Customer Reviews

Manufactured Homes: The Buyer's Guide (Home Resources Series)

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I'll bet industry insiders really do love this book. It drastically overstates the number of manufactured homes being sold (as a percentage of all home sales), it drastically overstates their savings as opposed to site-built homes, brags about "strict" HUD requirements (which are anything but), etc. There is one factual error after another with nothing to back up the claims. Although Talylor stresses how much "research" went into this brief fluff piece, he doesn't site anyone or any study that I recall seeing. The worst part of the lies to me are his claims that "the vast majority of home sales professionals are well-intentioned and eager to give you sincere advice and service . . . Some of the finest individuals I've known make their living in the manufactured housing business." Well, that certainly conflicts with my experience when I went shopping at dozens of lots in two states, and it seems to be at odds with Consumer's Union finding that half of all consumer complaints involve fraud on the part of these "fine" individuals. I don't know where Mr. Taylor worked (he was an industry employee), but maybe it was on a different planet. The typical earthly dealership incarnation bears little resemblence to what Manufactured Homes: The Buyer's Guide describes. Specifically, Consumer's Union found several kinds of fraud prevalent (in the article "In Over Our Heads" / February 2002):
* the dealership substituted a different home (another model, year, or size) for the one the customer thought they were buying
* the dealership falsified information on the loan application (often lying about the down payment amount or accepting borrowed money as a down payment)
* the dealership ended up charging more for the home than the price they originally quoted
* the terms of the sale were changed on the customer midway through the deal (when momentum makes it hard to back out) and additional expenses were added like extra fees or higher interest rates
* the dealership refused to give the customer copies of contracts they had to sign

Wow, these guys do sound like the salt of the earth, don't they? In my on family's case, we were on multiple occasions asked to sign blank forms for our "conveinence." After the contract was official, and when we complained about things that weren't right, people from the dealership actually cussed us out!

Another extremely important point is the home's set-up. Even the best manufactured home can be destroyed by a faulty set-up, and it won't be covered by warranty. I think Taylor devotes 1 or 2 inconsequential pages to this very important topic. Wes Johnson devotes 25 pages to the set-up in his book on manufactured homes (The Manufactured Home Buyer's Handbook), and 7 more just on the foundation itself. In fact, Johnson's book is the only one I've read that actually tells it like it is. If you're considering buying a manufactured home, or even if you've already bought one, you should buy The Manufactured Home Buyer's Handbook (ISBN 0-7864-2209-2). While Taylor, Burnside, and Grissim are sugar-coating the industry and basically getting their facts wrong over and over, Johnson's narrative rings true to experience. He tells you how you can get a good manufactured home and save a ton of money without getting ripped off like so many others have.

This lightweight booklet is terribly researched with numerous factual errors, particularly in the first four chapters. Later, when giving buying advice, it assumes you are a low-credit, high-risk buyer. A much better book is John Grissim's.

After reviewing Grissom's and Burnside's books on the subject, I came across Taylor's version and found his book "Manufactured Homes: The Buyer's Guide" to be profoundly accurate and useful, not only for the buyer, but as a training guide for new sales staffers within our company. This book is user-friendly and literally packed with lists and charts, which make the decision-making process of buying a mobile home much simpler and logical.

Ably researched and accessibly written by Steven Taylor, Manufactured Homes: The Buyers Guide -- How To Realize Your Dream In A Manufactured Home is a "user friendly", step-by-step guide for aspiring home owners who are new to the phenomenon of manufactured homes -- domestic dwellings which are designed, cut, and constructed according to a standardized format. From surveying how such homes are built; to understanding warranties; selecting a floor plan; financing the new home; meticulously shopping for the right house in the right location, and more, Manufactured Homes: The Buyers Guide is a superb primer and introduction to preparing for home ownership before committing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Enhanced with lists of manufacturers, trade associations, state agencies, and federal departments relevant to manufactured homes, Manufactured Homes: The Buyer's Guide is the best introduction to the subject available to non-specialist general readers today!