Your turn-key source for Modular Homes

Educate Yourself

What is Turn-Key?

“Turn-Key” is also known as ONE STOP SHOPPING. After you choose your home, we begin the work on your land. We do everything ourselves. “Turn-key” means that we will clear your land, de-stump, make a road, install a septic system, drill a well, as well as complete everything else involved. You will not have to hire anyone yourself and you will not have to communicate with many different subcontractors. The home owner has very few responsibilities when it comes to purchasing one of our homes. This is what makes us unique compared to other companies in the area; this is why people come to us. No one wants to be plagued with scheduling the plumber around the electrician and so on, that is why we have our own equipment and our own crews.

What is a Modular Home?

A Modular Home is a System Built Home that is assembled completely in a factory and is split into boxes before it is delivered. Depending on the size of the home they can come in anywhere from 2 to 4 boxes. We set them on top of a POURED foundation and proceed to “marry” the walls together. We then continue with the “button-up” as well as plumbing, electrical, and the other final touches. The process is not very labor intensive and that is what allows for such a speedy assembly. Contingent on weather, a “turn key” Modular Home can be finished in about 6-8 months! That means that everything is done, we hand you the key and you have a brand new FINISHED home. Compare that to a stick-built home which can take up to 16 months to build and cost a fortune, you have yourself a pretty good deal.

Why build a modular home?

There are nine reasons; better equipment, climate control, quality materials, better construction, tighter construction, Energy Star efficiency, Universal Design, quality control, and COST. By design, these manufactured homes are assembled in modular factories that use larger, more powerful, and more sophisticated equipment and because all main components are assembled with jigs and precision, quality control is ensured. This means that every home is built exactly as it was designed, with all corners square and all walls plumb. Building in a modern modular home factory means building under climate controlled conditions. This enables manufacturers to eliminate two problems, which plague stick builders, particularly in the Northeast. First, it allows them to avoid weather-related defects: moisture saturation by the lumber, drywall and insulation; warping of walls and doors; freezing and cracking of brittle materials; and other elements. Secondly, a factory environment enables modular companies to avoid weather-related delays.

Quality

When building a modular home, only the highest quality lumber can be used because warped, badly knotted or splintered pieces would jam the finely tuned assembly lines. This means that better materials go into modular homes. Because modular homes have to be shipped over the road, they are built stronger than conventional homes. Major components, such as walls, floors, and ceilings, are not only nailed together, they are also bonded with a special adhesive. This double fastening enables modular homes to be sturdy enough to withstand miles of travel. One of the best things about building a Modular home is that you get quality energy efficiency as part of the standard package. The tighter construction of modular homes greatly improves their energy efficiency and they do not lose as much heat as a stick-built would. Evidence of this advantage is readily available from the Energy Star Initiative, a federal program administered by the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency that promotes greater energy efficiency in new home construction. An important component of the Energy Star Program is the tightness of the home. Tests that are performed for the program show that when a typical Modular home is finished correctly by the set crew and general contractor, it will perform considerably better than a stick built home. And most importantly, quality in modular construction is first ensured by the manufacturer's compliance with national, state, and local building codes. To verify this compliance, each building plan is inspected by a state-approved third party agency, which certifies that the house will meet the most stringent state construction standards.

Cost

When you are talking about the cost of a modular home, you cannot compare it to that of a stick built home. The purchase price of a modular home is less than that of a conventionally built home because the factory is able to reduce costs. The savings comes from bulk purchases of materials directly from the manufacturer that eliminate the middle man, lower assembly line wages, etc. The only way a stick builder could match the cost of a modular home is by building with less expensive, inferior materials, by employing unskilled labor, or by paying for fewer man-hours. This of course results in poorer construction, craftsmanship, and service.

Financing

At RJC Modular Homes we want to bring you the entire package. A large part of the package is the land you buy and the bank that you work with. We are in touch with realtors in the Catskill area that will lead you to some of the best land buys in Greene County. We also work closely in relation with many banking and mortgage companies that we can recommend when looking for a Modular-Construction Loan. Modular-Construction Loans are structured differently from the typical construction loan. There are progress payments that are made each time a specific item of the work is completed. For example, after the decks on a home are completed and an inspection is ordered, the contractor receives a wire of money for completing that specific item.

Insurance

It is important that the homeowner secures a builders-risk or homeowners insurance policy. In addition, it is required that all General Contractors, Subcontractors and Self-proprietors maintain Liability and Workers Compensation Insurance to protect the homeowner from any lawsuits due to accidents or negligence. At RJC Modular Homes, we are fully insured under the above requirements.