Amazing waterfront lot for sale

I recently listed an amazing parcel of land. It is 3.38 acres of heavily wooded land nestled between two lakes. This lot has about 400 ft of lake frontage on one lake to the north and 200 ft of footage on another lake to the south. The property is located in the exclusive Blue Heron subdivision and surrounds North and South Twenty-Eight Lakes in beautiful Kalkaska County. You can get this wonderful lot for only $75,900. There is a gradual slope to the lake on both sides of the lot.

Kalkaska County borders Grand Traverse County to the east. You are an easy commute to Traverse City, Cadillac, the Village of Kalkaska and even Grayling isn't too far away. If you are looking to live near state land and groomed snowmobile trails... this is the place for you. There are over 80 miles of groomed snowmobile trails in the county. There are over 75 lakes and thousands of acres of undisturbed state land. If you want to buy land or a house in the North Western Michigan area you will definately get more property for the dollar in Kalkaska County.

I have a lot of land listings in the area, but I am really impressed with the design of the Blue Heron subdivision. They have underground electric and phone utilities and nicely paved wide roads. This is a great buy.

A friend recently asked me what the difference was between stick built, modular and manufactured homes. This is a question that I often hear. Many people think modular and manufactured are the same thing and that is simply not true. I will tell you what I know about these three types of homes. Please let me know if I omit any key points or if I am giving out erroneous information.

Stick built is another term for Site Built. These are homes that are constructed on the site. These homes are on a permanent foundation and conform to all local building codes. If a site built home is properly maintained the owner can usually expect to gain equity in their home over the years.

Modular homes are very similar to a site built home, with the exception that the home is built in sections in a factory and then shipped to the site where they will be put together and permanently affixed to a foundation. Modular homes may be built out of county or state but they are constructed to conform to all building code requirements of the area where it is to be delivered. So if the factory is in Ohio and you are having the home delivered to Grand Traverse County, Michigan, the home will be constructed to Michigan and local building code standards. Modular home construction quality is usually identical to stick built/site built homes, therefore they should increase in value in a similar fashion. Most banks and mortgage companies will treat modular homes exactly the same as they would a site built home.

A side note--one thing that is nice about having a modular home built is you don’t have to worry about the Michigan weather delaying construction because it is built in a factory where it is not subjected to the elements. It usually takes less than two weeks for a factory to build a home. It may take another 3-4 weeks for a local construction company to put the home together after it is delivered to the building site. This is usually a much faster process than having a site built home constructed.

Now we get to manufactured homes. They are very different from site built and modular homes. Manufactured homes are what we usually refer to as a singlewide, doublewide or mobile homes. They are constructed in a factory like a modular home, but they do not conform to local building codes. Instead, manufactured homes are constructed to conform to a federal building code called a HUD code. These homes are built on a chassis and are transported to their destination on their own wheels.
Manufactured homes are personal property and are not considered real property until they are permanently affixed to a foundation and a Michigan affidavit of affixture is submitted to the state of Michigan. You can find more information about obtaining an affidavit of affixture by clicking here.

Most manufactured homes are originally financed through the company that built them. Some banks will finance a manufactured home if it the owner converted the home into real property (Permanently affixed to the land). The lending company may also impose other restrictions such as having to pass HUD standards and other local code requirements. Manufactured homes are eligible for VA and FHA loans. If you are trying to finance a multiple-section manufactured home and it was built after 6/14/1976 and it is permanently affixed to the land, it may be eligible for a MSHDA loan (Michigan State Housing Development authority).

You can find more information on Manufactured homes here.

Recently I toured a home listed as “Modular” on the Multiple Listing System. When I arrived at the home I noticed it looked very much like a manufactured home. An inspection of the crawlspace revealed a metal chassis. It was a manufactured home.
Many modular homes may have a similar design as a manufactured home and it can sometimes be confusing to confirm how the home was constructed. I have seen manufactured homes with stick built additions added on or manufactured homes where a stick built shell was constructed around it. I am not sure if they conform to proper building codes, but I do know they can really confuse a buyer and Realtor alike.

There are ways to identify a manufactured home. One way I mentioned earlier… looking underneath and locating the metal chassis. But if you are unable to access the undercarriage there are other ways to identify a manufactured home. All manufactured homes should have a Red HUD label containing a serial number somewhere on the outside of the home. There should also be a data plate located in the interior of the home… most-likely inside the electrical panel. One of the best sites I have seen describing how to identify a manufactured home can be found here.

Manufactured homes usually do not increase in value over the years, unlike modular or site built.