A new manufactured home sits on a home site in Bryan, Texas.

Top 5 Manufactured Home Myths

“Home sweet home” comes in all sizes, locations, and budgets: urban brownstones, modern high-rise apartments with sweeping city views, rambling suburban ranch homes, rustic farmhouses, manufactured homes … That’s right. For many people, the perfect home is a manufactured home. If that surprises you, you may be buying into the following common (false) manufactured home myths. We’d like to set the record straight!

Myth 1: Manufactured homes are unsafe.

Modern day (post-1994) manufactured homes must meet the same U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) safety standards as stationary homes built on permanent sites. That means manufactured homes meet the same construction quality, strength, and fire / wind-resistant requirements as site-built homes. In fact, manufactured homes must meet higher building-code standards than site-built homes.

Myth 2: The value of a manufactured home won’t appreciate.

As a blanket statement, that’s false. Like site-built homes, appreciation or depreciation occurs on a home by home basis. Manufactured homes can gain equity and increase in value, primarily if the home’s owner also owns the land on which the home sits, they’re well maintained and cared for, attached to a foundation, and have been updated with additions or attached garages. The more desirable the location of the home, the greater the appreciation potential.

Myth 3: Manufactured home communities are tacky.

Sure, you’ll find rundown “trailer parks” throughout the United States – just as you’ll find rundown site-built-home subdivisions with cars parked on the lawns and knee-high weedy yards. But just as you’ll find exclusive gated communities with upscale stick-built homes, you’ll find luxurious manufactured home communities with resort-style pools, million-dollar views, and famous residents.

Myth 4: Manufactured homes all look the same.

Granite, hardwoods, gourmet kitchens with islands, fireplaces, soaking tubs, custom window treatments, spacious porches, media rooms, walk-in closets, skylights, master suites … these are just some of the amenities available in manufactured homes!

Myth 5: It’s tough to find financing for a manufactured home.

It’s no tougher to secure financing for a manufactured home than for a traditional home. When you finance a manufactured home as real property, VA, FHA, USDA and conventional financing is available with terms up to 30 years.

If you’re in the market for a new home, don’t underestimate the benefits of manufactured homes. For significantly less money than you’d spend on a site-built home, you can purchase a manufactured home that has all of the amenities on your wish list. You’ll get the home sweet home you’ve dreamed of – with far less debt and far more flexibility.

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When in the market for a new home, many people are looking toward the attractive, low cost option of manufactured homes. Lending for these factory-built dwellings is different in some ways that a traditional mortgage for a house built on site. According to CFED, “financing manufactured home purchases and refinances can be a viable and effective community development activity for credit unions”. Thus, more and more credit unions have stepped up to answer the call, offering lending for manufactured houses.

1. Credit Unions prefer helping members over making profit.

Credit Unions have a fundamental approach to building wealth by building their local community. Unlike banks, which lend money near and far for the sole purpose of turning a profit on each transaction, credit unions believe that their growth depends largely on the growth of their local community. What is good for the neighborhood is good for the credit union. Thus, if manufactured houses are in demand in an area, local credit unions want to offer loan products to meet those needs.

1. Manufactured Home Loans address the demand for smaller home loans.

Ever since the financial crisis in 2008, consumers are demanding access to smaller, more affordable home loans. According to an article published by Wired, housing experts confess that “a family that makes $100,000 can’t afford to buy a house” in many cities. The new ‘Duty to Serve’ rule from the FHFA has allowed for more affordable originations of smaller loans, namely manufactured homes, opening the door to answer consumer demands for affordable home loan solutions.

1. Manufactured Home Loans Diversify the Credit Union’s portfolio.

Although Credit Unions are not-for-profit, they also cannot operate at a loss. This means investment diversity matters to them, too. A diverse lending portfolio is the best strategy to mitigating risk and raising profits for credit unions, and manufactured home lending provides a nice alternative loan product to traditional mortgages.

