Fairmont or Commodore

[Peggy]

We have been researching and looking at homes for several months. We currently live in NY and have a host of manufacturer's to choose from. We have narrowed our choice between Fairmont or Richland series by Commodore. From what I can gather they are pretty comparable but with a $7,000 difference in price. Has anyone had experience with either of these companies or can recommend which will be the better home to choose?

[Karl]

I have owned a Fairmont home--a 1995 model.. It was generally well built but some of the trim, doors, things like that were quite cheesy. I took a door off once to move something into a room and found very cheap, flimsy door frames as well as doors. Everything had a plastic, cheap look to it. I much prefer the current home I live in--a Holly Park--but I don't know if Holly Park is still a viable brand. I don't think the problem is really with the manufacturer. You have to upgrade within a given make--most makes offer different levels of quality within their brand. The less you pay, the less you get. Also look at things like hot water heaters, floor thickness, etc. For the lower priced models, the manufacturers will cut corners wherever they can. The Fairmont had light fixtures I'd later seen at Lowe's for five bucks. Then again, I bought the Fairmont because I was pressed for money at the time. It saved me several thousand over a better-equipped Fleetwood I was looking at. It's sort of like buying a car--the base model offers very little (painted hubcaps, cheap-looking seats, lack of features--while the loaded model might offer sunroof, leather seats, chrome wheels, etc. The two cars are mechanically the same but are different in many other ways).