Are more companies to fail out of this economic downturn?

[andrew3d]

I was told the Patriot factory in Waco TX has closed, and the company has basically gone out of business. It was one of the homes I have looked at during the past year or so. How does anyone know how well a company is doing, particularly a private company who doesn't publish that information?
The other two homes I've looked at are Palm Harbor, and Solitaire. I can read about how Palm Harbor is doing, but I do believe Solitaire is also a privately owned company. I would probably be reluctant to buy from any company that I thought would not be around next year.

Any thoughts about whether more companies will go out of business? Or on how to check a privately owned company out to see how they're really doing?

[David Oxhandler]

The manufactured housing industry is getting a severe beating through this recession. The long time industry leader, Fleetwood, has declared bankruptcy and others like Patriot are also finding that they can not sustain operations with new home sales still crippled in most parts of the country.

The industry is not alone. Site building is at the lowest point nationally in modern memory. Home loan availability is at best difficult. The federal government is so worried about the solvency of the big auto makers that they are backing up the warranties on new cars. In short our economy is in shambles at the moment.

BUT all of the news is NOT bad. Lending has just started to loosen up with historically low interest rates. We have a great stimulus, the $8000 first time buyers tax credit/rebate in place. AND there appears to be a renewed confidence from investors, as Wall Street begins to recover. One of the first signs of the end of a recession is investor confidence which provides business with the funding to recover, start bringing back workers and moving again towards profitability.

As the general economic shake down continues you will see companies in all industries fall by the way side and others return to profitability with new leading companies emerging in many business sectors.

To get a better handle on the changes evolving in the manufactured housing business read End Of The Line For Some Manufactured Housing Big Names. where John Grissim tells us "you may come across deeply discounted model homes from distressed (or closed) companies for which the retailer has obtained warranty coverage from a third-party provider. This arrangement can work but great attention must be paid to the details of that coverage, and the provider’s reputation."

If you do your homework there can be some insane discounts on homes from these failing companies with decent warranty coverage. Let us know what you find out there so we can help you investigate the possibilities and share the good opportunities with others seeking advice here.

Thanks for posting and we look forward to hearing more from you

[richard]

Do you know what kind of financial shape Fairmont Homes are currently in.