Help First Time Buyer

[VEE]

Thanks for having this forum.


Hello you all !!!

I have narrowed my search of 32x80 homes to Fairmont (Freindship), Redman, and a Norris.

In your experience which is the better home.

Also, what kind of dealing should I do when making the deal as it will be a difficult delivery to West Virginia. I own the property also.

Any suggestions would be most appreciative.

Thanks in advance.

VEE

[JOE]

Vee, can't speak for Redman or Norris. I have looked at Frienship and was not at all impressed, they seem to be poorly constructed. Just my two cents.

Joe

[kim]

We've been looking for a home for around a year now and I haven't liked any Redman that I've been in. They all seemed very cheap made and there are alot of better quality homes that we've seen. We have liked INDIES, Southern Estate (and Southern Energy Texas Homes) and Franklin the best. Some of the Palm Harbors were nice, but the floor plans weren't any we liked and they were over priced for what you got. The ones we hated were Redman, Freedom and Fleetwood. They may have better ones that we just didn't look at but we've been looking for something 1800 to 2400 sq. ft and I would have never thought I would have settled for the one we are because it is on the smaller end of what we were looking at but the extra high end features sold us on the Southern Esate. We are suppose to sign papers tomorrow!

[VEE]

Thank you Kim for your reply.

I have been looking for a home for sometime also.

I keep seeing something else I like and then I get all mixed up. What are your thoughts on a Champion or a (Norris made by Clayton)? Oops! you just told me you didn't like a Redman and Champion, I think makes them. I too, am looking for 2,000 sq.ft and up.

Any info is appreciated.

[mickeydee]

VEE,
I would have to say look at Norris.A good solid built home, only thing is they don't build 32 wides.

[mickeydee]

corection Norris does build 32 wides ,but not carried by dealers is some areas.

[kim]

Vee,

Good luck on finding the home of your dreams!! To be honest, I've not seen a Norris and that is odd to me considering I've been to 3 different Clayton Home Dealers over the last few weeks!! I do know that I don't like the Freedom that they make.....just looks very LOW END to me and I don't want to walk in and feel like I am in a trailer! The best floorplans and the best homes I've ran across for the price have got to be the Southern Estates. They have 4" crown moldings and plantation wood shutters and all the bells and whistles that we like in an affordable price range. We are cutting down on sq. ft to get the extra but with the floor plan like it is, we are happy with the space. We are going for a 32 x 58 that has very large bedrooms, one very large living area and good size dinning area. We wanted 2000 sq. ft + but we found that going that big just meant either another bedroom, retreat room, den or breakfast nook. We would rather have 3 good size bedrooms and very large living area, dinning room and large kitchen and we found it all in a home that also has rock fireplace, large mantel, built in entertainment center, built in glass hutch that has lights in it, computer desk, smooth counter-top stove, lazy susan in OAK cabinets, nickel brass fixtures, knobs and all. It is nice and even walking in on the carpet felt better than the others we looked at. We got a great price for the quality that this house has and it even has plywood floors instead. Only problem is, we found this one and we haven't been able to see another one like it or even close to it! We've been to several dealers and no one else has heard of the Southern Estates and couldn't find them by the model # either! I did email Southern Energy and they said they just came out with this 2004 line of homes and that they all had a lot of the EXTRAS added as standard features. We got the "The Maxwell" because of the foyer and the large rooms without having extra rooms. Clayton has a home called The Colonial that has a similar floorplan but not exact that I looked at and liked, but they wanted $5,000 more than we are paying for The Maxwell and it had no high end extras but it was larger. The only thing they got in the larger one that the Maxwell didn't have was a RETREAT room and a breakfast nook and those are a waste to us. (retreat room would be JUNK room and breakfast room would just be another table we would have to purchase and keep cleaned off...lol) We have a table that seats 8 and if that isn't enough room, the kitchen has a bar that 2 stools can sit at nicely but 4 could cram in there if needed...lol I hope you find what you are looking for and just so you know, my Aunt and Uncle just went and bought a Champion 2 yrs. ago and they LOVE it still. The only thing they don't like about it is the trim work is not very good because they have some short pieces in noticeable places. She wishes they would have went with large crown molding but they are planning to add that themselves one day in the near future. Oh well....hope something helps and just be leary of the 'used car sales man approach' that so many of these places seem to use!! Never decide on anything to quick and always ask for cheaper interest rate.......they always usually call you back with cheaper rates! We've been given a lot lower rates from all these other places now that they know we found something elsewhere!!