A recent post on the popular, lifestyle blog, Mobile Home Living, entitled How the Mobile Home Stigma Began suggests the widespread stigma attached to mobile homes, which extends to manufactured home styles and modular homes, began during WWII.
The concept of mass production was still in its infancy. “The homes weren’t built to high-quality standards because the new industry simply didn’t have the experience or materials needed to do the job right.”
Unfortunately, after a less-than-stellar beginning, the industry has had to fight an uphill battle for more than 50 years in its efforts to provide affordable manufactured housing to the masses.
Nevertheless, as all things technological have advanced in the last 40 to 50 years, so have production methods and over-all quality of manufactured homes. Today, rather than evoking a problematic social stigma, a modern manufactured home is considered both a practical and affordable option.
Manufactured Home Styles Are Upgrading
Floor plans and design aesthetics in current mobile, manufactured, and modular homes are as varied as their stick-built counterparts. And because of the strict quality control of the manufactured home building process, the overall quality of the finished product is often vastly superior.
What do you expect to encounter when shopping for an affordable, manufactured home?
Forty years ago, you would have found paneled walls with apparent joints (often patterned to look like wallpaper), vinyl flooring, low-grade cabinets, harvest gold or avocado green appliances, and narrow hallways.
But remember, 40 years ago, you would have found many of those same design elements, except narrow corridors. In almost any home.
Today, manufactured home styles are a different story. Similar to stick-built, manufactured home styles can include ½ drywall with taped seams throughout.
They have tiled floors in kitchens, bathrooms, utility rooms, and entryways with carpet in standard-width hallways, bedrooms and living areas. Kitchens and bathrooms boast hardwood cabinets and granite countertops. Full-size, high-end appliances complete the package.
Considering a mobile or manufactured home? Say goodbye to the stigma and hello to quality, affordability, and style with Preferred Homes, West Michigan’s affordable home expert since 1977.
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