Potential flooding in park

I’m under contract on a small park with city utilities. One of the residents said when it rains there is a lot of standing water on the whole park. Park is not in a flood plain but drainage seems to be an issue. The city says they have plans to run all new pipes/storm sewer for that area which should help with the drainage but I’m not sure. Is it worth it to move forward with the deal? Numbers are ok…nothing really ground breaking, just a little mailbox money on what seems to be a low maintenance park, but this drainage issue could be the headache that makes it not worth it.

We own up north and have had parks with pretty rough “mud seasons”. If it’s a few times a year that’s one thing, if it’s every time it rains, it’s worth having a pro take a look and give some options and estimates before moving forward.

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Keep in mind that tenants will often exaggerate a problem.

I had a park in Pacific NW with some drainage issues. I installed a few Dry Wells. Problem solved.

NDS 50 Gallon Flo Well Stormwater Dry Well System Kit with 3 Side Panels & 1 Cover FWAS24 (homedepot.com)

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Did you get a timeframe on when the city is replacing the pipes? That would probably be at the top of my list of things to find out. I do tend to agree with the other posts that tenants make things bigger than they are, but I’d still like to know that the problem will be addressed in the case that it is a legitimate problem.

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Tenants exaggerate things like this all the time. The flooding hasn’t caused them to move out yet so chances are they’ll stay when you’re the new owner.

I have a park that had this issue and as we brought in the new homes I had the site work guy bring in some loads of gravel and re-shape the worst lots to allow the water to flow off into the woods. It fixed the problem 95% but I still hear how “their driveways flood when it rains”

It wouldn’t stop me from buying that park if everything else is good.

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Yes, it looks like they wont be starting until the fall of next year, and you’re right, they definitely make an ocean out of puddle :laughing:

All good points, thanks to everyone for their perspective, in the middle of DD I’m usually a lot more sensitive to issues and if I owned the park. Thanks @SDGuy for the dry well link, had never seen something like that but it looks like it could fix the issue that they’re talking about
LOVE THIS FORUM!

@HannahB
We are here to help. As a side note, you do not need to buy the Drywell from HD.
You can make a dry well yourself.
Install a Catch Basin in the low spot, and run a drain pipe over your custom dry well.

DIY Drywell: Dig a hole 6 Feet Deep x 6 feet square. Put one piece of Perforated pipe vertically in the middle of the Pit. Fill it with 3/4 Crush rock. Run a 3" to 4" drain line from your catch basin to the top of the gravel and connect to the vertical pipe, cover the top with straw, and backfill. Keep in mind that this is NOT traffic rated.

The top of your Dry Well should be lower than your catch basin. 1/8 per foot. So if the Dry Well is 8 feet away from the catch basin then the top of the Dry Well is 1" lower than the bottom of the Catch Basin.

Link for another option:
How to Build a Dry Well (with Pictures) - wikiHow

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I think you will be surprised if you think owning the property is “mailbox money.” There is a serious operational commitment to owning such an investment. Best thing to do to address your drainage issue is to examine it during a storm. Depending on the severity, you may have to install above or below ground drainage systems.

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Good point, I know with any property ownership there is work. I meant more that this property would not require a lot of on site presence as all of the infrastructure is owned by the city and all the homes are TOH.

Agree - we’re 3 months into rv park ownership: The major road deterioration and maintenance problems we discovered are caused by the lack of drainage…very little design or thought put into this park…usually if something “is wrong”, it’s a chain-reaction, string of cause-and-effect circumstances that lead to the visible result…you really need to observe, question, and investigate ANYTHING that seems compromised, to get the full scope of what you’re stepping into.

Here is a fun one.
The County came in to “maintain” the road.
Great job guys.
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ugh!!! that sucks, I’m sorry :rage:

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