New Home? Old Home.

Alice Hogue and her son Jimmy bought a 2000 Redman Stonebrook singlewide from an East Texas dealer in July of that year. According to Ms. Hogue, the dealer asked at closing whether they would like copies of the contracts and she declined, saying she could come by and get them later if she needed them.

Like so many others, Mrs. Hogue trusted that there would be no problems and the system would work as explained to her at closing. The dealer told her to make a list of anything that needed to be repaired and he, the dealer, would send someone out. When the home was installed she made her list of repairs and delivered it to the dealer, but the dealer didn't send anyone to fix the home. This first glitch led to the discovery of others.
Tired of waiting, her son forwarded the information to the manufacturer, who sent out a repairman. While completing some of the repairs, the repairman told them that the home was actually a 1998 model, not a 2000 model. According to the N.A.D.A. bluebook, a 1998 model is worth less than a 2000 model in 2000.

Upset that her new home might actually be two years old already, Ms. Hogue called the dealership back and told them she would come by to pick up those contracts. "He asked what for," she wrote to the Attorney General in May, 2001. "I told him I just wanted a copy of all the paperwork. T-- said everything was at his house in case someone broke into the office. I told him I would be by the office the next day to pick them up. Well there's been no next day. I've called. My son's called. Went by the office. No one's there."
Mrs. Hogue eventually did get a copy of the loan documents directly from the lender. The loan documents showed a place where "2000" was marked out and "1999" written in ink. "It also had my initials, which I don't remember putting on the contract under the 99. I'm not saying I didn't initial it. I don't remember signing it. T- told us it was a 2000 model." Mrs. Hogue's 30-year loan also included $3,225 in financed points, and her interest rate remained high at 12.32 percent APR.

She hoped the Attorney General could help her get copies of her contracts and the model year trailer she ordered, but when Consumers Union contacted her she had yet to receive copies of those contracts and her son had moved into the home they had delivered.

Source: Complaint to the Office of the Attorney General, 5/7/01, Lone Oak, Texas.