I went to a Fleetwood dealer yesterday and....sm

[Myra]

now I see why some of you have said negative things about them. Cheap. But the dealer said that we could get any floor plan of the Fleetwood in his other brand, Southern Lifestyles. I know this is a division of Southern Energy, which I've seen positive things about on here. Is the "Lifestyles" a cheaper line of Southern Energy? It has 8' walls and sheet rock, nice looking molding and china sinks, etc. The reason I ask is because we also stopped at another dealer and looked at Southern Energy models and the saleslady said that plain "Southern" was a lower-end line than "Southern Energy". Then I go to the other dealer and find "Southern Lifestyles". Confusion!

Boy, if I wanted one really badly right now I could sure save some money. One dealer had a "Southern Energy" on clearance (sounds funny, doesn't it -- "I got my home on clearance." lol) for $69,995! It was a huge one, too, 32 x 80, living room, den, study, huge, huge master with his and hers bathrooms...but it had dark green carpet, a half bath in the laundry room (which cuts down on space), and other things I don't want. *sigh* They also had a triple-wide for $62,500. It was a spacious home.

To the person who asked (several weeks back!) what I had decided...nothing yet. Still trying to determine if this is the way I want to go.

I am also researching modular and panelized homes on the internet. Anybody have any thoughts on those? There is a Champion dealer near here who is about to get into the modular business. I thought I might check that out when they do. Also, Champion is about to start building a new line of doublewides that don't look like mobile homes...I saw some pictures and they were interesting. Does anyone know anything about that?

Lots of questions, I know. Sorry. Some of you guys who answer questions on here are really great and I sure appreciate you!

[rmurray]

The sales lady was correct...Southern Energy builds 3 different models...each with different construction features and different standard trim items...

Most of what you mentioned as features are options on the Southern Lifestyle....
If you order one ...be sure every item is listed...

If you are going to load up the house with features..you will want to directly compare prices on the Southern Energy..because all the features are standard..Often when you add options to the lower line..they end up more then the top of the line...and are never quite there..

[trying to find a home]

There is a Champion dealer near here. However, I am finding "problems" with the indesion of just how much the monthly payment. The home and land package and the monthly payment s with interest isn't adding up. They want for instance 561.00 a month for a 3 bedroom 2 bath home with step down den and kitchen and seperate utility room at 7 % interest. The home is 53,900.00 and the land is 12,500.00 however when I go to their website www.championhomes.com and use their home mortgage caculator it is adding up to 80,000.+ for home and land. Land has water and sewer already. So be warry

[Peggy]

According to a mortgage calculator I'm looking at in a real estate guide, for a 7% fixed rate, 30-year loan, you would multiply the number of thousands you're borrowing by 6.66. You've got $53,900 for the home plus $12,500 for the land for a total loan amount of $66,400. Rounding that figure up to $67,000, multiply 67 by 6.66 and you get $446.22. How are they getting $80,000 for the total loan amount?

[rmurray]

You need to understand what is included in the payment...
Does the 53900 include everything...I doubt it..There could be sales tax...and there is closing costs of the loan for sure...These two items can be in the thousands of dollars...Customer often forget about these costs....How about permits...foundations...many other things to check out..

Ask the dealer for the exact break down of the figures...The payment quote he is giving you is for about 81 to 82 K...but...this seems about right...

Has he mentioned that you will also probably need to escrow future taxes and insurance and might have to have PMI insurance..All items that will add to the monthly amount that you have to send in...I would be guessing your total monthly payment at about $ 750 on the above figures...includeing ins/ tax and pmi..with no downpayment..

[Karl]

A good point made above about extra costs. Foundations, for example: A slab foundation might be cheapest (next to the old mobile home cement blocks on pads routine), but a crawl space could add $7,000+ to the cost. A basement might start at around $15,000, depending on where you live. There are other things to consider--septic, porches, patios, cost for electrical, gas and water hookups, etc. As an example, we looked at a 1640 square foot modular (Crest Homes) last year. The home sells for around $66,000, but by the time we add in the basement, back deck, septic tank, various interior options, etc., the house priced out at $116,000. That is with us already owning the land! And, it doesn't include a garage! So sometimes these low prices on manufactured and modular homes are somewhat deceptive. Still, over the long haul, I think it would be cheaper than a "stick built" home