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When you’ve built homes as long as Oak Creek (45 years!), you hear a lot of common reasons for customers not falling in love with a particular model.  Often, the heart of the home is great, but the rest is just not quite right.  By the heart of the home, I’m talking about the kitchen, living room and master suite.

With the new Magnificent Seven model of Oak Creek Homes, this problem becomes a thing of the past!  You see, all seven floorplans that constitute the Magnificent Seven have the same core of kitchen, living room and master suite…literally identical.  What’s different with each is the size and additional bedroom and living room configurations.

Need a fourth bedroom?  No problem.  Need a second living area?  Gotcha covered.  You want a 3^rd bath?  It ain’t nuthin’ but a thing.  And with Oak Creek’s amazing 3D touring software, you’ll feel like you’re inside of any of the seven configurations while viewing the one at your local dealership.  Call or email today and set an appointment to see the amazing new Magnificent Seven at Oak Creek Homes!

The post The Magnificent Seven – The home that’s 7 floorplans in one! appeared first on Oak Creek Homes.

Sometimes when our housing consultants greet new customers, their apprehension and fear are apparent.  They are weary of interacting because they just had a terrible experience at one of our competitors.  Sadly, we are often told of hour-long inquisitions and full credit reviews before a person is even allowed to see a home.  Then, after finally reviewing the homes, a parade of salespeople and managers take turns trying to extract money from the customer, often for a home they don’t really like.  At Oak Creek, we take a very different approach…we take time to LISTEN.  We want to know what your needs are, and then we save you time by only showing you the homes that fit these needs.  Our experience is a true consultation because we work for YOU.  Tell us what your specific needs are and, if we have it, we will tell you everything you want to know.   If we don’t, we’ll shake hands and part friends.  Come try a professional approach to business at Oak Creek Homes.

The post THE BUYING EXPERIENCE IS BETTER AT OAK CREEK appeared first on Oak Creek Homes.

If you’ve studied our website or researched online, you probably know that Oak Creek prides itself on having some of the highest resale values in the industry.  Considering that most people only keep their house for seven years before selling it, this is an important and substantial consideration when choosing the right home.  Obviously, the extra money you pocket when selling your home should be factored into the home-buying equation at the BEGINNING of the selection process, otherwise you may be comparing apples to oranges.  That being said, one must ask WHY Oak Creek is considered a better investment by most third party appraisal services and the banks who rely on them.  The answer is simple:  quality.  Oak Creek has a reputation for building the strongest, longest-lasting homes in the nation; a reputation that has taken 45 years to build.  Over time, banks and finance companies experience fewer problems with Oak Creek homes and that has led to happier customers who become more likely to pay off their loan.  The moral of this story?  Don’t let a small price difference stand in the way of a happier living experience; you’ll get it back when you decide to sell it and buy a larger, newer Oak Creek!

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I’m sure you’ve heard of the tragic flooding in South Louisiana over the past several weeks.  Some estimates show 60,000 people without adequate housing, many of whom must completely rebuild their lives due the total loss of their homes.  On August 19th, FEMA contacted all approved manufacturers of FEMA emergency housing (including Oak Creek) to solicit their assistance in responding to the crisis.

 Though we are proud to assist in these times of need (and proud to be one of the manufacturers that FEMA trusts with their housing needs), we are also concerned about our commitments to those in unaffected areas who are in the process of making a housing change.  Though we will continue to build non-emergency housing for our regular customers, the amount of time it will take to do deliver special order homes will grow substantially.  Furthermore, storms like these always create exaggerated demand for building materials, causing home prices to increase. 

There is still a short window for ordering your home before demand accelerates and prices increase.  In an effort to keep your housing change on schedule and in budget, we can either provide you display models for immediate purchase or lock in pricing on special order homes if sales are initiated by September 15^th. Give us a call to discuss your housing plans.

