Arbitration

[Susan]

Hi all!

Well, we ordered our home from PH yesterday! The only concern we have is we did not feel comfortable signing the arbitration agreement, so the manager came in and explained generally w/arbitration, they will ususally end up siding w/the customer if anyting does go wrong and they would not process our order until we signed the agreement.

We don't foresee anything going wrong, but you never know. Is it true they won't process your order w/out signing an arbitration agreement, or did we just fall for a load of crap??

[rmurray]

It is true...PH will not sell without arbitration agreement...

The load you have been fed is the other statement about siding with the consumer most of the time...actually arbitration is an adversary legal function..where both parties think they are right..The arbitrator hears the evidence and makes a ruling...no juries..much fast than the courts..They find in favor of the consumer..just as often as the courts..

Problem is..no arbitration..no home...BUT..you have scores of arbitration agreements already...your telephone..your bank account..your credit cards...the list goes on and on..

[JohnnyJ]

Sad but true. Arbitration is in virtually all contracts for homes, site built or
manufactured. Whether the plaintiff wins as much of the time as the defendent
is another matter. Most of the abrbitration agreements stipulate the abitrator.
So, with that being the case, go figure who will win. In some states, you may
still be able to serve a lawsuit regardless of a signed abitration agreement.
Consult a real estate attorney in your area for any questions.

BTW, these agreements are not going away anytime soon. They do serve
a useful purpose in that they do save court costs, and may allow for cooler
heads to prevail. In reality, they allow for the to parites in a disagreement to be
forced to hear the other side. Not necessarily a bad thing... if you win.

good luck