i know that when i go into a lot of our neighbor's homes, theirs seem kind of cheesey compared to the amenities and quality of our home. if i were to purchase another mobile, i would certainly buy another Colony.

:) jiggreen

:)

I will say, based on our conversations with other homeowners in our park, that with today's standards, they are all pretty well manufactured, but what people complain about are the dealers who sell them to you and have them put together. You'd be amazed at the carelessness that goes on and things that don't get installed correctly, and the difficulty in getting your dealer to get workers back out to make corrections.

We are the second owners of our Nashua. The first owner had it extended four feet in length in the living room, kitchen and dining room areas, and boy are we happy with that extra length.

Another thing we are happy about is that two bedrooms are at one end with a bathroom, and the master suite is at the opposite end. It's nice when we have overnight guests that everybody has plenty of sleeping privacy, i.e., no snoring competitions!

We also have, and prefer, the side decking which extends almost the total length of the home. At one time we had thought we would like the front deck, but after having a chance to see how they are utilized, we are very happy to have the side. For one thing, the front decks are not roomy enough to sit really comfortably if you have a couple of guests. Ours is covered and partially surrounded by latticed fencing which gives us lots of privacy from our side neighbor.

If this will be your only home, you may want to consider a little wider unit. 80' is very long, maybe you might want to consider a little shorter but add to the width.

We were also impressed with the Karsten. It does look to be well made. Since we bought a pre-owned, we didn't have the option, but nevertheless, we're quite happy with what we do have.

Nick

Have owned stick built houses in the past. Going on 6 years in a Palm Harbor. Got great service for 2 minor problems... a very small plaster imperfection and a leak around the skylight. In both cases someone came out within 2 days to fix the problem. The company also came out to replace roofing vents due to a recall.

Actually, I'm completely satisfied with the performance of this home.

Also, beware of disgruntled consumers who go on a crusade.
I once had a co-worker who had a house built and was constantly getting repair work done on it.

OK, alviec, I think we got your point. Should we expect this to be your reply to every post in this forum?

Wayne

Only when consumers fail to do any homework do they soon realize they are totally clueless about something and will always blame someone else for their failures.

This guy obviously either bought his home based on price or some other factor. But he failed to do any research, so he got what he paid for.

There are many examples of excellent products out there! And there are some shoddy ones as well. But it's up to YOU, the consumer, to sort it all out to your satisfaction.

By that question, you are asking if I work in the mobile home industry, the anser is no. I've worked for over 20 years in the modular home industry and in general architecture. I do freelance design for builders and production drawings and CAD programming for modular home companies. I haven't had the opportunity to work for a manufactured housing company yet.

When I answer a question here or anywhere about mobile homes, it is because I'm interested in the product and because I see a need for it and because I see many thousands of satisfied buyers, including many here who can argue the merits better than I.

I also see a few disgruntled buyers who have had bad experiences and offer at every turn their opinion that all mobile homes are junk. As far as I'm concerned, those opinions are as simplistic as they are wrong, count for nothing and are less than helpful to the discussion.

Thanks for asking, though.

Wayne

24 CFR 3280
And
24 CFR 3282

An educated consumer is a safe consumer.

Respectfully, ;-)

Not worth debating. Simple consumer research will prove otherwise.

>An educated consumer is a safe consumer.

Agreed. Again, this will prove the first statement to be the ill-informed opinion of this poster.

Wayne

In answer to the question in this thread: I found after extensive research that the only brands I would consider owning were Marlette and Palm Harbor. Something to look out for is 2x3 interior construction, this lends itself to moisture warping the wood over time, which is a real problem in some parts of the country. Marlette in this region uses 2x6 exterior walls and 2x4 interior walls for everything, which is a requirement in my opinion. Palm Harbor was willing to upgrade the walls to those standards on a model if I was willing to pay the difference. I'd *definatly* look into that especially living in the south which tends to be humid.

The other major issue to be certain on is not to get a compressed floor. It needs to be real plywood or the treated water resistant stuff they use on newer homes. The pressboard will come apart when there is an inevitable leak.

Heres a website I used when looking around.

There are many states where 2x3s would be illegal. This construction does not meet local codes where I live. 2x4 16" OC is the minimum here.
***********************

"...Marlette in this region uses 2x6 exterior walls and 2x4 interior walls for everything, which is a requirement in my opinion..."
99% of newer homes have this around here. And it makes no difference whether it's manufactured, site built or modular. When it gets as cold as it does, we want insulation!

Several years ago I rebuilt the entire roof on a manufactured home. The OSB was in bad shape because of poor quality of the roofing job and materials. Snow sat on the relatively flat roof, blocking the vents, and water penetrated around the vents, plumbing vents and furnace roof jack. I increased the roof pitch, sheathed it with plywood, installed an extra width of Grace Ice & Water Shield, dimensional shingles, installed a ridge vent, extended the plumbing vents, and installed a new furnace roof jack.

Most of the water damage I've seen is due to poor construction practices, cheap materials, poor ventilation and lack of maintenance.

I just installed a Miller trailer furnace and roof jack in a doublewide recently. The roof was fairly new, but incredibly soft. I laid my extension ladders across the roof so I didn't fall through. People rarely maintain their roofs and some only repair them when it's absolutely necessary.

We are planning on listing our home to sell next spring and getting a Deer Valley.. They really are lovely.. and well built.. Hubby liked the 2 x 6 exterior especially.. and drywall interiors through out..

PVP

Reports like yours, from someone with personal experience who doesn't try to pass him or herself off as the only "truthful" expert are a far cry more important and certainly a far sight more credible than the "all mobile homes suck and are poorly made to no codes" guy.

Thanks for your comment.

Wayne