LEWISTON – Homes, RVs, cars, trucks and cell homes are in high demand, with low inventory. The result is strikingly similar from one category to another; if you need one, you have to wait.
This is the new general for the two main purchases in most people’s lives: cars and houses, so be prepared to commit to what you need and wait until it’s available. In the case of cell homes in the area, this means you’ll have to wait up to a year to get a new one.
“Our demand is on the rise and we can’t get a product,” said Sandra Hinkley, owner of Country Lane Homes on Sabattus Street. they are for buying things and they just can’t locate them. So it’s pretty much the same. “
Zachariah Brassard, managing director of Coastline Homes in Oxford, is already taking orders for 2023 because the five cellular and modular homes on his land are for sale, they are models for consumers to see what they are going to buy.
Mobile homes were long thought to be an affordable option to classic housing, but they gained a less-than-desirable reputation as “cheap” in the 1960s and 1970s, before the industry was regulated by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“There’s nothing reasonable about our product,” Hinkley quickly chimed in. values, power power – windows and insulation. It’s affordable, but in fact it’s not reasonable terminology.
The National Manufactured Home Building and Safety Standards Act of 1974 directed HUD to establish federal criteria for the design and structure of manufactured homes of quality, durability, protection, and affordability. Since then, the industry has undergone a transformation.
Prefabricated or cellular houses are permanently fixed to a frame. Modular homes are built on a concrete base or slab with a basement like a classic house and assembled on site.
WHAT’S INSIDE MAY SURPRISE YOU
Look inside today’s cellular home and you’ll probably find an open floor plan, kitchens with giant stainless steel appliances, plenty of cabinetry, central heating, washer and dryer hookups, and at least two bedrooms and one bathroom, all internal 1,000 square feet. .
According to the Institute of Prefabricated Housing, there are 129 production plants in the country that produced more than 94,000 houses in 2019. That year, the average promotion was worth $78,500, without floor: $52,400 for single width, $99,500 for double width.
Today, this single-width cell home will charge between 50 and one hundred percent more.
Hinkley said a cell phone home is an affordable option. “You can usually get anything for $80,000 for a new 2023 style logo, two bedrooms, two bathrooms from 14 feet to 66 feet, all installed in one of our communities for $80,000 and more, depending on what else you need to have at home. “
Industry studies show that about 40% of cell homes end up in cell home parks, ideal for others who require less maintenance and a more communal feel. The rest is placed on private property.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, peak production plants halted production. They have not yet recovered, which has resulted in a backlog of orders. For many distributors, an allocation formula has been put in place to meet the ever-increasing demand. .
“Demand has shifted to focus on indifferent landless homes,” Brassard said, adding that he had already sold his lot by 2022. Before the pandemic, you would have about 12 homes on your sales floor, a combination of cellular and modular homes.
Eligible first-time homebuyers can apply for a home loan in the state of Maine, which requires a 5% down payment and a credit score above $640. There is also a subsidy program where Americans or couples take the course for the first time. home buyers and get cash for all their final costs.
BUY LAND OR RENT A COMMUNITY SITEAnnouncement
Brassard said land packages are simply not available in the Oxford area, as a result of a combination of increased demand for land and sky-high prices, due in large part, he said, to out-of-state investors gobbling up to have them. Modular home sales have slowed this year for him, with the charge of a new 1,400-square-foot three-bedroom, two-bathroom home averaging $260,000. install a well and septic tank, and you can count on loading $100,000 to $110,000 additional to the final charge.
Coastline Homes of Oxford can place you on a single landless for around $92,000. Delivery will be made in 2023, but you’ll want to have a place to place it.
Mobile home distributors like Hinkley have distinctive merit because it has 3 family-owned cell home parks, with over 450 sites. These are Country Lane Estates on Sabattus Street and Stetson Brook Estates on Heather Drive, either in Lewiston, and Maple Hill Estates on Elm Street in Mechanic Falls.
Renting a site in one of their communities costs $330 for a popular site, $345 for a favorite site, and a little less in Mechanic Falls Park. But, he warns, the availability of sites is decreasing, incredibly, because I think the last time we were complete was in the 1980s, early 1990s. We had a waiting list. “
In some parts of the country, rental rates at cell home parks have increased dramatically. The Washington Post this month cited an example from Forks, Washington, where renting a park ranges from $350 to $1,000 per month.
Hinkley, who also sits on the board of the Maine Manufactured Housing Association, said he’s not aware of any excessive rent increases here.
“Our rental costs have remained very reasonable, we haven’t gone up much in years,” he explained. “I think we did one two years ago, but we’re not going to do one this year. . . because we know other people are still struggling. “
Not all cell home park owners are equally involved with the community. Private equity firms and investors are buying up cell home communities. Some improve parks and increase amenities, and then increase rent accordingly.
Hinkley said it is requested through investors who need to buy their parks. His answer?” It’s not for sale. “
NEED FOR MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Biden’s management has pushed manufactured homes as an option and announced a series of measures in May to make manufactured homes more Array. One of the main goals of the Housing Supply Action Plan is to eliminate the long-standing requirement that cellular homes be attached to a chassis. , which adds several thousand dollars to the cost.
Another is to open a cheap financing through Freddie Mac and Freddie Mae. Mobile homes are not financed like classic mortgages, which use the land and the price of housing as collateral. Cellular home and tend to bring higher interest rates for shorter terms.
Earlier this month, HUD partnered with brands for the Innovative Housing Exhibit on the National Mall, a three-day occasion designed to draw attention to new fabrics and housing responses to address housing affordability and availability.
“To expand into affordable housing and homeownership, we want to reduce the time and cost of structuring new homes,” said HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge. “Innovation in housing design and structure generation is an essential component of this effort and one that HUD has complexed since its founding. “
RESOURCES:
For emergency assistance: Community Concepts, 800-866-5588 or https://www. ccimaine. org/
For first-time homebuyers: Maine State Housing, 207-626-4600 or https://www. mainehousing. org/
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