Reputable Manufacturers

[Joe Benson]

I live in East Tennessee and looking to buy my first manufactured home. Where can I find on the www ratings on the manufacturers?
Thanks

[Jon]

Joe:
To my knowledge there is no rating of manufacturers.
There another way, though. Start by determining what you can afford to purchase. Be objective or have your accountant or banker assist you. Then look around at the various models in your price range offered by the retailers in your area. Be sure to only look during this phase, making no commitment until you are able to make a reasonably informed choice. For each home that interests you, collect descriptive material and a list of standard and optional specifications. Make notes about what you you see, things you like or dislike for each home. Do not rely on memory because the many differing features in the homes will become confused and hard to remember later. You might want to note things such as overall home size, bedroom sizes, number of windows, configuration of the floor plan, sale prices, special terms, etc. Once you've completed the legwork, sit down with the data and review it carefully. For the homes that you like overall, make a list of the standard specifications as well as what you consider to be the good and not-so-good features. Do this in a way that allows you to compare them on one or two sheets of paper, if possible, because it's easier to review. Then try to reduce your list to the top two or three homes. Finally, decide which of the remaining homes yields the best value for your money. Keep in mind, what you consider to be a value may not be what someone else would find desirable. Ultimately only you can decide what home delivers the best deal for your circumstances and your personality.
I've given you a drastically summarized method. Admittedly, it will take a fair amount of time and effort. Good luck!

[Chris]

Jon,

I think you missed the point of Joe's question. Anyone can buy a manufactured home for x-amount of dollars. The point is, which manufacturers will put the best quality materials and workmanship into that home you are buying? Unlike site-built homes, a purchaser can not check on the progress, materials, and workmanship of the manufactured home as it is being built. That puts a prospective purchaser in a precarious position of trusting his manufacturer. Think of it this way: you can buy a Chevrolet or a Toyota for around the same amount of money. Fortunately, we have Consumer Reports and a number of other experts who can tell us which car is built better. Those of us who are thinking about buying a manufactured home need a similar resource to let us know if we're buying a quality home.

[Jon]

Chris:
I re-read Joe's message and I believe I understand the point he was making, and I believe I addressed his point. Simply stated, there is no "Consumer Reports" or similar resource of which I'm aware that rates and compares manufactured and/or modular homes. For this reason I explained a method he could use to gauge the quality of a home in which he has an interest.
You mentioned that a purchaser could observe the material being used to construct a site-built home and allegedly monitor the quality of materials being used in this way. Likewise, a list of construction specifications could be used to determine the quality of materials in a given manufactured/modular home. My reply to Joe suggested he should obtain such a list and thereby gain an ability similar to physically watching the materials used to build the house. That list could and should be used to determine if the desired quality materials are or were used to construct a particular home. Additionally, if the home is to be constructed specifically for Joe, he can order optional upgrades in the building materials.
If you do happen to discover a sort of "Consumer Reports" for mfd/modular homes, please let me know. From time to time folks inquire about such a resource and I would be pleased to pass along such information. Unfortunately, until then, folks can assume a proactive role on their own behalf by requesting construction spec data and reviewing the data themselves (or having a knowledgeable person they trust review the data) to make a quality determination. The basic tools to do this are there, but the consumer must make an effort to obtain satisfactory results.
I hope this helps.

[Richard Wilde]

I'm a consumer, and I would like to report: I would not buy another MH from Skyline Mfg . . . AND I'd advise all consumers to get a better warranty than Skyline gave me; ( you should look for 5 years or more ) and get a home from a manufacturer who can build using T & G Plywood for the sub-floor......

[bec]

Personal Experience has been Great with the Pinnacle Home built by Patriot Homes. Patriot is located in Indiana and the Pinnacle is Built in Alabama. It has all the features of a real site built home. I just wanted to share and recommend a Good Quality Built Home...We hear so much negativity about MH's but I could not have made a better choice.....