Update on state claim filed

[Kelly Smart]

Just an update on what's going on in my world. We filed our claim with the state and they gave the dealer and Manufacturer 30 days to respond. After 2 wks we received our inspection date as both parties refused to fix problems. The inspection took place this past Wed. I have never seen anything like it. We had a rep. from the state, the owner of the dealership and the OWNER of Franklin Homes as well as the service manager of Franklin Homes, my husband and myself. There was alot of arguing brtween the 2 owners. We showed the state rep. everything that was wrong. I offered him a chance to look at the 600 pictures I have of the house, from what it looked like on the lot to what it looks like now. I told him it has been 114 days since the house was delibered to our land. He was shocked. He did tell us while we were talking in another room while the 2 dealers and service mgr bickered outside, that we have got alot of problems. He said although he would like to help us on everything he can only enforce according to HUD codes. He said we should have a report sometime next week. I don't remember if I wrote in my other post but he told my husband last month that he would get us our air conditioner if we would sign a piece of paper stating he didn't have to fix anything else. Of course, my husband said no way. Well, the other day after the inspection my husband asked the dealer about our AC and this is an exact quote of what he told my husband " Well, now Mark I am a Christian man and I realize that I have not handled things the way I should have but you see I am in the red on your house and we are just 2 good ol Arkansas boys and those 2 women in there(he was referring to the Franklin owner and ser. mgr who were still in the house with me) well they are not from here and that one well shes worth multi millions of dollars and they don't care about you and me and well Mark if you side with me we can get all of this taken care of. You know Mark, if you sue Franklin I will be right beside you and 100,000 to them is chump change. If you will just side with me, we can sue them and get your house fixed and pocket 50-60k". Of course my husband told him the problems with the house was not Franklin and if we sued we would be at one table and him at the other. My husband asked him once again about the AC and the dealer told us if we would encourage the state to make Franklin responsible for everything he would have us an AC that day. We have an appt with attorney on 5/25.

[John]

I have always heard good things about Franklin. What was their take on this whole thing. Finding a good dealer is more than half the purchase and it seems that you got a bad one. Hope all works out well!

[Kelly]

This is just amazing! We received our report from the state and the only thing the state can make the dealer fix is he has to install the missing piece of laminate trim on the marriage line between the kitchen and den. The only thing the state can make Franklin fix is the commode in the guest bath is unlevel, the light fixture in the master bath is broke, the shower head in guest bath is missing. Now, you have to understand we had a list of about 40 items including the above items which the state looked at, among these items were - The ceilings in 5 rooms are visibly sagging, the carpet in 4 rooms has holes of various sizes, some holes go through the matting, there are numerous busted tiles and cracked grout all over the huge kitchen island and all the counter tops, that were not there when the home was initially delivered to our concrete 1/25/05, the sheetreock work throughout the house that was done by the dealers guys is horrible and is recracking in places that have been repaired, the floor in the dining room has a sagging place in it-- this is just a few of the things on our list. Now this is the amazing part - the state has a HUD code to enforce having a shower head nozzle but there is no code that covers sagging floors, ceilings, cracked sheetrock etc. This is outrageous.
My husband talked to Franklin today and they said they are dissappoinited in the state report, they felt the dealer should be made to fix this stuff his workers have messed up. They do not want to have to fix his mistakes and on top of that if they try to fix what he has already messed up, it makes them responsible. They told my husband they will have a meeting and see what they can to do to help.
We have an appointment with an attorney Wed.5/25/05. Obviously this is not going to be settled unless we sue. It has been 4 mos tomorrow and we cannot live in this 90k house.This house looks like it is a repo.( I am not slamming repos, but I would never pay 90k for a repo). I have been staying here for about 1 1/2 mos. because I am on call where I work so much and it got very expensive paying 30-40 a night at dumpy motels so I could make it to work within 30 min. if called in. My family(husband & 2 kids) live about 20 miles away in another town with his mom. It is 40 miles everyday for them to come to school and back to her house. They visit me when time permits. This situation is beyond believable. We still do not have an air conditioner( dealer will not give it to us until we sign that he doesn't have to fix anything. AC was in contract to come with house--he's already been paid in full for house. We have been making house payments to the bank every month for house we are not living in.
I haave went into this because I am not a sue happy person, but enough is enough.
I would love any advice anyone has.
Thanks
Kelly

[John]

I think I would make a big sign, have pictures handy, put it on my car and sit outside his business every saturday. Best that your attorney advise you on the legal issues but I am surprised the bank let the funds go withour your walk through and acceptance and without a A/C unit.

