Our Clayton Homes Experience

We bought a Hancock 32 manufactured home from Clayton Homes of Dalton, Georgia to have built and brought to our farm. The experience didn't go quite as well as we'd hoped. This video will share all the details from start to finish: the good, the bad, and the ugly! You MUST watch this if you're considering purchasing a home from Clayton Homes.

*** "One Year of Living in the Home" video:

* Update*

[elainebraden]

Folks, these people were overly kind and generous with their story.
Cavco is the same way.
I think sales reps are no different than used car salesmen! Buy one you can see with your own eyes. Take pictures of the identification plate/serial number. Make sure they see you do that. Make sure the numbers match at closing and delivery. Be prepared to caulk, paint, repair, once it’s delivered! Good luck. We’ve been living here for 5 months now, Cavco still hasn’t called me back for 3 month repairs. We only have the master bedroom left to paint 3 heavy paint/primer coats on. Good luck to all of you!

[davesrvchannel]

Very important for any Clayton home owner. When they deliver your home it will have plastic wrap protecting shingles from flying off down the highway. That plastic is stapled into your roof, into the shingles. Many years later you’ll begin to have leaks around the staples, way after your warranty. I urge every mobile home owner to get on your roof and inspect. You can put roofing tar directly over staples. Mine probably had 80-100 staples. I’m now having to buy a roof out of pocket. I wished I’d realized the issue earlier

[macD]

I used to work for Clayton Homes building these things. The main problem is, speed. The main Facility manager is given a big bonus for the amount of homes his factory puts out. The Production manager get a little less. They dangle a few dollars in front of the workers if they put out a certain amount. I saw our goal go from around 6 homes a day, up to 8. We were having trouble getting out 6! I had gotten in many fights with both managers many time. We would build different size homes each day. They expected us to put out the big homes in the same amount of time that it takes to build a small home. So, they push the amount of home hard!! They keep wanting us to work faster, faster! Because of that, lots of mistakes happen. Then, we have to go down the line to fix those mistakes, holding our department up. I told the managers, it's like if you normally cook chickens. It takes a certain amount of time to cook each one. Now, you want us to cook turkey along with the chickens. They take longer to cook. But, you want us to put out the turkey in the same amount of time as the chicken. Someone is going to get sick, or die. They told me, it doesn't make a difference, you should be able to get out a big home in the same amount of time it takes to build a small one. It's all about greed. It got so bad, we built so many homes, they had to shut down the plant for a couple months because we made too many homes, and didn't have anyone to send them to!

[jimbo]

I worked as a mobile home service man for Clayton homes for 10 years . I also worked at the manufacturing plant for a few, keep a list of everything wrong and turn it in every month, keep track what gets fixed . The warranty often ends at 1 year . Make sure to turn in your list before your 1 year warranty runs out

[susiegirlz]

