Modular home designs range from the bare basics to top-of-the-line luxury so you can easily find a home that meets your needs and price range. With the right research and knowledge, you can find the best home at the best price, and walk away from the experience with a smile.
Budget
There are a few preparations you’ll need to do before visiting the first dealership and that’s calculating how much home you can afford. Financial experts advise that a home should never cost more than 25-28% of your total monthly income after taxes. You will need to add insurance, taxes, and maintenance costs into that figure.
While looking at modular home s you will find many options and styles available, know the features you consider most important. Do you need three bedrooms or can you go with two? Will you need the gourmet kitchen upgrade?
Knowing the features that are most important to you will help you avoid emotional attachment which often leads to modular home buyers remorse. The modular home you ultimately choose should meet most of the features you listed before you visited the first home.
Sales Negotiations
Don’t be scared to negotiate the price of a modular home. Modular home dealerships markup the price of each home an average of 18-26%. Dealers also utilize hold backs, just like automobile dealerships. This means there is a profit built into the invoice price of the home. Even if you buy a home at invoice dealers will still make a profit based on the hold back.
Some dealers will speak in terms of monthly payment amounts, as opposed to the total price. Don’t let them talk you into naming a monthly payment that you would pay. You want to negotiate on the total price of the modular home , not the monthly costs.
Insurance, Taxes, and Extended Warranties
Some dealerships will offer to have insurance, taxes, and even extended warranties attached to the price of the modular home . Don’t do it! You will end up paying interest on the additional items which could more than double the cost. Extended warranties should be handled with caution; some of them simply aren’t worth the price.