Homestead 2 x 3's

[Threnody]

Right on Katie! Preach on sistah!

It's certainly not a better deal when this is next door, that's for sure: http://www.knology.net/~carlos/redneck.htm

We got approved for the loan, by the way. I don't think its hit me yet. I am Homestead bound! We purchased a lot in a heavily restricted community that is 1.4 acres.

Thank you for your insight Mr. Murray, btw.

Thren

[Katie]

Congratulations, Thren! That's really exciting. You're going to love it, I'm sure! Just having 1.4 acres is reason enough to celebrate! And, hey - you've got to keep us all posted on your total experience with Homestead AND with the dealer. (Who IS the dealer?) I'm very interested in the step-by-step process and possible pitfalls. (Yes, Randy, I HAVE ordered your book - it should be here any day).

[kathy]

I all so like the cavalier homes.but the sales person was a drill sergeant to,only showing 2 houses.Iike to know the price for a 3br and 2ba bellcrest,in miss,and murray thank for the information

[kathy mulford]

DO NOT BUY A PALM HARBOR I HAVE A 2001 DOUBLE WIDE AND HAVE HAD NOTHING BUT TROUBLE WITH FACTORY AND DEALER HERE IN OHIO SABINA OHIO MADE THE DARN THING THEY WILL NOT STAND BY THE PRODUCT ........................

[Threnody]

Katie: We are dealing with Congaree Home Center in West Columbia, SC. They sell Homestead, Homes of Merit, Crestline, & Fleetwood. So far they've been really nice & easy to deal with. Go to homestead's web site and look for another dealer if you didn't like the drill sargeant. http://www.hmstead.com/

Here's a timeline:

3/22 - Found the house. Took another week to decide it was "the one". (When the husband says he likes it, this is how you know.) Decided we did not want display model with green carpet in shade that will be completely out of style in a few years. (Previously lived in "Avacado green" apartment, scarred for life.) Square footage: 2330 square feet, 32X80.

3/29 - Went back and turned in prelim app. (He said they use the Greenpoint app because it's the best app there is.) Dealer ran credit. Husband's score too low, loan will go in my name. Dealer asked for pay stubs, w2s, any financial documents (to show I closed cc accounts) Got preliminary contract - home, improvements (3 decks, septic, power pole, water tap, lot clearing), put down $500 deposit.

3/30 - Went and looked at the lots in the subdivision. First phase remaining lot was tiny, next to home of person who put wooden bunny stakes all over their front yard. Opted not to go for that one. Go to look in Phase 2 - There are only 2 1+ acre lots in this phase, the rest are around .66 like other lot. Community is restricted to double/triplewides with at least brick underpinning - no front yard fences, no livestock, keep your storage shed in the backyard, no junk in the front yard. Gave land people $250 deposit. Our lot has a fire hydrant on it (insurance bonus!) & nearly perfectly level The lot behind ours will most likely never sell because it has power lines running through it.

4/3 Turned in all paperwork, & signed agreement to buy land from land people.

4/10 - Got call from dealer I have approval, but underwriters want copies of all CC statements. I do not have two of the six. One is paid by ditzball mother who throws statement away after she pays bill--luckilly statement due this week. Other is in payment plan through june and cc company is resending letter with terms of agreement (original misfiled.) Should be here today or tomorrow.

4/11 - Dealer says "fax what you have." Faxed.

4/15 - Still waiting on statement & terms letter. Will fax as soon as they arrive.

And thats where I am to date.

[Threnody]

Update.

Went to discuss a "financial situation" with the dealer. We went into this knowing I had a debt to income ratio that was high, so financing the home we originally wanted was pushing the limit pretty much. I opted for less house than to go ahead with the current one. They showed us a brand new Homestead (that wasn't there when we looked the first time, so it had JUST been set up on the lot), which was the identical floorplan, but a 28x80 rather than 32x80, for 300 square feet & $10K less. Since it had the carpet/exterior colors we wanted, we took it. We didn't get the plywood floor (OSB), but we did get concrete footers.

I liked the fireplace & master bath in this one MUCH better anyway, as well as the shelving in the MBR closet (that sealed the deal for me, personally, being a recovering clothes horse and all) I wanted carpet in the dining room anway. The only thing I really DONT like is the green countertops, but I don't dislike them enough to pass this up.

Final approval to proceed is tomorrow. I asked how long would it take for setup/inspection/etc. before we could move in - we were told around May 15 (!!!)

Off to pack

[Katie]

I don't understand about bringing in the credit card statements. If they know what your debt to income ratio is, why do they need the statements - and how far back? I think you were very wise to go with the newer model instead of pushing yourself to pay for the larger home. When you're sweating bullets every month to make your mortgage payment, the stress is not worth it. May 15th will be here before you know it. Please keep us all posted on the rest of the story.

We want to hear about the set-up, the walk-through, the punch-out list, etc. Sounds like you're going to have a beautiful place!

[Threnody]

Katie, I ended up not having to supply any statements. The reason all this has taken so long is that my DITR is waaaay up there. (If my husband did not have such atrocious credit, we could have included his income and this wouldn't have even been an issue) I paid off two more credit cards and now I am FINALLY "in budget", and have my loan approval letter. The dealer wants me to come in next week to do a "house closing" so that they can move the house out to the lot. (We had to go tag trees we didn't want hosed this past weekend.) I'm not sure what all that entails, but it isn't the big hoobah 'here's your keys and your new mortgage' closing. We are officially rocking & rolling now though. Inspections to follow.

You can see pics of the display model here. I am hoping HTML codes will work.



We are not getting this particular one because they ordered several of them. Our house will be identical to this one, minus the overpriced furniture. (My boss's dad owns a furniture store, and we are getting everything at cost.).

All I have to say is ITS ABOUT TIME. I've already borrowed a video camera for the walk through.

[Threnody]

I can't believe I used the wrong code. Just copy and paste.

http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4291889549

[Grant]

I was so glad see this post, what’s funny is that I was shopping at the same dealer and looking at the same model. I was very scared after reading all of the post. I fell in love with this model but the only problem is that I can’t get an honest price of what this plan really cost. The dealer quoted me a price of 63,000, but after asking for a floor plan {which the dealer somehow cut off a large chunk} I went back to get the cut off portion and saw that the base price was only 53,000. The dealer must have mistaken the 5 for a 6. Could you please give me a base price for this model?