Four Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Raise Your Home at the Jersey Shore

Homeowners all along the New Jersey shore are now raising their homes in an effort to comply with the current FEMA guidelines and recommendations. With so many variables involved in lifting an existing home, the real total cost of lifting could be much greater than the cost in the original proposal. 

While it is critical to know what the recommended height is for your home location zone, many homeowners do not realize that the cost of raising your home may not be cost effective, as compared to the custom home you could build instead of raising your existing home.  The truth is, many times the costs quoted by a reputable house raising company many not include critical and necessary repairs once the process has begun.  In addition, your contract with the house raising company may specify that additional costs can be incurred.  What will happen if you begin the process and end up with cost overruns? 

And once the house lift is complete, you still have the same floorplan you had before, now it’s just higher and may be in need of significant repairs inside.  As a custom homebuilder, we believe that rebuilding a new, elevated home with modular construction is more cost effective because not only will your home comply with the newest elevation requirements as set forth by FEMA, you will be able to build the home of your dreams!  Here are four reasons why you shouldn’t raise your home at the Jersey Shore.

Reason #1 - It Won’t Be New!

If you decide to rebuild your home from scratch instead of raising your existing home, everything in your home will be new, from the roof down to the foundation.  All of the electrical, plumbing, windows, doors, sheetrock, finishes and everything in between will be brand new.  Even the layout of your new home can be completely different from your existing home.  Unfortunately, you have been put in a position to make a decision on whether to raise your existing home or build new, so why not make the decision that will give you everything you’ve ever wanted in your home?

Reason #2 - Budgetary Concerns

As we stated above, lifting a home can present some budgetary problems in that you don’t know what the home-lifter will encounter during the process and what the additional costs will be.  Having that in mind, building a new custom modular home will provide for an up-front budget, based on the home and features you will be building and cost over-runs can be alleviated at the time your contract is formulated.

Reason #4 – It Won’t Necessarily Increase The Value of Your Property

Raising your home provides for compliance with the new FEMA elevations standards, but it doesn’t necessarily add value to your existing home.  Building a new home on your existing property can provide for an overall increase in the value of your property.  With all of the brand new systems, appliances and finishes your new home will feature, it will more than likely compare at a higher value than existing homes of similar size and features in your neighborhood. 

Reason #4 – It Won’t Have A Home Warranty

When you build a new home with a custom home builder, you will be the proud owner of a brand new home, but you will also have a new 10 year home owners warranty to go along with all that newness!  This home warranty is a valuable asset that your existing, raised home will not have.  A homeowner’s warranty can provide peace of mind that your home will be covered under a warranty for 10 years.  We recommend you discuss with your builder the specific coverage for your new home, and make sure you receive a copy of your policy at closing.

We think that these four reasons should raise enough questions about whether it is worth raising your existing house as compared to the alternative of rebuilding a new home.  But, if you have any questions or need information on building a custom modular home RBA Homes is here to help.  As one of New Jersey’s premier custom builders, RBA Homes has been helping homeowners in Monmouth and Ocean Counties rebuild their homes after Superstorm Sandy. There is a lot of information available about zones and heights, which can be obtained online for your particular home and location.  http://www.region2coastal.com/bestdata. 

If you have questions about raising versus rebuilding or have a lot to build on, feel free to contactus today at 732-747-3800 or http://RBAhomes.com for more information on how we can help you get back to living your Jersey Shore lifestyle.

Start Your Custom Home Now and Be In Sooner Than You Think!

They say timing is everything.  And when it comes to building a new, custom home there are many details regarding lot selection, design, technique, building products and finishes that need to be determined pretty soon after the decision to build has been made.  One of the things that many people overlook is a realistic timeframe of when they want to be in their new home.  So, if you’ve got the lot and design, you could theoretically start your custom home now and be in while there’s still time to enjoy the warmer weather at the shore!

Because we specialize in building custom homes at the Jersey Shore, RBA Homes is particularly attuned to construction timeframes and schedules.  We offer modular construction, which can provide a much quicker move-in timeframe than most traditional construction methods.

That’s why it’s extremely important to know that if you are ready to build your shore home  – now is the time to get started.  Most builders constructing homes around the Jersey Shore are providing a 12 to 24 month lead time, which is a long time to wait for your family to have fun in the sun!  RBA Homes can provide about a 6-month build out from permit and that includes some exterior amenities like patios and outdoor kitchens as well. As you can see, it’s critical to get started in these early winter months so that you and your family can start enjoying your new home before next winter sets in.

RBA Homes provides homeowners with all the latest in building materials for shore homes, as well as personalized, hands-on service with our team of construction professionals.  If you are ready to start your new home and are looking for information on building a custom home in Monmouth or Ocean counties, click here for examples of some of our work, or contact us today.

