I’m looking at a park to buy. It is more than 10 acres and has quite a few Park Owned Homes. The way the utilities are set up is that new tenants apply to each utility company and are directly billed. Because of that, the utilities to the Park Owned Homes are turned off till they are rented or sold, as they are now vacant. How can I economically check how good the park owned utility lines in the park are, without having to hire someone to film the insides of the water & sewer lines for the entire 10+ acre park, & how to check the gas lines. The gas meter belongs to the park, but the gas company keeps it locked till the new tenant pays the gas deposit.
You may well have to hire someone to film the sewer line. BTW, it would only be the sewer line that would be filmed; they are usually 4" - 8" in diameter. Water lines are usually 1" - 1.5" in diameter, and are pressurized. There is no way to get a camera in that.
As regards the sewer, what is the age of the park? Parks constructed through the early 1970s are at risk of having orangeburg sewer pipe, which is rotten stuff. Most parks built in the 1980s and newer have higher-quality PVC pipes that are ‘no’ trouble.
Also, how many trees are on your property? More trees = more headaches. They get into sewer lines - seemingly regardless of what the sewer line is made of.
As regards the other utility lines - call the utility companies and ask who is responsible for the line maintenance. For example, on our parks the gas, electric, and telephone lines are all maintained by the local utility companies. We have no responsibility/expense for any of those utility lines.
A related thought: you might consider getting the electric put in your name for all vacant POHs. The reasons are:
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so you can turn on the porch light at night, and perhaps an interior light to make the home look lived-in, and
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to turn on the heat to a minimal level in the winters so the water pipes do not freeze (if it is a gas house, you’ll need to turn on the gas).
Hope this helps,
-jl-
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Thanks for the advice
Jefferson,
How about park built in 1975? Seller said he does not know the water and sewer pipe material. This park is in West Virginia.
I’ll chime in; a park built in 1975 is relatively new and it’s likely that the sewer lines are made of clay. I’m pretty sure orangeburg was used in the 40’s and 50’s - my home that was built in 1945 had an orangeburg sewer line that I recently replaced (I’m in Northern CA and it was in surprisingly great shape - I replaced it because I had root intrusion at a connection). A quick look down a manhole might tell you what the lines are made of - or a few calls to the local plumbers who have done work at the park might know as well… putting a camera down the line would also do the trick.