Repo Homes

[jtart51]

There is a retailer of repo homes near me and I have gone looking at them from time to time. I noticed quite a bit of common problems with them. The singlewides often had wallboard damage from water along the floor line. Sheetrock would be squishy and soft...even gone in chunks. Floors would often have holes in them from water. Cabinets would be destroyed...either torn off or ruined from use...particle board cabinet doors. Door fromes at the entrance and rear would often be particle board as well with preictable results from not keeping the storm door closed. Surprisingly, seldom saw roof leakage. Window leaks appeared quite often..either from improper caulking at the factory or just from being left open. Water heaters and central air units also caused water damage. Occasionally saw water damage to vanities and floor in the bathroom..not as often as you would think though. You have to wonder why the manufacturers would use particle board for flooring and cabinets and door frames...as they are subject to water in normal use. As for the floor and wallboard damage it appears to have come from improper skirting installation. Some homes were only two or three years old and looked horrible. Funny thing is...I saw quite a few low end homes like Fleetwood Festival that were ten plus years old and looked new...no water damage and no cabinet damage even though they used the same exact materials. Top end homes were not spared from the neglect. I noticed many Imperial homes..vinyl/shingle with wallboard issues, and surprisingly..electircal outlet issues...outlets just glued to the wallboard and when the cord was yanked..out came the recepticles! They also used the cheap cabinets...usually with a thin white vinyl covering that delaminated. How much more would it have cost to put in good cabinets and site built home electical outlets for lights and plugs? The biggest thing I noticed is that no matter how "top of the line" the home is, neglect and abuse will destroy it. I also noticed that no matter how low end the home..maintenance and TLC will keep it looking new.

[rmurray]

Your conclusion is good "The biggest thing I noticed is that no matter how "top of the line" the home is, neglect and abuse will destroy it. I also noticed that no matter how low end the home..maintenance and TLC will keep it looking new."

Lets be honest.. Most repos are from irresponsible folks in the first place. I like the webmaster here was in the repo business in FL at about the same time. There is nothing you could say that would shock me. Remember you are seeing the homes AFTER hours of work have been done to make them marketable..I saw them when they first came in. You would be astounded how nasty and irresponsible some folks can be..Your conclusion is correct. The home will treat you as you treat it..The few home you saw that had TLC were probably from fine responsible folks who got caught up in tough times..but as you have seen this is the exception in stead of the rule even in these tough times..

You are right in your observation that most window and door damage was from folks too sorry to close them..The what looks like water damage around the bottom of the walls is often caused by misuse of carpet "streamer" cleaning equipment..

Manufactured homes as any kind of home come in all sorts of different quality levels. Even in the highest quality "Imperial" range there are homes with electric boxes attached to studs and with solid wood cabinets. Most buyers never take the time to educate them selves on what to look for..Even the good folks would not spend a few bucks for information and advice. Of course the irresponsible never do..

Most folks never think about the fact that a house is basically thousands of individual parts each with individual quality ranges.

When the market (buyer) demands a home at about $ 30/ ft, someone will build them one..Manufactured homes are much more efficient than other type of building.. BUT you will not get $150/ ft value for $30..Maybe $75 or $80 but most of our buyers did not want to pay those high of figures..Good Luck with your quest..

[jtart51]

I ended up buying a used repo home...a 99 Cavalier Brigadier 14x80 metal on metal. I had the roof vents painted and the roof cool sealed with the white rubber stuff good for supposedly 10 years or more. The guy did a great job. I had the new manufactured home dealers call me to see what I had done. When I told them I was waiting for the title to it and what I paid they seemed surprised I paid "so much" for it. It was one owner and set up in the park with skirting, steps, heat pump that worked and in almost new condition for $9500. They both said they had similar ones taken in on trade for $6000 or so. They did not mention if theirs had appliances and heat pumps and whether or not they were set up and in similar condition. I thought it was a good deal. What amazed me was they were trying to sell NEW homes similar to this with vinyl/shingle for $45000 or so. It seemed to me they were saying buy their home and watch it drop to virtually nothing in 11 years...and that doesn't include finance charges if I financed! Not much motivation to drop $45000!

[trmimo]

It sounds like you made a good choice, enjoy your home!

[David Oxhandler]

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