Winter Is Coming: RBA Homes Has Three Good Reasons to Winterize Your Summer Home

With many of the custom homes along the New Jersey shore that we build occupied seasonally, it’s important that when the weather turns cold, our homeowners who batten up the hatches and head south prepare their home for the weather.  So how does one “batten up the hatches” to ensure that the home is properly closed for the colder weather, without worry of the potential freezing or other disasters that can strike an unoccupied home during the cold winter months?  Winter is coming:  RBA Homes has three good reasons to winterize your custom vacation home. 

Reason #1…Homes are not meant to be cold

Homes are like people and need to be kept warm to a certain degree.  Many homeowners turn off their heat before they leave for the season, which is not what we recommend.  By leaving the heat on and turning it down to 50° Fahrenheit you will be keeping the house warm enough to keep it from freezing should the temperature drop to below freezing for a period of time.  Homes are not meant to freeze and keeping your heat on is critical so that it doesn’t sustain damage when the temperatures drop.

Reason #2…Standing water can do immense damage when frozen

Another part of our recommended winterizing process is to drain all the waterlines to prevent ruptures should there be a power failure and the heat does go off for some reason.  This includes waterlines for your clothes washer and dishwasher, as well as your water heater, exterior faucets, toilets, showerheads and spray hoses in sinks.  Don’t forget any other water treatment equipment such as whole house filters, carbon filters, UV light filters, etc.  You may even want to consider a low-heat thermostat, which will help conserve energy when your home is not occupied.

Reason #3…Sheetrock doesn’t like moisture

Not only does sheetrock not respond well to extreme cold, finishes like paint and hardwood flooring are not meant to be exposed to the cold.  Your house has moisture in it naturally from the day-to-day things you do, like taking showers or washing dishes.  The last thing you want to do is let this freeze during the winter, causing damage like buckling of floors and walls.  By keeping your heat set to 50° there is less of a chance that this type of damage will occur during the winter months. 

If you have questions about how to winterize your home for the season, or you are considering building your new custom home in Monmouth or Ocean counties, contact RBA Homes today for details on why we are the builder of choice for custom modular or traditional home construction in New Jersey.

Which is a Better Fit for You: Modular or Traditional Stick-Built Construction?

When it comes to building a new custom home, many families are faced with a multitude of decisions from day one of the process.  From the choice of locations and the style of home to the type of construction, these decisions can weigh heavily on budget and move-in timeframe.  We always get questions on what the best type of construction is, so we decided to put together this list of benefits for both modular homebuilding and traditional stick-built construction so that you can decide what the best process will be for your new home.

Cost Efficiency and Value

The number one concern of every homeowner is that their builder is providing materials and techniques that are cost efficient, and add value to their home.  This can be accomplished in both modular and stick-built construction, but it depends on the home design, lot configuration, features and finishes the homeowner selects.  For some homes, customizing a modular design, having it built in the factory, delivered and set on site can be the most cost efficient way to build their home.  The value per square foot can be incredibly good, while at the same time providing a well constructed, beautiful home.  In other cases, it may be more feasible, from a cost perspective, to stick-build the home on-site, particularly when the features and design of the home are intricate or the homeowners have particular needs.

Design of the Home To Be Built

While we are talking about home designs, some home plans are better built as custom modular and others are definitely more suited for an on-site stick-build plan.  We recommend that if you already have your home plans, consider having them evaluated as a potential modular plan before you make your final decision, as it may be cost and time efficient to go modular.  The more intricate your home design is, the more you may want to consider an on-site stick build.  This will add time to your process, but it will also provide the flexibility you need to construct a home that has a more complex design.

Time Is Of the Essence

Did we mention timeframe?  If you need to build your home faster, then we recommend looking at a modular home, which will shave much-needed time from your construction process.  The home is constructed in sections, in the factory and shipped to the site.  Once it arrives, the sections are put together like a puzzle and voila! – you just built your home!  Of course, all the finishes are completed on site, but this process provides the advantages of building in a controlled factory environment, which is better than exposing your home to the elements while under construction.  The factory turnaround time is much faster than an on-site stick build from foundation up.  But, if time is not an issue, and your plan is more complex, then you may be better off with  stick-built construction on site.

RBA Homes has specialized in the design and construction of custom homes since 1986. During that time, the Company has become the recognized leader in Central New Jersey’s modular home construction industry. We have built hundreds of homes, both modular and stick-built in Monmouth, Middlesex and Ocean counties.

RBA Homes represents numerous top quality modular home manufacturers, as well as architects who provide design services for stick-built plans.  Our emphasis is on custom designed floor plans, quality craftsmanship, full service and dependability.   If you are ready to build your new custom home and need design help, or if you already have plans, we can help make your new home dreams a reality!