Cautionary tale

[mhbratt]

I've been a member of this site for quite some time and although I seldom post I thought I would share a nightmare that I am currently experiencing with a 1993 Colony DW that I purchased in August 2007.

Due to my deteriorating health last Spring I had made the decision to sell this home and purchase a smaller condo that doesn't require the constant home/lot maintenance that this place does.

First I had a real estate agent that is familiar with this park come by and take a look at my home and give me an idea of what I could get for it and any suggestions for changes. I was advised at that time that almost every home new and resale that were sold by Eastern Homes, Inc., was the defendent in a Class Action case in Howard County, Maryland regarding the illegal, improper, & inadequate foundation, footings etc.

Jason W. Royal, et al. v Eastern Homes, Inc., et al.
Circuit Court for Howard County, MD
Case No.: 13-C-04-059581 OC

Eastern Homes,Inc., was in the very midst of this case when they sold the home to me and not only did they fail to disclose it at the time of purchase, they failed to ever inform me when it was settled and they lost. They were required by court order to install retro-fittings. That was finally done after I filed my claim as a class member with the law firm handling the case.

It gets better. Around the time the retro-fitting was being performed I became aware of a serious issue regarding my wrap around decks. The home is 28' x 70' and has a 6' x 52' deck that wraps around to a 28' x 10' at the back of the home. I immediately contacted the Inspection and Permits office for Howard County to determine if a permit had been issued for the decks. I was advised that they had no record of those decks. I requested that they come do an inspection and let me know the status of the decks. Apparently the former owner's installed the decks and not only never obtained the required permits but the decks are not built to code, are illegal, improper materials, improperly installed with improper/unstable inground posts, AND attached to the house all the way around which is illegal. When I contacted the owner of Eastern Homes, Inc., he advised me that they did have the proper permit and would provide me a copy. The copy they provided me with was from the original new installation in 1993, with the side deck being shown as 6' X 10'. Thankfully the Inspector provided me with all the documention they had to include aerial photographs from the original build, the year prior to my purchase and one since my purchase. They clearly show the different decks. The back deck in particular sits atop a very steep hill and at least 10' above ground. The inspector advised me that if the posts should giveway, not only would the deck go sliding downhill put so would all or part of the house since it's connected. I immediately had everything removed from the back deck and it's remained unused since then. I took the documentation I had received and provided it to the owner of Eastern Homes, Inc., and their attorney for resolution. The attorney and owner have so far refused to correct this illegal, dangerous situation and stated that they knew nothing of the rebuild. I have neighbors/witnesses that can attest otherwise.

And here's the best part. I sent all this information to my county executive for assistance in getting this resolved. It was then turned over to Howard County Office of Consumer Affairs. They are currently working on this matter and through our discussions it was discovered that Eastern Homes, Inc., is in fact responsible for correcting this matter. Further, my only contract and all relating documents from the time of purchase NEVER mention the actual owners, e.g., John & Jane Doe. The contract states that the Seller is Eastern Housing, Inc. (one of their numerous other trade names) and the Buyer is ME. They are responsible for all the issues that I've had since they were the sellers. They state that they were only acting as agents/brokers for the true owners. The contract certainly contradicts that.

I have every confidence that this will be resolved sooner rather than later. Make certain that the person(s) selling you your home has the right to do so. I also will assume that since this is how my contract was done others that have purchased used homes from Eastern Housing, Inc., have the same or similiar contracts and have no idea.

I'm a reasonable person and have tried every way I know to get these issues resolved so I can sell my home soon and move to something more suitable for me, especially since my health continues to deteriorate. Eastern Housing, Inc., the owner and their attorney has refused to take any responsibility from day one. While I wait for Consumer Affairs to determine the outcome, I will share this tragic, true story anywhere I can and may even take it to the local media. They sell homes all over the state and hundreds may be affected, as I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Be cautious, very cautious about who you buy from.

[David Oxhandler]

It is unfortunate that we live in a society where many businesses only exist to serve themselves and are willing to stick their customers with substandard results in the name of profit. That is a fact in 21 century America.

If we are going to be responsible to ourselves and our families we need to recognize this and act accordingly. Before buying any pre-owned home, site or factory built, have a professional home inspector give you a full report. You must share some responsibility for your situation if you did not have a professional inspection done prior to purchase. No business is responsible to disclose their legal problems to prospective customers. Check out the companies that you make major purchases from.

