Why Build Modular?
Modular construction allows us to build faster with lower cost and higher quality.
At 42 Degrees North, Ellicottville, we have decided to build our homes using modular technology.
With over 20 years experience building homes, we have often been frustrated by the unpredictibility of conventional construction. Building modular in Ellicottville offers a controlled environment giving more predictable build schedules and costs. This helps us from a business perspective and also allows us to pass on the benefits to our clients.
For us, the turning point came when we watched one of our workers actually trying to save us money. He was cutting the trim for a window and decided that, rather than use new wood, he would try to reuse some of the scrap wood. He spent about half an hour looking for a piece of wood that would work. His heart was in the right place, but the amount of time he spent dwarfed any cost savings he might have made on the wood. From then on, all window trims were prepared by a single person and left in the house, next to the windows ready to be put up. One small step….
These days, every time I go to Home Depot and see a plumber with two guys buying a piece of pipe, I can’t help but think how much that piece of pipe is costing the homeowner!
“While nearly every other industry has become more productive since 1968, productivity in home-building — the amount of work done by one worker in one hour, essentially — has declined by half.”
To us, building modular just makes sense - better quality, lower cost, predictable timeframes.
We asked Chat GPT what they thought.
Building a modular house offers several advantages that appeal to a wide range of homeowners. Here are some key reasons:
1. Faster Construction
Efficiency: Modular homes are built in sections (modules) in a factory setting, where construction processes are streamlined and weather delays are minimized. This allows for faster overall construction time compared to traditional site-built homes.
Concurrent Construction: While the modules are being built in the factory, the foundation can be prepared on-site, leading to quicker overall project completion.
2. Cost-Effective
Economies of Scale: Building in a factory allows manufacturers to buy materials in bulk, reducing costs. The controlled environment also minimizes waste and the risk of theft or damage to materials.
Predictable Budget: Since much of the construction happens in a factory, costs are more predictable, with fewer chances of unexpected expenses due to delays or issues on-site.
3. High Quality and Durability
Controlled Environment: Factory construction ensures consistent quality, as the modules are built under strict supervision and using precise machinery. This can result in a higher quality product.
Strong Construction: Modular homes are designed to withstand transportation from the factory to the building site, which often means they are built stronger than traditional homes.
4. Sustainability and Energy Efficiency
Reduced Waste: The controlled construction process reduces material waste, making modular homes a more sustainable option.
Energy Efficiency: Many modular homes are designed with energy efficiency in mind, incorporating high-quality insulation, windows, and energy-efficient systems, which can lead to lower utility bills.
5. Design Flexibility
Customization: Modern modular homes offer a wide range of design options and can be customized to meet specific needs and preferences. Homeowners can choose from various floor plans, finishes, and features.
Scalability: Modular homes can be easily expanded or modified by adding more modules, making them adaptable to changing needs.
6. Reduced Environmental Impact
Minimal Site Disturbance: Since much of the construction happens off-site, there is less disruption to the building site and surrounding environment. This results in reduced noise, dust, and overall environmental impact.
Recyclable Materials: Many modular homes are constructed with recyclable materials, further reducing their environmental footprint.
7. Resilience
Weather Resistance: Modular homes are often built to withstand extreme weather conditions, making them suitable for areas prone to harsh climates.
Reduced Maintenance: The high-quality construction and materials used in modular homes can lead to lower maintenance costs over time.
Overall, modular homes offer a combination of speed, cost-effectiveness, quality, and sustainability, making them an attractive option for many homeowners.
Websites for Evaluating Vacation Rentals
Good websites for vacation rental research
The arrival and subsequent growth of Airbnb has made people look at vacation property in Ellicottville and elsewhere a little differently. Whereas, historically an Ellicottville ski chalet was primarily for personal use, owners are increasingly using vacation rentals to offset costs and supplement income. Some are even looking to vacation rental properties as an addition to their investment property portfolio.
If you are looking at the possibility of an Ellicottville vacation rental, here are some sites that might be useful for you.
Airbnb.com
This is a great place to start to see what other properties are available and what rates they are charging. By looking at the availability calendar, you can also get some idea of how succesful they are in renting their chalet. Just a word of caution here. A property owner can block off as many nights as they want for personal use so, just because the nights are unavailable, it doesn’t necessarily mean they were all rented.
