Get the latest news delivered daily!
Get the latest news delivered daily!
Shane Joffe is partner and general manager of HomeQuest in Yorba Linda, on October 28, 2021. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Shane Joffe is partner and general manager of HomeQuest in Yorba Linda, on October 28, 2021. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Shane Joffe is partner and general manager of HomeQuest in Yorba Linda, on October 28, 2021. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Shane Joffe sells factory-built homes for a living.
As principal and general manager of the Yorba Linda-based manufactured home retailer HomeQuest, Joffe, 39, saw West Coast sales quadruple (up 300%) over the last year amid the housing crisis due to loosening regulations on where accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, can go.
“Manufactured homes really are one of the solutions,” Joffe said.
Plus, they’re affordable alternatives to on-site construction as homeowners increasingly put ADUs in the backyard as a home office or separate guest quarters. Joffe sees a surge in those small backyard units, as well as larger models used as a primary residence, weekend getaway or rental.
“We expect to see 40% to 60% of our business in private land in the next couple of years,” he said.
Established initially as J&H Home Sales in 1998, HomeQuest is an authorized dealer of new homes representing six leading manufacturers and resale services throughout California. The company’s user-friendly platform offers virtual model home tours to allow filtered searches by price, floorplans and other specs.
Joffe shared his insights from watching manufactured housing evolve to fit our changing needs and expectations. The conversation was edited and condensed.
Q: What’s the difference between a mobile and a manufactured home?
A: It comes down to the year they were built. Mobile homes were built pre-1976 and registered through the DMV. In 1976, they fell under the (California Department of Housing and Community Development) and were built to HUD codes. There are a lot more stringent building codes now than in pre-1976. So, yes, there is a difference between the quality, look and use of a mobile home versus a manufactured home.
Q: Is manufactured housing still predominately found in leased-land communities?
A: Historically, that was 100% of our business until about 5 years ago. But you’re seeing a lot more of them on private land. I never thought the day would come where manufactured housing was looked at as potential mainstream housing.
Q: Where do you see the greatest demand in California?
A: There’s demand everywhere. San Jose is booming like crazy and has never slowed down. But naturally, since our corporate office is down here in Southern California, most of the interest is in San Diego, the Inland Empire and Orange County.
The ADU is a new term people are just now learning about. A lot of people are surprised they can fit an acceptable-sized unit in their backyard. I would say the average is between 800 and 1,200 square feet, but we can do as small as 400 square feet and still have it built to HUD building code before it’s considered a park model, or tiny home. Tiny homes, which are technically RVs, are 399 square feet or less. So, we’re still in the educational stage, but people are buying these every single month.
Q: How much does a manufactured home typically cost?
A: A tiny home can be purchased for as little as $49,900, while a multi-section manufactured home can sell for over $220,000.
Q: What kind of features do they have?
A: We put in farmhouse sinks, standalone bathtubs, hardwood cabinets and even quartz countertops. One of my favorite features you see in our beach homes is oversized stack windows and dormers. Really, if you can put it in a site-built home, you can put it in a manufactured home. The only difference is that we’re building our homes in a factory.
Q: Do they arrive on-site in one piece?
A: They’re built in sections in the factory. We put the sections together on-site and then seal them up. There’s an inspection process to make sure it’s all done correctly. We even use earthquake bracing systems, so if the home shifts, you won’t find the piers going through the floorboards because they’re attached to the frame. But then these were built to transport over 55 miles per hour, down the highway, for several hundred miles. In terms of earthquakes, there’s no better simulation.
Q: Has the pandemic impacted sales?
A: It’s definitely impacted us both in a positive way and as a reminder that we need to be patient and ride it out. Our industry is no different than any other. The supply chain and low inventory have impacted us. But we’re thankful that in a state like California, where the demand for housing is so high, we’re able to serve as many customers as we have. In terms of leads and interest and demand, that’s just never slowed down. In a way, it sped up.
Title: Principal and general manager
Education: Joffe originally majored in landscape architecture at Michigan State University before changing course. He now holds a bachelor’s of interdisciplinary studies with an emphasis in communications and business, from Arizona State University.
Experience: Board of Directors for California Manufactured Housing Institute and former OC Chapter President for Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association.
Get the latest news delivered daily!
We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.