First time buyer lots of questions

Industry pros offer their experience in manufactured housing to help first time buyers to make informed decisions with confidence and peace of mind.
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jessicao
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2008 11:18 pm

First time buyer lots of questions

Post by jessicao » Sun Oct 12, 2008 11:30 pm

I live in small town Kansas (population 20,000), where I'm looking to buy my first home. I'm a single parent working on completing my degree full time so I can't afford much. I've been pre-approved for $75,000 which must cover everything. I have land that has been gifted to me by my grandparents in a rural area, zoning issues have been taken care of.
I've picked a Schult floorplan that I love and will work best for my needs (both short term and long term). My problem is that the dealer I've been working with is quoting me $75k just for the home, without any septic or utility set up costs, or any upgrades. The home is 1549 square feet, with major upgrades only in regards to the insulation. Everything else is already pretty high quality. How far can I expect or ask him to come down from this price? I know the "invoice" cost for this home is a little over $50k. And he has quoted me $71k (an all inclusive price for utility work, home etc) for a home 100 sq feet smaller but with all the same features and standard options.
Should I shop around for other dealers who might be able to give me a better price for the home I want? $75k for that home equals out to about $48.42 a foot, and I would need him to come down to about $42 a square foot.

David Oxhandler
Posts: 1459
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2007 8:37 am

Re: First time buyer lots of questions

Post by David Oxhandler » Mon Oct 13, 2008 6:24 am

It is difficult to second guess value from a distance.

Over and above the invoice price the dealer has been paying finance charges ever day that home has been sitting on his sales lot. Dealers dont buy homes from the factory they "floor plan" them. They put down a small amount. Generally 10 percent and pay interest daily 'till the home is paid off.

The dealer is probably paying a high rent to keep his business in a high traffic area. He has advertising expenses. Must pay a percentage to his sales team. Has overhead like any other small business that is driving many out of the business today. A portion of all that expense has to be recaptured from your sale before he can see a profit. So the dealers real cost is considerably above the invoice.

Anything under $60 a sqft sound like a terrific bargain here in our market (Florida) but I have no idea what the expenses are in your market. You can get the best information available from the Grissim Guides

The Manufactured Housing Book Store is running a Special 2 Book Offer on both of the best selling Grissim Manufactured Home Shopper's Guides

The Complete Buyer's Guide to Manufactured Homes and Land - Which will show you how to find a reputable dealer and negotiate a fair price.

AND

The Grissim Ratings Guide to Manufactured Homes - This book rates every Manufactured Housing Builder's products, price ranges, construction ratings & more


Get more details HERE
David Oxhandler
[email protected]

gigi63
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Sep 24, 2008 10:02 am

Re: First time buyer lots of questions

Post by gigi63 » Fri Oct 31, 2008 5:07 pm

Jessicao,
Be very careful with your options, etc. Just bought a Karsten, chose options trying to stay within our budget. When you get to the contract part, you find out there's an additional $3500 for the air conditioner and then of course there is sales tax. They never mentioned "site prep" to us. We actually found another customer who helped us with that. However, all the site prep (did not include the well) ran us close to $20K. Needless to say, we were way over our budget. We are in rural New Mexico. Believe me we have been flying by the seat of our pants. If they try to talk you into "the special", forget it. The specials will have options built into the price that you probably would not add on anyway. By the time you add on the options you want/need, the price just goes on up.
Good luck to you and hope this is of some help.

letitride8318
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Nov 17, 2008 10:19 am

Re: First time buyer lots of questions

Post by letitride8318 » Mon Nov 17, 2008 10:29 am

I purchased a Richcraft MFH (double wide Birch Model. Mt question is who is responsible for the payment of thw sewer hook up and also the water sercice hook up plus meter if the home is already on the land lease lot.

David Oxhandler
Posts: 1459
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2007 8:37 am

Re: First time buyer lots of questions

Post by David Oxhandler » Mon Nov 17, 2008 12:38 pm

Most of the time when an existing home is resold in a park the utilities are already hooked up. I am assuming then that this is a new home or at least a new addition to the park. If you have not signed to make the purchase then this can be a negotiable item. In most parks the home owner pays all expenses for home installation. If you have already agreed to and signed for the purchase the correct answer depends on your purchase contract for the home and lot rental agreement. Read them over and you will probably find the answer.
David Oxhandler
[email protected]

reshields
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Dec 02, 2008 4:27 pm

Re: First time buyer lots of questions

Post by reshields » Tue Dec 02, 2008 6:10 pm

I bought a MH for my daughter and family in N.M. I depended on the gentleman that rehab'd the MH to give me the ins and outs of MH ownership.

A family of 6 lives in this 4 bedroom, 2 bath MH. We have had constant problem with the septic system. It backs up every other day. Granted...we use the plumbing a lot, what with laundry and baths...but...being 4BR & 2BA it should
be able to accomodate 6 people. I'm concerned with the contamination. We have had the tank drained twice in the past year and my son-in-law has manually cleared the entrance of the tank many times. I know nothing about septic tanks. I thought about trying to find someone to re-route the washing machine drain to a gravel filled pit. Would this do any good? Can you help?

Also, it would appear that a section of our dining area floor by the sliding door is disintegrating. What would cause this and how do we fix?



Thank you so much for any and all advice.

David Oxhandler
Posts: 1459
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2007 8:37 am

Re: First time buyer lots of questions

Post by David Oxhandler » Tue Dec 02, 2008 9:33 pm

Your answer is on our other forum where you posted the same questions at

http://mfdhousing.com/phorum5/read.php?2,79060
David Oxhandler
[email protected]

caldw
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2012 8:21 pm

Re: First time buyer lots of questions

Post by caldw » Mon Apr 23, 2012 8:42 pm

We are at a stopping point on which home to buy here in texas. We've looked at solitaire (which we liked the best), palm harbor, oak creek. They all are the best from the sales person of course. We have no clue as which is the best. I'd like to look at schultz, karsten but are 2-3 hrs to the nearest dealer. Should we consider going to look at them or just go with solitaire? We are interested in a double wide about 1400-1600 sq ft. home. Anyone have any suggestions?

David Oxhandler
Posts: 1459
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2007 8:37 am

Re: First time buyer lots of questions

Post by David Oxhandler » Tue Apr 24, 2012 9:25 am

There are several excellent Buyers Guides. The Manufactured Housing Book Store is running a Special 2 Book Offer on both of the best selling Grissim Manufactured Home Shopper's Guides

The Complete Buyer's Guide to Manufactured Homes and Land - is a comprehensive resource guide for MH Shoppers that explains just how the manufactured home industry operates, how to find a dealer worthy of your trust, how to make the right home selection, and, as important, how to be informed so you can make the right decisions. How to determine the fair price of a home. Smart negotiating tactics, (what not to disclose) and even Deal terms—what to insist be in writing Exhaustively researched, and with extensive input from both industry insiders and consumer advocates, this guide gives you all the information and tools you will need to successfully find and purchase the right home for you.

AND

The Grissim Ratings Guide to Manufactured Homes - rates every Manufactured Housing Builder's products, price ranges, construction ratings.Descriptions of the entire spectrum of what manufactured housing has to offer, from gorgeous high end dwellings indistinguishable from site-built homes to bare bones single section housing.


Become an educated consumer. Grab the special on both books HERE
David Oxhandler
[email protected]

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