Recently a home inspector commented to me that in many cases he though that modular homes now had superior quality to traditional stick-built homes. That comment surprised me! And I'm sure I'm not the only one. So I've been doing some research on what's new with modular homes and how they compare to their stick-built predecessors.

First of all, I should say that modular homes are NOT the same thing as manufactured or mobile homes. Modular homes are homes built using a system according to the Modular Building Systems Association. Modular homes come in all shapes and sizes including beautiful two story, 3000 square foot colonials! To most consumers driving down the road, you'd never know the difference between the modular and the stick-built homes.

Modular homes have a number of advantages. One obvious one is the time involved. These homes are built in sections in a factory and then shipped to the home site and assembled there. This means that the entire factory process is unaffected by weather and many of the other delays so common on building sites. And despite most of us thinking assembly line means cookie cutter sameness, modular homes are highly customizable. The average time from beginning to end of the process for a modular home is roughly three months. The average time from beginning to end for a home built entirely on-site is 6 months to a year.

Modular homes may also be significantly stronger than stick-built homes. They are typically built with 20-30 percent more materials in order to withstand transport from the factory to the site. A FEMA study following Hurricane Andrew in 1992 found that modular homes in Dade County, Florida stood up to the winds better than stick-built homes.

A side note here: Having lived in Miami when Andrew hit, I would mention that which builder builds a home has a tremendous amount to do with how they survive in a hurricane. Habitat for Humanity homes fared much better than most builders!

The use of more materials typically also means greater energy efficiency. As energy costs, in terms of dollars, environment and national security continue to be an issue, I believe we'll see more modular homes.  Right now modular homes account for only about 7 to 8 percent of all new home sales.

Building the sections of the home in a factory can also be a big help in reducing the cost. This can be money in your pocket. I've seen estimates anywhere from 5 to 25 percent savings. Obviously that's going to vary based on both the manufacturer and the design involved.

If you're thinking about buying land and building your own home, modular may be worth a look. If you live in a modular home now or have in the past, what have your experiences been?

On October 7th and 8th the annual Culpeper Farm Tour takes place.  This event is part of the larger Culpeper Harvest Days and is, for us, one of the highlights of the fall season!

There are about 17 locations on this year's tour; plenty to keep you and your family busy for at least two full days!  Being a farm girl at heart, my favorite locations are always the ones where you get to get up close and personal with the animals.  (Goats are high up on my list!)  Mike is always excited to see the farm machinery. We've both enjoyed some of the demonstrations, whether it be of old time farm operations or how to rope a calf from horseback.

This is a very kid-friendly event.  And it's pocketbook friendly as well as there's no charge.  As entertainment, it's very hard to beat!

For more information including a list of all participating farms, what activities are at each and how to get to them, visit the official web site:

http://www.culpeperag.org/farmtour2006

I hope to see you there!

Americans are taking enormous amounts of equity out of their homes. That "giant sucking sound" that Ross Perot heard from south of the border is now the sound of billions of dollars of equity being sucked out and, in many cases, thrown away.

The numbers over the last few years are pretty remarkable:

While some of this equity was taken out for items that have the potential to increase the homes value (35% was for home improvement), much of it did not.  42% was spent on consumer purchases, or, in other words, to buy more stuff!

As we head into a period of time when much of the country is likely to see significantly slower appreciation than we have over the last few years this is worrisome. Add to this the number of homeowners who bought their homes with interest only and/or adjustable rate mortgages and it can get very frightening.

My concern for the overall real estate marketplace is that there are large numbers of foreclosures coming. If that should happen the downward pressure on prices is likely to be more significant than what we've seen with the current market slowdown.

And, of course, in the larger economic picture this would be very bad news for the economy and certainly has the potential for sending us towards recession.

So...if you've been contemplating taking out that home equity loan, think about it again! If you've already got one, time to work on paying it off as soon as possible.

And, if you've been wondering about selling your house and worried about the current market this certainly factors into considerations about timing. While it may seem like a tough time to sell, there are no guarantees it's better a year from now!