It is a very rare situation when a manufactured home falls off of its foundation. I suspect that the building department guy that told you your home might fall was overstating the danger. If that is a real concern you need to contact three or four licensed MH installers and ask each to offer an estimate of what it will take to make corrections. I understand you may not be able to afford their prices but you will know EXACTLY what needs to be done to make your home safe and give you peace of mind.

[mhbratt]

David,

Thanks for your response. It's more than "unfortunate" it's reprehensible. I have always dealth in an honest, ethical way with everyone I have done business with. This should not be acceptable in any way shape or form. Unfortunately for this particular company they sold to me. They have a very long history of dealing unethically, and illegally. This time they met their match.

At the time of sale there was no way for me to know that they were not the legal owners and had the authority to act as the Seller. The fact that they allegedly were only acting as agents of the real owners only became known to me after the sale and issues started to surface and they then directed me to deal with the owners.

I did have a home inspection prior to the purchase and a very detailed one at that. Unfortunately, I did not have a structural inspection which would have turned up the flaws with the anchoring or foundation of the home. In Maryland that's a completely separate inspection, and a more costly one. This home has sat in the same place since it first placed on this lot brand new in 1993. Since it had been here so long with no apparent issues, I did not feel that inspection would have been worthwhile at the time.

As for disclosure of legal problems, you are incorrect, at least in Howard County and Maryland. The seller must disclose all known defects, which in my case involved the pending legal issues with the anchoring/foundation. Since Eastern Housing, Inc., represented them as the Sellers they are bound by that law. This matter has been researched already and is fact.

The inspector did not say my home might fall. He said that if the illegal, not to code, improper posts should fail that that at a minimum the back of the house would/could also go downhill since they are attached (which here is also improper). At the time of that inspection, they could have ordered me to have the current deck demolished at a minimum and if replaced the rebuild of course would have to be build to code and inspected. He knows I could not only not afford to have it demolished but it's the only other exit besides the front door. Two exits are required. We agreed that until the matter is resolved that I would just remove everything from the back deck and discontinue it's use.

I've already invested a lot of money in this house and will not incur any further expenses related to those items that are in question. Additionally, I have no intention of staying here and plan to sell (even at a great loss) as soon as it is feasible to do so. If I am unable to sell, I will just walk away. Although I would take a huge hit on my outstanding credit rating, it would be worth it to me to be rid of the additional stress that this has caused for quite some time. I hope that doesn't happen as it's a huge, beautiful, well built home that I spent $20K updating, and would be great home and neighborhood for most. The maintenance of 1900+ square feet inside and the lot is more than my pained, disabled body can deal with.

Thanks again,
Jen

[David Oxhandler]

I don't doubt that you were dealing with folks that may have been less then honorable. A simple examination of the title transfer work you signed should have told you who the owner was.

Before you plunk down your money you must take responsibility to your self and determine who your dealing with and what is the real value of what they are selling. If there were foundation issues a full inspection would have brought them to light.

Because the home had been there for some time is no reason to assume that all is well. Regardless of who the real seller was, the possible defects would still be the same . A full inspection of the foundation would have cost considerably less than than aggravation your now experiencing and no doubt less than your ultimate alternative of abandoning your home.

[mhbratt]

David,

Do you feel better now? Consider me scolded. I am not a child, I am a mature adult and frankly resent your tone and how you have all but ignored all the improper, illegal things the seller did and choose instead to reprimand me.

I sold a brick townhouse that I had lived in for 15 years because of medical necessity. I needed to be on one floor and have friends that had purchased manufactured homes for a few years prior to me that recommended them. Not a single one of them obtained structural/foundation inspections either. But, then again they didn't buy from the same jerk I did.

For the record, I never saw, signed or heard of any title transfer work. Since I did receive a new title from MVA I can only assume it was done by the unscrupulous seller. Perhaps, to conceal the true identity of the real owners? Ya think?

Since this saga began I have done copius amounts of research regarding this owner and all his shell companies. It's astounding the amount of fraud that he has perpetuated for many, many years, effecting many hundreds of people. So far there have only been a handful of us that have fought him. When the office of Consumer Affairs is done with him he will have realized that he's screwed.

So hey, put the onus on me, a middle aged, disabled woman who did everything she knew to do in purchasing this home. I did a lot of homework. And had bought and sold stick built homes previously. I'm all for personal responsibility, but honest people get defrauded every day. Do you always blame the victim? Seriously? This is not helpful at all.

Jen

[David Oxhandler]

I am not blaming you. Unfortunately you find yourself in a potion that is very bad. I am letting others that read this know that if they don't want to find themselves in your position the simple solution is to do the research BEFORE you buy. Trust BUT verify !