My 91 yr. old mother and I hired a contractor to build an addition to our home so that my mother could move home to live with us. My mother paid the amount to the contractor and we didn't use the bank either. We ended up with a crooked contractor that took her money then walked and didn't finish the addition. When we started the process, we didn't do sufficient research so that we were prepared sufficiently to actually go through this process and that was our downfall. There was no schedule for pmts. and he asked for monies almost on a weekly basis yet wasn't completing any of the work. He insisted that we were to pay for the work up front which we should not have done, but again, we are definitely much the wiser now. If you are looking for more information on how things work when hiring a contractor, contact the Consumer Protection Ontario and you will find so much information on what is expected and what is law when it comes to the rules for a contractor to follow. We have learned so much after the fact. There is no need to put any monies into any type of account whatsoever. You should have a schedule of pmts. to be paid only AFTER the work has been completed. I suggest you make your payments by bank draft instead of a personal cheque. There is more support when it comes to whether or not you have made the payment. Just a little more security that way, Also, keep in mind that once you have a proper contract drawn up make sure you have the terms included that cover the possibility that you may want to fire your contractor if he isn't doing the job you wanted or you could run into some legal issues. Also, keep in mind that it is against the law for contractor to walk off the job unless the project is in liveable condition. That means that if the contractor was hired to do a bathroom, he cannot legally walk off the job until that bathroom is in liveable and useable condition. We are now stuck in a legal situation just so we can get enough monies back from the contractor so that we can t least finish this addition. My mom can't even live in it as there is absolutely no bathroom in it. There are so many problems with the addition it boggles the mind and on top of that he destroyed our property. He filled in all our drainage ditches and now when it rains it washes out our laneway. We had a small river running down the middle of our laneway last summer nd it cost us $1000 to have someone come in and temporarily repair it. The gouge down the middle was approx. 4 feet wide and approx. 2 ft to 2 1/2 ft deep. It definitely wasn't a small gouge by any stretch of the imagination. I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that you need not put any of your monies into any account and never in one that the contractor has access to. Keep your monies in your pocket so to speak and make sure you have milestones to follow. Make sure you get a proper receipt for every single payment as well.a If you would like to speak with me for more information, please feel free to contact me. If I can help you at least a little, I will feel that I've protected at least one more person from being taken advantage of by a bad contractor. Good luck with your project and please check into the information that is available on the Consumer Protection website. It won't be a waste of your time...

Once more I must agree with Christopher. Land prices, construction prices, laws, regulations, permits, etc. vary widely state to state, and sometimes even county to county, or city to city. Similarly, stick built, modular, and manufactured homes all vary considerably in price, quality, and finance-ableness. Does anyone remember the movie "The Money Pit"? If I remember correctly, it starred Tom Hanks and Shelly Long. The comedy revolved around the trope of a naive couple who think they're getting a killer deal on a beautiful home--a stick built home. But once they move in, the house starts falling apart and they have to sink more and more money into it. It's funny because it's true--most of us, if we haven't experienced it ourselves, know someone who has. In the last stick built home I bought, in 1995, I think it was, we had multiple problems after moving in. I was cleaning a bathroom one day and my son started pounding on the door yelling, "Mom, it's raining in my bedroom!" Turned out there was a length of pipe completely missing! None of the roller drawers worked correctly. The sprinklers in the front yard watered the sidewalk rather than the grass (the contractor put in the front yard as part of the purchase price). And about ten more things. We had to sue the contractor to make him fix it all. That, along with holding back $2,000 in escrow, was the only way to get him to make things right, and that's the only reason we didn't end up with a "money pit." My point is, no one can state categorically that one type of home is always better than another. There are examples of very shoddy homes in all three types of houses, and there are examples of beautifully built houses in each. People buy manufactured homes for many reasons. I see in this thread that some people only see it as a stepping stone to a "real house" as one poster called it. Many people who are retiring sell their stick builts and buy a manufactured home for several reasons: they can pay cash for the MH and have money left over to travel or to live on. A smaller home needs less maintenance. If they put it in a 55+ park, the park may take care of the lawn. And some seniors enjoy the social activities of such a park. Where I live, in eastern Washington state, MHs indeed have been going UP in value. This is because wages are low, and unemployment is high. Many people can't afford a stick built, thus demand has risen dramatically for MHs, even used ones in a park. And when demand rises, prices do too. I bought my MH because of my somewhat unique situation. I bought a junker, an old 1979 SW for $2,000 cash. Over the next three years or so I'm going to sink around $30,000 into it and