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If you’ve seen the list of stock models currently featured on Oak Creek’s website as well as the individual dealer sites (if not, check them out!).  Why are these homes so much cheaper?  Is something wrong with them?  Do they not have the normal warranty?  Well, there’s a lot of reasons to discount stock models, namely that Oak Creek constantly updates its decors, options and floorplans to keep up with popular tastes and styles.  Does this mean that a discounted stock model doesn’t come with the commitment for service that Oak Creek is famous for?  No way!  All stock models come with the same warranties and Home Service Protection (if applicable) that are the hallmarks of our homes.  So why the big discounts?  Because these homes often show the minor wear typical of being used as a model home.  You may see the occasional scratch or carpet wear, but the discounts traded for these shortcoming typically far outweigh the negatives.  Please take a look at our clearance homes by clicking HERE.

The post What’s Up with the Deep Stock Model Discounts? appeared first on Oak Creek Homes.

So you want to tour our houses but you just don’t have the time?  No problem.  Just click here and take a look at one of our 3 dimensional home tours.  You’ll be able to get an overview of our floorplans and click anywhere in it to see the interior of a particular part of the house.  From there, you can navigate to multiple points in any room (even closets) and get a full 360-degree perspective using your mouse or keyboard.

Navigation is a breeze as you move from room to room and get the truest interpretation possible of our houses without leaving your computer screen.  You’ll find this is a great way to view the various décor choices and option packages we have available as we’ve done our best to include different ensembles across our home offerings.  Furthermore, you will be able to narrow down your home selections before visiting your local home center, saving you time and confusion.

Unlike our competition, Oak Creek goes to great effort and expense to make sure virtually all our homes offer this online experience.  We hope you take advantage of this great new technology!

The post Have You Seen Our 3D Tours? appeared first on Oak Creek Homes.

Salespeople.  The very word brings fear to the mind of most people.  Many people dread working with salespeople out of fear of being taken advantage or of being lied to.  At Oak Creek, we understand that purchasing a home is one of the biggest decisions of your life, and we’ve hired and trained our staff to approach their job differently than those at other companies.  Here’s how:

Our people have two ears and one mouth and use them proportionately.  In other words, we listen!  We know you don’t want to waste valuable time so we ask the right questions to determine just which homes at our dealership would fit your needs.  If we can’t find one there, we’ll get online and find the perfect home for you elsewhere in the company.

Our people get the best training in the industry.  Every Housing Consultant (that’s right, we consider them consultants) is given a thorough 10-day class upon hiring to educate them on our homes and company.  Then, they are given a battery of online classes and exams to further reinforce this knowledge.  After that, they each spend 3 days in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex at our our two Texas manufacturing facilities seeing our homes built and observing each step of the process.  Given all of this preparation, you can feel safe knowing you’ll be in good hands with an Oak Creek Housing Consultant.

We’re not pushy.  We’ve got the facts.  We’ve got the proof.  We are confident you will come to the right conclusion without coercion or sales “silliness.”

So come meet one of our fine Oak Creek professionals.  You’ll enjoy the process and feel good about your purchase.  Most importantly, you’ll love your new home.

The post What to Expect from an Oak Creek Housing Consultant appeared first on Oak Creek Homes.

Every home builder will claim to build the best home for your money, and frankly, we won’t be any different at Oak Creek.  We’ll tell you our homes are built stronger, designed better, more affordable and that we’re more committed to your satisfaction.  But with all manufacturers making their own claims, how can you know who to believe?  At Oak Creek, we strongly advocate PROVING everything we say about ourselves.  If we claim we have higher resale value, we are going to show you an N.A.D.A. record.  If we say we’ve got the best protection plan, we’re going to show you all of its coverages.

Oak Creek uses better and stronger materials when we build our houses, and more of them.  This causes our homes to weigh more than other brands.  How much?  Sometimes SUBSTANTIALLY more.  How do we know?  More importantly, how do YOU know?  By looking at Record Detail form, which is required by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.  Obviously, all manufactured and modular homes must travel on the State’s highways and thus must be measured for weight.  This document exists for every home and is available by request from any dealer who wants you to see them.  At Oak Creek, we do want you to see them…they are proof that a whole lot more goes into our houses.

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