Has anyone worked with CuttingEdge Homes (Modular mfg)?

Question

I am beginning a project to add a second home to my lot, and I wanted to do a modular to decrease construction time, as well as conserve costs.  I started the process with CuttingEdge homes, but I'm a little concerned that they are a little vague on ultimate costs for the project (even ballparks) and don't have any outlines as to what I can be expected to take care of on my own.   For example the cost of the module is $130k, and they told me my budget of $200-225k is "tight."  When I asked for a list of potential expenditures, they had none.  If anyone has any experience with this company, or any feedback, I'd appreciate it.  Thank you for your time.

Isaac Lassiter · Answer

Hi Charlene,

I am sorry that it didn't work out to build with our company. The manufacturers in the industry don't sell to individual retail buyers, they sell through authorized dealers. There is a level of complexity to the process that requires there to be a retail client focused team that most big manufacturers are not able to perform. Cutting Edge Homes is one of those choices, and with all of our clients we are clear from the start that we don't offer the site work services. Site work is estimated based on real plans by licensed contractors that perform the sit work. This is explicitly stated on our website, contract and all other documentation that you were provided: Cutting Edge Homes provides the modular home delivered - licensed contractors do the rest.

Regarding the responses that you received, it is necessary to provide more detail because one of the responses was misleading.

Pedro Tavares lumps Cutting Edge Homes in with MA Williams. Ma Williams is primarily a Manufactured Housing dealer. Cutting Edge Homes sells no Manufactured Housing. We are a design-focused modular home company that has never sold a Manufactured Home. Take a look at the two websites and compare the homes to see for yourself.https://www.cuttingedgehomes.net/gallery/https://www.mawilliamshomes.com/models-and-floor-plans/Pedro says, " "When you start digging into what they actually offer the result is always as you put it... "vague." "We have never been contacted by Pedro. His firm is not on our list of recommended Architects or Engineers, and to my knowledge we have not worked on any projects with his firm, certainly not in the last 10 years. Pedro works for an industry consultant and he has his own self-interest in posting here. He is not an experienced developer or home-buyer who has asked all the questions as he built his home. He says that "the result is always" vague? This is a result from a conversation he has only imagined.  He says that our service isn't a good value, "Not often as much as they charge in my experience." Pedro doesn't have this information. It sounds like Pedro has a prejudice, not any actual information about what we do. This doesn't serve the interests of people who are looking to invest in real estate.

What it is good to understand is that investors who own property in California typically own land that is sub-standard (urban) or undeveloped (rural). That means that engineered plans and a lot of work goes into preparing the project criteria, at which time a cost can be quoted to the investor by a licensed contractor. Even if the land is flat with metered utilities, California still requires that you submit site-specific plans for a building permit. With a typical 60% of the project cost in the modular home, Cutting Edge Homes can provide a detailed price for the home in most cases (when you pick a plan that we already have in our plan collection).  That reduces the costs risk for 60% of the project costs (YAY!). The 40% of costs (approximately) for work done on-site is only estimated by a licensed contractor once there are site-specific plans for the work that has to be performed. The price quote for site work is not provided by a licensed contractor on any projects that we are involved in until AFTER the plans are completed, whether you use a dealer like Cutting Edge Homes, or a turn-key contractor with a GMP price. No one is going to take the risk and give you a GMP price quote without plans. Cutting Edge Homes isn't selling simple double-wide Manufactured Homes put on a flat lot in the desert like MA Williams. These are complex homes built to the California Building Standards Code that require installation and finishing to meet the regular California Building Code.

Pedro's solution of trying to contact the manufacturers directly

The manufacturers of modular homes (almost as a rule) don't sell directly to homeowners, so this is really a pointless loop that he is sending you on.  "If you're contacting someone like Cutting Edge in the first place maybe it's not something custom you're looking for. If you're looking for an off-the-shelf floorplan contacting some manufacturers might be of benefit to you. Keep in mind though that if you're green at this they might just refer you back to another middle man as homeowners can often be laborious." Let's ignore the fact that 80% of the homes that Cutting Edge sells are custom-designed, not stock, and focus on the fact that NONE of the manufacturers with scale sell directly to homeowners. Pedro knows this. Everyone in the industry knows this. It is a fact. They won't do it because it isn't their business model. They are in the manufacturing business, not the business of coming to you and rolling up their sleeves and doing the granular coordinating work. They want a spec and plans and they want to fabricate the homes and move on to the next one, like a factory does. There is nothing else to say, but that this is just really bad advice without any viable solution proposed by Pedro.Apparently Pedro also doesn't know where our homes are built. At this point, I was not surprised that the next set of info he shares is 83% wrong. "Golden West, Fleetwood, Silvercrest, Hallmark, Cavco, or Phoenix Modular." I've never heard of Phoenix Modular. Cavco, Fleetwood, Silvercrest, and Hallmark are not companies that we have ever used as a supplier. Golden West is just a brand name for Clayton Homes, who supplies modular homes to Cutting Edge for our clients who have more limited budgets. Clayton is a good company owned by Berkshire Hathaway, and is such a big player in the industry that they are well positioned for some market segments. Clayton doesn't sell their homes directly to retail buyers from the factory. If you are a developer with a large project, you can absolutely contact Clayton to discuss working with them directly. You will probably need to hire various employees and consultants to work with you to coordinate the plans, specifications, contracting, ordering, delivery, installation, service, and warranty coordination of the modular homes that you purchase. You can self-perform this work, or hire a company like Cutting Edge Homes to do that work for you.  Many people buying a modular home don't want to go into the modular home business. They want a house with four walls, a functioning roof, and rough and finish materials that work. They want to know who to call that will pick up the phone and do something if there is ever a problem. They don't want a new career figuring out the process for their (usually) one-off project. The beautiful thing about the economy in our country is that there are so many different ways that you can get the same job done building a house. We at Cutting Edge Homes offer one of those options. Use our service, or don't. That is up to you. But some people / investors really do need this service.

