In the Manufactured Home Industry, there has been much talk recently surrounding the iHouse, manufactured by Clayton Homes. Clayton Homes has dedicated a website, ClaytonIhouse.com, to showcase their newest, eco-friendly, pocket-book pleasing homes.

From Mnn.com, ”The Clayton i-house is available is in two sizes at two different price points: The 723 square-foot, one bed/one bath i-house I starts at $74,900. The 1,023 square-foot, two bed/one bath i-house II starts at $93,000. Both homes can be configured in at least seven different ways and include eco-friendly and energy-saving features like low-e windows, dual-flush toilets, butterfly style rainwater-collecting roofs, tight insulation, zero-VOC paint, and more. Not included are optional bells and whistles like solar panels, bamboo flooring, etc. and the cost of shipping the prefabricated home to the placement site. ”

These purchase prices may yield monthly mortgage payments as low as $575 – $700!*

Right now, these small sized, economically made homes are of increasing consumer interest. In a less than stable mortgage market, the trends towards purchasing a reasonably sized home with a low-moderate sized mobile home mortagage couldn’t be more appealing to consumers, especially with homes this gorgeous & ec0-friendly.

*O.A.C, inquire for more details at (800) 882-1999 or visit http://www.camhf.com/

CertifiedGreen Modular Home Program™ Guide, by NMHC and SBRA*

The National Modular Housing Council (NMHC) has introduced a dynamic new program called the CertifiedGreen Modular Home Program™,created by the NMHC in cooperation with the Systems Building Research Alliance (SBRA). This program was created to draw attention to the inherently green nature of factory building: the efficient way that modular homes are constructed, the use and reuse of materials and the general conservation of resources that are hallmarks of modular construction.

CertifiedGreen™ is a national program for new homes that qualify in compliance with the National Green Building Standard recently accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).The standard was developed by a housing industry consensus committee representing architects, site and factory built home builders, environmental experts and building product manufacturers formed by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the International Code Council (ICC) to draft the actual standards documentation. The CertifiedGreen™ program was designed by and for the benefit of the modular industry, expressly to meet the needs of modular home builders constructing green homes.

According to the Manufactured Housing Institute, “With the National Green Building Standard as the program’s technical basis, CertifiedGreen™ homes meet a widely recognized benchmark for green building.”

The Program Guide contains additional information on what is required for participation in the program.

National Green Building Standard™, by ICC and NAHB (New Standard to be in stock beginning of March 2009)

A collaborative effort between the ICC and NAHB, the Standard provides the “green” practices that can be incorporated into new homes, including high-rise multifamily buildings, home remodeling and additions, hotels and motels, and the site upon which the green homes are located.

The green practices include lot design, preparation and development; resource, energy, and water efficiency; indoor environmental quality; and operation; maintenance; and building owner education. The four threshold levels, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Emerald provide builders with a means to achieve basic, entry-level green building, or achieve the highest level of sustainable “green” building that incorporates energy savings of 60 percent or higher. The Standard can be used by any builder for their individual projects, or be the basis for a local community or state green building program.

*Information on CertifiedGreen Modular Home Program™ was obtained from the Manufactured Housing Institute.