Palm Harbor Homes

[katz]

David - do you work for Palm Harbor? If so, maybe I'll come and visit ya! The location we went to was in Buda, Texas. I do know where all the other locations are around here. Because of that experience, I am not likely to go to another one.

[David Oxhandler]

Katz -

Nope... I don't work for PH. I have worked for some of their competition in the past. I am the operator of this web site. Palm Harbor is NOT one of our sponsors.

I have been involved in different aspects of manufactured housing for almost 30 years. Over that time I sold, repaired, inspected and renovated many different brands of homes. Each time I came into contact with a Palm Harbor I have been impressed.

There are several builders that build a good even great quality homes in Texas. Come back and tell us what you find out there that you like best.

[migi]

We bought a Palm Harbor Home; a double wide (2400sqft)

We had two leaks in our roof in two separate rooms within 6 months of moving in.....Our AC never worked properly from day one of moving in

Our water heater shorted out within the first four months of moving in.....Problems with electricity (wiring)

Too many other problems to list.

We have neighbors that bought a PHH - PHH set up the house on the wrong property and had to move it!

They had a roof leak also....They had problems with the cabinets....Also hadAC problems.

If you can possibly avoid it: DO NOT SIGN THE BINDING/NON-BINDING ARBITRATION PAPERWORK. Honestly, it doesn't help you and benefits the company greatly. All it does for you is allow the company to bind and gag you from seeking restitution if you get sold a "lemon".

You may not find the truth about these companies online - complaints specifically about Palm Harbor or many of the other companies. As you notice on many of the manufactured home sites the companies do a great job of damage control by having their employees post intensively regarding how super their companies are.
Palm Harbor has a great BBB record; however, you need to also look up the companies that build their homes. In Texas they have Masterpeice Housing which has an UNSATISFACTORY record with the BBB. Of course Palm Harbor will not tell you this and in some cases they even put on the paperwork that Palm Harbor is the manufacturer of the home when it's being built by another company that they own.

Many people have no idea how to or to whom they should submit a claim or complaint; especially when the manufacturer fails to honor their warranties and claims.

Firstly, check out www.HADD.com - they have some great information and their goal is see that no more suffer as Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings. If nothing else, checking out HADD's site will help you realize that you are far from being alone.

People need to complain to the following:

www.HUD.GOV
HUD/FHA regulate manufactured housing and are charged with enforcing regulations.

FTC (Federal Trade Commission) - especially, but not limited to, cases of false advertising and "bait and switch". For instance: Palm Harbor has a HUGE photograph of the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew and states that their homes did a great job of surviving the torment. What they don't let you know is that not every PHH is built to that same standard as there are different regulations regarding building in different regions/states. This claim has fooled some customers into thinking that PHHs are better-built than the competetion. Instead of trusting their claims (remember, their job is to sell their product), check your local agency governing manufactured housing regulation and see how many complaints have been filed against the company. Or ask the retailer for a list of customers who are willing to let you see their homes/talk to you on the phone about their experience.

BBB

When you make these complaints make sure that you get copies of the responses made by the company.

By law under the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) and/or the Privacy Act, HUD/FHA has to give you copies of *everything* the manufacturer submitted. Make sure you get these copies, this will help to keep the company honest...at least maybe a little bit.

[G]

I've been living in our Palm Harbor (PH) home now for almost a year. Beware of bait and switch tactics. Looked at one home, settled on it and then was told we couldn't get it because of a financial calculting error. Moved the home in on the worst day possible, the day after a down pour of rain. They really tore up the yard and made a complete mess of it. I was told that they had a deadline and it had to be in on that day. They cut it real close with their deadlines. Was told a crew would be back to clean up the property. Instead we get a load of dirt dumped in the driveway to do it ourselves. Because of the rough moving installing the home, the home suffered several cracks and damages. The final inspector said he's never seen so many cracks from a move in. Over a hundred of various types and sizes. A crew (two sub contractors) was sent to do the reapairs. Everything that needed to be replaced or repaired was always somebody different. They never keep the same contractors for some reason, which I think is sort of scary. After we get the home we hear about all the trouble they have with certain colors of interior paint showing every flaw (our home is taped and textured). Kitchen knobs weren't all the same. Was supposed to get more to match the other ones but after asking and reminding for the course of 2 months I gave up. Had to cut a tree down to get the second half of home in but was given a Lowe's gift card to replace the full grown tree. Hardiplank siding was not cut right, level to the ground. Was told they couldn't replace it because it would be too expensive and to use the dirt provided to cover up the gaps under the home. Other than everything listed above I'm pretty happy with our PH home. I have heard worse horror stories. Could it have been worse from a different manufacturer? Probably, but who's to say.