I have a Clayton home and I would never recommend this company. Our original manufactured home burnt down in 2019 so we went to Clayton homes and purchased one that would supposedly fit on our basement. We talked about what we wanted and what we didn't want. Our fire happened in May 2019 and we were told we would be in our home in September. The home arrived but when they went to put it on it was too large for our basement and would overlap so they had to take our home 2 hours away for storage so 2 ft of cement could be added on to our existing basement. That took about 4 months to do. Our home was finally delivered in March of 2020. We finally got to move in in June of 2020, one year and one month after our house fire. There were so many problems in the house that needed repair, including a faulty dishwasher installation. I had ordered ceiling fans for every room and we ended up with only one in the living room. I even told the salesman I would pay out of pocket to have this done. The salesman looked over the original paperwork and he couldn't find where I asked for ceiling fans. He also couldn't find a lot of other things I requested. I will always resent that salesman who didn't know what he was doing. We were supposed to have a new home 3 months after our house fire but instead it was 14 months after our house fire that we could move in. During that time my son at first lived in our barn with five dogs and I lived with friends with four other dogs. But in December 2019 my son had his toes amputated and had to go into a nursing home. The 5 dogs from the barn had to go into a kennel. I was living with friends in a trailer park and their trailer had no central heat or air conditioning and was filled with so many roaches and other critters that I had to keep my light on at night because they would crawl across me. But I was fortunate enough to have friends who took me in with my four dogs. My bedroom temperature went from 30° in the winter to 101 in the summer because of no central heat or air. Water pipes froze and we did without water for 3 weeks. I have never been so cold in my entire life. My son was miserable in the nursing home and he missed our dogs. I blame Clayton homes for the misery that my son and I suffered. The five dogs were well taken care of in the kennel but they still missed their daddy. All of this could have been prevented with a smarter salesman. The house was designed for a 7 ft tall person because the little peep hole on the front door, I would have to get on a ladder to look out to see who was on my front porch. The cabinets are so high that I need to use a step ladder to get anything out of them. It was fine for my 6 ft 5 inch son but not for anyone else. My 5 ft daughter lives with us and she has to use a ladder also to get into cabinets. The things that they put on the floor to cover the joining of the two parts of the house are raised and we have to be so careful not to trip over them. My son did trip over one and broke his tailbone and ended up in the hospital and then back into a nursing home. The one in the living room is totally coming apart it looks horrible. Very poor quality. All of the door knobs need the screws tightened every few months. They really went cheap on the door knobs. I lived in my other manufactured house for 20 years and never had a problem with a doorknob. So this is the quality of Clayton homes. Thank you for your video because I'm glad I'm not alone in having so many problems with them.

[rachaelnuchols]

Everyone I know that has a Clayton home has regretted it. Dealing with them, , unfinished work, , etc.. This was a great video, thanks for sharing. Very informative.

[elisee]

I bought from Clayton homes and haven’t had any issues. I guess I’m one of the few and consider myself lucky 👍

[kirkb]

It’s amazing that you are still married. Buying a home is very stressful especially after all the obstacles you had to overcome. I have no doubt you will be able to overcome any obstacles in your future. Thanks so much for your help and video.

[dianewright]

In 2005 we purchased a manufactured home in Ky. We were very happy with the process and the home. The people we dealt with were very helpful and honest. We loved that little house and would still be in it today, but we retired and moved closer to our daughter and her family and the Grands and Greats. You all didn't have a bad experience you had a living nightmare , so happy that you finally got settled in.

[davidjohnson]

I was just bout to buy a Clayton tempo thank goodness I found this video back to the champion I go!! Also I admire your patience and positivity you guys are saying all this with a smile on your face I applaud 👏 you guys!!

[itsnotthesamething]

We purchased some land in NE Alabama in 2018. Excited to live there, we bought one of those roadside barn sheds, and turned it into a tiny house. We sold our house, 350 miles away, and moved in permanently in the fall of 2019. We planned to live here for a year, then begin construction on a new home. Then covid hit. We're still in our tiny house. The cost of everything shut down our plans to build. My husband and I are in our 60's. He never wanted to live in a manufactured home, because they aren't as well built, and don't hold up like a site built home. But he finally realized that the house only needs to outlast us.

There is a Clayton lot near us. We went there one day. The gate was open, as were the homes. We walked into one, thinking a sales rep would show up shortly. We loved the layout of this home. So after checking the place out, we went to the office to talk to someone. A vehicle was there, but the office was locked. The number was on the front, so I called and left a message that we were interested in a home on their lot. Never got a call back.

We're looking into Deer Valley Homes now. A bit more expensive, and much further away, but they seem to be better built, and maybe we can get someone who wants to do business. After hearing your experience, it may have been a blessing they didn't call back.

[CCForche]

We did a Clayton home on 5 acres in 1983. It was wooded, we cleared a lot, put in driveway, septic, leech, well etc. and we homesteaded. We experienced almost everything you speak of. HOWEVER, every build from almost every contractor is like this not just manufactured, not just Clayton. When we told people that we were doing this project, they would ask, " Is your marriage tight?". The build/finish work after delivery took 6 weeks alone. The good news, we raised 4 children there and one of my daughters still live there. Things are hot mess due to the pandemic and worse than we experienced. It is hard being your own contractor. Clayton or the independent businesses that represent Clayton vary greatly with the quality of service. All Clayton/ distributor did was deliver, and finish build. We had power, water, driveway, septic, everything ready to go before the house got there. Your loan situation is true for almost everyone building everything. The best advice I got when going through this was to NOT EXPECT PERFECTION JUST BECAUSE IT IS NEW. This saved my mind. Turn key is a delusion when doing new construction of almost any kind. God Bless your family and your home!

