Which manufactured home builder is the best? Anyone knows Cavco builder?
Question:I am about to buy a new manufactured home but having a hard time to choose one. There are many builders out there such as Silvercrest, Skyline, Cavco, Champion, Golden West...etc. I kindda like Cavco but do not know much about their quality. Please advise on the best and the worst from the above mentioned builders. Thank you so much!
Answers:
I've been doing alot of research to decide between a manufactured, modular, or site built home. If you can afford a modular home, that is better than a manufactured home. I looked at Cavco and decided on Palm Harbor, based on awards given out by other agencies, not just the manufactured housing industry. The National Home Builders Association, which is composed mostly of site built home builders, listed Palm harbor as an award winner. Also, the government EPA website site lists Palm harbor as an energy star certified builder. If you go to Yahoo Finance, Skyline and Cavco are on the stock exchange and you can look up annual reports on how the company is doing. Their competitors are listed, including Palm Harbor and Clayton. A modular home is built to the same code as a site built and qualifies for a home equity loan, so if you run into problems in your life later on, you could borrow against your home. You can't do that with a manufactured home. Also, even a wind zone 2 manufactured home still has 2x3's in it, a modular does not. If you do decide to go with a manufactured home, please consider upgrading to 2 x 6 walls and upgraded insulation. Just ask Cavco or Skyline what awards have they won in the industry and ask for a list of available upgrades. Focus on the structural upgrades and if the home you decide on has most of those upgrades, you are getting a high quality home. I don't recall Cavco appearing on any of these websites but I remember Skyline received some favorable reviews and appears to have a high quality product. Whatever you do, please do not let anyone pressure you into signing a purchasing agreement on your home until you have all the costs. Even though Palm Harbor in my part of the country has the highest quality home for the money, the salesman tried to pressure me into signing a purchasing agreement and acted like the foundation, skirting, and hook ups were totally separate from the home. Don't let them separate their home from these costs. From our point of view, the buyers, all these ingredients are the total cost of the home for us. Once you find a home you like, get them to give you a site evaluation on how much installing the home with all the hook ups & skirting will cost. Ask an open-ended question to the dealer as well as the installer: " Are there any other costs commonly associated with installing a home that we haven't discussed?" I hope this will help you get to the bottom line faster and with more control at your end. For whichever dealer you decide one, once you sign the purchase agreement, you are at their mercy for all the hidden installation costs, unless you have this estimate. Hope all this helps.
None, put your hard earned money into a custom built home by a reputable local builder even if it's not brand new.
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