SUN PHOTO/LOUISE BOLGER A manufactured home can cost 35 percent less to build than a conventional home.

Leave it to American ingenuity to turn a housing negative into a futuristic positive. With the cost of homeownership spiraling out of the reach of many working Americans, experts say manufactured homes may be the haven of the future, rolling off a factory assembly line with up to 35 percent less per square foot to build, a direct result of quantity purchasing by the manufacturers.

This new generation of manufactured home is not your grandmother’s winter Florida trailer. They come fully equipped with state-of-the-art technology and come in a variety of styles, including two-story designs, Cape Cods and traditional one- level ranch models. In addition, manufactured homes come with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development blessing, unlike site-built homes, which are only subject to local codes. In fact, the newer manufactured homes have stood up well to last year’s Florida hurricanes and even faired better than some conventional construction during flooding.

However, the one issue that still haunts manufactured homes is financing. It can be tricky to get financing. You need good credit, and your rate may be higher. Lenders still consider marginal buyers for this type of housing too risky.

This is an industry on the cutting edge of trendy. A Minneapolis designer of furniture, Charlie Lazor, has designed what he calls the FlatPak house. Basically it is ready-to-assemble, eight-foot-wide panels of glass, wood, cement board and metal cubes that fit together like a puzzle. It can be configured to varying sizes and layouts with a range of interior finishes. The price is about $150 to $200 per square foot and it is equipped with appliances and bathroom fixtures. The recommended size is 1,800 square feet, and you can order it equipped with the designer’s furniture.

Tin cans on wheels — the manufactured home industry is trying to change this image. Right here on Anna Maria, some of the older trailers at the Sandpiper Mobile Resort Co-Op are being replaced with manufactured homes. Rebuilding after the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina could ironically cure the image of manufactured homes. It is expected that the industry will be a major player in the reconstruction effort providing affordable and swiftly built homes for thousands. Henry Ford would be proud.