refurbish it from top to bottom. I have an academic grant whereby I get several thousand dollars three times a year. So I'll do a major project three times a year and pay for it with cash. I'll continue to live within my means on my fairly meagar income. My house will be beautiful and strong and will last at least fifty more years. I don't care about getting my money out of it, because I'm going to live in it for the rest of my life and then leave it to my daughter. I liked the advice from bus_driver. The OP actually DID ask for his advice, not in the original post, but in a follow-up. He laid out his monthly budget, then asked, "How am I supposed to save money on this budget?" Therefore, it was entirely appropriate for him to respond to the question that was directed to him. He, and a couple of other respondents were correct in stating that he (along with a substantial number of Americans) need to increase income and decrease expenses. I've never had a car loan. I drive a 1999 Ford Windstar minivan. I will drive it until it drops. Then I'll buy another car for cash. And drive it until it drops. I currently live in a house on my university's campus with eight other women. My rent is $365 per month. And I don't buy stuff. I buy food, gas, toiletries, and medication, and things necessary for my work. I rarely buy clothes--I haven't bought new clothes in the last 15 months. And when I do buy clothes, 90% of it is from thrift shops. I have to buy special shoes due to my disability, but I wear them for a very long time. I go out to eat maybe three or four times a year, and I never, ever buy fast food. I don't have cable TV (or a TV). My daughter and I go to a movie on Christmas. But if you think my life is squalid and empty, you're wrong. My university has tons of lectures, concerts, dance performances, athletic events, etc., that I can get free tickets to. In the last couple of years, I've seen Bishop Desmond Tutu, the Dahli Lama, Jane Goodall, President of Liberia, Mrs. Greenleaf Sirloff, and David Brooks, among others. I've been to champion basketball games, and musical performances, plays, etc., that would knock your socks off. And I recently returned from a year in Zambia, where the experience of another culture was life-changing. Universities all over charge the public nominal fees for outstanding events and performances. And many cities have science centres, museums of history, and other events that are free or low cost. When Neil DeGrasse Tyson had his mini-series a couple of years ago, our local science centre hosted a viewing each week, followed by a short lecture and Q&A session with scientists who are experts in whatever the theme of the show was--and it was free. Check out your local high schools for plays and musicals; okay, they may not be up to Broadway standards, but they are still a lot of fun for a fraction of the cost. And don't overlook your public library! Besides being able to check out everything from the latest bestsellers to very technical stuff, you can check out movies, use the Internet for free, and print stuff out for free (at my library I can print out 75 pages a week free!). They also often have free events of all kinds. My point is, you can save a lot of money but still have a lot of fun and interesting things to do. I recently read that 75% of American families eat out at least three times a week. That's fine if you have no debt and the income to do that and still save money. But that is not the case for most people. And the worst part of it is that most of them put it on a credit card! I don't believe in credit cards. If you only make the minimum payment every month, you could end up paying $500 for that $70 dinner! i have tons of great friends and we get together all the time. We just don't do it at restaurants. I can cook at least 25 meals for my friends for the cost of taking them out once. And we go out, but to the types of events listed above. And back to the OP's original question. Mobile/manufactured homes are a little tougher to finance, especially older ones, for all the reasons other posters have delineated. But the OP's problem isn't that MHs are somewhat difficult to finance. His problem is no one will finance him for anything other than a vehicle because of his current (or current at the time of his OP) financial situation. A poor credit rating and his debt to income ratio, and not having anything to put down on it, are the triple whammy. I would advise him, and anyone in his situation, to take a second job if possible, trade in the truck and buy something for cash, and get his credit rating up over time. I don't live in SoCal, so I don't know if his rent is reasonable, but if he could find something even $100 a month cheaper, that's still safe, I'd advise him to do that too. Anyway, these are things that have worked for me. Each person's situation is unique, and I recognise that some things that work for me may not work for you. And you may have some money saving ideas I haven't thought of. I would not presume to tell anyone how they should spend their money. I have no moral judgement on that--spend it however you want, as long as you adequately provide for your children. I'm only saying, in response to the OP, if your goal is to buy your own house, then this is the advice I would give you, or anyone else who asked. You are perfectly free to take it or leave it with no offence whatsoever taken on my part. And, of course, many buyers of MHs are far more well off financially than I am, although everyone has to live within her or his means. And everyone should have a savings account, in my personal opinion. But not all MH owners or want to be owners have the limited resources I have, and more power to them! I'm definitely not trying to perpetuate the myth, and it is a myth, that all MH owners live in poverty. That is certainly not the case! In fact, I would dare say the majority of MH owners are in the middle to upper middle class, and some are in the upper class.

