As housing affordability becomes a bigger issue nationwide, homebuyers are turning to alternative means to reduce the cost of housing, including factory-built homes.

To meet the increasing demand without turning away homebuyers with special needs, factory-built housing manufacturers are striving to be as versatile as possible, says the Minnesota Manufactured Housing Association.

One new movement is the trend of "universal design," which means that the home is designed to serve all ages and to meet as wide a range of physical limitations as possible.

"Imagine a beautiful, factory-built home that is specially designed to meet the needs of your growing family, and allows you to care for an aging parent, and is the perfect home to spend your retirement," suggests Mark Brunner, spokesperson for the association. "Just think how basic features such as level entrances, wide hallways, and larger doors would make the home more accessible to a child in a stroller, to adults moving in furniture and to a person in a wheelchair. That's what you get with a universally designed, factory-built home."

Universal design is a way of ensuring that factory-built homes are designed and built to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or remodeling at a later date. When a factory-built home is universally designed from the start, it simplifies life for everyone, regardless of life stage or abilities. It meets the wide span of the homeowners' needs, now and into the future, he says.

Among the many features buyers might find useful in universally designed factory-built homes are:

1. Bathrooms that include a five-foot turning radius, raised toilet, vanity with open knee space, and roll-in shower with handheld showerhead and tub seat.

2. Kitchens that include a five-foot turning radius, removable base cabinets, loop cabinet handles and drawer pulls, and adjustable kitchen work surfaces.

3. Open and easy access with extra wide 42-inch hallways, extra wide 32-inch minimum clearance in doorways, lever door handles and easy-to-reach light switches, outlets and thermostats.

4. Security and intercom systems, audible/visible smoke alarms and door signals, and medical alert systems.

"There are hundreds of universal designed features available," says Brunner. "They make life easier, safer and promote independence. Factory-built homebuilders offer a variety of universally designed floor plans to choose from."

Factory-built homes are meeting a growing demand for non-subsidized affordable housing throughout the nation, says the association, with construction costs approximately 20 to 30 percent less than on-site and using the same materials as on-site homes.