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Do-it-Yourself Manufactured Homes? Buyer Beware
It seems like you can buy anything on the Amazon website these days, including…a new house?
Yes, even that. The online retailer is offering kit homes at a cost of around $20,000 up to $100,000 and more. It will arrive at your door in pieces, and then it’s up to you to build it. Sounds like a great deal – but thus far sales have been slow and reviews on the site call these kits “a waste of time and money.”
As a provider of manufactured homes for more than 50 years, we’ve seen ideas like this come and go. There are many reasons why they don’t catch on, beyond the obvious fact that most people do not have the time, skills and talent to build their own home, even from a set of instructions.
There is a lot more to a house than four walls and a ceiling. But that’s pretty much all you’ll get from these kits. If you’d like to have electricity in your new house, you’ll have to add that on your own. And if wells and outhouses don’t sound enticing, you’ll also have to install your own plumbing.
Would you like some heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer? You won’t find those in your kit either. What about appliances? Or even a coat of paint on the walls? You can add those to your out-of-pocket expenses, not to mention your additional labor time and effort.
You’ll also find nothing in the instructions for these kit homes about where you can place your house. Even if you already have the land, you’ll need a foundation, permits, and zoning approval.
Manufactured Homes the Right Way
Does a home purchased on Amazon still sound like a great deal? Probably not.
But with a manufactured home from Ma Williams, you’ll receive a HUD Code-approved home from one of the top providers in our industry. And we’ll take care of the foundation, installation and utility hookups. That means the lights will go on, water will pour out of the faucets, and you’ll have quality Energy Star appliances installed before you move in.
We’ll help you with the zoning and permits as well. And we’ll work with you on financing, so you don’t have to pay for the whole thing before you move in (another disadvantage to a kit home).
Result: you will get a beautiful home, built right. And you’ll still save money over a traditional site-built home.
Check out some of our most popular manufactured home models
