MH Destroyed in Transit! Now What?

[LGJ]

This afternoon one side of our new double wide from Cavco was destroyed in transit from the factory because of a rollover caused by high winds. Fortunately, no one was hurt. -- Of course we have a lot of disappointment because of this delay in a great deal of long term planning for a second home in the mountains of NE Arizona. Initial, somewhat questionable, info from the local dealer is that the transit company hired by Cavco has insurance to cover this and that the factory will build both MH sides from scratch with re-delivery in about a month.
Our question is should we expect any delays while the transit company, their insurance, and Cavco work out the insurance payment? FYI, we paid for the unit in full several weeks ago, via a home equity loan on our primary residence, so we are paying interest while all this is going on. Should we make a claim to the transit insurance company as well? We would like to know what possible pitfalls / problems we could face with this unfortunate turn of events. Thanks in advance for any relevant advice. -- LJ

[David Oxhandler]

Cavco is a well managed company that seems to have a good customer satisfaction rating. I feel confident they will treat you fairly.

Every state has different laws about transporting homes and every state has different insurance rules. You would be well advised to seek some professional legal advise from a local attorney.

This is NOT a hostile move on your part. The driver's insurance company will have a lawyer. I'm sure the builder will have a lawyer looking after their interest. There may be lawyers involved from folks that you are not aware of who may have sustained property damage when YOUR HOUSE was rolling about.

It is not unrealistic to think there may be questions that need to be settled prior to the insurance pay off. Some could involve the interest you speak of paying during the delay. You have a big investment in time, money and your credit rating, AND the most to loose. You need to insure that all of your rights under the law are protected.

[rmurray]

Transit damage is a lot more common than one might think..You are dealing with a respected manufacturer..If I were you I would be in contact with them...For the exact plan..Maybe you might want to consult with your own attorney..Claims for construction interest, loss of use (replacement housing), other costs incurred by the delay are probably against the dealer.Most likely you signed a standard purchase agreement that has verbiage absolving the dealer of any additional liability when caused by an "act of God" (a sudden wind storm would be one of them.)..All the more reason you should have an attorney review your situation...YOU have no contract with the manufacturer, only the dealer..He may have a claim with the factory or the hauler..

To be sure of long term satisfaction, you will want to be sure they build a whole new home, not rebuild the broken one or only rebuild 1/2 to replace the 1/2 lost..I have seen wrecked homes rebuilt and delivered and only 1/2 built to replace damaged section..I doubt there will be a long delay with paperwork..The plant most likely would not wait for insurance to settle...They have not gotten the money for the wrecked house yet..

Good Luck. Let us know what your attorney says and how it all works out..

[LGJ]

Update:

Thank you both for the info and advice. Thanks esp for pointing out that we don't have a contract with Cavco, but with only our local dealer -- we never thought of that! Telephone advice from our lawyer was to give the dealer and Cavco a few days to get this straightened out, and that he would step in later if required. We agree this is the best plan, because we want to keep this as amicable as possible, and don't want to start any litigation unless absolutely necessary. We just want to know our options in case things start going sour.

I will have to say that our local dealer (Home Source of Show Low, AZ) seems to be working very hard to get this resolved and a new unit built for us, and so far we have been very satisfied with their customer support.

But this incident may have been a blessing in disguise. We took a day trip to the accident area, could not find the damaged side that was scraped up along the freeway but found the undamaged side of the doublewide sitting unattended in a pullout along the side of the road. It looked great, just as we had ordered it with many upgrades, EXCEPT we determined that IT HAD BEEN MADE WITH Rexcel PARTICLE BOARD FLOORING when we had cleary specified and paid for plywood flooring.

We quickly ran by our local dealer on the way home, and firmly made it very clear that no way would we ever accept a unit with particle board flooring. He was apologetic, and said he would take care of it. Right now we are assumng this was an oversight and not deliberate. And, hopefully, with us knowing about the flooring, at least Cavco will have to rebuild this half as well as the damaged half to make sure that they not only mate properly, but are built to contract with the correct plywood flooring Our dealer had assured us that this would be the case anyway, but we would probably have never known had they re-used the undamaged side again if we had not found the unit and the particle board flooring.

The flooring problem does make us wonder if there are any other construction details they missed, like perhaps the 60 lb uprade roof. So that brings us to another question: What recourse do we really have if the unit is delivered to our lot with some of these major construction features missing, like 2x6 construction, plywood floors, upgrade roofing, 2 foot stretch, etc?

We have been told by our dealer that defects and errors will be corrected on site but can we refuse delivery or acceptance if major construction features like this are missing? We are not worried too much about cosmetics like the color of the tile, countertops, etc. Those sort of defects can be corrected on site, but constuction features cannot. We don't want a rebate for missed construction features; the floor upgrade, roof upgrade, stretch, and 2x6 walls are deal killers for us. My wife is suggesting that perhaps we should insist that we be allowed to visit the factory and inspect the unit before they ship the next time -- about 250 miles away. What do you think? Thanks -- LJ

[BILLY]

SAD STORY BUT HOPEFULLY IT WILL HAVE A HAPPY ENDING. AS FOR VISITING THE FACTORY, IF I WERE YOU I WOULD INSIST ON BE ALLOWED TO BE THERE THE DAY OF THE SECOND BUILDING OF YOUR NEW HOME. IT IS TO THEIR BENEFIT AS MUCH AS IT IS TO YOURS. IF YOU HAD BEEN THERE ON THE FIRST BUILD , THE FLOORING ISSUE WOULD HAVE BEEN RESOLVED RIGHT THEN AND THERE. SO YES ABSOLUTELY BE THERE IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. IN THE END YOU'LL BE A MUCH HAPPIER NEW OWNER AND A GOOD WILL AMBASSABOR FOR CAVCO. BELIEVE ME, YOU WILL BE TELLING LOTS OF FRIENDS, FAMILY AND POTENTIAL BUYERS OF JUST HOW CAVCO AND YOUR DEALER TOOK CARE OF THIS SAD STORY AND MADE IT A HAPPY ENDING. GOOD LUCK, IT WILL ALL WORK OUT TO YOUR ADVANTAGE.

[rmurray]

I assume all these things are in your contract with your dealer. I do not blame you for your skeptism..Ask your dealer to review with you all the details of the final order confirmation. He will have to sign it prior to the building. It should cover EVERY detail of the home..The floor was a bad oversight on someones part...For the most part most problems are caused by the dealer not spending enough time reviewing the confirmation. Most plants build EXACTLY to the confirmation specs..The trip to the plant and a discussion with the plant engineer sounds like a good idea if for no other reason than your peace of mind..The actual construction process usually takes only 3 to 5 days from beginning to end plus maybe 1 more for final finish and testing..The time to see the home would be just before it goes to final finish. The engineer could show you exactly what is done to strengthen the roof. The other items you mentioned will be easy to see..Call the plant manager, express your feelings and ask for guidance..Daviod's list has another from Jan 08 as well..

[sharpf]

LGI, So sorry to hear of your destroyed half! I live here in Glendale, AZ and have seen several times, homes tipped over on the side of the road on the way up to Cottonwood, Flag, etc.

As others here have said, DEFINATELY insist on being there when your home is made. Your home is made once...you will use it for years to come. The time and effort spent at this momentus time is crucial.

This is a good lesson for everyone purchasing a new home-find out what day it is to be assembled and BE THERE TO OVERSEE ALL DETAILS!!!

I will be interested to hear of the outcome for you! All the best!!!