OK. At this point, throwing numbers around isn't that helpful. Because the only ones that matter are the ones Fishies gets from her local contractor. I just wanted to respond to this: In this situation, you're dealing with a contractor who works on expensive projects for people who have the resources to do them. You aren't those people. There is something called zip code pricing. Contractors charge more in wealthier ares. To put it bluntly, the rich vastly overpay. I know this for an absolute fact, being able to compare specific projects with specific materials and standards of workmanship for situations I am personally familiar with. There are several reasons. First, the rich like to brag. At parties in one town near me, wealthy people have been heard to brag about having Siemans electrical panels and seen to roll their eyes at 200 amp service. Not all these houses are that large--land costs are high, so small houses can be expensive--and clearly much of this work is unnecessary when you actually see the houses and appliances. It's a boasting point that adds to cost, and the rich have a tendency to choose more expensive solutions not because they need them, but because they always deserve "the best." Second, the rich don't like people with accents. In my renos I always found the best workmanship and best prices by selecting immigrant contractors. Around here, the rich don't mind Latino workers but they expect the GC to be well-spoken, well-dressed and American-born. Third, the rich like paperwork and bureaucracy. They expect their phone calls to be picked up promptly by an "office girl" and want a "team" working on their project. One of the most expensive builders near me has tons of complaints on Angie's list and charge very high prices. Those prices go to support many layers of management, but not necessarily to a customer's benefit--it's more about their own internal red tape. But their prices make them a name builder and so people covet their signs for their lawns. Again, not all rich people are like this of course. But this is a real market, and one that certain "prestige" builders specialize in. Which is why the rest of us know to avoid those companies.

Just a minor update - I had the trusted contractor here and he agreed that work remaining is far more than the balance owed. He also said that he found the work done to be shoddy (no shock!), and sadly enough, found more issues that I had missed (very clear, once he pointed them out, i.e almost twice as many nail pops as I had noticed among other things). He also explained how a few things need to be fixed properly and I was surprised at how much more would be involved than I had guessed (that is why I am not a pro or DIYing more than I am able to). I don't have figures yet, but will in a few days. I am holding off doing anything until I have that in hand. I need more information before making big decisions. I would imagine a potential lawyer would need that info as well. I am sure that if a case is not winnable, the lawyer is not going to bother taking it on. We don't have deep pockets, so it is not like they can bill us for hours on end... It might be that they respond to being served or a warning shot from an atty. Not everything goes to court these days. We just want the work completed, and by somebody other than them at this point. We are not asking for the moon and stars, but if it involves more time and money on our part, what we ask for will be going up. It may turn out to be a small claims court case. They may not want to spend their time and gamble on the outcome of going to even small claims court. I'd say my case is the much stronger one because the physical evidence is clear. This company seems to be in good financial shape, and any potential lawsuit by us would not put them out of business. If it messes with their license, then they should have thought of that sooner before leaving this mess behind. Hopefully, they have errors and omissions insurance of some sort of coverage (such as I have at work). If we did get a judgement, even including for our inconvenience/pain and suffering and with interest, I doubt it would be a huge number. I do think that once we have both photos and a written estimate (we may get several) from licensed contractor/s, we will have a pretty solid case that they could not have expected final payment with the condition they left our house. If any judge has ever owned a home and sees these photos, I doubt there would be a lot of gray area. It is clear that we hired them to do a professional job and got an incomplete, poorly done one. Their argument is that they have the right to have left our project for not having been paid the final payment. It is easy to see that the work was not "final" so that any reasonable person would not have paid. Besides, they had not even billed us for it or made an attempt to be paid that last part. They knew that it would never happen because the job was not done, so did not even bother. If their argument was lack of payment, I imagine they need to show they tried to get paid. They did not even ask verbally. They pressured me for the prior payment, which is why there is such a small balance. I was worn out at the time and they laid on the guilt that our project had gone long and they were entitled to be paid that amount. I was incredibly stupid and naive to have given them as much as I did (over $7k). I hope if nothing else is gained from this, at least people here will heed this warning! By the time they were asking for it, I "knew" them and was seeing them every day. I wanted to make sure they did not get mad at me and would keep coming to finish. I thought if I held any back, they would slow down the work. Obviously, that basically stopped the work, so I did the wrong thing by paying so much. When you get closer to the finish line, it is easy to get sloppy with decisions and just wanting it to be over. I trusted them and was wrong. What is worse, is dh was absolutely right and he knew, after the fact, that they'd never return once he heard how much I paid. That alone is unforgivable, lol! I have been busy the past few days trying to make it look better where I can without involving the stuff they needed to do. I scrubbed the garage door and the north side of our house where we had some green mold on our siding from the trees and the wet spring. Today, I put primer on the garage door and will paint tomorrow. It feels good to get the stuff I can do, done. There is so much that is waiting on the resolution of the problem areas. I feel like I need to keep moving the ball forward so that the only undone stuff is their responsibility. I can't control what they did not do or did not do right, but I can work on my list. Hopefully, I can make some things look more normal bit by bit....