Who is Palm Harbor Homes?

This article first appeared in the PB January 2009 issue of Pro Builder.

Sidebars:
Manufactured? Modular? What's the Difference?
5 Reasons Builders and Developers Use Manufactured and Modular Housing
What Happens to the Show Village Homes After the Show?

You have to admit the idea of constructing four homes on a parking lot in Las Vegas sounds pretty extreme. Think of the logistics: can you imagine the “wide load” flat-bed trucks with huge portions of a modular house driving down the Strip? Even in Las Vegas that spectacle would certainly cause even the most jaded of Vegas visitor to take notice.

Yet that's what Palm Harbor Homes does for Show Village 2009. The team is certainly experienced, having participated in the construction of Show Village homes since 2005.

Based in Dallas, Palm Harbor Homes has been a leading provider of factory-built housing and financial services, including full-service chattel mortgages, conventional real-estate loans and insurance products since 1977. Palm Harbor's dedication to customer satisfaction has resulted in a 61 percent referral business. Its vertically integrated operational structure makes it unique in the marketplace.

About 90 percent of the 8,500 homes Palm Harbor builds each year are customized with tile work, cabinetry, engineering changes or other features. Skilled company craftsman build each home to 80 percent completion in one of 18 building centers, and company-trained associates finish the last 20 percent of construction on-site and oversee the construction of amenities such as carports, garages, sunrooms or patios. Palm Harbor builds in environmentally protected building centers featuring strict quality controls, minimal material waste and efficiency.

The company has garnered recognition from organizations such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Energy Star; has earned the National Housing Quality Gold Award; and has been included in Professional Builder's “101 Best Companies to Work For in the Residential Construction Industry” report.

Manufactured? Modular? What's the Difference?

Manufactured Home Construction

The term “manufactured home” specifically refers to a home built entirely in a protected environment under a federal code set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Manufactured homes are not mobile homes. The term “mobile home” describes factory-built homes produced prior to the 1976 HUD Code enactment.

The HUD code requires each manufactured home to meet the following requirements:

Built as one, two or three sections in a protected building center, transported to the home site on a frame and installed
Meets the strict HUD code restrictions for design and construction; durability and strength; fire resistance; transportability; energy efficiency; and quality
Built on steel beams with wheels under each section
Meets the high standards for heating; plumbing; air conditioning; and thermal and electrical systems performance
Passes stringent third-party inspection

Modular Home Construction

A modular home is simply a home built to local building codes in a controlled, environmentally protected building center using precise and efficient construction technology. A modular home is built to the same codes as a site-built home. Because they must be transported to the home site, modular homes are typically much stronger than site built homes.

5 Reasons Builders and Developers Use Manufactured and Modular Housing

Here's a list of reasons the Manufactured Housing Institute says builders and developers turn to manufactured and modular housing product:

Provides a high-quality product at a lower cost than site-built housing
Can serve to meet a pent-up consumer demand for entry-level, single-family detached housing
Can help builders and developers expand in their current market
Can produce housing using significantly less on-site labor
Enables builders and developers to utilize property that might otherwise be financially or technically difficult to build

What Happens to the Show Village Homes After the Show?

From a parking lot at the Las Vegas Convention Center to where? Each year the homes are eagerly snapped up by some enterprising home builder. The homes are carefully pulled apart, loaded back up on the flat bed trucks that parade through Las Vegas and then taken to their permanent site.

More than likely, this year's homes will catch the attention and imagination of a builder or developer who does business in the general Las Vegas vicinity. If you are interested in buying a home, be sure to ask one of the Palm Harbor representatives about it. There will be plenty of them on hand during the exhibit.

Last year when IBS was held in Orlando, Fla., one of the homes went to Panama City, Fla., with Stalwart Built Homes; New Era Homes took another, and it ended up in a housing community in Springfield, La. The third home was sold to an undisclosed builder and moved about 40 miles northwest of Orlando.

Go back to Main Show Village Guide

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