"Real" price of MH in California

[SaDawna]

Help! We have found land in Sonoma County and want to purchase a MH. We've been to 10 dealers in Northern California and have yet to get a straight answer on the real cost of set up for us.We need complete site prep w/well,septic, grading, etc and don't know where to begin. Most dealers say delivery and set up are extra. Is that normal? In Randy's book, he says most dealers include this in their price. What are we really looking at? $40k,$50k,$60k? We just need a ballpark for lending purposes. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Randy Eaton]

Hello SaDawna,

In most parts of the country the sales center does include the delivery and set-up charges. But it sounds like in Northern CA, they are doing it differently. It always amazes me why sales centers feel they need to hide or miss-lead customers when it comes to hard costs, like delivery or set-up. SaDawna, my book talks about the delivery charges and set-up fees. This should help you understand these charges.. To get an estimate of site preparation I would contact some local contractors or contact your local building department they should know of some good contractors. The dealers you're working with should also have some good contractors they work with. Don't confuse the set-up & Delivery costs with site preparation costs, keep these two figures separated. The dealers should give you hard costs when it comes to delivery or setting up the home. I would only deal with the dealers that can be honest with me and tell me the truth. Typically site preparation should be around $20k or so but you need to get a couple of bids. Why dealers have such a hard time explaining this to consumers is beyond me!Good luck.

Randy Eaton

[Art Rigsby]

SaDawna,

I just had a MH placed on my property in Lake County. My total cost for site prep,setup, delivery was $53,000. I didn't have to put in a well but the cost did include setup, septic, PG&E, grading, garage, driveway, sidewalk, cleanup, water, closeup, etc.etc.

All of the above cost was seperate from the cost of the MH. After I selected the home I wanted the dealer gave me an estimated cost sheet of all related cost. His estimate was $2,000.00 too high and I received it back at close of escrow.

Art

[SaDawna]

Art, what was your lot like? Ours has a slight grade and is about 1.09 acres. I know the permits for Healdsburg will run about $15k alone. Where are you in Lake? My grandfather left me a nice lot @ Clearlake Oaks. It's really beautiful there.Thanks for any info. SaDawna

[SaDawna]

Randy, I know you've heard this all before, but thank you for writing your books. We just moved to CA from Hoodsport, WA..where we were also planning on buying a MH..and the homes just seemed so much nicer..more options, more knowledgable salespersons(or maybe just more helpful??), and better packages. It was a real shock shopping here in Sonoma. Most of the model homes arent even finished, and it's hard to navigate around all the mess w/a toddler..not to mention you can't quite get a feel for what you're buying.If the dealer won't let us look at the invoice, is there a way to get it from the manufacturer, or at least a close estimate to the dealers cost? I have no problem with them making money..my husbands a winemaker, I know how it is...but, I feel as if most of the sales people just see $$$$ when they see us coming. Any suggestions? Oh, and thanks again. The comparison guide alone saved us a world of pain, I believe.
SaDawna

[Randy Eaton]

Hello SaDawna,

A sales center will not typically show you an invoice. My book does show you how to determine the sales centers invoice. Be sure you're working off a normal asking price and not an inflated one. Good luck.

Randy Eaton

[Art Rigsby]

SaDawna,

My lot is in Spring Valley, Clearlake Oaks. It is approx. 1/4 qtr acre and did not require much lot prep. No trees had to be removed and the lot was fairly level. BTW, the foundation was also included in the $53,000.

I must say that my experience in purchasing a MH was much different that yours. I purchased from Modern Manufactured Homes in Lakeport and they never put any pressure on me and were more than happy to answer any question I had regarding cost. Their models were always finished unless it was in the process of coming or going.

If it's close to you, you might want to consider visiting them in Lakeport. They carry Silvercrest, Karsten, Skyline, and Champion. Just ask for Gary and let him know I sent you.

Art

[aikanae]

i had the same experience, at first, looking at homes in az. there was NO help from the bldg depts or state hud (bldg and fire safety here) they just kept saying, "we can't reccomend anyone over another". more than once, they gave me inaccurate info reguarding permits. the city did the same. what a nightmare. i called installers direct and they wouldn't quote a price without me knowing which home, which i couldn't know until i could get a price what i could afford (i didn't want to max out a loan amount and wanted to my own funding). there was no back half of the loan to add it to.

seems to me like there are too many dealers and dealers used to shady tactics. after going through apx 30+ dealers, i found 3 i am comfortable with. one is a refferal from a friend who just got a home and is happy (retired construction co owner). the other, i met a manuf. rep at a social event who ended up coming out to my site, gave me a 4hr explaination of EVERYTHING i could think of to ask + some and a dealer to go with. then i discovered who installs 90% of the homes locally and got another referral. it was tough. i figured i just kept at it until i eventually got lucky. btw - those dealers have shown me the invoice, just not right away. i don't have a problem with anyone being paid for what they do - i do have a problem with people trying to get as much as they can though.

there were a number of dealers quoting delivered and set prices - then when asked, a lot of details were missing or worded such as "not including additional charges" when virtually nothing was included. a lot of wasted time until that point. i learned to ask about that right away. (set and delivered didn't mean hooked up and ready to move in) many were uncomfortable explaining that and it was my cue to leave.