prices

[steve]

I will be retiring sometime in the next 4 years.
My wife ad I have been looking at several floor plans and have basically decided
on a few we like.
We hae asked for some base prices and cann"t get an answer. Is the business tht good that if your not buying right now tht they won't even respond?
I am trying to get a feeling as to what I wnt and what I can afford.

[rmurray]

Pricing and options can very a great amount...Also there are regular price increasese all the time..Any price you can get today would mean nothing that far in the future..

Your response is probably just the opposite than you suggest...Business is very bad and many in the business wonder if they will be there next week...let alone 4 years from now.....Oakwood is closing another 45 locations now, Champion will have closed 100 locations by the end of the year...Fleetwood is in the same boat..

Just keep on researching and start thinking about the quality features you feel you should have...

Good Luck and stop back here often..

[Peggy]

Speaking of dealerships closing up, Mr. Murray, do you know why the Homestead dealership in Cumming, GA (Baron Homes) closed up? I was driving past there today and the lot is empty. Are they another victim of the bad economy? I thought you might know since you also sell Homesteads.

[rmurray]

I have not heard of this dealership...but there will be a lot less dealers in the next 6 months...

Those of us that are skilled in helping customers with mortgage finance are doing great...but..many dealers are stuck waiting for the good old days of home only finance to come back and save them...they are in trouble..

I think you can tell if a dealer is always up to change by looking at their web sites...Those with no web sites are stuck in the past...plain single page web sites indicate they are aware of the future..just not up on the details...rich usefull sites show dealers who understand the direction the industry is going and doing something about it...At least they are trying..

Also if the dealer spends all his sales effort trying to talk you out of mortgage finance...they probably will be gone soon..could be why they do not want to start a 6 to 8 week mortgage project..

I do not know how consumers can tell if they are safe with a dealer right now..They best I can say is that if they have been there for decades..you are probably be ok..

There is plenty of speculation that 1 of the big three manufacturers will be gone in the next 6 months...Champion, Oakwood and Fleetwood...Personally..I think they will all three be there...

Oh well

[Peggy]

When you say "...I think they will all three be there" - do you mean "there" as in still operating or "there" as in "GONE (out of business)"?

[Peggy]

If, in fact, those three manufacturers - or just one of them - went out of business, what would happen to the customers of those companies? If I bought a Champion home and then they shut down the whole company, where would that leave me in terms of warranty work or any kind of problem I was having?

[rmurray]

I think they will all survive...but it will be very tough for the next months...especially Oakwood and Champion...Fleetwood seems to have gotten a reprieve because large motor homes are selling so well...

If any manufacturer goes out of business...the outstanding warranty claims go undone..there could be many smaller manufacturers in just as big of trouble..

There is only one way that I know of to protect yourself from this problem...That is to buy a 2/10 extended warranty at the time of purchase of the home...Usually these structure warranties do not come into operating effect until the 1 year warranty is over...BUT..if the manufacturer goes out of business..they immediately are effective..protecting the buyer in the case of structural problems..

There are many on the market..and terms are different..but this will solve the fears one can have...

[Peggy]

I don't understand - if the manufacturer goes out of business who will be there to support the warranty?

[Richard]

You certainly have a great deal of time to obtain a great amount of information before you make a decission to buy. And there is lots of homework than needs to be done by you to make a truly informed decission. Get Rady Eatons' Book of Comparisons and maybe even the book on How to Save Thaousands. Read and understand what he is telling you. Follow his guide lines for the better built (Quality) MH. Just because a MH manufacturer has deep pockets and has stayed in the business through thick and thin, does not mean a hill of beans to me in that I bought from one of those 'great companies' and have been fighting for twenty-nine months to get things fixed. As you near the time you wish to make your purchase, decide which manufacturer and which model (as models vary in construction in the same manufacturer) you like, get back on as many web sites as you can and ask more questions. You need a quality MH and a reputable dealer to make the entire package a great experience. Good luck.

[rmurray]

No one....

That is why I mentioned the 2/10 warranties offered by insurance companies...They offer some protection...