Thinking of purchasing a Manufactured Home

[Bill Beebe]

I just retired and plan to move from Alaska to my land in North Arkansas (we own 61 acres in the Ozarks). I am in the process of deciding wheither to purchase a manufactured home to place on the property or build a home on it. Financing will not be an issue in either case. I have done research on the internet and have located and downloaded the checklist from the Consumer Union site and have purchased some books that also contain checklist and points to consider. I am principally interested in either a Fuqua, BonnaVilla, or Palm Harbor homes. We would like to add a garage to the home once it is on site and will be looking for floor plans that are favorable to that.

Most of the manufactured homes in that area are Fleetwood or Champion homes, but at least one dealer is starting to offer Indies Homes. There is a Palm Harbor dealer near Little Rock (which is about 125 miles from my property) and a Fuqua dealer in Missouri (about 170 miles away).

We understand that there have been that some purchasers have found themselves in difficult situations with manufactured homes. However, we were in Alaska during the '80's when stick built homes were often put together poorly and had a lot of issues as well. Because of this, and the fact that we would like to keep our investment in the home to under $150,000.00, we are leaning more and more toward a manufactured home.

Does anyone on this forum have experience with BonnaVilla, Fuqua or Palm Harbor homes built in the south? In addition, can you tell me what the average cost should be for each of these homes may be if we look at 2,100 - 3,000 sq ft with reasonalble upgrades (2x6 exterior walls, 4-12 or better pitch roof, 36-50 ounce carpet with 8+ lb rebound pad, 2x4 interior walls taped and textured, high quality cabinets and plumbing fixtures, etc.). Also do you know if you can request that the home come with a specific type of appliance or none at all and let us add them later?

Thanks.

[Bill Beebe]

We are also looking at Fairmont homes as well.

I apologize for the poor editing in the previous message, was in kind of a hurry to post.

[janie]

seems to me you could build a house for that kind of money, I did and I don't have to worry about depreciation. That's the thing about manufactured housing, it depreciates, that and there is a stigma to living in one. I know people say it doesn't depreciate but I live in an area with many manufactured homes on acreage and many stick builts on acreage, I check the assesor values of my county and manufactured homes do increase in value for about 4 years, then it's nothing but downward. A stick built if maintained will only go up, whereas a manufactured home if maintained will eventually go down in value. Beautiful home couple blocks from me, manufactured, it went up in value for a few years, then it's down thousands in value. I've been there, done that, almost bought a Palm Harbor, but the sales people were so incredibly rude and liars, I just couldn't deal with them. Never heard of a construction/perm loan, told me 11K in closing costs. I found a builder, built my home and really feel like I dodged a bullet. And the stigma, people call it a trailer no matter what. Not even mobile home, I didn't want to live in a trailer anymore and my manufactured home was nice. That's my opinion and just being honest. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[jgn]

Site built construction costs in the AR/OK area are still reasonable and Janie is correct you can build for about what a MH will run you. It is always a debate if MH appreciate or not and it totally depends on the location. If you have a unique location than MH will appreciate if not than it will not. Site built will most likely appreciate regardless of the situation. You mentioned it is for retirement so appreciation may not be part of your consideration. In Arkansas site built will be $55-65 per foot where PH/Fuqua will run $42-52 so a stick built will be comparable but you may not have all the amenities a MH has. There are other alternatives like United Built or Jim Walter
which are precut site built homes that are in the mid $50psf range. A good quality MH home that is taken care of will last as long as any home.

[Art]

Janie,

What you are saying is part truth and part fiction. Home value depends a lot on location and, in some cases, if you own the land it is on or rent the land. I happen to live in California where it doesn't matter if you put the MH on your on land or a "park", it will appreciate in value. This also applies to other parts of the country.

Here there is no stigma living in a MH. The county I live in is about 60% MHs and almost all are on private land. Sometimes it is even difficult to tell a MH from a stick built house.

Because I am retired, appreciation wasn't a big concern for me as I don't plan to move again. Our child will reap the benefits of appreciation when we are gone.

You may consider a MH a "trailer" but some they are building today would knock your socks off and I would be willing to bet you couldn't tell them from a stick built house.

Art

[don]

As far as a "mobile" home going down in value...this is a myth, the home is only as valuable as the location. As far as Palm Harbor...mine was built in the Siler City, NC plant...I have the 76 H2 model. 2x8 floor joist,2x6 ext studs, 2x4 int, all on 16" centers, 1/2" plywood subfloor,1/2" taped and textured throughout. Full OSB wrap. Cathedral ceilings. Tile baths,kitchen, and entranceways. StoneFireplace

I did ALOT of research and this was the best value I could find, however the other names you mentioned are top end homes as well.

