Property Book Shop - Buying a Manufactured Home: How to Get the Most Bang for Your Buck in Today's Housing Market (Home Resources Book)

List Price: $14.95
Our Price: $8.96
Your Save: $ 5.99 ( 40% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Cycle Publishing

Average Customer Rating:

Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 643.2
EAN: 9781892495365
ISBN: 1892495368
Label: Cycle Publishing
Manufacturer: Cycle Publishing
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 168
Publication Date: 2002-09
Publisher: Cycle Publishing
Studio: Cycle Publishing

Related Items

Spotlight customer reviews:

Customer Rating:

Summary: Doesn't Make the Grade; Not a Bang - Just a Whimper
Comment: When Mr. Burnside first got this book published back in 1999, it was probably the best book on the subject, and helpful to consumers. The truth is, though, it is embarrassing by almost any standard today. The editing is non-existent, and that just shows the lack of thought that went into this. It was thrown together, and omits more than it conveys. There are far better choices now; most notably Wes Johnson's "The Manufactured Home Buyer's Handbook" that just came out. The latter is an outstanding book, well-researched, far more thorough, and much easier to read. It will also save you more money than any other book on the subject that I've read. If you're thinking about buying a manufactured home, do yourself a favor and buy "The Manufactured Home Buyer's Handbook" instead. You'll be glad you did before the ink on the contract dries!

Customer Rating:

Summary: Embarrassingly Awful!
Comment: After years of renting, my fianc� and I are thinking about relocating to another part of the country and purchasing our own home. Since location is of the utmost importance to us - we'd rather have a large plot of land and a modest house than a mansion set on a tiny lot - we came up with the idea of purchasing raw land and putting a small but nice manufactured home on it while we slowly save up to build a larger home. Eventually, the manufactured home will become a guest house or even home office. At least that's one option!

In the course of investigating this possibility, I visited my local library and checked out every book I could find on manufactured, prefabricated, and modular homes. "Buying a Manufactured Home" was the only guide I could find that is specific to manufactured homes.

Unfortunately, the book is embarrassingly awful, plain and simple. Author Kevin Burnside, a salesman for a manufactured home dealer, clearly lacks both writing experience and ability. Additionally, it doesn't appear as though his manuscript was edited - or even proofread - before it went to print. The text is rife with errors: many of the sentences are poorly structured, words are misspelled or misused, and punctuation is spotty. The reader literally can't pass through a page or two without spying some sort of mistake.

Two common errors include using "your" and "you're" interchangeably, and omitting one set of quotation marks in a pair, so that the reader's left to guess where a direct quotation begins and/or ends. I wouldn't even expect my younger brother - a senior in high school - to make such basic mistakes.

However, it isn't just the presentation of the book that's flawed; the content is lacking as well. "Buying a Manufactured Home" is organized into 16 chapters: Introduction; Looking at Manufactured Homes; Home Hunting; Financing: Shop for Money First; Finding a Good Dealer; Shopping for a Home; Finding a Home for Your Home; Finding the Best House; The Energy-Efficient Home; Be Your Own Contractor; Materials and Construction; Worksheets and Option Lists; Flow Sheets; Warranties; Contracts; and Arm Yourself.

Overall, I thought that Burnside did an adequate job of discussing financing and contract negotiation. Nonetheless, these issues are not specific to manufactured homes; rather, buyers must be concerned with financing and negotiations in any home purchase. Since I picked up this book to learn about the unique aspects of buying manufactured homes, I thought it was largely a waste of time to discuss more general issues, particularly since the book was so brief. Given the short length of the book, I really feel as though the author should have concentrated on the issues specific to manufactured homes, issues of which the average homebuyer would not be aware.

For instance, the sections on "Finding the Best House" and "Materials and Construction" were frustratingly vague and truncated. Burnside commonly lists different options that are available without explaining the pros and cons of each. Additionally, he occasionally advises which option is preferable but doesn't explain why.

An excellent example of this is his "Quick Materials Checklist" on pages 146-148. The checklist is essentially a line-by-line list of questions to ask of any home you're looking at. In theory, this is a helpful tool to carry with you while shopping. In reality, it's almost useless, as Burnside does not describe the various answers and explain which are more desirable and why.

For example, here is a short excerpt from his checklist, quoted word for word:
"Are shingles 20, 25, or 30 year warranty?"
"Are they held down with nails or staples?"
"How many nails per shingle?"
"Is felt used on the roof decking?"
"What size are the trusses?"
"How is the attic cavity vented?"

The only thing these questions tell me is that I should be concerned with the issues they raise. However, even if the manufacturer were to address each of these in-depth, his or her answers wouldn't help much since I don't know what the "right" answers are! I know to ask about the size of the trusses, but I have no idea what size the trusses SHOULD be!

The bottom line is that "Buying a Manufactured Home" is poorly organized, poorly researched, poorly written, and poorly edited. It's awful. I'd be embarrassed to have such a train wreck distributed with my real name stamped on the cover for all to see. Do yourself a favor and pass this one up - I sure wish I had! It was a waste of an afternoon, and I still find myself flabbergasted that Burnside was able to find someone to publish such a gawd-awful manuscript.

- Kelly Garbato

Customer Rating:

Summary: I hate thinking up titles
Comment: Very good, eye-opener book if you are considering buying a manufactured home. Lots of behind the scenes information on how dealers operate when they sell you a home. Many good checklists to go over and plenty of tips on how to save a lot of money and headaches when purchasing. I read the book in three hours and wished there was more on what it's like to live in one of these homes. It would have been nice if he had provided a list of reputable or even just all home manufacturers in general with website links. Glad I bought the book.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Manufactured Home Buying Required Reading
Comment: This book should be required reading for anyone considering a manufactured home. A few evenings spent with this book will not only save you thousands of dollars it will result in you getting a much better home. Be sure to make notes and take them with you when you visit the dealers and the manufactured home factory (something you really must consider doing before you sign). Buying a manufactured home isn't like buying a car - so don't treat it that way.

Customer Rating:

Summary: A Must Buy!
Comment: Aloha,If you are in the market for a manufactured home you *must* get this book. He tells all the ins and outs of the manufactured home buying process written from the perspective of a guy who is simply trying to tell you the truth. He is sincere and *very* knowledgeable and will save you significant money and hassle.As one reviewer noted, this is not the best editing job. There are a number of grammatical errors, careless things like a missing pro-noun or mispelled words. But you don't buy a book like this looking for pulitzer prize level literature. You buy it to arm yourself with information. Mr. Burnside does a very good job of doing just that, arming you, and does so in an easy to read/understand fashion. I read the whole thing in about 4 hours.He gives tips on all aspects of buying a manufactured home and setting it up on your property. But the primary focus is how to handle the home dealers and how to get the best deal with the right options. In that light it would be wise to have this book as but one book in your home buying collection. A great book that covers other important areas like finding and buying land (etc) in a more comprehensive way than Mr. Burnside's book is "Finding and Buying Your Place in the Country" by Scher & Scher (husband wife team). This is also a *must* have book. Do not as much as set foot inside a manufactured home dealer without reading this book.Good Luck! It is a best seller for a reason.

More Reviews

Editorial Reviews: