Best Ways to Increase the Value of Your Modular Home | Home Nation
Modular homes come in a variety of styles and finishes. Choosing optional upgrades in construction and aesthetics can be a good way to increase value.
Best Ways to Increase the Value of Your Modular Home
Just like stick-built homes, your modular home can increase in value with the right upgrades. But spending money is never a guarantee of increasing value, so how can you know where to spend your money? Rather than catering to your personal aesthetic, choose upgrades that have a purpose that ties into value for future homebuyers.
Best Upgrades for Older Modular Homes
Most of the advice about updating homes is geared towards traditional stick-built houses. While there is plenty of overlap in advice that works well for both types of construction, older modular homes have some unique needs that can be addressed with simple upgrades.
Enhance Curb Appeal
Put money into making an excellent first impression, particularly if you are looking to sell soon. An attractive home that invites buyers in from the curb will get a lot more looks than one that screams fixer-upper. The most significant impact comes from replacing worn skirting and old siding. And even if you aren’t looking to sell, new skirting can reduce drafts under the home and increase energy efficiency. Seal the deal with a new porch and some tidy landscaping, and buyers will immediately be more interested.
Add a Fresh Coat of Paint
A fresh coat of paint on your modular home can be an affordable way to improve the curb appeal drastically. Paint can hide many of the potential cosmetic flaws that the exterior of your home has built up over time.
Just remember that most modular homes are made out of vinyl-over-gypsum panels. As such, they'll need a specialized type of paint and primer if you want them applied correctly. When choosing your paint color, picking the boldest, brightest color can be tempting.
Grey and blue shades are both great options that most prospective buyers will love. However, if you're serious about increasing the value of your home, you'll go with a more attractive neutral one.
Clean Things Off
Cleaning things might be less exciting of an upgrade. But it's important to remember that it's another easy and affordable thing you can do to improve the value of your modular home. Think about it; few people want to inherit a mess.
So, if your modular home is covered in dirt and grime, it will be hard for someone to imagine living there. As a result, you'll need to lower to price just to accommodate the mess. So break out your cleaning materials and put in some elbow grease.
Start with prominent areas, like the carport, carpet, kitchen, and bathrooms. If you hate cleaning, you can hire a professional for deep cleaning. But this will be more expensive than doing it yourself.
Related: 10 Best Additions for Your Mobile Home
Add Energy Efficiency
An energy-efficient home is good for the environment and good for the wallet. Older modular homes are not built to be energy-efficient, so adding upgrades that can mitigate some energy loss can be a desirable upgrade. Consider replacing doors or windows with more efficient options and add additional insulation to keep temperature-controlled air indoors.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory conducted experiments to measure the efficiency of retrofitting energy-efficient features on older modular homes built in the 1970s and 1980s. The results were dramatic, with an average increase of 31% in energy savings.
Add Value by Changing Classifications
In many jurisdictions, manufactured and modular homes are considered personal property. Unlike real estate, these homes tend to depreciate in value. But if you own your land and can place the house on a HUD-approved foundation, you can change the classification of your home and benefit from an instant upgrade on the value of your home.
Add Square Footage
Adding a room to your modular home is easy and often a cost-effective upgrade that increases value. You can either purchase a modular room that is built off-site and installed adjacent to your main structure, or you can make your own addition as a separate structure. The most common additions are a garage or carport or an additional bedroom or bathroom.
Low-Cost Upgrades and Interior Finishes
Some of the most noticeable upgrades cost the least. They don’t involve significant structural changes or working with contractors. Consider upgrading your appliances to increase the comfort level in your home as well as the energy efficiency. Other ideas for low-cost upgrades include a fresh coat of paint on interior walls, high-end bathroom fixtures like faucets and showerheads, and stylish light fixtures.
Related: Best Ways to Remodel a Mobile Home to Look Like a Real House
Move to Private Land
If your modular home is currently located in a park, consider moving it to a parcel of land. Even if the house remains personal property, the land is a piece of real estate that will appreciate in value. If private land isn’t an option, placement in a desirable community or co-op is better than most mobile home parks.
Home Nation offers many styles of modular and manufactured homes. Our easy process helps you choose and finance the home of your dreams. Learn more today.
Best Upgrades to Choose When Building a New Modular Home
Many of the upgrades that homeowners make are to existing properties. But since modular homes are completely customizable, new homeowners will be faced with many questions to tackle. It can be overwhelming, but let’s take a look at which choices can pay off in the long run in terms of adding value.
Modular homes are anything but one-size-fits-all. Every component can be customized, often making it difficult to tell the difference between these homes and other types of construction. But style aside, there are big differences in quality between low-end modular homes and luxury lines.
Choose Construction Upgrades Over Cosmetic Upgrades
On higher-end models, most of these options come standard. However, if you are given the opportunity to choose finishes, these options can add value to the finished home:
- Long-lasting or energy-efficient roofing materials
- Taller wall height (i.e. 9-foot instead of 8-foot)
- 2” x 6” Exterior or 2” x 4” interior wall studs
- High-end exterior sheathing
- Higher roof pitches
Best Choices for Interior Finishes
Interior doors can make the biggest impact. Most modular homes come with standard, hollow-core doors. Upgrade options include paneled doors and framed doors made from real wood. Low-end models use single pane windows that have low or modest energy ratings. Higher-end upgrades are more energy efficient, so homeowners should spend as much as they can reasonably afford on windows and doors.
Related: Mobile Home Siding Guide for 2021
Skip Paneling and Opt for Sheetrocked Interior Walls
A great aesthetic option that also adds a lot of value to a modular home is to forego the typical paneling and add sheetrock (drywall) to the interior walls. This upgrade provides a comfortable-homey atmosphere while also dampening noise and improving energy efficiency.
Choose High-end Siding
In most parts of the world, vinyl siding and shingle roofs have become standard on modular and manufactured homes, replacing the metal boxes of the 1970s. But optional upgrades like shaker shingle roofs and cedar plank siding can add a little extra curb appeal—and plenty of value along with it.
Prioritize Certain Rooms
If you're building a new modular home from scratch, there are certain rooms that you should focus on when it comes to upgrades. The kitchen and bathroom are two rooms that add a lot of value to modular homes.
So consider prioritizing upgrades on these rooms during the building process. You can do this by purchasing cutting-edge appliances for the room.
Or by installing unique cabinetry and flooring. Regardless of what you want to do, these are the rooms you should focus on if you're serious about increasing modular home value.
Add Smart Technology
These days, smart technology is all of the rages, and it's not challenging to see why. These upgrades can add some serious value to homes by making things both more efficient and more accessible for people.
You can incorporate innovative technology in multiple areas of your modular home. For example, your security system can be armed and monitored all from your phone.
Or you can install bright lighting and smart thermostats that help save energy when you're not using the system. Voice-activated home assistants are also a fun way to search for information and play music.
Install Solar Panels
There's no denying that installing solar panels is a costly endeavor. But government tax incentives, and the money you save on your power bill each month, can quickly make it more affordable.
Plus, it adds a lot of value to your home. You can add the system's cost to your home's overall value.
The Takeaway on Increasing Value of Modular Homes
Modular homeowners can do many things to upgrade the creature comforts of their living spaces. Some changes are for personal aesthetics, and others add value to the home that can really pay off when it comes time to sell. Unlike traditional real estate, modular homes are personal property and typically have a book value that owners can track. Making smart upgrades can skew the value of an individual home to the high-end of that range.
Home Nation can help make your dream of homeownership become a reality. We work with buyers to choose and customize a home, secure financing, and facilitate delivery and installation. Contact us to get started today.
