Manufacturers tell House committee manufactured homes can cost roughly $135K–$280K; financing, insurance cited as barriers

Representatives from a factory‑built home retailer told the House General & Housing Committee on Jan. 28 that manufactured and modular homes can vary widely in price and that financing and insurance remain major barriers for many buyers.

Dan Feckdal, the retailer’s sales representative, described scenarios that include full site work (wells, septic, power) and said prices for single‑wide homes with utilities and site work “would range anywhere from 175 to around 200,” while per‑square‑foot estimates and lower price brackets apply when utilities already exist. He told the committee delivery times depend on factory backlogs, with a best‑case order‑to‑on‑site timeline of roughly seven to eight weeks and some product lines taking three months or longer.

“These factories…are set up to make money,” Feckdal said, describing how component bottlenecks such as drywall can slow production schedules. Ashley, the retailer’s finance and marketing coordinator, said the local market has shifted: modular sales that had represented about “25% to 35%” of transactions in prior years have dropped to “about 10% to 15%,” a trend she attributed to higher overall construction and ongoing maintenance costs.

Witnesses also described how the paperwork used to transfer title affects buyers’ access to credit. The panel said most manufactured‑home sales historically use a bill of sale (treating the unit as personal property), but some lenders allow warranty‑deed filings that classify the unit as real property — a distinction that can broaden secondary‑market financing options.

Sellers said Champlain Housing Trust’s down‑payment assistance is an important local tool. “That’s the Champlain Housing down payment assistance program… it’s really kind of integral for a lot of people being able to access new or newer, well, new housing,” Ashley said, describing how the subsidy helped otherwise marginal transactions close.

On insurance and site risk, witnesses said lenders and insurers are cautious about homes sited in flood zones: higher premiums or required private mortgage insurance can make monthly payments unaffordable and reduce lender willingness to finance. The company representatives urged careful bill language and said their counsel had suggested clarifications to draft provisions affecting manufactured housing transactions.

The committee did not take action; members said they would review the testimony and the draft bill language further.