In the wake of Hurricane Sandy damaging or destroying 346,000 homes in New Jersey, for people who are replacing their homes, modular homes are some of the most popular “hurricane proof” choices. Ocean City, NJ-based Zarilli Homes built on average two homes a month, mostly large luxury homes, before Sandy’s Oct. 29 touchdown, and now is signing two contracts a week, but for smaller homes. Says president and founder Anthony Zarilli, “We built hundreds of modular homes on the Jersey Shore before (Hurricane) Sandy, and we didn’t lose a single one.” According to digitaljjournal.com, modular builder Excel Homes, based in Liverpool, Pennsylvania, the largest custom modular builder in the country, is supplying the single-family homes of 1,800 to 3,500 square feet. Andrew Strocko of Excel says of Zarilli, “Building a home is hard enough, but when you add insurance claims and the hassles of an overloaded permit process, it gets even harder. Thankfully, they handle everything, from the demolition of the old home to the completion of the new one. The homeowners choose a design, select the custom features they’d like, and two or three months later, they move in.” MHProNews understands Excel has built over 30,000 modular homes.

(Photo credit: Excel Homes–two-story modular being sited)