Well, Heating and Cooling, Electrical and Steps

You have a choice, in some cases, whether to us brick or alternative material for the skirting around the house. Some counties will require brick while others will allow alternative skirting material. You will need to check with the building and zoning department in your area for the requirements in your area. Ask the dealer about your brick allowance. If the brick style you choose is more than that allowed, you may need to pay the difference out of pocket at the time the brick is laid. During the entire process, ask questions and keep asking until you get the answers you need. Make sure that any brick allowances are included in the financing unless you choose to pay for these separately. Not all expenses have to be put into the financing. If there is a chance you will be selling your home down the road, you might consider brick skirting. It adds equity and increases the resale value of the house. One other bit of information- A door space will be left in the brick for easy access under the home. Framing and door hanging is the responsibility of the home owner, unless it is included as part of the financing. Make sure and ask about oversized brick. Many brick layers will not lay oversized brick. So make sure you ask whether the brick you choose comes in standard sized brick. And ask if he will lay oversized brick.

One of the many options available from most manufacturers are sliding glass doors. We have two such doors installed in our home. One in the den and one in my home office. There are strict HUD requirements when it comes to glazing so check with your sales person about this option. We asked for a small door in our master bedroom that would give us outside access to a hot tub area from our bedroom. Because of the glazing regulations, were unable to get it. You do have the option of having it installed after the house closes but it will be at your own expense and you will be required to hire a professional to do the work.

The usual spot to place the heat pump and electrical box is in the back of the house. We opted for the side near the driveway. We wanted decks all the way around the house. Placing these items in the back would disrupt the decking, since the meter reader refuses to walk up onto a deck or into an enclosed space to read the meter. All meters must be open to the reader and must be accessible from the ground. If you have a certain spot you wish to have it mounted, place a sign or put an X on the house at the point you want these things mounted with explicit instructions. The contractor will place these things where he chooses otherwise. And talk to the person in charge of these things from the sales lot. Make sure he understands your instructions. Even after doing all this, it may be necessary to oversee these items yourself to make sure they are done the way you want them. And make sure the people from the sales lot have all these instructions in writing and that everyone involved has copies. Also, have the sales person or contractor involved in setting the house initial any special instructions or changes in instructions. Documentation is crucial if problems and misunderstandings arise.

The electrical company will not hook up the electricity until the inspector gives them the ok. But, it is important to notify the electric company and order the light poles and everything necessary to hook you up. They can run the lines once the house is on the lot. Some companies offer a large light that can be mounted on your pole. It runs about $12.00 per month for this. We chose not to have this light in our yard. We wanted to be able to see stars at night. We also wanted to be able to enjoy a view of the wild animals that ranged our land from the shadows of our deck. We felt a bright light would ruin that for us. We chose security lighting that was motion sensitive near the house as well as low wattage solar lights to line the paths and walk ways for evening walks. The special lighting is not included in the financing package. However, you can include special lighting and even a sophisticated security system if you choose to do so. These are options you need to discuss with the dealer. Some offer it, some don't. Talk with your dealer about heating and cooling options. Palm Harbor are guaranteed energy efficient. They may provide the buyer with special features other may not.

Extra Electrical Outlets

When you are deciding on the house you want, look at the electrical outlets in your home, especially the kitchen and bath. With all the electronic appliances and gadgets we live with today, many house plans do not include enough of these in the right places. We added two extra outlets in the bath and extra kitchen outlets for our appliances. Before you order, this is an often overlooked area we just don't think of. It can, however make all the difference in the world once you get in the house. There is nothing more frustrating than finding out that you just don't have enough outlets. If you are adding extra outlets, make sure you provide a diagram of exactly where you want these placed. Most of the time they will be placed in the most convenient place for the contractor. This may not be the most convenient place for your needs. This is one area that needs to be spelled out completely to avoid problems later. Most regulations will not allow a receptacle within 32 inches of the tub. You will need to measure your distances when deciding where to put the extra bathroom outlets.

Extra Phone lines & Jacks

The phone company can run the phone lines once the house is delivered. However, they cannot hook you up until you are actually living in the home. Someone needs to be there for them to go inside and do their job. You can order your service ahead of time and have everything ready. The more you can do in advance, the less hassle at closing. Please note that you can have extra phone jacks and lines installed at the factory as part of your package. The time to have this done is at the factory. If you plan on having more than two phone lines, perhaps necessary to support a home office or teenage children, make sure to request them before ordering your home. This is the place for a diagram attached to your request. Making sure your jacks are in the proper place for your needs will save you headaches later on in the process. You can even have jacks put in the bathroom if you choose. Just make sure the sales person has written requests and diagrams for placement.

