Stick Built vs. Modular and Manufactured Homes vs. Personal Property: What’s the Difference?
A stick-built or sometimes called a site-built home is constructed piece-by-piece on the land where it will stand permanently. This type of construction requires a general contractor to oversee the building process. It uses wood framing or wood lumber for the structure. The foundation is built first, then framing, walls, roof and finishes respectively. This is the most common and traditional method for building a home. The benefit of constructing a stick-built home is that a homeowner can personalize every aspect and can monitor the construction. In addition, the buyer can more easily secure conventional, FHA, VA or USDA financing.
Modular home construction is gaining popularity, so it is important to understand what it is. According to the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, stick-built homes are not necessarily better than modular homes, despite the stigma sometimes associated with their assembly-line origin.
Modular homes are residences constructed entirely in factories and transported to their permanent site on flatbed trucks. They are built under controlled conditions and must meet strict quality control requirements before they are delivered. Weather conditions typically do not cause delays in construction and therefore, modular homes may be built more quickly than stick-built homes. They arrive in segments and are assembled, using cranes, into homes that are almost indistinguishable from stick-built. Like stick-built homes, modular homes can be easy to finance once they are on a permanent foundation. However, there may be some lenders who choose not to finance modular homes.
A manufactured home, sometimes referred to as a mobile home or trailer, starts out as personal property. Manufactured homes are also constructed in factories and are formed atop a metal chassis with its own wheels. They are then towed and delivered by a truck to their home site. These homes normally only abide by Federal HUD building codes rather than local building code and aren’t considered a permanent structure. Indeed, manufactured homes typically aren’t considered real property and are titled as personal property the same way a car or boat would be titled. They are less expensive than modular homes and can be moved in the future.
However, manufactured homes can become real property by permanently affixing them to the land and filing specific paperwork with the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles. When listing a manufactured home, it is vital that a broker asks questions of the seller and reviews the tax card to determine if the home has become real property.