Manufactured homes are nicer than you think

Photo courtesy of Newsday

Here is a great news article on a new manufactured home experience. It is so nice to see the lights come on for people who have the old and wrong idea that a manufactured home is just a trailer. Well, they were surprised!!

Here is a snippet:

"The new home the Bealeys walked into felt like a full-size house, with a sunny, open floor plan, three bedrooms, two full baths, a kitchen, dining room, living room, Florida room and deck. Listing price: $109,900. "The housing that's currently being put in there is far superior," Bealey says. "The day we went to see it we went to the manager's office and put a binder down on it." The Bealeys, both 59, are closing next week. "I'm going to have more kitchen cabinets than I have in my current home," says Linda Bealey.

Mobile home parks have evolved, with newer units frequently being manufactured homes like the one the Bealeys purchased. While a single-wide mobile home is one solid unit, a manufactured home is built elsewhere in two pieces, transported to the site and put together on a slab. It's twice the size of a mobile home. A mobile home averages 720 square feet and a manufactured home 1,500, says Misty Rangel, Calverton Meadows community manager.

"A lot of people feel confined in a single because it's like a railroad apartment," says Joan Traynor, who works for Century 21 Castle Realty in Rocky Point and has lived at Calverton Meadows for 14 years. "The manufactured double is like a ranch home. You walk into a new double, you say, 'Oh my gosh, it's a house.' They've allowed for living conditions to be completely different."

The new units include options such as granite countertops, cathedral-style ceilings, Jacuzzi tubs, kitchen islands opening to great rooms, built-in shelving, wood floors, wall-to-wall carpet, fireplaces, walk-in closets, crown molding, central air-conditioning, flat-screen TVs, stainless-steel appliances and front porches.

"When people think about mobile home parks, they're thinking about the old mobile homes. They say, 'I don't want to live in a trailer.' That's what they tell you," says Dolores Peterson of Colony Realty in Jamesport. "So many people have no idea of what these brand-new ones look like. They're making them better and better every year."

Rangel echoes Peterson. "I think it's a great option for retirement," she says."

Read the full article here: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-mct-mobile-homes-with-high-end-amenities-20120510,0,1001376.story

This is a great example of what a new manufactured home is like. Feel free to comment!!