Palm Harbor Homes
Ripoff deceptive faudulent transaction promising unreasonable results

This is a portion of a write up that we have sent to several different places. If nothing can be done for us maybe this will help someone else. As you could expect we discourage anyone from dealing with Palm Harbor. If you must purchase a manufactured home we recommend that you invest in one of the several handbooks/guides that are available to help you to know what to look out for and warn you of the do's and dont's. One of the editors that we contacted considered this fraud and encouraged to get out the word. He agreed that PH knew what they were doing. Don't be fools as we were. Please be careful and if anyone would like to talk to us please feel free.

To Whom It May Concern:

Our ordeal with Palm Harbor Homes began in the first half of 2004. We signed our first documents in June with an understanding with the salesman and the lot manager that when all things were said and done our total mortgage payment would be no more than $1100.00. Palm Harbor was aware that this was very important to us.in some of the documents (Hud appraised value) we saw a loan amount of $155,000.00. At that time we inquired about this amount and was told that the number in question was what we could borrow if needed. Little did we know at this time that it would be even more. Also, on the good faith estimate we questioned some of the figures and were told that they always estimate it high but there again the numbers ended up being even more than we were shown at that time.

In September of after some hesitation on our part, we reluctantly went ahead and had our first closing as Palm Harbor refers to it. Again at this closing we signed the usual documents. Before we started the signing, the lot manager informed us that due to a mysterious miscalculation on the improvement bid our payment would probably be around $1140.00 per month. Again we see these dollar amounts that are higher than we originally talked about but were told again this was only if needed. We look back now and suspect that Palm Harbor knew all along that our loan would be $155,000.00 plus. At this time in the process how did they know what all the costs and fees would be? By this time work is starting to be done on land clearing and other site improvements. All the while we were believing our payment would be as we requested and were assured by Palm Harbor representatives.

In October of we signed our earnest money contract on the home. Since then we have realized some discrepancies about this document. Again this is after work has begun on our property. As time goes by, weather is taking its toll on progress being made at the property, the work gets done.in reference to improvements on the property, the suggested contractor referred by Palm Harbor, was extremely high in comparison to the other bids. We eventually got approval to get our own bids for some items but the work done by suggested contractor was not professional and some things we were charged for we couldn't see where he had done the work.

In January of the finance company that Palm Harbor uses seemed to be taking their time and having trouble figuring out how to prepare their paperwork. At this time is when we began to be concerned about our mortgage payment. One of the ladies preparing the paperwork informed us that she didn't understand why Palm Harbor would tell us that our monthly payment would be $1140.00.

In February of the finance company had their paperwork ready for us to sign. They called us on the 2nd of February wanting us to come in the following day for our second closing as Palm Harbor calls it. At that time we informed the title company that we wanted to view the documents before we drove to Houston to sign the papers. On the evening of February 2nd, they e-mailed to us the documents requested. It was at that time that we saw that the actual payments were going to be $1525.00 per month. We couldn't believe some of the closing costs and fees that we were charged. As you could expect, this came as quite a shock, considering what we had been told all through the loan process. On the morning of February 3rd, we contact the Palm Harbor Manager and informed him that we couldn't sign the papers because we couldn't afford payments such as those. What were we to do then? We had already signed most of the documents, believing that our payments would be as requested. As a few days go by, we consulted an attorney, and he had some serious questions also and would have pursued further but we were be pressured by the Palm Harbor finance people saying that by a certain date they were going to start foreclosure process and we were also being pressured by the apartments which we lived in, to start moving out by the end of the month because it was already being leased out to someone else. After delaying the signing of the papers for twenty days and not having the funds to retain an attorney, we reluctantly decided to sign the papers and see if we could make this work. As Christians, we felt that because we had already come this far that we should not walk away from it at this time.

In February of we have tried our very best to make the payments but now we are behind. We see now that through the loan process that Palm Harbor, in our opinion, was dishonest and deceitful. Yes, we signed all the documents and made mistakes, but we feel like Palm Harbor knew all along what our loan amount was going to be and what our payments were going to be. Not until all the work was done and the final papers ready to sign, did we know what we were in for.

It looks like we will begin looking into our options of foreclosure or other means of getting rid of this mortgage payment.

We just wish that someone could look further into our situation and see if Palm Harbor or their lenders could be held accountable for anything.

Lewis
BRAZORIA, Texas
U.S.A.

Company: Palm Harbor Homes
Country: USA
State: Texas
City: ADDISON
Address: 15303 DALLAS PARKWAY STE. 800
Phone: 9729912422

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