American RTM Homes - Buy RTM Home

First Steps

First thing is to visit our Malta Design Center to view our Show Room and our Show Homes. There is no other way to truly appreciate the potential of our American RTM Homes, and the quality of interior finishing that we offer with our advanced Green super energy efficient Enviro System construction.

Simple fact is, everyone who visits has their expectations exceeded.

We do NOT offer anything like what is sold by trailer and modular home dealers. Thinking that our homes are like theirs is like thinking a Big Mac is the same as Prime Rib because both are beef.

After you visit our Design Center we can begin to help you through the steps needed to get your new home built.

FIRST STEP is to decide what you want to build, when and where, and if it fits into your budget. Visiting our Design Center will help you to make basic design decisions and understand general pricing. In turn this will allow you to determine your new home budget and if financing is available.

SECOND STEP is obtaining a conceptual design for what you want to build. During the Design Process you will make more specific decisions and get more information on how various aspects of construction will affect your overall price.

We offer FREE custom and computerized conceptual design services for both your new American RTM Home and your new Superior Cabinets. In addition we have full scale new home and cabinet displays backed up with extensive design and building experience. Our goal is NO surprises.

WHY? Because we are so confident in our design ability that we know you will want to have us build your new home when you are ready.

HOW LONG? The conceptual design process usually takes 3 to 4 weeks and will provide you with sufficient information to accurately determine costs for building your new home. Our design software lets us email design work directly to you to review without having to come to our Design Center.

To get started, stop by our Design Center or call to set up an appointment.

Click on the other tabs in this section to see what you will need to consider when buying and setting up a new home.

Setup Decisions

You will need to make decisions about where and how the RTM Home will be set up. This includes deciding on the lot, the type of foundation system to be used, and the mechanical or HVAC equipment that will be installed.

An American RTM Home, like a modular home, comes completed above the floor joists. This is what we do best. Everything found below the floor joists and in a typical basement is not included in the RTM Home price.

Our objective is to deliver the greatest value for your home buying dollars. We do this by focusing on quality workmanship and building products that may initially cost a little more, but that will over time reduce your Cost of Ownership.

Our Customers can focus on design and finishing choices for custom building their new RTM Home. Advanced Enviro System construction and our volume material purchasing eliminates the confusing technical choices about what is needed to build the best quality home possible, at the best price..

Setup costs will add to the overall cost of the RTM Home, just like it does for a modular home. Actual costs will vary between locations and will be based on Site Work choices made for foundations and mechanical systems. In the Site Work section you will find an overview of the common options.

However, when making your decisions there are 3 very important things to consider. These are things not usually addressed by modular or trailer home dealers but are important for conventional new homes now being built in urban centers, and for American RTM Homes which are really the same thing.

Consideration 1: Cost of Living Space & Resale Value

A full basement with egress windows will provide the lowest cost per square foot of living space in your new home while a crawl space will have a lower initial cost. For resale, and for reducing the square foot cost of usable living space in your new home, a full basement is best for long term and resale value.

A smaller main floor footprint results in a lower initial RTM Home cost and then a lower square foot cost as more living space is added. Many new homes now being built develop living areas in the basement to reduce the overall new home size and cost.

This option that is used by many conventional home builders is also available with American RTM Homes. So too are walk-out basements.

This is not, however, a common option for trailer and modular homes as these dealers choose to promote and sell larger square foot areas. When combined with their lower quality products and construction, this makes their homes look, on the surface, like a much better deal.

However as 19th century writer John Ruskin observed “There is scarcely anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse, and sell a little more cheaply. The person who buys on price alone is this man's lawful prey.”

Consideration 2: Energy Needs & Cost of Ownership

The cost of mechanical systems for heating and cooling will be lower for a super insulated home. Generally the furnace and air conditioner needed for our American RTM Homes with Enviro System will only be two thirds the size of what is needed for a conventional home.

While the initial money saved may be minor, smaller equipment will pay huge ownership dividends by reducing the consumption of energy, increasing the comfort levels, and lowering the cost of living in your new home.

Sophisticated and expensive systems that promise reduced energy costs are not needed because their payback typically does not materialize in a super insulated home. These are also more expensive to install, harder to get serviced, and often are not totally proven technology.

You will, however, need a whole house ventilation system with heat recovery. Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV), or air exchanger technology has been proven in Canada, and our American RTM Homes come with HRV system rough-ins to Canadian Energy Star® standards.

Click here to view a video on air exchangers

Consideration 3: Is a Trailer Home Really a Good Deal?

Trailer homes are built to inferior HUD codes, rather than IRC or stick built home codes, and they come with low quality heating systems included with the initial price. This is one way to identify a lower standard HUD code trailer home.