You can also check the reviews. They will give you an idea of whether people who stayed at the property were happy with their stay. In particular, it’s interesting to see if they thought the property was good value.
AirDNA.co
Airdna is a site that pulls data from Airbnb and VRBO in order to predict various vacation rental indictors such as occupancy rate, average nightly rate and revenue.
“In reporting the active supply of vacation rentals, CBRE found AirDNA data to be 97.5% accurate. For the revenue earned by short-term rental hosts, 96.2% accurate”
Airdna.co provides a free service that allows you to estimate the revenue from an Airbnb almost anywhere in the world. The site asks you to provide an address, the number of bedrooms, the number of bathrooms and the maximum number of guests. It will then give you its best estimate of the rental potential of that property. We should stress that we are in no way affiliated with AirDNA nor do we officially endorse them, but we are a user of their product.
When Airbnb announced their IPO, they were obliged to disclose much of their propreitary data which allowed AirDNA to benchmark their predictions against actual Airbnb data. The results were impressive:
As mentioned previously, we are a user of AirDNA. We subscribe to its full service which provides even more information. It grades Ellicottville against other vacation rental markets. It gives us the top performers in the Ellicottville market. AirDNA also gives us more detailed information on occupancy rates, average nightly rates and how that changes over the course of the year. We can also use it to help with our pricing strategy, when to offer discounts and when to promote our best offers.
Zillow.com
There are many sites where you can find real estate listings and you probably have your favorite already.
We like Zillow because it’s easy to see what’s for sale and also what has already sold. This is important because ultimately what a property actually sells for is more important than what a seller (or their agent) would like it to sell for!
These are a selection of sites that we like. If there are any that you have found useful, please let us know!
Most importantly, while these sites can be useful in doing your own research, they are not a substitute for proper professional advice. You should always consult with the relevant professionals before making any important decision.
Holiday Valley Opening Day
Holiday Valley Opening Day will be December 3rd. Holiday Valley has some of the best and most extensive snow making in the east.
Holiday Valley opening day is nearly here. Holiday Valley Opening day will be December 3rd. Of course, this is weather permitting and we will be hoping for some classic lake effect Ellicottville snow.
Even without that, however, Holiday Valley has some of the most advanced and most extensive snow making in the east. As long as the temperatures get far below freezing, they will be making snow.
You can find old posts on opening day at Holiday Valley on our sister website where you can also find more stories on Ellicottville Real Estate. And, of course, check back in here for all things Ellicottville and Ellicottville Real Estate.
Holiday Valley wins #2 Ski Resort in the East
Holiday Valley #2 in the East. Ski Magazine names Holiday Valley the 2nd best resort in the East. Holiday Valley in Ellicottville, finished above the likes of Mont Tremblant in Quebec and Killington and Stowe in Vermont.
Ellicottville’s own Holiday Valley makes the big time! Voted #2 in the East in Ski Magazine’s annual survey for 2021. In the process, Holiday Valley finished higher than famous ski resorts such as Mont Tremblant in Quebec as well as Stowe and Killington in Vermont.
Ellicottville has long been dubbed the “Aspen of the East”. Maybe it’s time for Aspen to be called the Ellicottville of the West. Aspen finished a creditable 3rd in the Best of the West rankings!
What Ski Magazine Said
“This western N.Y. mountain is a small hill that punches above its weight. The skiing is pure fun and the friendly atmosphere makes all comers feel welcome.”
Hard to to argue with this. Holiday Valley manages to pack over 60 runs in to its 290 acres. Each run is meticulously groomed and benefits from the most extensive automated HKD snowmaking in the East. And some crazy lake effect snow doesn’t hurt either.
Holiday Valley is also well blessed with some amazing après-ski. Ellicottville is an authentic ski-town. On the same night you can find people enjoying fine dining at Dina’s or dancing on tables at one of the many bars.
There is a good variety of lodging and that will obviously be improved even further when 42 Degrees North’s ski chalets hit the market. You can see more on our Ellicottville ski chalets here.
What Holiday Valley Had to Say
Holiday Valley was justifiably proud of their achievement. This was the highest that Holiday Valley had ever finished and they beat out some top names to do it. Here’s what resort president Dennis Eshbaugh had to say:
“…is quite an accomplishment. Our founders would be very proud of what they started 64 years ago. We have worked hard over the years to continually reinvest in the resort and provide a good work environment for our employees. And then there’s Ellicottville which provides the après experience with great dining, shopping and nightlife. But there’s one thing that can’t be purchased and that’s the friendly attitude of our staff and all the locals that puts the visitor’s experience over the top. We are humbled and honored by our customers’ loyalty.”
