Purchasing a manufactured home is one of the largest investments most people will make, so…read morecommunication and transparency matter.
To be fair, the sales process itself went very smoothly. Our salesperson was knowledgeable, professional, and easy to work with throughout the purchase of our home. We had a positive experience during that phase of the process and appreciated his help.
Unfortunately, our experience changed once we moved into the contractor portion of the project. The contractor who was recommended to us was frequently unresponsive, including a period of nearly two months with little to no communication despite multiple attempts to reach him. When I raised concerns, I was repeatedly told that no one else had ever provided similar feedback. While that may have been true, it did not address the experience we were actually having.
Because communication continued to be a challenge, we requested a list of contractors and considered selecting someone else. The administrative staff was very kind and helpful and promptly provided the information. The document we received stated that the buyer is responsible for selecting the contractor. However, when I informed the dealer that we were considering changing contractors, I was told that any contractor would need their approval, which seemed inconsistent with the documentation we had received.
The dealer later informed me that they had spoken with the contractor regarding my concerns. Shortly afterward, the contractor contacted me directly and asked whether it was true that I had said I would not continue doing business with him if communication did not improve. I confirmed that I had, explaining that we had gone nearly two months without hearing from him. The dealer followed up, and I said I would wait to see whether communication improved moving forward.
After our loan documents were finalized, I reached out to schedule a site meeting so we could discuss home placement and project details. Instead of receiving a response from the contractor, I received a call from the dealer within minutes informing me that the contractor no longer wanted to work with us because he felt we would be difficult to work with.
Ironically, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Although we initially felt overwhelmed having to find a new contractor, our lender recommended someone she had worked with previously. We were completely transparent about our experience and explained our expectations regarding communication and responsiveness. He immediately understood our concerns and assured us that our expectations were entirely reasonable given the significant investment involved in building a home.
The difference has been night and day. Our new contractor has been responsive, professional, proactive, and easy to work with throughout the process. His reaction confirmed that asking for timely communication and basic project updates is not an unreasonable expectation.
I appreciate the professionalism of our salesperson and the kindness of the administrative staff. However, I was disappointed by how my concerns were handled and by the lack of support in resolving the communication issues we experienced. In the end, finding a different contractor was the best thing that could have happened for our project, but I wish it had not taken months of frustration to get there.
