In Over Our Heads - No Credit No Problem

No Credit? No Problem!

"This is our story. We went to Crown Mobile Homes in Cleburne, TX to buy a mobile home in May 2000. We found a new single wide on the used lot, but it was not used. We started talking to the salesman and he gave us a good price. He agreed to "hold" the home for a $500 deposit.

My husband recently had a bankruptcy discharged and we had bad credit. My parents-in-law agreed to finance the home for us because they have outstanding credit. The salesman and manager agreed the mobile home would be signed, sealed, and delivered in 3 weeks. No later.

We had recently moved from Colorado and had no where to live, so we decided to live in a motel for three weeks until our home was ready. After about a week, we started to get the run around about the land. They told us there were over 100 pieces of property to choose from. In reality, there were only about 10 pieces of property and they were all next door to each other and about 25 miles away. We decided on a piece of property and thought everything would be getting along. Everyday the closing on the land was delayed to a later date.

We then got the contracts for the home.

The interest rate was higher than they told us. The interest rate that the manager of the company quoted us was around 10%. The contracts said 13%.
The monthly payment and down payment were higher than they told us. We were told that our total monthly housing payment would be $450. The contact stated that it would be over $600 a month.
They added in the home insurance in two separate places. They also told us the insurance would be for three years, but it said one year in the contract.
They added in set up charges that were supposed to be free.
They also charged us for flood insurance in the contract in one place and in another part of the contract it said it was included in the insurance price.

We were not given copies of everything we had signed, but I made copies of everything before we signed them, that the manager was not aware of.

I told them that my parents-in-law would not sign the contract like it was. The manager said there was no way to change it, because the finance company wrote the contracts. I told him I was not comfortable and that I would like my deposit back. He refused and said that they had fees to deduct from it because I wasted their time. He told me I would get the check in a few weeks.

I waited 15 business days and then filed a small claims case for my deposit and for the $900 we spent to live in a motel room. The reason we lived in the motel was because there were no apartments available for a month to month lease while we waited for this home.

I won the small claims case and my deposit was returned; however, I failed to be reimbursed for the motel expenses. The judge concluded there was fraud, but because the mobile home company did not agree to pay our living expenses from the start, they were not liable for the motel expenses. I felt cheated during the whole experience."

--Thea Gilliam, Cleburne, Texas, 12/10/01.