If I purchase a home direct from factory and not a dealer lot, who arranges for the home to be shipped and installed, land prep etc; I have my dealers license. I have not bought a home with it yet. Do I need to find all the individual contractors who can grade and pour footings, make sure utilites are ready etc; Does the home get delivered by manufacturer and then someone else set it up? Thanks!
Where are you located? We build homes in Ravenna OH and can arrange lot prep shipping and set up. Ckeck out Luxy Homes on Facebook.
Probably too far. SW Virginia, Bluefield.
We can ship but no install
If you’re buying direct from the factory, some manufacturers will typically handle the delivery to your site if it’s within a certain range, but everything else—like land prep, utilities, and footings—will likely fall on you unless they offer a turnkey service (some do, so it’s worth asking).
You’ll probably need to line up contractors for grading, utilities, and setting the home unless you can find a general contractor who specializes in mobile home installations in your area. A local mobile home dealer might also have recommendations for reliable contractors.
Right that is what I figured. What I am not clear is the timing of everything. If the manufacturer ships it, they will just drop it in the park and leave. Then I need to have a team ready to go. How long can I just leave the home dropped where it is? I am concerned about having all these different people available assuming things cannot just sit there. Do you think a dealer would provide the information on their contractors so I can end around them? I have spoken to Champion, Clayton, Legacy but have not gone too deep into the install process. Thanks!
It’s definitely worth calling some dealers and getting some more info. I mean, they want you to move forward in the process and can sometimes be super helpful.
The state agency that licenses the installers for your state should have a listing of licensed installers that you can call for quotes to install the homes you purchase. I am not familiar with what site prep your state requires but if you start to talk to installers they may also refer other contractors who handle whatever parts of the process that they don’t do themselves. Other park owners in your area may be able to refer contractors they have had success using and your state MH association is an excellent resource for tips and advice on almost any issue you will have as a park owner.
Thanks, working with the inspectors first is going to be my go to. I have some names and numbers. Thanks!
Get the pad prepped and utilities stubbed up before home delivery. We use local excavation companies that pretty much soup to nuts handle this portion (grading, trenching, laying new utilities if needed, gravel/concrete work for pad). The delivery from the factory will place the home on your pad. You then need an installer (check with state and the local building department for this) who will block and level, install skirting, hook in utilities, build decks/steps. The last steps sometimes are different contractors (some jurisdictions want licensed electrician/plumber to hook up, for example)
Please let me know if you happen to come across any manufacturers (NOT Legacy) that build a 12’ wide three bedroom. I need a few more homes to complete my park. I did the big infill and now I am just replacing a few older TOH’s with some new models.
Thanks that is a good summary of the steps.
Hi there,
I recently went through this entire process as a new Champion dealer in the NC mountains. Since that time I sold the dealership to Champion and now we are building a new community together. In our arrangement I continue to develop the community and they provide the homes.
Feel free to reach out sometime and I’ll be happy to share info regarding how we setup our process and a few things we learned along the way.
Good luck with your new business!
Patrick
813-390-7109