Manufactured housing is huge in .  Could it be huge for you?

 

These are good times for the staff at Calypso Homes, Inc. – a Phoenix-based seller of manufactured homes.  For a variety of reasons this alternative to traditional, or site-built, homes has enjoyed sustained popularity in .

 

Gone are the days when manufactured housing simply meant trailers.  Today’s manufactured homes come in a wide variety of styles and sizes and offer the quality, features, amenities and return on investment that put them on par with traditional homes.

 

According to the MHI – the Manufactured Housing Institute (www.manufacturedhousing.org), the average per-square-foot cost of manufactured housing ranges from 10 to 35 percent less than site-built homes, depending on the geographic region.  A greater emphasis has been placed on the quality of the product recently as well.  In fact, building materials in today’s manufactured homes are often the same as used with their traditional contemporaries.  Combine this with a manufactured home’s ability to be customized to meet a family’s particular lifestyle and it’s easy to see why these homes are so popular in the . 

 

This is all excellent news for Lynn Ehmann, Owner and President of Calypso Homes.  “I fell into the business by luck,” she says.  “But when I saw the potential I knew it was something worth pursuing.”

 

In business for less than four years, Ehmann says she’s sold roughly 85 manufactured homes of all shapes and sizes.  Even with the recent real estate slow down, interest in her business has remained steady.  “There’s always a need for affordable housing,” she adds.

 

Calypso Homes isn’t your average manufactured home dealer however.  Where there are numerous businesses out there selling new manufactured homes, Calypso is one of a precious few in the Valley that specializes in repossessions.  “For a variety of reasons the homes are placed back on the market,” says the native.  “Our staff simply makes them available to people in need of a home.”

 

The benefits?  Incredible savings for one.  Oftentimes the bank’s main focus is getting the outstanding balance from the original note.  This can be substantially lower than the estimated value of the home, which translates in sales prices much lower than one can find with a new home.  In fact, some home-buyers end up paying less than half the retail price for a home built just a few years ago.

 

Of course, financial opportunities such as this tend to draw another group as well – investors.  According to Ms. Ehmann, as much as 40% of Calypso’s business comes from those looking to capitalize on the market.  These enterprising individuals buy houses at the lower cost and then turn them for a profit.  Some make improvements to the units, others move them to land they own before selling to drive the price up even more.  And of course, some buy them to use as rental properties.

 

Independent appraisal studies confirm that manufactured homes can appreciate in value the same as other forms of housing, further increasing the appeal. 

 

This is all fine with Ms. Ehmann and the staff at Calypso.  “The customer pays less for a quality home, the banks get the money owed to them, and there’s a little left over for us,” she says with a smile.  “It’s truly a win-win-win situation.”

 

is a member of the Arizona Business Women’s Association and sponsor of the past Round Up held in   Her business – Calypso Homes, Inc. is located at in .  602-716-5888.

 

By ~ Robert Palmer