Set-Preparation-Costs

No two building sites will cost exactly the same to develop. When buying a building lot for your modular home it is important you take these elements into consideration. The least expensive building lot could be the most expensive site to build your new home on.

Costly and Expensive Site Elements

Water and Sewer - Connecting into public water and sewer is usually much less expensive than drilling a well or installing a septic system. A septic system requiring a sand mound could drive the cost of your modular home building lot up $15,000 or more. Drilling a well for water supply could drive the cost of the home up thousands of dollars as well. If your building lot requiring a well, speak to adjacent neighbors and or a well driller to inquire how deep and how costly a well will cost for your new home.

Difficult Egress - Installing a driveway to access a large building lot could drive the site work up thousands. In addition, the road you create will need to support heavy equipment including the crane to lift your modular home into place. If the slope of your building site is steep fill will either need to be added or removed from the site. Make sure the access to your building site is easy to access to keep the cost of building your modular home to a minimum.

Underground Stuff - There are a number of items that could drive the cost of your building site with the unknown hidden by dirt. If your modular home building site has a rock ledge requiring blasting, your excavation bid is out the window. If an underground spring is discovered, additional costs will be incurred to drain your building site. You might have to relocate the home to save money.

Zoning and Ordinances - If you are building in a township or municipality which has restrictions you might have legal expenses to receive permission to build your modular home.

Water Tables - High water tables can lead to wet basements and additional drainage costs to the building site. High water tables also have the potential for wetland issues which could eliminate building on the site or minimizing the size of the home.

Sandy Soil - Sandy soil can increase the price of the foundation. Maybe pilings will need to be installed adding to the cost of your modular home.

Site Topography - What might appear as the best building site could cost thousands of dollars to add or remove fill from the modular homes building site. One major benefit of using a builder is a local modular home builder will usually have connections with local excavators and might know someone who requires your excess soil.

Utilities - The cost of installing utilities must be taken into consideration when building a new home. If you have to run electric, cable, telephone lines or gas lines to your new modular home, it could cost you thousands in additional development costs.

Site Clearing - Removing trees and shrubs usually does not cost too much, however a heavily wooded site with hidden surprises could add to the cost of your home. If you have large trees, you might be able to salvage them and use them for interior trim or flooring.