Well, its not really a lonnie dealer. Seems a former resident took off, and some guy calls saying he now owns the trailer, so should I just charge him rent regardless if he has a tenant? I assume so.
Absolutely charge him. Background check him also.
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Make sure you also add any charges the deadbeat owed - including late fees etc. and insure any maintenance is done to bring the lot/home to standards. No reason for you to lose money on the deal.
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Has something like this just happen to me. Had deadbeat that has not paid rent under the moratorium and then sold home out from under us even though we have right if first refusal. Didn’t find out until the new owner called me to find out how much rent was! Still dickering over it and the realtor, title agency, and seller took advantage of this elderly lady buyer. Told her she can’t move in until home is cleaned up along with other rule violations and all back rent us paid. She is now threatening a lawyer for discrimination and I told her she has a beef with seller and realtor and not me. Told her SOMEONE has to pay back rent and clean. home up before she moves in.
Some politician with their head up their ass didn’t think this rent moratoriums through. I know of several other landlords are left with a year of rent and tenant just moves out.
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I 110% agree with all posts above — we have two vagabond-type lonnie renter-outer sisters who are a mess - we hammer down and keep tough with them - so they don’t get out of hand. We actually had to impose a $500 fine to these two sisters if they move anyone in without our approval - and the folks get jettisoned! Which worked!!! They would let anyone love in - with anything : pits, felonious boyfriends, etc.
However, we did have a real street dealer come to us 15+ yrs ago and asked if he could bring a home into our community. Heck yeah - under one condition - we vet and run the resident through our system.
He now has about a dozen homes with us now. He just sends the folks to us, they apply and get approved through us and go right into Rent Manager.
He keeps the down (which I would change if doing it again), we collect the whole amount, then Eddie gets a check cut for the home payment mid month out of our account - we keep the lot rent.
He pays no lot rent while it is non-performing or while he is remodeling.
But he is a real guy - a stand up dude in the MH dealer business for 40+ yrs - his DAD was in it before him.
Again, not ideal, and going forward, I would 1 - keep the up front monies, 2 - I might also charge 10% management fee — next time.
But he loves us - we love him and we don’t even have a contract, just a hand shake.
Just some food for thought - but you best know this person is stand up - and on the same wave length as you for it to work.
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We have this happen all the time, and absolutely charge lot rent to the vagabond-type “lonnie dealers.” According to the existing lease, the deadbeat who abandoned the home is responsible for lot rent as long as the home is on site. Him leaving does not absolve him of his obligation to pay. By “selling” the home to another vagabond, he is simply inviting another “guest” to occupy his home in his stead. In that case, we consider both people to be obligated.
However, to make things right, we try to work with the new owner and explain that a background check is necessary and that the past due rent be paid off. We have to explain that we were intending to evict the former owner and take possession of the home through the abandoned property process, but we can halt that process if he simply pays the past due rent. This sometimes turns into a negotiation and we are willing to forgive some or all past due rent depending on how solid the new owner is.
If the new owner is just as much a deadbeat as the former owner. we simply file eviction on both the former and current owner, then take possession after both are gone.
plus late fees, plus yard maintenance etc
A funny thing about MH parks. Your true tenant is the home sitting on the space. Not the person living there. If there is a home on a space then you should be collecting rent from someone.
Absolutely charge somebody. When this happens in our property, we inform the new “owner” that he is responsible for the past due rent. We explain that we were in the processes of repossessing the home and that it would have been our property and we were planning to sell it for a nice price. We then say that since you bought it, we will forgo the repossession and will sell it to you for the cost of back rent. This can be negotiated depending on how much is owned and if you really want to take the responsiblity for the home or not. Sometimes we forgive the back rent partially or entirely.
If we end up in eviction court, we always file against the person who moved out. That is our official tenant. Moving your body from our property but keeping your home there does not absolve you of the obligation to pay rent. The only way to be released is to terminate the lease, which requires either 1) removing the home, 2) selling the home to an individual approved by us who has signed a lease with us, or 3) selling the home to us. If the buyer refuses to fill out an application or is not approved, then we include the buyer as a defendant along with the seller so we can get everyone out.