[Mary Stanley]

I'm from Oregon and can tell you that the Fuqua's are probably the best built anywhere around. Their factory is in Bend and they offer tours through the plant. I've been trying to locate one in either Corvallis or Eugene so I can finish my degree at the university - can't find any of them for sale. It seems once people buy these, they hang onto them. I know many brands can depreciate - Silvercrest and Fuqua's appreciate in value. And, being from Alaska you can understand the need for top quality construction due to harsh weather. Here in Oregon - it's wet! They wrap their homes in Tyvek just like site built to protect them from damp weather conditions. You can add fireplaces, covered porches, 1 or 2 car garages, etc. to this companies product. Be careful - many mfg. don't engineer their homes for garages. Fuqua and Silvercrest do, though. Here in Oregon, Fuqua quoted a 1-car cost at around $5,000 and $10,000 for a 2-car garage add-on. Fireplaces only cost around $1,000 for an upgrade. 3-tabbed archetectural shingle upgrade was minimal - they already use a fiberglass shingle which is excellent quality but the 3-tab archetectural shingle is really important for windy areas. They use 2x6 on load bearing walls, 2x4 on interior walls, no plastic plumbing, shut-off valves under all sinks with a main shut off valve to the entire house. They have one of the most flexible houses made - you can move any wall you want and design your own home. Most mfg. won't let you do this.

Also, their roof loads are standard at 30 lb [many mfg. have a standard 20-lb roof load!]. You can upgrade to 40 lb. [highly advise this if you are moving to Northern Arkansas - they get snow in the mountains there around Fayetteville - I was born in Kansas City, Missouri so can attest to tornados and snow!!!]

Hope this helps!

[Mary Stanley]

One other note - I've heard from numerous realtors that Palm Harbor has the worst customer service in the industry. Even after the sale - there is no support for the consumer and they treat their customers like garbage. Get yourself of copy of Randy Eaton's book "Manufactured Home Comparison Guide" - he spills a lot of information about dealers and their financial situation, customer service, etc. Fuqua is very strong - I can't even find a used one to purchase here in Oregon. Will have to buy a new one probably. People just don't let go of these homes here. Also, Fuqua has one of the best customer service reputations in the industry - they are highly respected by consumers and realtors alike.

[Mary Stanley]

Perhaps you could help me - I'm thinking about buying a mfg. home for just a few years while I finish college. The mortgage and park pmt would be the same as renting [yuk!] plus I have critters! I thought quality built mfg. homes appreciated [Fuqua or Silvercrest] if well-maintained, but didn't depreciate?

The realtor I spoke with acted strange when I told here I wanted to check a blue book listing. She said blue book is irrelevant and she would "comp" the value. How can you comp a value on something that is grouped with cars, trailers, motorcycles, boats, etc.? Don't you have to have the EXACT same make, model, year, upgrades, lot size, etc. in order to comp a home? Also, which approach would you take - strictly making an offer based on blue book only or allowing a realtor to comp you a price? This is a bit confusing for me. It's like somebody saying "I'll comp your car you have for sale in order to assess a value for a prospective buyer." How do you go about getting the "true" value on a house? The one I looked at was built in 1996, a Guerdon, beautiful condition [is owned by a little old lady - no kids or pets], has forced air and heat, is a "Good Cents Home", etc. but she wants $47,900. The realtor said her cost was nearly $80,000 to set this up. How can that be? It's in a park [not on it's own lot] so a well and septic didn't have to be dug - sewer, electric, and water was already developed. The park had already leveled the sites for the development so she didn't pay for that [I'm guessing] - so rock removal or site prep. Also, aren't delivery and set up included in purchase price, 9 times of out 10? So that was probably free as well. All she did was pour a concrete foundation - I'll be really liberal and say in 1996, it cost her $7,000. I don't think she could have paid more than $50,000 - tops - for 1996 Guerdon with 1,296 sq. ft. So where does this $80,000 figure come from? How do I go about finding what that home actually cost her nearly 10 years ago to purchase?

Any information you can provide would be tremendously appreciated.

[martha]

It seems to me that what she paid 10 years ago is a moot point. The homes has value by what similar homes are selling for in your area. At least this is true if you want to get financed. Manufactured homes appreciate at the same rate as site built but for slightly less per square foot because of initial investment. So if a site built homes in your area are selling for more today than 10 years ago, then a MH should sell for more. This is true in CA at least.

When you get a comp. price you look for homes that were built within 1/2 yrs, are around the same sq. footage, and are in the same area (with 1/2 mile if possible). This may be different for a park but I can't imagine it would be that much different. The appaiser then adds or subtracts value based on things like quality of construction, AC vs. Swamp cooler, etc.