The Manufactured Housing Forums

This may be a little long, I am sorry. Just trying to get my thoughts/plans in order and thought maybe someone here could offer some insite and or opinions.

We have lived in a 2000 Clayton for the past 4 years. It is been a good home but in my new search would like some upgrades. Such as real wood cabinet in the kitchen. Wood floors instead of carpet, ect.

Now in our search we have found a floor plan that we saw at a Fleetwood lot. I have heard/read that Fleetwood is not one of the top of the line DW manufactures. Is there some way to get this floor plan made by someone else? And if that can be done, who might you recommend. We are in the southern VA area. I have not seen any Palm Harbour or skyline homes, not sure who makes them though. The biggest one in our area would be Clayton, Fleetwood, Luv Homes or Champion. All of the first three being all Clayton homes.

Also, could anyone tell me why they offer the show model homes on the lot for so cheap. We have been offered a few that we said were nice at $10,000 below ordering price. Is this something worth thinking about or just not a good idea?.

Last, this is my big concern and trying to find how to do this the best way. We own 10 acres of land. The home we currently live in is on a nice 4 acre tract. We want to sell the DW home and the 4 acres. We want to build on our other tract and have our new home put on it. We would like to use the money from the sale of the house and land to pay for the new home and well and septic to be put in. I don't want a mortgage, we don't have one now and don't want to start one. Is there a way to do this? I would be using the cash from the sale of the home to pay for the new one. But obviously, I wont have that until the sale of the house is final. Is there a way around this problem? I want the home ready to be lived in at the time we close on our home. I wont start anything until I know that everything is secure and a fail safe purchase on the buyers part. I just worry that I will have a home closed on and mine not ready or delays. Plus now we are going into the winter months. I have heard from different company's different opinons on having a DW house set in the winter. One guy says "no problem, as long as there is no snow/ice we can do it" Another place says "no, we wont do it if temps are below freezing, the ground has be dry so far down or our equipment can sink, ect" The second makes more sense to me than the first. But alot of them claim that winter doesn't stop them from putting the house on the foundations. Any thoughts?

I am sorry this is so long. I have so many questions my head is spinning.

Where do I start....

Palm Harbor is built by Palm Harbor...A stock exchange listed company...Akyli8ne is the same sort of compny...stock holder owned...they are bvuilt by Skyline...

Palm Harbor does much custom work....I am not sure about Skyline...

Palm has many strore in Nothern NC...some which might be close to you....Such as

http://www.palmharbor.com/sales_locatio ... p?SCID=383

You asked "Also, could anyone tell me why they offer the show model homes on the lot for so cheap. We have been offered a few that we said were nice at $10,000 below ordering price. Is this something worth thinking about or just not a good idea?. "

Most often the dealer is trying to sell off older inventory....I you found the perfect home..it might be goo to getr one..but seldom would a stock unit have the kind of upgrades you have mentioned....


There should be no problem figuring the financial part of your question....I would be suggesting a no closing cost...no pre payment penalty loan on the new home..that you pay off as soon as you sell.....Also you could take a loan on your current home and pay it off at sale...Both ways would get your home done in advance of the sale...Custum orders can take a few extra weeks...Start as soon as possibe...I would not think winter would be major problems in your area....Ask your delaer for guidance...If you are afraid of the timing..put a completion date with penalty in your purchase agreement....

Go Fot it...

They can put your foundation and septic in during the winter. As long as there is not much frost. I had mine put in [Vanderbilt, Michigan, above 45th paralllel] during February of 2003. If you have enough snow cover to insulate the ground, and make sure no one drives near that area, they shouldn't have much problem. They did mine by getting all the equipment/blocks/etc on the site, then waited for a few nice days. Came out in the morning, plowed the snow off the ground, marked out the area, and dug the 7 block crawl, formed the foundation and piers, poured cement, and covered it up. Took them awhile to get the blocks in. They only worked on nicer days [they have cemicals to mix with the cement/mortor for winter work]. They day they put the treated wood cap on top of the block it was almost t-shirt weather. If you have a choice, it's not the best time of the year. But I didn't either. Some contractors like to have something to keep their crews busy in the winter. Good luck.

Murray, thank you for your help. I forgot to ask the question about the upgrades. If we were to get the lot model, it does not have the upgrades I would have wanted. Is it just as good to have the changes made later on, new cabinetes put in and hard wood floors installed? Again, this particular DW is a fleetwood and I am not sure if they are worth the money or not. If I am going to do this I want to do it right. Although, I did search all the others for this floor plan and I can't find it with the other manufactures. It is the best floor plan I have seen for our needs and our family. I just don't want to buy a cheaper made home and have more problems. Thanks for the input on the loan side of this. THat is a good idea.

Jerry, thanks for sharing your winter set up story. I was concerned about the temps causeing problems for us and delaying home set up. Makes me feel better to know that it can be done. Not that I am not worried about delays, but at least it can be done.

At this point I just want it over with. Trying to find the perfect floor plan has been a task in itself.

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Add-on work is not covered by the warranty...most often it is much better to get it factory installed...

we are purchasing a used Oakwood/ Smart Homes Doublewide that measures out to be 32x80. I am looking for someone who owns one of these homes to give me their opinion of what they like or dislike about them. I have never heard of this brand of mfd home and cannot locate a website for them either. Please send me your input, even if you just know someone who owns one of them. How do I locate a website for them ?

Oakwood filed bankruptcy oveer a year afgo..there for the 5 year warranty this home originaly came with is no more....That is why there is no web site....

The best course of action on a used home is hire a professional home inspector to look it over...