Trailer homes may also be set up cheaply on blocking type foundations with skirting to close off their underbelly. While this greatly reduces costs, any trailer home set up this way can not get financed by a standard home loan resulting in higher interest costs, or even the inability to get financed.

The cheapest new home option – a HUD code trailer home – is usually the most expensive choice over time because the Cost of Ownership for these is higher, not only from energy bills, but also from depreciation and maintenance resulting from lower quality building standards.

Cost of Ownership should be the most important consideration for your new home however it is something dealers for house trailers,or their country cousins the modular home, do NOT want you to know about or even consider.

Site Work

What distinguishes an American RTM Home from a modular home, and what makes it a real stick built home is single piece delivery … which also provides a number of important advantages.

After delivery costs are lower because there is no interior or exterior stitch together work, or marriage walls to deal with.

There is greater design freedom, inside and out, because our RTM Homes do not have to be split into parts.

American RTM Homes come with a high quality interior paint finish rather than a primed only finish to allow for stitch together.

American RTM Homes come with gutters and full exterior finish (roof and siding) due to not having to piece together after delivery.

Our American RTM Homes will be delivered more complete than a modular home, and typical Site Work needed for modular or double wide trailer homes will not be required.

There will also be no extra costs for finishing to real new home standards by painting interior walls to provide a durable lasting finish, or installing gutters to protect siding and foundation from water damage. This is done on our homes.

An American RTM Home, like a modular home, comes completed above the floor joists. Everything found in a typical basement is not included in the RTM Home price. The following identifies the other new home components that you will need to decide upon, and then provide to complete your hew home.

Foundations, Financing Approved

Delivery Requirements, RTM Home
       Foundation with 30” exposure
       Good foundation access
       On-site crane is NOT required
       Attach to foundation per codes

Standard or Walk-out Basement
      Walkout requires frost line footings
      Walkout may use partial wood walls
      Walkout allows for larger windows

Windows, egress compliant recommended
      Allows future bedroom development
      Increases resale options & value
      Window wells may be needed

Concrete Basement, standard, 8 or 9 foot
Requires wood framed wall for insulation
Typically includes the exterior finish

Concrete Basement, ICF, 8 or 9 foot
Uses Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF’s)
Requires exterior finish exposed areas

Concrete Grade Beam for Crawl Space
      Code Compliant is in the range of 48”
      Insulation & ground cover are required
      Insulation options ICF, Curtain, or Rigid

Drain tile & drain rock
Not required by MT Codes
Required by codes in most areas

Center Support for Main Floor
      Built up beam & adjustable posts
      Bearing wall is NOT recommended
      Required with basement & crawl space

Basement or Crawl Space Access
Stairs are required for a basement
Ladder or stair for a crawl space

Excavation for Basement
      May require topsoil stripping
      May require fill removal from site
      Requires backfill & rough grade
      May require topsoil replacement

Mechanical Systems, Advanced Homes

Heating System, Forced Air
       Natural gas or propane, high efficiency
       Electric or dual fuel furnace
       Gas requires combustion air supply
       40,000 to 75,000 BTU
       Reduced from normal sizing
       Depends on house size
       Oversized may void warranties
       Require fully ducted hot air
       Require fully ducted return air
       Require basement hot & return air

Air Conditioning, Split System
      May be installed with heating system
      2 ton to 2 ½ ton
      Reduced from normal sizing
      Depends on house size
      Oversized causes discomfort

Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV)
      Fully ducted exhaust side
      Connects to RTM Home rough-in
      Supply side in return air for furnace
      Metal exhaust & supply ducting
      Sized to change air every 6 hours

Water & Sewer Plumbing
      Rough in for future basement fixtures
      May require tub or shower
      Connection to RTM Home rough-ins
      Water heater, gas or electric options
      Connections to water supply & sewer
      May require water softener
      May require water treatment

Electrical Hookups
      Electrical panel is supplied
      Panel is sized for future development
      Requires attachment to basement wall
      Requires electrical service entrance
      Requires basement electrical wiring

Other Hookups
      May need phone, cable, or internet
      Drops are provided with RTM Home
      May need central vac installation

Site Services

After Delivery Setup, RTM Home
       Fix cracks & adjust doors, supplied
       Stitch together is NOT required
       Exterior finishing is NOT required

For a serviced lot (in the City)
       Connect to water & sewer
       Connect to natural gas or propane
       Connect to phone, electrical, & cable

For an acreage (outside of the City)
       Water well & trenching to house
       Water pump & pressure system
       Filtration or water quality system
       Septic tank & drain field
       Install phone & electrical services
       Install natural gas or propane
       Exterior or yard lights

Site Development

Driveways & Sidewalks
      Minimally is gravel placement
      May require building roads
      May include concrete work

Exterior Steps & Decks
Required at exterior doors & in garage
Decks or patios may be added later

Landscaping
      May require topsoil
      May require sprinkler system
      Seed lawn grass or lay sod
      Install trees, shrubbery, & plants

American RTM Homes will provide consulting and general guidelines for what is required, and even estimated costs for getting the work done. We will also work with our Customers to ensure that they are able to hire credible and quality contractors.

