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Bagdlot
I see from another of your posts that you are familiar with Shorten. If you are looking for a garage, there is a builder affiliated with Remax Best on Rt 590 near the front gate of The Hideout who puts up a nice modular with a garage underneath. He is slapping these up all over the place, and if you see the homes, the garage is underneath, he brings the siding all the way down in the front, adds shutters to the lower windows in the basement area and puts a cute covered porch on them, they are very nice, and you get your garage without much extra cost, just the garage door and maybe a few extra $$ for fireproof sheetrock. If you need a pass to get in The Hideout to drive around and get an idea, I can call you in one, just PM me. I'm not saying to buy from him, you can save a lot more if you do it yourself and be your own sub-contractor, but his homes are all similar and will give you ideas while getting your garage too. He basically give a plain ranch a really nice homey look, with lots of curb appeal.
Thanks for the info. Yes, we've been to Shorten many times, and have seen homes that we like, but need that garage. We've heard about Bracca garages, and need to investigate if it's possible to add one of those on. . Thanks for the info on the other builder, we'll look into that. Another question about Shorten - from the time that you put down your deposit, to the time you could actually move in - how long did that take? How long to wait for the house to be delivered, and how long once delivered did it take you to move in?
Did Shorten do the clearning as well? I have a cousin who's in that business, so we'll probably use him, but just curious how Shorten did with the site/prep work, if we decide to use them. We plan to drive to Selingsgrove area some time in the spring to see Pleasant Valley Modulars. THey're sold through Shorten, and we like their kitchens/baths.
Again, thanks for the reply - good to hear all went and continues to go well. That's heartening to hear.
I am going to take some pics of the modulars with the garages and porches to show you what I'm talking about and post them here.
Shorten...overall, aside from my house which I love, I was not happy dealing with them. I had many delays due to them not preparing the paperwork, basically the bill of sale, for my mortgage company. They would make a mistake, I would point it out to their attention, and then they would have to type a new one. No, no computers are used to just edit the document, a whole new invoice would have to be typed. That would take weeks. I went through that several times with them and in the end they raised the price of the house because the deal was taking so long. When I explained why it was taking so long, it was basically take it or leave it. After having problems such as this I would call Mt. Shorten himself. You would always have to leave a message, and after calling him several times, a secretary called to tell me "Mr. Shorten is not interested in having a conversation with you." How nice There is a Jr. And a Sr. Mr. Shorten. The Sr. is much more sympathetic, but I never seemed to be able to speak to him either. At this point I just wanted my house, and they knew it.
My foundation and lot clearing was done by someone local, I was very happy with them, they leveled it off, took all debris away, lined up any boulders just where I wanted them, and gave us a nice wide driveway of stone. We planted grass, in the fall, and we had a lawn, no additional sprucing up needed to make it look nice.
We did use Shorten's electrician and plumber, they were also locals from our area, so I guess they have a bunch that they use. No problems there either.
After our foundation was done (They would not order our house till the foundation was done), they ordered our house and it took only 2 weeks till it was going to be delivered. I was shocked because things were taking so long up till that point, with just paperwork, but I think they realized we were getting into more than our fair share of problems and pushed us ahead somehow. After delivery, it took another 2 weeks for them to do any minor repairs, pour the concrete in the basement and finish all plumbing and electric. We moved in about 7 weeks after delivery because in The Hideout, they had certain rules so we could not move in till the decks were completely finished and the garage was completely finished as far as fire doors and fireproof sheetrocking. My husband and I (him mostly ) did all this ourselves. We also painterd the entire house inside before we moved in as it only comes primed.
Their head maintenance guy was a real jerk, I wolud call him dozens of times and fax him and he would never return phone calls. These were all over minor things, I have heard he is no longer in that position because of so many complaints.
Like I said, I made a few changes to the floorplan, we have the Stonybrook, we added on 18 inches thru the LR/Dr area, changed the whole master suite around to make a hallway with a bathroom that everone could use and then the master bedroom. We also added a wall of a linen closet and coat closet that are both 5 ft. wide. On the other side we added 3 ft. to make the small bedroom a nice size and the other 3 ft plus a foot from the larger bedroom proviided 2 huge walk in closets for both the bedrooms. I love my house with the changes. We liked that floor plan best because of the kitchen. I see $350,000. homes that do not have as nice a kitchen as my modular.
Some things were Shorten's responsibility and some were the manufacturers, and all were minor and were fixed with no problems, once I got an appointment to have them come! Return phone calls were a huge problem with Shorten's maintenance.
Wow, what I story, I didn't expect to hear that about Shorten's customer service. Definitely something for us to think about and consider. I'll have to see if we can find someone who's purchased from Simplex, and see if they're any better. We found a floorplan on the internet we liked this weekend from another manufacturer, Haven Homes, and we've contacted them to get more information. We need to find out who they sell through. It's good to hear that one can make the desired changes to floor plans. Every company says that they can do that, and I'm glad to hear that it worked out for you.
I'll await the photos, many thanks for going through all the trouble to get and post them.
Even though I only own my home for 2 years, we are looking to relocate a little closer to both my girl's schools. They are in Scranton and Dunmore and we were really hoping to put up another modular. So many of these little communities that are popping up do not allow modulars.
Simplex at one time did not give you prices as you had to go through an authorized builder. I have heard that has changed. They do build a nice home.
I just wish I knew of a place to put my next house.
Yes, Simplex will give you prices. We were there in December after Christmas. They have their own construction company on site, Cornerstone Building Solutions which is owned by Simplex. They gave us prices on the two-story models. I called them last week, and they quoted a price over the phone for a ranch that caught our interest. However, they bundle everything together - lot clearing, foundation, garage, decks, driveway, steps, walkway, etc. That could be good or bad, depending on what you want, and budget. I have no idea how they are to work with, but was impressed with their quality.
When you spoke to Simplex, do you know if they will make changes to an existing floorplan? I'm looking for a smaller 2 story home, perhaps even a cape and need to put an in-law suite first floor addition on the side of the house for my parents. Even though they are considered family, I'm thinking of not putting in the kitchen till the house already has it's certificate of occupancy. I just don't want any hassles. When my parents eventually pass, I cam convert this space to a LR and a bedroom and bath. I was just wondering if Simplex would build the addition as well.
I did check out pleasant valley modulars and I see what you mean!! They are gorgeous kitchens. My kitchen is plain, but I do love its wall of windows and not having the sink facing a wall. Too much time is spent at the sink to be staring at the wall!
The fellow we spoke to at Simplex said that they can modify plans, so you might want to check them out. They do 2 stories, ranches, and capes, so you might find something that interests you. They're easy to get to, off the highway (know by sight, not by highway #) on Keyser Ave, directions should be on their web site. Good Luck!
I don't know how they are to deal with, but we looked at modular home models by Regent Homes. The quality looked pretty good to me. The basements were very well insulated and garages were included. The construction manager actually walked us through the models and pointed out a lot of nice features that are standard. They do have a website. We are actually have a stick-built house constructed by Stoney Run Builders...very, very nice to deal with. No such thing as an unanswered call or e-mail!
By the way, if you want to look at three models they have constructed, the models are located on Rt. 390 in Greentown.
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There is a Jr. And a Sr. Mr. Shorten. The Sr. is much more sympathetic, but I never seemed to be able to speak to him either. At this point I just wanted my house, and they knew it.
) did all this ourselves. We also painterd the entire house inside before we moved in as it only comes primed. 