Well said! At 42 Degrees North, we’re proud to be part of the Ellicottville experience and the Ellicottville Real Estate scene. And we’re looking forward to Holiday Valley taking that number 1 spot!
The Rankings in Full
Smuggler’s Notch, Vermont
Killington, Vermont
Mont Tremblant, Quebec
Mad River Glen, Vermont
Jay Peak, Vermont
Whiteface Mountain, New York
Cannon Mountain, New Hampshire
Sugarloaf, Vermount
Sugarbush, Vermont
Snowmaking at sunset at Holiday Valley in Ellicottville (photo courtesy of Holiday Valley)
Remember to check in regularly for all that’s new in the Ellicottville real estate market. And you can catch up on older Ellicottville real estate stories at our previous site.
Ellicottville Real Estate Review
Ellicottville Real Estate Review - September 22nd
When you decide whether to buy at 42 Degrees North, we understand that you will want to see how it compares to other chalets in Ellicottville. While you will obviously want to do your own due diligence, in the coming posts, we will look at properties that have sold in Ellicottville and compare them to the chalets for sale at 42 Degrees North.
6709 Upper Rd, Ellicottville
Ski Chalet at 6709 Upper Road, Ellicottville.
This 6 bedroom 3512 sq ft home overlooks the slopes of Holiday Valley. It sold for $705,000 on August 12th 2021. It is obviously a great chalet close to Ellicottville, but let’s see how it compares to a similar chalet at 42 Degrees North. The comparison we will use is the Elk Creek Model on Lot 2 which is currently for sale at $620,000.
Location
6709 Upper Road has a fabulous location. It isn’t ski in - ski out, but it is across the street from the slopes at Holiday Valley and it has views of the slopes. It’s a short drive down to Holiday Valley resort. According to Google Maps, it is 1.3 miles from Holiday Valley or a 3 minute drive. It is 3.9 miles from Holimont or an 8 minute drive. The Ellicottville Brewing Company is 2.5 miles or an 8 minute drive.
Lot 2 at 42 Degrees North also features views of the slopes albeit from a little further away. Holiday Valley is 3.8 miles away or a 7 minute drive. Holimont is 3.9 miles away or an 8 minute drive. The Ellicottville Brewing Company is 2.8 miles or a 6 minute drive. Again, this is all according to Google Maps.
So, 6709 Upper Road is definitely closer to Holiday Valley. The two chalets are exactly the same distance and driving time from Holimont. 42 Degrees North is slightly further from Ellicottville Brewing Company, but actually a shorter drive. It’s pretty close and some will certainly prefer the seclusion that 42 Degrees North offers, but for proximity to Holiday Valley, we’ll give 6709 Upper Road a slight edge.
The Chalets
These two Ellicottville ski chalets are quite similar in size. 6709 Upper Road is slightly bigger at approximately 3500 sq ft vs the Elk Creek which comes in at 3380 sq ft. 6709 Upper Road has 6 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms while the Elk Creek can be configured as either a 6 or 7 bedroom home and with 3 to 5 bathrooms.
Both chalets are well built and functional, but different in age. The Elk Creek is obviously a new build so you have a brand new home and one that can be somewhat customised to your needs and wants. The chalet at 6709 Upper Road is a little older so naturally it will show some wear and tear. The Elk Creek’s design style is a little more contemporary as you would expect from a newer home.
On balance, while both are lovely homes, we give the edge to the Elk Creek at 42 Degrees North
Lot Size
An easy comparison here with 6709 Upper Road having a decent 0.49 acre lot size, but lot 2 at 42 Degrees North prevailing with an extremely generous 5 acres. Advantage 42 Degrees North
Price
Always kind of important! With a list price of $620,000 vs 6709 Upper Road’s selling price of $705,000, the Elk Creek is the winner here.
The Verdict
Two amazing Ellicottville ski chalets. We gave the edge to the Elk Creek in three of the four categories, but everyone’s view is going to be different. You are welcome to add your thoughts in the comments below. We do moderate them, but all reasonable opinions welcomed (even if you don’t agree with us!)