Upgrade on Wind Zone....Help Pls

[Amy]

Hi all, I'm new to this forum and have thoroughly enjoyed reading all the helpful info about manufactured homes. Here's our situation...
My husband and I live in Alabama (near Birmingham area) and are in the early stages of purchasing a Fleetwood. (After looking at many many manufacturer's models we finally found one that is perfectly suited to us.) In this area the Fleetwood homes are built to Wind Zone 1 construction with the option of upgrading to Zone 2 or 3. For our own peace of mind we'd like to upgrade to at least the Zone 2 construction and we called the dealer to get upgrade pricing on it. We were quoted $8000 to go to zone 2 and $15,000 for zone 3.
My question....is this an average price compared to what others are seeing and also what all does the upgraded construction entail?
One other question I have is about home insurance....on a very old post here (from June of 2003) someone mentioned that insurance for a MH will be approximately triple that the insurance for a stick built home. Does anyone know the truth on this? We asked the dealer about it and he said no, not at all and that he had contacts for very reasonably priced home insurance. Our problem is that being first time home buyers we have no idea what "reasonable" is. Thanks in advance for any help!

[rmurray]

Geez..this must be a bottom barrel wind zone house....There is NO WAY a wind zone upgrade could cost nearly this much money...

Some high quality homes have upgrade prices in the low hundreds for zone 2 and high hundreds for zone 3....

Most wind zone upgrades run about $1500 to zone 2 and another $1500 to zone 3....Much of the upgrade is in the anchor system...lots of it is in the roof and sidewall construction...the best homes are already built to these standards..hence the very low upgrade price..

The real question is why upgrade to something that you could have no need for???Much better would be to upgrade the items that will make a difference..Such as OSB or plywood floors instead of the press board that is standard on this home...How about 2x6 exterior walls to be able to add wall insulation to save you money in the future..how about 2x4 walls inside for extra durability..How about real wood cabinets instead of picture covered pressboard...The list goes on and on...

A first time buyer would be doing themselves a BIG favor by spending a few bucks in the bookstore here and getting one of the e-books that deal with construction differences..warranty differences...company reputations...Remember..it is likely you are going to finance for 30 years..unless you are putting down large downpayment..you will be upside down for many years and the home will have to serve your needs for all of this time...plus..even when you do want to sell..you want a quality home that will impress your buyer...and upgraded wind zone will not matter..

Most often homeowners insurance as a percentage of purchase price is higher on manufactured homes...but..since the homes are lower priced the cost of the insurance for a manufactured home is similar in dollars as a stick built..Shop insurance like you would anything else you would buy..

[David]

You should find out how the fleetwood is constructed and not go by the floorplan and cosmetic looks alone. When I buy I will buy a Palm Harbor with 2x6 exterior walls and 2x4 interior walls. I will also have 3/4 inch plywood floors instead of particle board that will wrap with the slighest touch of water.
The construction of the home is the most important part not the interior looks.
Please check out Palm Harbor or some of the other better built homes before you purchase and also spend a few dollars and buy a few of the books listed on this site about purchasing manufactured homes.
David

[dwharton]

Amy, purchasing a home just because the floor plans suit you perfectly without consideration for the basic quality of the home or for the track record of the dealer is a very basic mistake that has caused many home owners dreams to turn into nightmares.

As already stated by Murray, this dealer is way out of line on his cost to go to zn 2 or 3.This in itself would scare the daylights out of me as far as thinking that I will be depending on this individual to take care of me in the future.

Also, as stated previously by Murray, If you buy quality to begin with,zn 1 will work fine.

[Amy]

Thank you all for your comments....you've given my husband and me some serious things to think about. The upgraded flooring we had already asked about b/c it is listed as an option for these homes, and I won't buy a home w/ cheap cresdek flooring. Our dealer said there was no additional charge for it b/c he already orders all of his homes w/ them upgraded to the plywood flooring. The other things mentioned I will ask about today, and also get a clarification on his stated price for wind zone upgrading. According to what I'm seeing here those figures are as ridiculous as I thought they were. The whole reason I got started with wanting the upgraded wind zone construction was because of the info that I read in the Storm Shelter section at www.tornadoproject.com...since we won't have a basement, only a block foundation, I thought the upgraded construction would afford more protection. My fear of tornadoes has caused much hesitation with the idea of buying a MH, even though I've been assured over and over that the homes are built to such strict regulations that I shouldn't be worried.
I'll look at some of the books on this site today and will more than likely purchase a couple to get more info....thank you for that suggestion.
As for us choosing Fleetwood, it is not merely b/c of floorplans....it has alot to do with the 0 down financing that they can offer to us, even though we are considered sub-prime in the mortgage business. For the price range we're looking (under 110k hopefully) for a land/home package, none of the other higher quality homes such as Palm Harbor could give us the space we need in a home.
I know this has been a long post but I have one last question now.....would it be out of line to ask a dealer for references...contact info for people who are living in homes purchased from them?

[rmurray]

You said..."My fear of tornadoes has caused much hesitation with the idea of buying a MH, even though I've been assured over and over that the homes are built to such strict regulations that I shouldn't be worried"....No home is built to withstand most tornados....stick built..block...ot others..wind zone requirements are to help in hurricanes...not tornados...Are you afraid of tornadoes in the current home you live in?...You can buy concrete steps with a shelter built in..of build an underground shelter on your lot..both only cost a few thousand..and might make you feel better..

Remember a few things...$0 down finance is available from most every dealer...It is FHA finance with a gift for the downpayment...but remember this gift comes from a dealer contribution which of course is added to the price..all closing costs and construction loan costs are also added to the loan...if there is sales tax..it is also added..this means most likely you will be financing 20% more than the pure cash price of the land, home and improvements...Your payment for this package will be about $1100 including FHA fees, principle, interest, taxes and insurance..

It will be a lot of years before you could sell out of this home...all the more reason to pay attention to the quality of the home..

For most of us..buying a home is a large set of compromises...the choice of location...size of the home..features...quality of the home...we all have to compromise on some or all of these...In my oppinion..quality is the last compromise...especailly with the kind of finance you are about to do...

Believe me...the dealer and the bank will be checking you out...You have every right to check them out...customer referals..even financial status are fair questions to ask..

[Les]

Amy,

What Fleetwood dealer are going through? I live in Remlap and my neighbor has a 2000 Fleetwood. Based on what I have seen of his stay away from Fleetwood. If it is the Fleetwood dealer in Pinson I would be wary of a dealer who is also running a used car lot and an auto detail shop from the same place that he is selling manufactured homes. Have you gone to Cullman to look at homes? When I get ready to trade in my current home and get a new on I will probably go with either a Cavalier from the The Home Place in Cullman or a Plam Harbor from the Cullman store. Cullman seems to be a better place to buy a home (maybe because there is more compettition there?). I can't stress enough how important it is to do all the research you can on a dealer and the manufacturer. I am paying the price for not doing enough research 5 years ago when I bought an Oakwood MH.

Les

[Mark]

I'm with rmurray (again), wind zones are for hurricanes, not tornados, very few structures that aren't specifically built for a tornado can survive one. If I live in a tornado prone area, I'd invest in a proper basement, or one of those prefabbed, bury in the ground shelters. I've actually considered one of those anyway, since I live in hurricane country, but I can make a lot of trips north for that kind of money too..

[as]

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