[DebiKay]

Oh, my goodness. What a déjà vu . My husband and I are going through so many of the similar issues in 2023. We started the process in January, were given a date of June 16th as a closing. We purchased the land/home package and we are currently waiting for the building permit. The salesperson went on medical leave. We found out a couple of weeks ago, after writing to corporate ending up with a meeting of the manager at the location, that when a person goes on medical leave, Clayton shuts their e-mail down and no-one picks up what that salesperson has been working on. I could go on. I've been in large corporations where customer service was important. Clayton makes you think it's all a stepford wives story with everyone being happy. Thank you for that presentation. So far, the feds have raised the interest rate 4 times since we were initially approved. We are having to forfeit some of our original plans for our first, first lived-in home.

[RachelColeman]

You guys went through a lot of what I did in 2002. I swore that after all that, I was never moving again, and I'm still here.

[Melanie_just_Melanie]

Thank you for posting this and your honesty. My husband and I are currently house hunting and considered purchasing land and a manufactured home. Your post was eye opening and we will take everything you said into consideration when making our decision. Good luck with your new home and farm!

[rebeccalucas]

I watch videos from other channels of tours of Clayton as well as Titan and Deer Valley. I had an appointment with a Clayton salesman 2 weeks ago, and told him what I wanted. I TRIED to show him the video tour of a home with features and price range I wanted and could afford.
He held my phone and looked at my phone for every bit of 5 seconds of the 11 minute tour, and started talking over the video!
He was determined to only discuss what he wanted to offer me, and tried to tell me I could not get a double wide for under $180-$200k
yet, I had several videos to prove him wrong that he refused to look at.
He tried to push a cramped and very cheaply made single wide with hardly any closet space and those paper thin walls with the cardboard trim between the wall sections AFTER I said those paper thin walls was a deal breaker!
He also informed me that I would have to "settle" for a single wide and pay the redicilously high trailor park rent because they don't do land home package deals in single wides.
I left angry and felt he didn't listen to a word I said. If they try to tell you that you cannot get a 3 bedroom 2 bath double wide for under $180k, they are lying to you, go to another manufacturer. Check out the "Cowboy" model on Mobile Home Divas channel, no paper thin walls, complete sheet rock, and as of April 2022, it's $116k depending on your choices, nothing fancy, but my point is if the salesman is not listening to you, get up and leave as I did.

[billsprague]

We bought a Palm Harbor home for the dealer in the Spokane Wa Valley. What a sad situation. We had very similar issues with our Palm Harbor that these people had with Clayton Homes. Our living room BROKE INTO TWO PIECES. One both sides of your large three window living room. The smokestack was not tall enough. When we had a fire in the fireplace and the furnace turned on smoke was sucked into the cold air return for the furnace, and it filled the home with smoke. Not good. Yes, after talking with the Corp office they did come out and fix many of our issues. I mentioned to a corporate person that came to our home that whoever the Quality Control person is at the factory should be fired. He said, " I am". I looked at him and asked him to NEVER COME BACK AGAIN.

[sandiatsdmb]

WOW! Thank you so much for sharing your absolutely dreadful nightmare. We are needing to replace a manufactured home in FL and started researching the various companies. Your experience, even if it just represents ONE sale, is enough to make us know that Clayton is not a company I will deal with. Shame on Warren Buffet for owning a company with such horrific business practices that takes advantage of people working hard for their money. We will not be looking at any of their products. Thank you again for sharing your situation!

[mvarner]

From a fellow Clayton home owner: periodically check every place there is a water connection. Mine leaks somewhere regularly.

[dawnpetitt]

Your children are so blessed to have parents like you two. Wow! You made it through and still are so pleasant and smile. Amazing!