Purchasing a Palm Harbor home

[Moland]

Me and my fiance have been looking at bare land (large farm lots) and just locked in a deal on a piece we really like. We were originally going to sit on any land we found and later build a home. Due to the extremely low interest rates (and the somewhat high bare land rates) we have decided to just go for broke and put a home on it now. We had looked at manufactured homes in the past and we found a Palm Harbor floor plan we liked. We had only seven days to apply for financing according the the sellers agreement. Palm Harbor offers a (somewhat in house) land home construction loan with a very good rate. They have been very good people to deal with and their consturction seems really solid.. So we went ahead and apllied for their financing. Does anyone have anything good or bad to say about Palm Harbor homes?? This is their MT. Shasta model 2400 sqf, wrap porch, tower dormer, lap siding, energy star/good cents package, see through fireplace and all the upgrades. We ended up at around 108k before foundation/excavating and other expenses.The base model was very close in price to other brands. It seems like they really nailed us on the upgrades but we want a good quality liveable home. Any feedback on this company would be great as we just did not have the time to do a lot of research. We are taking the factory tour this friday. I hope I don't get too scared with what I see.

[Danny]

We have set more than our share of Palm Harbor's...they are a good home overall ..The only drawback i have seen ,is that some of there models don't have the "outriggers" (steel runners that extend from the chassis outward) running all the way out to band or (the exterior wall)..thus leaving the load of the exterior walls with less support.."the life of a home is its foundation" in this case being the chassis..hope this help some!.

[jgn]

The only real complaint I have heard about PH was their sales tactics and you seem to not have a problem with that. Their construction is of good quality and their support seems to be good. It really is amazing how quickly upgrades add up but that is the case with anything and any home and paying $45psf for the home you want is not bad at all.

[don]

I have been in my PH for six months now, I choose the "fullest house" model, 2170 sq ft, 4 BR, 3baths,stone FP etc..

The quality of construction is what drew me to the home. The sales tactics were a little much for me, but the price..(I bought a lot model that they had to move for a very good price) was excellant.

The set-up was slow, I made three payments while waiting to move into the home, but everything was done well. The only other problem I had was the clearing/grading of the land, it could have been done much better.

Also if you can swing it, tell them you will sow your own grass, they charged $3400 to sow a 50 ft perimeter around the home...and I could, and did do a much better job than they did, and I did it all by hand...over an acre!!

But overall I have to give PH a thumbs up esspeccially the construction of the home itself....I went over this house with a fine tooth comb, even when it was in two pieces I was checking out the construction on the marriage walls etc...

I wish you the best and keep us informed on how things turn out for you and yours...oh yeah congrats on the engagement

[moland]

I sure appreciate all the responses I've received. Thank you all very much. The outriggers you refer to, are they a long term structural weakness or are they just a transportation issue/weakness? I am having good a foundation built for this home. Will the foundation compensate for this? I guess I'm a little confused. Also I'm going to have the foundation built as high as code allows in Oregon due to the fact that we are in a 100 year floodplain ( the price you have to pay in Oregon if you want to live in the valley and have a river near you). I think you can go four feet high. Does anyone know if this creates a problem with manufactured homes?

[chase]

concerning the exterior wall support, if the manufacturer's installation will be thouroughly read one will the use of perimeter blocking is required on ph homes for additional support . the blocking required on the perimeter is a little more extensive. in the ga and sc areas even with no real chance of snow load , we set the homes with a maximum pier spacing of 8' on frame rail and perimeter piers 8 foot average with the mariage wall piers at half the spacing of perimeter piers. you will be happy with the palm harbor. one telling detail how many other manufacturers offer you a tour of the plant where you home is being built? also i would like to know what all was included with the 3400 dollars for the grass seedeing? was this seed alone or dirt work , site prep for home pad etc.? also in don's post he stated the set-up was slow, do you mean the actual blocking of the home nad siding finish or the entire process of the inside finish ,well, septic and land prep, the reason i ask is i am a setup contractor for palm harbor in ga sc and northern fla. my job is to block and level the home completely install the roof materials and finsh exterior siding. this is usually 2 days for transport blocking and leveling and then siding crew will finish outside most times the 3rd day but at most within a week for a total time of 7 days max. for my work to be done. it seems as if sometimes there may be confusion as to what setup is comprised of , with my contract the above is what actually constitutes set-up. the inside trim etc. is done palm harbor gold key care, or other contractors in the appropriate field. during the customer satisfaction interview that is done at ph customers are about the set-up. don, is it possible that customers are of a different understanding of what setup is composed of and what is actually set-up and installation. i have had a couple of instances where i was told the customer was a little concerned over the time it had taken to setup there home, after checking my time records i saw there was only a 3 day process on my end , and after checking with customer they had no problem with me but other aspects over which i had no control, but which through the use of word setup i was accountable. see we get sort of graded at ph for our performance, i try to do the utmost in customer satisfaction and all of the locations i work for have 100 percent customer satisfaction ratings. i ask this question only to perhaps improve what i already do. but after all this rambling i am sure you will satisfied with your palm harbor. by the way what part of the country have all of you located your home?

[Moland]

We are setting up in Oregon just outside Monmouth, its the south western portion of the Willamette Valley. Thanks for your help. This has been a great web site for me.

[chase]

if you doing this foundation and have perimeter support you will be fine. i have my moments with ph but by far they are the most customer satisfaction oriented company i have contracted with. i am sure youwill be satisfied

[Danny]

with all due respect to my colleague..i agree with Chase, but the outriggers not extending to the band is WHY we have to do all the perimeter blocking.

[don]

The $3400 was for final seed and straw only-50 ft perimeter.

The actual set-up was done inside a week. The septic,well,trim-out etc...dragged for a considerable time.

I am located in Winston Salem, NC, the home was bought out of Rocky Mt NC.

Also you might want to make sure when you and the dealer figure in improvements that you figure in gutters...we didnt, and now I have to find someone to gutter the home.

A question to Chase: My home is 76'x28' I have had 3 estimates for gutters:

estimate 1- $1600
estimate 2- $1200
estimate 3- $2200

Now, Im no gutter expert, but I know that time and matierial (2 lengths of gutter and 2 downspouts) are not that expensive.

All three estimates came from major gutter companies who told me the reason for the price was that it wasnt worth their time to do mobile homes....any idea on a ballpark of what this should cost? Again...thanks!!