For people who are considering purchasing a modular home and clicking on this site for the first time(10,147 as of 6/21/07), you owe it to yourself and your family to go to the post dated 3/30/07 and read all of the entries from the beginning. By doing so, you will be better informed and more able to make a good decision about what may well be one of the biggest purchases you will make in your lifetime, if not the biggest.
There are a large number of quality modular home manufacturers to pick from and the only thing you have to do is research and pick the best one for your particular situation. The more information you have, the more informed your decision.
My husband and I are just starting on the homebuying process.We are receiving help thru USDA to get a loan.We are in Upper Peninsula Michigan and looking at getting perhaps a modular home from Commodore Modular Homes. Have you heard anything about this group and if they are any good? We are rather limited on places to get modular/manufactured homes from due to distance and USDA approval. Also, is modular better than manufactored? I know theres much debate but we are trying so very hard to cover all the angles and take care of things as we have 3 kids and my brothers two teenage boys living with us. We are looking into a Commodore Grandville Ranch Modular home atm. We have time to look but once we get our certificate, we have 45 days (plus two 30 day extentions) to have a completed deal so we dont want to wait til the last minute to get something lined up. Sorry this is so very wordy but we are brand new at this and am trying to cover everything! Thanks in advance Gayle P Reply to this
6/26/2007 10:07 AM
Mike wrote:
Sorry for not providing a more detailed answer, however I do not have first hand information on Commodore Homes.
The only thing I can say, after reviewing the website, is that they look like a good group with a substantial track record.
In fact, given their history, it should be easy for you and your husband to do the research necessary to select the best home for your family. Take the time to meet with the Commodore dealer. Be prepared to asked specific questions and detail your needs and expectations. Make sure the home meets your needs. Ask for and personally VERIFY and CHECK the referrals of previous purchasers. Visit the factory if at all possible. DO NOT take the saleperson's word for anything that can not be verified through contact with previous buyers.
Spend the time before you spend your money.
That said, we originally
believed what we saw on the Champion Genesis website, only to be
suprised after the delivery. Lesson learned the hard way, although we thought we had done our
homework, it turned out to be woefully short of what we should have
done. Sure, we asked the dealer questions and he gave us the factory answers, we saw a model at the National Association of Home Builders show in Las Vegas, we observed installations, however we did not dig deep enough to get to the truth. We let our enthusiasm overwhelm our better judgement and trusted that Champion Genesis was telling the truth.
The best advice, dig deep, don't be afraid to ask questions and verify the answers first hand. Satisfy yourselves that what you are being told is in fact true.
Please keep us posted on your progress and what you find out "first hand" about Commodore Homes.
7/14/2007 11:26 AM
Stephanie Donajkowski wrote:
I owe you an apology! If my husband and I had built our own Champion Nightmare Website in June of 2005, when our own "nightmare" started, I may have been able to save you the grief we are STILL, in July of 2007, dealing with. Like you, our "problems" could span pages upon pages and make your head spin.
The condensed version is this: We purchased a Champion/Redman Manufactured home. It was our first and last experience with manufactured housing. The craftsmanship of our home was an absolute joke. What we signed a contract for and what was delivered to the retailer we bought from were two completely different homes. Like you, we THOUGHT we had done our homework and enough investigation of the Champion Company to satisfy our needs. All I can say to that is just when you think you've satisfied all your criteria for investigating a company to deal with, KEEP LOOKING!! Dig a little deeper until there is no where else to dig.
Reading all your entries was like reading our own issues. I was stunned at the exactness of the problems. Plumbing, electrical, carpentry, wiring, drywall, etc...
Like I stated previously, we have been dealing with Champion/Redman for two years and they are STILL not finished making repairs that were documented on the FIRST (June 2005) walk-through of the home. It took an attorney to get us this far. Champion was going to leave us "high and dry" after June of 2006 with only half of the initial problems corrected and some of those have had to be re-corrected due to poor workmanship.
Another very important issue to be aware of is to make sure that your foundation, for whatever type home you are putting on it, is done correctly. Spend the extra money initially and have it inspected by someone independent to guarantee it will hold your home. I can not stress this issue enough. Your "nightmare" will continue for years to come if you do not address this issue BEFORE your house is set.
Bottom line: What you read and what is verbally communicated to you by a Champion Representative, and even what is written into a legally binding contract is NOT remotely what you get when you purchase a Champion Home. It is your money that you are spending so for goodness sake, RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH, then RESEARCH some more!!!
I am more than happy to give more details to anyone requesting them. They are just too many to list.
DO NOT PURCHASE A CHAMPION HOME!!! They are not worth the headaches you WILL have to deal with. Reply to this
