Calling it the “best kept secret in America,” Sheri Koones understands the precision that goes into the manufacture of every factory-built home and especially appreciates the sustainability of its energy-saving features. The author of five books on prefabricated housing, she delineates between the pre-HUD Code homes and the manufactured and modular homes in today’s market that are far superior to the ones made 40 years ago. Calling it “a miracle,” she became fascinated with factory-built housing when a friend had a modular home built.

Tim Williams, executive director of the Ohio Manufactured Homes Association (OMHA), says people would be surprised by the quality and affordability of new off-site built homes if they would take the time to visit one. They are not like the poorly built tin cans of olden days, according to what siouxcityjournal.com tells MHProNews.com. Noting that it is conceivable that manufactured homes (MH) can be moved after being sited, he says most on private property are affixed to a permanent foundation. Williams also notes that a factory-built home costs $42 a square foot as opposed to a stick-built that averaged $95 per square foot in 2013. ##

(Photo credit: Manufactured Housing Institute–MH in production)