consistent because inspections take place in the factory under controlled conditions, and fewer inspectors have more experience inspecting more homes.

Michelle Dux
DeTray’s Housing Consultant

Attention Renters!

Posted on June 12, 2020 by Dana DeTray

There are 3 ways to handle money: Spend, Save, Invest. Money saved loses buying power as inflation raises all prices. You are already spending on rent. A beautiful DeTray’s home allows you to spend and invest at the same time. Instead of letting the landlord use your money every month, you can be building equity as the home goes up in value. A home is a great investment!

A man came to DeTray’s a few years ago, but didn’t move forward with a purchase. He came back a couple of weeks ago, ready to start. He was shocked at the price increases. His procrastination has cost thousands of dollars. He has lost the equity that would have been building. He could have been enjoying his new home all these years.

There is an old saying, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is right now.” Don’t let more time pass without the “Spend/Invest” power that comes with owning a beautiful DeTray’s Custom home.

Lora Whitemarsh

DeTray’s Housing Consultant

Protecting the BIG Investment

Posted on May 18, 2020 by Dana DeTray

A home is more than a house! It’s the financial security that comes from building equity in a good investment over time. When you buy make sure your home will meet your financial needs when it comes time to sell or refinance.

Manufactured homes are known for their value at the time of sale. How does this value translate to appreciation over time? Good question!!

Studies conducted by Seattle-based Elway research, University of Michigan and North Carolina show how that manufactured homes generally appreciate in value at the same rate as site-built homes in their neighborhoods. Location is the main factor determining long-term appreciation for both types of homes.

“When the location is good and the home is right for the location, manufactured homes appreciate in step with their neighborhood,” explained consultant and author Steve Hullibrger, who advises developers across the nation and tracks the long-term performance of a database of 1300 manufactured homes. “In my work with urban housing, it’s clear that manufactured homes do well if they are well made, sensibly selected for their neighborhood and blend in with existing houses.” He suggests that homebuyers use the same strategies that developers use when selecting houses for their home sites. “The first thing to look at is the neighborhood. Can we match the size and look of surrounding homes? The interiors of manufactured homes are often better than average site-built house, but don’t limit yourself to the standard exteriors. If the homes in the neighborhood all have garages, add a garage to your home. If they all have exteriors, add a brick facing. The initial investment will be worth it in the long run.”