I stopped by OakWood Homes in search of a modular home. At 37 years of age, I was ready to buy my first (and last) home, and I wanted to go modular. After telling Larry what I was looking for, and the budget I was working with, he showed me a home that would work in those guidelines. It was beautiful!!! I fell in love with this house. To this day, that is the home I want.
We got the paperwork together (I had less than perfect credit, but Larry assured me it was nothing that would hold up getting my home). After about a month of working on the paperwork, ordering the home just the way I wanted it, Larry called me at work to tell me I had been "pre-approved" for my home loan. A few days later, I got a letter in the mail, from the mortgage company, turning down my loan.
When I looked at the refusal more closely, I found a couple of ever-so-minor discrepancies in what Larry and I had agreed on. First of all, instead of a 30-year mortgage, it was a 7-year mortgage!!! And secondly, instead of the $80K we had agreed on, the loan was to have been for $106K!!!
I called Oakwood Corporate Headquarters, and they basically told me if I didn't have anything in writing, they weren't interested. I tried continually to call OakWood of Mt. Airy, but for some reason, every time I called, Larry was either with someone, on another line, or I "just had" missed him.
After weeks of fuming (one, because I had been treated like a fool, and two, because I had my heart set on that home) I went by the store again. Larry wasn't in, so I talked to a new salesman, who didn't know who I was. I asked him, point blank, if he could put me in that particular home for $80K - his simple answer was "There's no way".
Once again, I started my home search. Each place I went to, I explained what I had already been thru. Here's the kicker - no one was surprised!!! It seems Oakwood has TRAINING CLASSES on how to price homes for one figure, then submit loan apps for another, much higher figure!
I don't know how those sales people sleep at night. It's just wrong to get someone's hopes up, then make them feel like they've been played for the biggest fool ever.
I'm not finished with Oakwood. When I find the home I want, I'll be sure to go by the store in Mt. Airy again, to let them know I know what they tried to do. Probably won't accomplish a thing, but it will at least make me feel better to know I've gotten it off my chest.
0 comments