Pedro's "Factory Direct" advice is not a viable option for most people. His breakdown of our business model was inaccurate, and his advice here to buy from the factory is not right for most investors. He doesn't know who our suppliers are.

You don't go directly to the computer factory to buy your home, right? You buy it from a distributor who bought it from a brand name who contracted with a factory to get the computer manufactured and had their label put on the computer. Then that brand services and warranties that product and coordinates its delivery to the point of retail distribution. You don't have to sign the bill of lading to import the the computer, and you don't have to do the engineering behind it. You know who to call when you need help. There are multiple players required in the economy to deliver complex products to market. Cutting Edge Homes and companies like us provide one of those options.

Account Closed · Answer

As a general rule of thumb anything that pops up immediately when you google a term that should have a lot of results should raise some red flags. Look at the top three results when you google "Modular Homes Southern California." You'll find:
Cutting Edge Homes
US Modular
& Ma Williams

These companies spend hundreds if not thousand of dollars per month on "SEO" or Search Engine Optimization to appear at the top there. When you start digging into what they actually offer the result is always as you put it... "vague."

They're middle men. They don't do anything other than connect you to the people you should be talking to. They have relationships and know the players to be able to maneuver in the space better than you can when you have no information, but what is that worth? Not often as much as they charge in my experience.

If you read my project post on my prefab development I mentioned that building a modular home in SoCal is difficult. There just aren't that many players. However if you're contacting someone like Cutting Edge in the first place maybe it's not something custom you're looking for. If you're looking for an off-the-shelf floorplan contacting some manufacturers might be of benefit to you. Keep in mind though that if you're green at this they might just refer you back to another middle man as homeowners can often be laborious.

Golden West, Fleetwood, Silvercrest and Hallmark are all Southern California mobile home manufacturers that have done or regularly build modular from time to time. Cutting Edge is likely getting their product built at one of these or outfits in Arizona such as Cavco or Phoenix Modular. Your mileage is going to vary with every one of them depending on how well put together your team is, how busy the manufacturer is and how easy you seem to be to work with.

I wouldn't count on modular building offering you significant savings outside of choosing a floorplan they build a few hundred of a year. Where you should see savings with modular construction is the amount of time it takes but that can also easily be eaten up by inexperience.

Good luck with your search.

Charlene H. · Answer

Thank you Account Closed!  I truly appreciate all of your comments and feedback.  I did see your post, and had asked who you had used.  I am probably going to have to chalk up the money already spent on plans as an expensive lesson.  They simply cannot give me a straight answer on any of my questions, and that definitely makes me feel uneasy.  I'm probably going to have to go the regular, site-built route.  Thank you again for your assistance!

Charlene H. · Answer

Hello Isaac,

I’m surprised to see you responding to this post as it is nearly 3 years old - especially as you flippantly state “use our services, or don’t.”  I obviously chose not to, so why bother commenting at all if you don’t care?

Your comment regarding the total cost of the build, and site work while citing contracts, websites, etc. implies that I asked for a solid, final number on everything, including site work.   That is absolutely not true.

You are correct inasmuch as you state “many people buying a modular home don’t want to go into the modular home business.”  That was the number one reason that I didn’t go with your firm.  It became obvious as I proceeded with your company, that the gap between your “services” and getting a completed, ready-to-occupy home, was much more of a gap than I wanted to bridge with my already busy schedule.

There were also several inconsistencies in addition to the vagueness in the communication with your team, which are also present in your post.  Those red flags were of deep concern to me, and were the second reason I didn’t proceed with your firm.  The “mansplaining” was the cherry on top.

I am my sole support, and wanted to build the second home on my property to make my retirement more comfortable.  I spent approximately $10k on the process with your company, and as I stated, it was an expensive lesson.

P.S.  I met a man who purchased his home directly from Silvercrest.  He gave me a very nice tour of the home, and said they were great to work with.

Paul Sofia · Answer

BOOM.  Isaac is spot on.

Has anyone worked with CuttingEdge Homes (Modular mfg)?

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