Complain about a product or service

Don't Call 'Em Trailers

Home Sweet Manufactured Home

They're not the house trailers and mobile homes of a few years ago. Today's "manufactured homes" are bigger, prettier and safer than their predecessors and they continue to offer a form of home ownership to those who might not otherwise be able to afford it. Unfortunately, the collapse of Conseco, the largest mortgage company for manufactured housing, has put the industry in a tailspin and has put many homeowners on the street.

A recent survey finds that 19 million people -- 8 percent of the U.S. population -- lives in 9 million manufactured homes, as opposed to "site-built" homes, as the trailer trade refers to traditional houses.

For some reason, the South is still the stronghold of manufactured homes. Texas leads the nation in annual sales, with 38,000 in 1997, followed by North Carolina with 34,000. Michigan, ranked No. 9, is the only Northern state in the Trailer Top 10.

Alabama is manufactured housing's Detroit. It has 43 manufacturing companies employing 40,000 people to churn the things out.

The average manufactured home owner is 53, with a median household income of $24,500. Eighty-three percent are high school graduates; 46 percent attended college.

Why so popular? Probably most important, manufactured homes are affordable, the average price currently hovering around $41,000. There's plenty of available land, at least in rural areas, and better financing plans are now available.

However, fraudulent loan practices and dishonest dealers continue to give the industry a black eye.

At least the safety picture has improved. Since the Department of Housing and Urban Development began policing manufacturers and state and local governments tightened tie-down restrictions, the aluminum homes are less likely to blow apart in violent storms.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Back to the top |