What Is a Manufactured Home?

So, you're looking for a new home and have heard that a manufactured home could be a good solution.  Ok. But, what exactly IS a manufactured home?

For starters, a manufactured home is a new name for what was previously called a mobile home. There are several ways to define a manufactured home but perhaps the simplest is to say that it is a home that is 1) built in a factory and 2) built to the federal HUD building code.  

As defined by the U.S. government, a manufactured home is, “…built to the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (HUD Code) and displays a red certification label on the exterior of each transportable section.  Manufactured homes are built in the controlled environment of a manufacturing plant and are transported in one or more sections on a permanent chassis.”

The built in a factory part you knew, right?  But what about the HUD building code?  What's that?  

The HUD building code is just like other building codes your local authorities have that govern how a home, office building, or store should be built.  The difference is that the HUD code is a federally administered code.  The government passed a law in 1976 that started the HUD code and there have been some changes along the way.  

Simply put, building codes, like the HUD code, list specifications for construction that must be adhered to.  HUD, "Mandates federal standards for design, construction, and installation of manufactured homes to assure the quality, durability, safety, and affordability of manufactured homes." (ref)

The main feature of the HUD code is that HUD homes are built with a permanent chassis under them and are portable.  Other than that, they're generally constructed just like most other homes except they're built in a factory not on-site.  

That's a brief overview of the topic, "What is a manufactured home?"  Later, I'll explain the difference between a manufactured home and a modular home.