CABLE JACKS

Yes, you can have cable hook ups even in the bathroom, (for those who request it). Discuss with your salesman this option. These should all be ordered and installed at the factory. ERRORS HAPPEN and sometimes information is over looked or lost from the time the order is drawn up and it reaches the factory. Sometimes special instructions for phone, cable and electrical outlets are missed. You can have someone come out at factory expense and put them in after the house is on the lot. (This is only for those times when factory errors are made, however). So get it right before you order.

Each door must have stairs to meet inspections. These will be provided with the home package. The cost to us was around $125.00 each. Since we had four doors, four stairs were required. Sometimes a small deck is included in the package as part of the house plans. You will need to discuss this with the dealer. You can choose to hire a contractor to build decking or stairs prior to the final inspection rather than order the stairs through the dealer. However, if you plan on building the decks yourself, choose the stairs and worry about decking later. We seldom have the time needed to do all the things we want to do. Getting into the home as quickly as possible should be the ultimate goal. If you try and do too much yourself, closing could be delayed well past the time you were hoping for. Weigh all these facts before deciding to do the work yourself. If you contract the work out, make sure that the contractor coordinates his schedule with that of the dealer's crews. Make sure the contractor knows the time schedule and the date you want to close. Make sure he acknowledges this in the contract you sign with him and that he agrees to complete the work by a specified date. Otherwise you might find yourself waiting to close because of work that is not yet finished.

Warning!

And once again let me suggest that you come prepared with a check list of items you want in your home. Discuss each one and have the salesman initial each one on a duplicate list that you provide him. Make sure you sign also. This provides written documentation on all special requests as well as it helps the dealer keep all the facts straight. Remember, they deal with a lot of clients and it is easy for forms to get lost and people to forget things. Documentation is crucial in the process. Make sure you have copies of everything in your own files at home. We were asked to replace lost documents several times over the length of the process. Keep everything!

The well is usually included in the price of the land. Usually the land owner provides septic and well. As soon as you have tied up the land, have the land owner put in a rough driveway, well and septic, and any culverts necessary for access to your land. Normally gravel and special land changes are at your own expense and not part of the contract so talk to your landowner about this.

There are two choices when putting in your well: Whether to have the tank above ground and sitting on top of the well head, or whether it can be placed under the home. We chose to place the tank under our home. The home has to be high enough off the ground to accommodate the tank. Ask the land owner about this. They can usually make the arrangements with the well people.

It cost an extra $30.00 for the tank that is under the house. That is because it is bigger. This was an out of pocket expense. Also, we were required to dig the trench for the water from the well to the house. We hired that done and also hired someone to hook up the water and the water pump. The land owner can usually refer you to someone who can do this. The cost was minimal and we did not have the time to do this ourselves. If you want the well in a specific spot you need to make this request known in plenty of time. You may want to meet with the well driller ahead of time and discuss it. The well must be no closer than 50 feet from the drain field. So, if your drain field is in the back of the house, your well will be in the front. If landscaping is someone you are concerned about, you may want to oversee this project.

Documentation

If you ask for something and the salesman tells you that it is not available, have him put it in writing for you. And ask him to explain the reasons why it is not available, in writing. This prevents misunderstandings and protects the salesman as well as the home buyer. They do not often provide you with a copy of your house order, (the one they send to the factory with all the specs and special requests), this is why it is crucial that you have documentation of all the requests and special orders and basic details, (like whether you want all the walls sheet rocked, whether you want the hall tiled or carpeted, whether all of the hallway will be sheet rocked or not, etc.) Why do we say this? From experience. We did not document our request that all our walls be sheet rocked. We knew that water rooms were not available in sheetrock. However, when we requested that all rooms that could be, be sheet rocked, we did not document. When the house arrived, the three small bedrooms were not sheetrocked, and only one side of the hallway. Since it wasn't in the order, there was not much we could do except complain. We did not have documentation. Had we had the signed requests, we could have forced them to correct this mistake. Somehow the salesman forgot these details in ordering the home. With documentation, if the factory makes a mistake or the salesman fails to order something you requested, you have recourse. Also, ask for a price list of all the items you order in your house. There are times when you change your mind about something and can substitute one thing for another without changing the financing. We chose to have the rooms wired for ceiling fans but did not order the actual fans. We wanted to pick out special fixtures from somewhere else. We saved $70.00 per fan by doing this and were able to add some special features we had overlooked earlier, without changing the actual financed amount. Also, having a price list provides you with bargaining power in dealing with any mistakes. You know what their value is.

Click Here for more of the process