NoneMobile homes have been a popular housing option for nearly a century.  During World War II the demand for mobile homes increased dramatically as the U.S. government ordered thousands of them to house people who were working on U.S. Defense Department building projects.  At this point the mobile home was really mobile.  It was very similar to what we consider a camping trailer today.  Unlike contemporary modular homes, the construction of the mobile home was not regulated by a housing authority, and because of this they were riddled with safety hazards and construction flaws.However, this all changed in 1975 when the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development created a set of building codes specially designed for mobile homes.  This code addressed structural issues as well as safety issues that mobile homes had been notorious for.  After the implementation of these building codes mobile homes were subsequently referred to as manufactured homes, or as modular homes.  This change in terminology helped to segregate pre-1975 mobile homes from contemporary modular homes.The next big advancement in contemporary modular homes came in 2000 when the HUD building codes for modular homes was once again updated.  This time the revisions presented 150 areas of improvement.  A couple of these improvements included the addition of fire alarms as a mandatory component of a modular home’s design, as well as the mandatory inclusion of a steel chassis under the wooden floor joists in the home.Today contemporary modular homes are designed to look just like a traditional stick built home.  There are a variety of architectural styles that you can choose from, a variety of siding options to choose from, and even a variety of color schemes for the siding and roof to choose from.  The shape and layout of the home can also be altered and customized to fit the living space needs of the home owner.  Inside the home you can select from carpet, tiles, hard wood floors, or laminates.  You can also select what type of textures and colors that you want on your walls.Traditionally mobile homes have been a single wide model that offered modest living accommodations.  Contemporary modular homes, on the other hand, offer a wide variety of size options that range from modest single-wides to luxurious quadruple-wides.  Some modular home brands even offer a two story option.  It is easy to see that mobile homes have come a long way since the 20th century.  In the beginning of their life they were built like a travel trailer and they had many safety issues.  At this point their construction was not regulated by the government, however, by 1975 this all changed.  HUD took over the supervision of mobile home construction and required that higher building standards be utilized to improve the safety of the homes.  Then in 2000 another revision of these building standards further improved the quality of modular home construction.  Today modular homes are better built than most stick built homes, they appreciate in value, and they still save you tens of thousands of dollars on your new home.