We can also provide our Customers with many of the building products and materials that may be needed at prices competitive with big box stores because we actually build our RTM Homes, unlike a modular home dealer.

The Site Work options being identified for foundations are all acceptable for conventional bank financing. The mechanical systems are specified for advanced super energy efficient homes, and these, along with site services, will be based on your lot and the local services you have available.

Many of these Site Work options would be the same as for a modular home, however most are not applicable for lower quality trailer or HUD code homes that come self-contained.

Warranty

We have done the research for our Customers as to how to build, and what to use. The reason we carefully and regularly choose quality every time is because we know that cheapest only works without Warranty.

American RTM Homes offers a 1 year whole house or bumper to bumper warranty. Compare this to trailer and modular homes that typically come with a 30 day or tail light warranty.

ATechBuilder American RTM Homes Warranty provides:

1 Year Full House Coverage
5 Year Structural Warranty
American RTM Homes commits to its Customers:

i. That 1 Year of Full RTM Home Coverage shall be provided in a cost effective manner through cooperation with the Customer who shall provide Punchlist Items needing to be addressed to the Company prior to requesting a Service Call.

ii. That the Company shall provide corrective work on a scheduled basis during the course of the first year, except for situations causing inconvenience to the Customer or affecting the structural integrity of the RTM Home, and these shall be dealt with immediately.

iii. That after the first year, the Company shall provide and / or assist in obtaining Manufacturer’s Warranties for the Customer on all products supplied with the RTM Home.

iv. That after the first year, the Company shall provide an additional four years of Structural Warranty for the RTM Home (5 Year Structural Warranty).

v. That the extent of Warranty Coverage provided shall be in accordance with the Customer Service Policies established by the Company and remedies consistent with terms and conditions of established, industry based New Home Warranty Programs.

vi. That in the case of a dispute between the Customer and the Company, the Company will obtain and pay for an independent inspector, who is mutually acceptable to both parties, to evaluate the situation. The recommendations of the inspector will be binding on both the Customer and the Company. In the event that the Company fulfills the recommendations of the inspector, it will have no further liability or responsibility to Customer.

vii. Any controversy or dispute not resolved as set forth above shall be settled by binding arbitration. Arbitration shall be initiated by one party sending a letter to the other requesting arbitration. Within thirty (30) days thereafter, the parties shall agree on an arbitrator. If they cannot agree, the parties will each choose a representative and the representatives will choose an arbitrator. If the representatives cannot agree, then either party may petition a district court in Montana and a judge will choose the arbitrator. The parties understand and agree that arbitration does not allow a trial by jury and that the decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding, except for any appeal rights granted by applicable law. Payment of the arbitrator’s expenses and fees shall be paid one-half by each side. Each party shall pay their own attorneys’ fees, except that the arbitrator may award fees and costs to the prevailing party in the arbitration proceedings. Arbitration shall be held in Montana and the substantive law of Montana shall apply.

Warranty Coverage Exclusions

i. Warranty Coverage is not provided prior to Payment in Full for the RTM Home by the Customer, either directly or indirectly through an escrow agent, consistent with the American RTM Home Final Acceptance.

ii. Warranty Coverage shall not be provided:

On damage caused by construction decisions made by Customer which are contrary to the recommendations of the Company;
On damage resulting from abuse by the Customer or failure by the Customer to provide proper maintenance or operation of their RTM Home; and
For problems occurring as a result of work done by third parties, generally, and specifically those problems caused by third parties’ failure to adhere to applicable building standards including, but not limited to, foundation systems which are not provided by the Company.

iii. Warranty Coverage shall not apply to work done on the RTM Home by the Company which is not in accordance with its typical standards and specifications but which was done in accordance with the Customer’s specifications.

Financing

Financing is a critical component for most people who want to buy a new home. At this time American RTM Homes does not offer any in-house financing so this is the responsibility of our Customers.

We are willing to work with your bank or lender to help them to understand both our product, an American RTM Home, and how our custom RTM Home building programs work.

On the other hand, there are some Montana banks and lenders who have already been involved with the building and financing of our American RTM Homes. We will be listing those banks and mortgage brokers here should you decide you would like to talk to them about your financing needs.

Contact Information for Montana Banks and Mortgage Brokers

Independence Bank with branches in Havre, Glasgow, Malta, Poplar, & Scobey Montana

Click here to view Independence Bank website

Additional contact information will be coming soon.

If you would like to be listed here please contact us.