Home leaving. What should I worry about?

One of the residents bought some land and is moving their home out of the community at the end of the month. I want my manager to be present at the time the home is pulled out. What other things should I be concerned with and/or what other precautions can I take to ensure everything goes smoothly?

Thanks.

Rolf

I would worry about the mover. Make sure he is experienced, Licensed & insured. I have seen them do damage. He might hit the corner of another home,pole,take down wires,etc.

Rolf,

Make sure the mover is insured and that you have any lot rent due you (if you can get it) and keep vehicles etc. outa their way! Only other tip I heed by is to make sure someone knows where the main water shutoff’s are incase the mover rolls over one of the lines.

Other than to just watch the move outa the window I personally WOULDN’T want the manager there for one reason… if something happens a tenant is likely to head right for the manager where as if they are absent they are heading to the mover who’s going to take the heat!

Best wishes,

Ryan Needler

Our park rules require the mover to contact the manager with an exact date of move. Also, they have to name the park as an additional insured. This has to be done so we have it in our hands before they come in the park. We also ask to see a copy of the permit. (We currently have a complaint lodged because the mover did NOT have a permit.)

The big thing? They MUST pull the anchors! Without your manager there you cannot be sure that they will, even if they are good moversl. If they are not top movers they likely will leave them. Somebody trips and falls, you get sued. We are still locating anchors that have been left when homes got pulled out of here with nobody overseeing the moves.

of the general area prior to move just for yucks.

As stated above clean up of lot is critical. Anchors,ducts, cracked blocks, insulation, plumbing pipes, steps, A/c’s, phone lines, I’ve seen all these left behind. Lots of folks use the room under the home, behind the skirting as (cheap) self storage.

We have almost filled a 20 yard dumpster from a d/w removal off a private lot…cost 400 plus 2 men labor for a day.

Rolf, a lot of times trees need to be trimmed or greenery removed to keep from damaging the home…this needs to be done carefully to minimze destruction of greenery. If ground is soft, make sure toter and trailer tires are matted to prevent ruts in lawns…whew! i’ve tired myself out!LOL.

I don’t know if anchors are required in your area, but they are very dangerous if not unscrewed…our crews have scars to prove it!

Movers tend to be more careful with management/owners in attendance.

Good Luck,

Greg

Rolf,

To add a little bit to everyone elses comments.

An obvious suggestion, but have you tried to buy that home to keep it from moving, and find that owner another home? That owner has to move a home either way, but if you keep the home from leaving, it will save you $3k to move another one in, not to mention the hassle of a move.

Its reasonable for the park to expect the mover/owner to clean up the lot after the home is pulled. But once the home is on the road and out of your park, everyone completely loses their incentive to clean up. I know, I’ve lost that incentive myself many, many times. You might want to ask for a deposit from the owner prior to the move, and return it if they leave you with a clean lot. If the lots a mess, at least you have some money to pay your guys to clean it up.

I’ve never seen any movers ever pull anchors as part of the move. I wouldn’t consider that a measure of a good mover. And I’ve never seen any park ever ask a mover to do it. When I pull homes, I always pick up all debris, blocks, sewer lines, tires, etc. I leave the anchors, but I take the tie-down straps. Then I take a picture of the lot, so I can’t be accused later of leaving a mess.

A couple years ago I pulled a home out of a park in Kentucky. The park owner was there when we left, and told us not to worry about a handful of blocks left around the lot, he would clean it up. Later that afternoon, the woman living next door walked across the empty lot, tripped on one of the blocks, hit her head on another block and was killed. I never heard another word about it, but I sweated that one for awhile. I’ll bet that woman’s family owns that park right now!

Karl

Allow me to back up Karl’s story and the advice given to request liabilty insurance coverage from the mover.

Shortly after I bought my park and Hurricanes in the 2004 season blew through, an experienced MH mover/demo guy was killed in my park as well. He was using a backhoe to demo the home and somehow while lifting a large portion of the MH it fell on him, and overturned the backhoe onto him also. It was a family business and he died right in front of his father and brother and children in my park. It was a real tragedy.

The good news for me as park owner, was it was not a park owned home, and the owner’s insurance company had hired the company directly.

I am an absentee owner, so I was not there, but I did notify my insurance company immediately. I was never contacted about the incident again.

Karen