Hindsight is 20/20 but it will show that you need an attorney before you buy and don't sign acceptance until everything is completed.

[Dan Freeman]

Kelly -

Call your mortgage holder and let them know about your problems. Let them know exactly how the dealer that arraigned financing thru them has treated you. They may be good enough to put some pressure on the dealer to help you... but even if they cant it will make them think twice before helping support that dealers business again, by financing his deals. Perhaps you may prevent the dealer from putting another buyer in your position

[rmurray]

I like the other post about picketing on a public..road side...Kids carrying signs..draw a lot of attention....

Good Luck with the attorney..This dealer needs to be beat up..in court or otherwise...Do you have a consumer affairs complaint department in your state...How about the license agency for the delear...Remeber most dealer have banking licenses...

[Kelly Smart]

I am going to place an add in our statewide newspaper and also in the smaller town newspapers in the surrounding area, seeking anyone who has bought from this dealer. I know he has 5 houses that are messed up right now and he is arguing with Franklin over who will do repairs. I am calling the Atorney Generals office for our state( they are in charge of consumer protection, like lemon laws etc). I am also contacting one of our statewide tv stations who have a program called Seven on your Side, that exposes people like this dealer. There is another program on WB42 which I think,is shown in some other states that has a call in program. I have already hinted to Franklin that we are going to take these steps and they ask us to wait until they had their meeting to see what would be done. I am sure the negative publicity will not affect them that much but the lawsuit will. Here is a good note, concerning the AC the dealer would not install--- the dealer called husband on Mon and told him since he didn't have to fix anything (he was basing this on the state claim results)he would have our AC out here on Wed. and guess what? I came in from work and the AC guy is here installing the unit. I bet the dealer is going to be really ticked off when he realizes this is far from over.
You know this guy is a million dollar a year Franklin Home Seller, it is amazing to think he does this to that many other people. There is no way this is just a one time incident.
Thanks
Kelly

[unknown]

I do not know what state you are in but yes,you should call the mortgage company right away. Has the contract even been fulfilled if the ac has not been delivered yet? The state I am in has certain regulations on how much a ceiling can sag etc, they do not have jurisdiction over anything that is not considered a hud code item. ie-Cosmetic flaws etc. Are you dealing with just the retailer and the manufactuer of the home. Who installed the home in most cases it is a 3 third party you might want to check into that also.

[Kevin C]

It is horror stories like this that is causing me to rethink about buying a new MH. I believe most dealers are not like this one but even if you check out the dealer thoroughly beforehand there is no way to insure something like this won’t happen.

If you go home only and put the home on land you already own, the dealer wants to be paid before the home is pulled on to the property. That’s before set up. Many things can go wrong and all you have is the dealer’s word he/she will fix it? There is no incentive for the dealer to do so as they have already been paid.

If you own your property and go land home, the dealer places a lean on the property. If you refuse to close, you could end up loosing your land. If you go land home and finance both, refusing to close means you loose any down payments, etc.

It looks like the manufacturer would be more willing to put a lot of pressure on the dealer to do what is right. After all, their reputation is at stake and if the dealer won’t cooperate they should be willing to eat the cost and refuse to sell any more homes through that dealer.

The poor consumer is caught in the middle. Their only recourse is to take the dealer, manufacturer, and set up people to court. A long drawn out battle and extra living expensed to pay.

I don’t think I would want to find myself in this person’s shoes. Maybe I’ll just buy a used home either MF or stick built and have it inspected by a reputable engineer before I buy. Seems like a lot fewer hassles.

[jgn]

There are hundreds of homes placed every month and most go smooth. The ones you hear about are the ones that have problems with no solution. I owned a 1976 MH for 11 years and had no problems and I am in the process of buying some lake property to put another one on. One thing that does concern me is closing on the home before it is set up. I have spoken with several dealers and two of them would let the lender hold a significant escrow until the home is set, inspected and approved my me. They didn't want to do this but were willing after a lot of discussion but the only way the would if the lender held the escrow so they are assured the money is there.I am more inclined to go with PH because they are factory owned lots so there is no dispute over who is responsible for setup and repairs plus I feel confident they will be in business for awile.