Silvercrest/Hallmark

[Ann Marie]

I purchased Randy Eaton's book, "How To Buy a Manufactured Home" and am finding it most helpful while I plan the purchase of my first home (Manufactured) and finding a piece of land in San Diego. Great book, Randy. I would like a comment from you Randy or anyone who wishes to comment on a couple of things. Through my research, I believe Silvercrest is the home to buy; however, I have been hearing a lot of good things about Hallmark. I've been told by many that they are well-built and you get more house for your money. Any comments? Secondly, I found a good licensed contractor who can purchase a Silvercrest or maybe even a Hallmark home from the manufacturer and save me quite a bit of money, as oppose to buying from a retailer. I find the land, he purchases the land and takes care of the rest. The financing would be done through a well-known lender here in San Diego (is where I heard about the contractor). I guess if there were any warranty problems, I would have to contact the manufacturer instead of the retailer. Has anyone had any experience in purchasing a manufactured home this way? Any comments on whether this a good or bad idea would be greatly appreciated. Thank You.

[Randy Eaton]

Hello Ann Marie,

Silvercrest is a quality builder but expensive. Hallmark is a great builder also, if you feel comfortable with this contractor it sounds like a good deal. I would contact some people he has helped before and see what they say. Let me know how things work out.

Randy Eaton

[Ann Marie]

Thanks, Randy, for your response and comments. I sure will let you know if and when I can put this altogether. Have a good day.

[carol]

Hi. We're looking to buy a manufactured home for the first time. Done a little research and also like the Silvercrest. You say they are expensive. I live in eastern Or. So have not had a chance to do any pricing. Can you help me out? Would appreciate any info. Thank you, Carol

[Rob]

Carol - We live in Eastern Oregon also, narrowed our search down to Silvercrest and Palm Harbor for two primary reasons -1) they were the two builders offering floor plans that most closely fit our unique requirements; and -2) given our research and admittedly limited knowledge these two manufacturers appear to produce the highest quality product available within a reasonable distance.

Comparably optioned, each priced out at about $52.50/sq.ft.(2500+ sq.ft.). This is of course on the high end of the spectrum, but quality is our #1 priority and that doesn't typically come cheap - however, the trick is to get what you pay for regardless of price - Randy's book is at the post office now so we'll pick it up in the morning and hope that clears up most of the fuzzy stuff.

Silvercrest is built in McMinnville and Palm Harbor in Millersburg (Albany) - Santiam is a large Silvercrest dealer in Woodburn and the Palm Harbor factory has a large number of homes on display.

Hope this helps a little -
Rob

[Rob]

Carol - forgot to add Valley to the list of mfg's that are high on our list of quality builders. The factory is located in Sunnyside, WA (between Tri-Cities and Yakima)and they build a very good home - at least we believe so. They are somewhat less expensive than Palm Harbor and Silvercrest but I suspect (though I don't know for sure) that they are less inclined to discount from list than the other two. At the end of the day all three are probably pretty close in price and quality on similarly optioned homes.

Valley was third on our list for only one reason - we couldn't find a floor plan that fit us - though we're going to approach them for an estimate on a custom floor plan.

Randy, if you're listening please consider e-mailing me contact information for the best Valley dealer with whom to work on a custom plan (not trying to get free info from you as we've already purchased your book set.

Carol, hope this helps (again) -
Rob

[Kristin]

We're also in San Diego County and would love to do the same thing with a Silvercrest. We've found some land, but haven't acted yet. I'd be very interested in finding out more about your strategy, as we need a good deal on a Silvercrest Manor 16 with tag addition for our large family.