I emailed my manager asking where is the payment from the tenant and he replied back that they are abandoning the home because it is falling apart and it has black mold and they are just going to tear it down.So I’m not sure what to do…1. Make sure they leave the home asap otherwise file for eviction. I think it just sounds like some BS excuse to give them some time to pay the rent and then all of a sudden they fixed the problem.2. Try to get them to sign the title of the home over to me for some reason…3. Your suggestions please
Narf, you will want to:1. File For Eviction2. Continue To Ask For Payment3. IF The Mobile Home Can Be Renovated, Ask For Them To Sign Title Over To You (Tell Them They Owe $____ For Back Rent & Fees, But You Will Give Them $50 & Forgive Their Other Debts If They Will Sign Over The Title)If they continue to not pay you and not sign over the Title, you will want to go through the whole Eviction Process and then apply to get the Title through the Magistrate through the Abandoned Mobile Home Process.We wish you the best!
We had a similar situation. Lady abandoned her home, and no surprise: it was an absolute disaster. We spent 3 days and filled a huge dumpster with her garbage. When we finally got to where we could see the mobile itself, I called in 3 different contractors to give an opinion on whether it was structurally sound and could be rehabbed, or whether it should just be towed to the dump. It was decided that it could be rehabbed, and if I did it myself, with helpers, it would cost around $10k. But, with lot rent of $250, that’s $3k per year, or $30k at a 10 cap. So we went ahead and did it. It hasn’t sold yet, but when it does, I expect to get most of my $10k back, and I will have preserved $30k worth of park value.So, in short, see if it makes financial sense to consider rehabbing it. If not, I don’t think you need to take title. Just take lots of pictures and tear it down (verify that). If it does make sense to rehab it, then take title and proceed. We brought the city building inspector in on the project to make sure we were following the rules and wouldn’t have problems with him when the rehab was done.This is one of the weak points of mobile home park ownership, to me: the possibility of getting an almost-destroyed home back after being abandoned, and having to decide what to do with it. Good luck.
First: Correct the problem with your manager. Either they are incompetent, or (more likely) you have not trained them well. It is always easier for us MHP owners to point the finger at someone else, especially a subordinate, but I’ve personally come to see that when my managers behave unacceptably (like not pro-actively tell me every month who has and has not paid, and/or not tell me if a tenant is making noises about ‘tearing down a trailer’) that is usually my fault for not making it clearer to them what my expectations are around rent collection procedures and communication.But one way or the other, you’ve got to have a manager that tells you who has not paid, that puts a pay-or-quit notice on their front door under their own initiative, and that files evictions when needed - still all on their own initiative and utterly without prompting by you through email or otherwise.If something as significant as a non-payment of rent and an, albeit unlikely, threat to tear down a house was not flagged up to you by your manager ASAP, then I guarantee you you’ve got at least 10 other significant problems between you and your manager that you’ve just not discovered yet. Go meet with your manager face-to-face and make clear what your expectations are around no-pay-no-stay, timely communication, enforcement of park rules, non-discrimination, how to show/sell homes, etc. Again, either you’ve got to improve, or the manager has got to improve, but one way or the other, your park needs to be better managed.Second: OK, now on to the lesser matter of what to do with this house (which I assume is not a house you own).1. Enforce no-pay-no-stay (NPNS). Take it into court as fast as you can. While doing that, also do the next three things2. Get your manger inside the home if possible to assess condition3. Make it clear to the resident that you’ll waive what they owe if they sign over the house to you. The amount you’ll waive depends on the condition of the home. I’d basically not let them get more than a month behind, and I’d be fairly certain the home is worth at least 1 month’s lot rent, unless it has significant water damage4. Don’t fear the black mold. It’s not the black death. It’s relatively easy to cure. If you get the house, you’ll wipe it down/off with bleach. Kilz over it. Paint. RTO the house to the next family.Good luck,-jl-
Suggestion, when you purchased your park you had a pretty clear idea of the condition of the homes and the park infrastructure since if you close your eyes type park you probably did not buy. Residents in a run down park are comfortable with it staying that way and you come busting in trying to change it–it will take time. We have bought ONLY properties in very good condition with no rentals and excellent cap rates, yes they exist but keep looking. Any home that comes up for sale in our parks is INSPECTED and we have a check list they MUST pass to stay–one example why–one party was two months behind and we just sold their home and cleared $24,000 since the homes less than $10,000 leave and we have no vacancies and before I forget our town is less than 10,000 population… You can not keep a nice modern park by having 40 year old homes that draw low life trouble. Work to have high expectations for your residents but please as owners put money back into your parks. We do not have to mess with getting back junk homes they are not in our parks.
They are out of the house. Would I still give them an eviction notice?I can’t get a hold of them to purchase their home and get title.Instead should I just start an abandonment process?What if they come back and try to strip more stuff off the home?Could I tell the manager to call police for trespassing even if the home is still under their name but they have not paid the lot rent…
Nart, they have personal property on you property that without YOU having the title you have NO right to touch or walk-in the door or right to stop them–unless you have signed leases to the opposite effect. Once you have title some places you MUST safely store THEIR stuff for a certain amount of time. Attorneys just love your thinking–do not touch anything they own
Narf, you need to have ‘Processes’ and follow through with the ‘Processes’.One of the ‘Processes’ should be to start the ‘Eviction Process’ on a certain date if NO Payment has been received.1. No Pay - Go to the Magistrate and start the Eviction Process2. Tenant Moves - Continue the Eviction Process to the very end3. Magistrate Sale - For Abandoned Mobile Home - Start the Magistrate’s Process for Abandoned Mobile HomesWe actually just went to the Magistrate’s Office to file for the Abandonment Process.We have already done the following:1. DMV - Applied to find the name of the Title Holder of the Mobile Home2. Mailed - Mailed a Certified / Return Receipt Requested Letter & Form to the following ‘Owners’ of the Mobile Home requesting payment:a. Person who said that they owned the Mobile Homeb. Person on the Tax Recordsc. Person on the DMV Search for the Mobile Home Title3. Magistrate - Filled out all of the Magistrate’s Abandonment FormsWe now have a Court Date for December 18th and then the Mobile Home will be sold at the end of January 2015.Thus, it is a long process.However, the sooner you start then the sooner it is over.We wish you the very best!