Buying of the lot ???

[Chuck B.]

We have been looking at manufactured home s for a short time. I have done a lot of research. I am in the construction trade, so I have some sence of quality. There is a manufactured home on a sales lot in our area, Ma Williams, I hope it;s ok to list their name.
It just so happens to be just about everything we are looking for. The floor plan we want (reversed) all the upgrades in the appliance catagory, I am not sure about the floor, I want Steel Frame plywood, copper pipe throughout, again pretty much everything we would require if we bought it off the line. It's been on the lot, soft set for about eight months. It has all the signs of being soft set, craked bullnose, seams, baseboard, etc. Horrible touch up painting, (good thing that's my trade) the usual wear and tear i suppose. They are selling it at a reduced price, which we can't get until the BOSS gets back from vacation .....

My question is what is the risk, and possible problems since it will have been moved and set up twice. Of course we have got the "everything is under warranty .. " speech, but I know all well what weight that holds.

We are still going to get a quote for a fresh from the factory unit with everything we want, minus the things we don't need. I.e appliances, fireplace, book shelfs, etc.

Its a Silvercrest M-18 Manor home ...

I am one of those .. "see what I like get it .. " kind of guys but it seems this decision requires a little patients and some good luck .....

[annaz]

While I'm not sure how many times it takes it's toll on putting a house back together again...we did buy a model...it was at a home show, then back on the lot, then to our house, each time taking it apart and putting it together. The only thing I know is that we had one area that didn't line up as well as it could, but we had no other problems and we saved $10,000 w/loads of upgrades. If you know how to drywall, that line-up can be fixed easily. But no one noticed it at our house, except us. I would suppose that the marriage line would be the deciding factor as that would be the part that would have a lot of stress. Would there be enough areas for a fresh drill into the marriage line?

If it's underwarranty, the levelness of the home would be under warranty as well. Maybe this home didn't have a proper pad for the soft set, if you're seeing these problems. We have a dirt pad as well and have never had settling problems. (Helps to have a water truck handy or rain and a dry-out when making the pad. Ends up like concrete. But if it's brand new, it's only been set up once before you were to buy it, I see no problems.

And since it's a Silvercrest, it's a better home....you may save lots of money....By us, it's costs less to site-build than to buy a Silvercrest...we wanted one, but it was over $70 a square foot. A good home... If you know what to look for, go for it. But make sure you're getting the quality construction (2x6 walls, maybe 2x8 floors and the steel frame if that's what you're looking for) and insulation you want. You know, the important stuff. With us, it's not the cosmetic, just the construction. Cosmetically, you can change anything.